Our plans for worldwide domination, medical and otherwise, continue apace...

If you could see me now, you would see me rubbing my hands and grinning wickedly, while cackling shrilly (and typing on my keyboard at the same time. Damn! I'm talented.).
I grin, and cackle, (and type) because I have the ultimate scheme to destroy homeopathy, chiropractic, reiki, and the lot: MAKE THEM PROVE THEIR CLAIMS!
I look forward to a day when the last naturopath, crawling in the desert to which he has fled, begs for a dose of a homeopathic remedy, which he will get only after he admits that it's just water; to a day when the great and powerful and deluded Oz hears his people cry out "Pay no attention to the man behind the bulls**t"; a day when Edward Snowden releases the documents that prove "The Secret" is not only not a secret but that it doesn't even exist.
Make no mistake, it will be a long hard fight (and who doesn't like things that are long and hard? Well, at least some of us do.) but we can win it.

Sure thing boss. While you have been frolicking in the sun in Vegas with our Overlord...I, lilady, have been posting on other science blogs and checking out Bolen's blog. He has an *interesting* guest blogger there. :-)

http://www.bolenreport.com/feature_articles/Guest/Stoller/autism%20infi…

Thanks for the link lilady. The stupid really does burn with that one. I see Dr Stoller even has his own international medical association, and his own foundation researching into traumatic brain injury. Although I didn't know PTSD was a kind of TBI.

Ooh. I haven't had a frolic in a while.

More about Dr. Stoller...his *educational* video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnD8Il2PS9E

Olmsted has weighed in on Jenny's candidacy on The View. Danny Boy is trying to foil our efforts for worldwide domination:

http://www.ageofautism.com/2013/07/jennys-view-plane-truth-crazy-drug.h…

"IN DEFENSE OF JENNY: Nice to see that Jenny McCarthy may land a spot on The View. Not so nice to see the same slithering "Science Says Vaccines Are Safe" crowd from Salon, Slate, Discover, etc., emerge from their respective rocks to attack her. As I've said many times, based on my own reporting, it is quite clear that vaccines are the driver of the autism epidemic. As I've also said, it's not just vaccines, it's not just mercury, and it's not just autism. Go Jenny!"

This piece attacking Paul Offit is the main front page story today on AlterNet: http://www.alternet.org/personal-health/medical-establishments-favorite…

@ Sebastian Jackson:

Alison Rose Levy, who wrote that, has a show on Gary Null's Progressive Radio Network.

From the Land of MIsts**...

His Lordship, most resplendent in his naturally reflectant scales, must be in his glory, basking in the noonday sun. I can only hope that human sceptics are hiding from its scalding, malign influence, taking refuge amidst the many wonders that modern hostelry has to offer.

At any rate, RI's minions will do our best to hold down the fort in the absence of our most esteemed host from the safety of our own- less baked- climes***.

A question for the minions:
now that AoA seems to be unravelling, who do you think is becoming an important spokesperson for the anti-vax/ vaccines cause autism plank of the alt med platform?

** well, *ONE* of them any way. There are so many.

No way on earth that I'll travel to the middle of a burning desert where duststorms swirl, roofs smoulder and no amount of alcohol can begin to obliterate the perpetual dryness that overtakes your consciousness.
*** I know, I know, "It's a dry heat"-
so's an oven.

@ lilady:

Cripes! Is he still on that nonsense about Freud from his book?

I have found that going on PubMed, putting in a term and then looking at the oldest papers is very interesting.

Recently I have been annoyed with those who claim that measles is a "mild childhood disease." So I put "measles" into the search term and found old papers that have been scanned in and fully downloadable. The one that interested me was this one:
Am J Public Health (N Y). 1914 April; 4(4): 289–309.
PMCID: PMC1286334
A STATISTICAL STUDY OF MEASLES

It is a detailed look at the impact of measles in several cities, and countries. The first page notes that mortality from ranges between 1% to 6%, and the second pages show that the data from 22 countries from 1906 through 1910 show 1% of all deaths were from measles.

Chris,

I have found that going on PubMed, putting in a term and then looking at the oldest papers is very interesting.

That's one of my favorite tricks on PubMed too. It's very useful for seeing how research into a specific area started and progressed. Just click on 'Last' and work your way forward in time.

Oops, I forgot to mention clicking on "last."

I have noticed that they are adding more of the older papers that have been fully scanned and can be downloaded for free!

The revered Denice Walter asks,

who do you think is becoming an important spokesperson for the anti-vax/ vaccines cause autism plank of the alt med platform?

Anti-vax generally: Barbara Loe Fisher's minions.

The "autism = vaccine injury" might have a new heroine in Teresa Deisher PhD, whom Our Host discussed back in 2009.

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2009/07/22/thermonuclear-stupid-about…

Now she is appearing as an expert witness in a National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program case, Mostovoy, in which

In her expert report and her declaration, Dr. Deisher describes her theory that human fetal DNA in certain vaccines—including the MMR and varicella vaccines—is a trigger for autism disorder.... Dr. Deisher asserts that the combination of (1) the statistical work she has done in her changepoint study showing three changepoint years in the incidence of autism disorder, (2) the literature showing that autistic children have large numbers of genetic factors that they did not receive from their parents, and (3) the literature showing that DNA can be transferred from human contaminants in vaccines to the nerve cells of the recipient by injection, furnishes sound support for her theory of harm. Deisher’s expert report. Dr. Deisher proposes to conduct an original study to explore her hypothesis that “should residual human fetal DNA in vaccinations be related to subsequent regressive autism disorder, the numbers of children contained in the … VSD and the gradual uptake of Varicella should be sufficient to reveal a difference between autism spectrum disorders in Varicella vaccinated and non-vaccinated children” during the years 1994 to 2005.”

Specifically, she is accusing the rubella component of the MMR vaccine.

Silly Chris. Measles is a mild disease now, because of better sanitation and nutrition. [/sarcasm]

Yeah. Right.

I am highly amused because when they claim it is easier to survive measles, but they forget it takes lots of very expensive medical care for that to happen. Mostly to make sure the kid with measles pneumonia does not suffocate by having oxygen pushed into their fluid fills lungs.

Not so nice to see the same slithering “Science Says Vaccines Are Safe” crowd from Salon, Slate, Discover, etc., emerge from their respective rocks to attack her.

*KOFF*Handley*KOFF*.

More on Deisher (she lives in my neighborhood... Aaargh!):
http://www.seattlemet.com/health-and-fitness/articles/dr-deisher-stem-c…

Oh my dream engine :)

That was a major reason I wanted to go in mechanical engineering many years ago (2006). I would have liked to build an autobahn stormer which one could drive like a schoolbus (i.e. easy driveability with one hand on the steering wheel and one hand on the side windows).

Back when I was doing machining, I had a set of raw material (aluminum block and titanium parts) to build a mini-engine of about 500cc but I'd have needed more knowledge about how to design a motor.

Alain

Now she is appearing as an expert witness in a National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program case

A quick glance strongly suggests to me that she's merely trying to get her hands on VSD data.

(Oh, and this failed. Reading between the lines, this was a pretty strong kiss-off of Deisher.)

that too is a wonderful machine :)

Alain

(Oh, man, she's frankly savaged in section 5. "Petitioners Seek Production of Irrelevant Material." Heh.)

Oh, yes, the last ten pages are really fun to read!

There is a section called: "Petitioners Point to a Delay in Approving an HIV Vaccine to Call into Question the Safety of the Varicella Vaccine."

Which is concluded with "Because neither the MMR vaccine nor the varicella vaccine is a retrovirus vaccine, petitioners’ reliance on the 1998 Kurth article is unavailing, and petitioners’ treatment of the cited literature does not lend credibility to their arguments."

And finally: "For the reasons detailed above, Petitioners’ Motion to Compel production of documents from the FDA is DENIED."

"Revered", am I? Woo hoo.

I have been spotting talent ( heh) rising from the seemingly bottomless dregs of TMR and AoA and I think that
Alison MacNeil and Lisa Goes are head-and-shoulders above the rest of the martyrs: they can rant like Mike Adams on his high horse about GMOs or SSRIs whilst still maintaining their girlish self-centred-ness. They appear to be inspirational to their audience as can be seen from the worshipful and mimetic comments they receive: their recent essays are on display at those aforementioned miserable swamps of irrationality and bad writing.

Is it too early in the day to start talking about food?

Yes...tell us how shape-shifting lizardoids and blinking boxes of lights keep their strength up while plotting world domination?

Is it too early in the day to start talking about food?

No, but wait 'till I eat my first meal of the day (which should be in about 5 minutes).

Alain

I have to leave soon to go see some gallery-based fol-de-rol
HOWEVER i will have several third world style dining options ( at first world prices) as is customary in artsy-ville.

OK there's a Korean lady who does bimbambop and vegetable dishes, a Meso-American cafe with very Dia de los Muertos decor, a seemingly gold-plated Thai place, Dim Sum, Caribbean vegetarian, Japanese seafood...
Also a white guy who creates trendy- and occasionally bizarre- ice cream- lavender, jasmine, ginger, green tea etc.

@ Shay-
-btw- Draconis and Astra sometimes have Lady's Fingers for dessert- and I don't mean Savoiardi..

And Matt Carey collated the Canary Party financials.

http://leftbrainrightbrain.co.uk/2013/07/12/financial-documents-for-the…

Per another comment posted to Respectful Insolence, the association between the Canary Party and Mr. Barry Segal appears to be strained. As Mr. Segal accounted for $30,000 of the party’s $49,000 revenue in 2012, one does wonder what 2013 revenue will look like.

It will be interesting....

Oh, are you missing the Fire Science guy and Grandma Marsha? The Voices for Vaccines Facebook page has a post up about Jenny McCarthy and The View, with 1,848 comments including the usual fatuous posturing from Mr. Fire Science, and Grandma Marsha's usual content-free burblings:

A couple of hours ago GM declared victory

Truth won this forum people. Those who were banned can wear the ban as a badge of honor. Thanks to all who kicked butt like Karyn Dunavant, Toby Dawson, Ruth Acaster, Christina Waldman, Erwin Alber, Ginger Taylor, Rita Abernathy Harris to name some on our team against the big gang posting there from the start.

Our team have lives, many with sick children, so we had to take them all on one at a time for the most part & we won as anyone actually looking for truth watching learned. That's why we do this so they can fool no one. I look towards the day there are too many of us for them to even bother with & we are getting there people. IT SHOWS!
,

So much derp.

How to build a Grand Turismo

Take a Ford Mustang GT in the years 1994-1995 with a good, stiff body. It doesn't matter which engine condition it is because we'll replace it with a very mild but a very potent engine. The kind of engine able to make 25 miles per gallon running at 125mph with 5 psi (normal is 15 psi) of boost from a small turbo who's all in by 2000rpm but doesn't restrict flow at 5500 rpm. obviously we need a transmission with the proper gearset so that the engine doesn't rev more than 3200 rpm at 125mph. I'll try to find an automatic who's able to witstand 650+lbs of torque later on.

Brakes & wheel! We need high performance stoppers. 14 inches Bear Claw kit for the front and 14 inches high performance Bear Claw kit for the rear for a 9 inch rear-end. As for wheel, these wheels will do the job in the rear with these axles.

The car's body will be stripped off everything. There are special bath for car body which will prep it for the welding of a cage and the rear-end assembly but I don't know yet if these bath remove paint or the car need to be sandblasted first. Then, the car will be painted a smooth color (not to attract cops) and during a few weeks, one by one, the components will be cleaned up, repaired or replaced and they will be reinstalled in the car. all the brakes component will be new from the master cylinder down to the disc at 4 wheels. The driveshaft will be made off carbon fiber for a light weight and endurance. The car, now being a 2 place, will have the rear set of speaker behind the driver's seat and the passenger's seat and there will be a big custom box in the rear part of the cage which will be lockable with a padlock for the luggages and everything.

If permitted by all applicable law, there will be a Megasquirt II taking care of fuel injection duty and spark control duty with a wideband oxygen sensor but care must be taken not to travel in california if equiped with such an injection system; else, the stock system reprogrammed on a dynometer will be used.

Alain

Derpy is the least vaccinated pony!

I read through as much of that AlterNet article as I could stand-- gratified at how many of the comments showed some critical thinking, though! :) Not as many as I would like, but many! :)

Orac, I hope you will instruct your shipboard minions to buy Our Lord Draconis a beverage for me! ...No really, tell him it was FROM ME because I really need a raise in my monthly Pharma-$hill stipend...

I recently discovered a quackery unknown to me yet and I would certainly enjoy Orac's takedown on that. Not that anyone else couldn't come and laugh with me.
Voila.

Oh Kultakutri, try this:

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2011/08/01/gaps-in-a-doctors-reasonin…

and this:

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/gaps-diet/

Which is concluded with “Because neither the MMR vaccine nor the varicella vaccine is a retrovirus vaccine, petitioners’ reliance on the 1998 Kurth article is unavailing, and petitioners’ treatment of the cited literature does not lend credibility to their arguments.”

I will idly observe that "Mikovits" has the same number of syllables as "Attica."

There's a post up at LBRB now on the Mostovoy case and the attempt to gain access to the VSD.

http://leftbrainrightbrain.co.uk/2013/07/14/a-fishing-expedition-at-vac…

For some reason they submitted the reviewers comments in Ms. Deisher's application for NIH funding. The special master referred to the comments as "withering".

@Liz

I also think it's hilarious that she tags folk in her 'victory' speech, in the hopes they'll come back and help her.

As if that's going to happen.

Tracy Deisher and her plotting graph of Varivax and Autism, is on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Qxx1XI5Drg

TAM-flavored cookie, bitte.

(Is that enough food talk, Liz?) :-)

Inspired marketing adds "health benefits" to the weirdest concoctions:
http://io9.com/the-strangest-alcoholic-beverages-ever-to-touch-a-human-…
Nothing wrong with a bit of fun if it makes ingesting weird protein acceptable. I'd be ok with that if species used and human health are not endangered.

@dreamer - I do not find a need for dead animals (besides yeasts, which are on the cusp) in my beer, wine, or spirits.

lilady, you, me and me and 46 people have watched it now. Although how many people gave up during the long intro is unknown.

Did you note that she emphasized over and over again, that the graphs were date of birth (not date of immunization), plotted against dates of diagnoses of autism?

Note to minions:
re worldwide domination, medical and otherwise:

While we're at it I think we should do something immediately about the worldwide web, has anyone noticed how much intolerably awful medical information, p!ss poor health information and fantasy-based science dis-information exists?

All you have to do is search a topic of concern and loads of egregious nonsense rises to the top of the page like rancid cream on contaminated milk ( which might happen if it's raw... )

Draconis might get one of those computer geniuses he keeps captive eternally circling terra in the synth-moon to create an over-arching system of ratings or codes.. or maybe someone here can get together a list of warnings ( Dangerous to Mind and Body; Brain Scrambler Alert; Too Weird to Understand but Obviously Not Harmless etc) Or a Worst of the Worst LIst.

What are your candidates for Crappiest of the Crappy?
( I KNOW about that Aussie's list and the Loons: I'm talking about OUR own list, PRESENT DATE, up to date)- whilst Orac finds his way home. SRSLY.

To start you off, Jake ( Autism Investigated.com) Crosby has a new article up about Healy.

For sheer volume of misinformation: Mercola.com

Draconis might get one of those computer geniuses

Who? Me?

Alain

@ Alain:

If you want to volunteer...

In other news: Mike Adams writes about the "race war" being fomented as we speak..
talk about crappy websites.

In other news: Mike Adams writes about the “race war” being fomented as we speak..

Oo-ee-oh (get the first edition).

How about we all mutiny and started our own blog? Say....

(Age of) Autism Investigated?

David Perry's blog about Jenny McCarthy is still going...

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/07/destabilizing-the-jen…

Denice,
Andy Lewis (Le Canard Noir) has constructed the The Quackometer, which goes some way towards what you suggest.

@ lilady:

Yeah, I know but I'm talking about hot topics, frequent targets, must-be-seen-to-be-believed nonsense, dangerous purveyors of mis-information, widely-read miscreants' blogs/ sites *speciific* to RI.
It would includes the usual suspects ( Natural News, AoA, Mercola) as well as rising stars ( TMR, Green Med Info, Gaia )... and stand-out inverse brilliance ( Jake).

Sorry, Kreb, for the mistaken ID... like I said, I need to sleep more.

Umm...Should we start a collective new blog where we write about science success and autism?

Yes, I'm serious :)

Alain

"I look forward to a day when the last naturopath, crawling in the desert to which he has fled, begs for a dose of a homeopathic remedy, which he will get only after he admits that it’s just water..."

Reminds me of a very old joke: Anti-Thirst pills - take two with a large glass of water. I suppose homeopathic anti-thirst pills would work in that sense just as well as the ones in the joke.

(Not so) off-topic. Andy was interviewed by Robert and Sandy Waters yesterday about his Autism Media Channel's 20 minute documentary on Alex Spourdalakis' murder. Wakefield is shopping the documentary around to American TV networks:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thecandystore/2013/07/13/our-special-guest…

Sandra and Robert Waters made a claim for vaccine damages on behalf of their child Candace...and according to them, they were kicked out of court because of the Omnibus Autism decision:

http://www.plainsite.org/flashlight/case.html?id=653087

Robert and Sandra Waters' autism radio program is affiliated with "Autism One Radio"..

http://www.kindtree.org/marketplace/artists/candace-waters

according to them, they were kicked out of court because of the Omnibus Autism decision

I don't know what PlainSite is supposed to be, but that's not the complete docket. It looks like HHS moved to dismiss on April 5, 2010, and the Waterses did... nothing, until they were ordered on January 14, 2013, to cough up an amended petition already. Their response was to request a 60 day extension to "complete mitochondrial testing," which was granted.

On April 4, there was an unopposed motion by HHS to dismiss, whereupon the Waterses immediately tried to get attorneys' fees and costs. On April 16, they notified that they would not seek review in the CFC. On the 18th, the petition was dismissed for insufficient proof, and on the 23rd they elected to file a civil action, which document PACER won't show me.

They certainly weren't "kicked out" of anything.

(And I believe I've mentioned before that the notion of there being a charge for PACER is outrageous. Aaron Swartz was 100% correct on this one. The best part? It doesn't tell you the length of the document in advance.)

Tonight, I had a conversation with my mom, mostly usual business about how am I doing, how she is doing, how the oldest brother is doing and also, preparation for the internship to come.

The last point (internship), she was uncomfortable to talk about but that's okay, I'm just doing the baby steps to prepare her of what's to come in 2 or 3 year.

I need early preparation because she was intensely stressed out the last time I travelled to the states and she was also stressed out when I went to live in Montreal to work with Dr. Mottron which culminated in my resiliation from work.

She asked, is it for a medical doctor (not in these words) or a researcher. I said a researcher who has been a medical doctor. She asked why he isn't a medical doctor anymore. I tell her because his research work takes too much time and thus, he don't have any time left for clinical work. She find it odd, I tell her it's better that way (thinking in mind my situation with Dr. Mottron who was both and also, taking "care" of me).

Now, to reassure myself; once the internship is in process of being approved, there are some details I need to negociate before I accept the offer. I will need a psychiatrist who can vouch for me (or at least, be fair to me, like my actual one) in case there is something happening in Dr. Casanova's lab. What's the best way to go about negociating this? Do I give a very detailed account of what's happened in Dr. Mottron's lab?

Keep in mind that I don't expect to have troubles and probably this will be a fine experience overall but I need to take care of myself.

Alain

MESSAGE BEGINS--------------------------------

Shills and Minions,
I sent our cybernetic host packing this morning on a commercial flight, for appearances sake of course. I have had to retreat from my mediocre room at the South Point to our cloaked Cutter. There is a "BMX" event going on here and apparently it involved human hatchlings wearing garish pajamas. And I thought my hatchlings were unruly. I did unshift in an elevator crowded with the vermin. The results were . . . amusing.
In any case, I'm off to the Million Dollar Challenge and then to the Rothschild's summer place on Ibiza for some peace, quite and decent food.

I'm watching though, always watching.

Lord Draconis Zeneca, VH7ihL
Forward Mavoon of the Great Fleet, Pharmaca Magna of Terra, Terror of the BMX Grand Nationals

Narad: The Waters mentioned they have a child who regressed at 2.5 years old/diagnosed with an ASD at age three...."which we believe was caused by vaccines".

Wakefield also mentioned that he is being blamed for the Wales measles outbreak. "In 1998 I made the suggestion that parents use the single antigen measles vaccine, which was available for free from the NHS", but 6 months later the vaccine was unavailable in the U.K. A group (he is funding?) is doing a vaxed-vs-unvaxed study for home-schooled children.

Starting at 14 minutes into the broadcast, Wakefield gives them an update on the Texas lawsuit...jurisdictional appeal and "I am confident we will win". Then Wakefield blames Brian Deer that further studies were not on the gut-brain connection...but are being done and reported now. At 18 minutes, Wakefield states the Feds don't want to admit that autistic kids are vaccine damaged...but had to admit that Hannah Poling's autism was caused by vaccines...repeats that Hannah's MMR vaccine caused autism/encephalopathy and encephalopathy/autism and her seizures (no mention of mitochondrial disorder).

At 19 minutes Robert Waters states "They (Vaccine Court) kicked the rest of us out". "It's a shame we have to have the proof about the mechanism that caused our child's autism" (no mention of testing their child for mitochondrial disorders).

Feel free to listen to the rest of the 34 minute broadcast and report back (I was only interested in the documentary film being shopped around).

Where is that video?

It's way too hot & humid here and I'm unable to sleep.

Alain

Never mind.

Alain

@Alain:

Umm…Should we start a collective new blog where we write about science success and autism?

http://autismsciencefoundation.wordpress.com/

@ lilady

Andy was interviewed by Robert and Sandy Waters yesterday about his Autism Media Channel’s 20 minute documentary on Alex Spourdalakis’ murder. Wakefield is shopping the documentary around to American TV networks

That is too frustrating.

@ Julian Frost

Thanks, much appreciated.

Alain

Narad: The Waters mentioned they have a child who regressed at 2.5 years old/diagnosed with an ASD at age three….”which we believe was caused by vaccines”.

Sure. The question now is where the real lawsuit is. They're not going to get to dawdle on this one.

Starting at 14 minutes into the broadcast, Wakefield gives them an update on the Texas lawsuit…jurisdictional appeal and “I am confident we will win”.

If he wins, he loses. It's very expensive toast. Wakefield's best-case scenario is the following: He wins the appeal. Then the anti-SLAPP is reached.* It is denied. The denial is appealed. He then perhaps gets to participate in a reenactment of Jennings v. WallBuilder Presentations. Finally, he is subject to discovery. All the while, the meter is running.

Somehow, somebody failed to advise Wakers that a general rule of filing SLAPP suits is to avoid targets with much deeper pockets.

* Recall, as pointed out by Austinite, that the fantasy game is that the existence of the anti-SLAPP waives the jurisdictional challenge but that failure to pursue it (before it was ripe) waives the anti-SLAPP. Good luck with that, Andy.

^ Ah, please substitute appropriate versions of "dismiss" for "deny" above. I'd be conked out, but I'm holding out on the off chance of a call from Japan.

Good luck Narad with that call :)

Alain

trendy- and occasionally bizarre- ice cream- lavender, jasmine, ginger, green tea etc.

The three best ice-creams I ever had were:

1. A three-scoop waffle-cone affair near Nollendorfplatz U-Bahn station in Berlin. One scoop each of carrot, and ginger ice-creams, and plain frozen yoghurt.

Their chilli-chocolate ice-cream is also amazing.

2. A standard two-scoop cone purchased just off the plateia in Agia Napa, and eaten while sat on the edge of the fountain*. My sticky treat was being eyed greedily by a whole gang of fat pigeons!

I don't share my noms with birdies though, so the peanut butter froyo and vanilla froyo combination was mine, and mine alone.

3. A huge scoop of lokum (Turkish delight) flavoured ice-cream, made on-site from local moo-juice, from a tiny grocery/deli/dairy shop in Alnmouth, Northumberland.

Unfortunately, one of the two other people I was with was harbouring a virus. The three of us eagerly tasted the three types of ice-cream we'd bought between us, and within 48 hours I was in viral hell.

It was clearly a warning from the Celestial Labrador herself (Praise her paws) that noms are to be greedily wolfed down, not shared with others!

*I was with my mother. She is known for asking for "Just a little taste" of delicious items, then devouring them, having already gobbled down her own treat!

As she is scared of standing water (and also pigeons, bonus!) I used to find that perching on the edge of a fountain/swimming pool/pond etc. worked as a protective measure against that most dreadful of crimes - treat theft.

@Narad

And I believe I’ve mentioned before that the notion of there being a charge for PACER is outrageous. Aaron Swartz was 100% correct on this one. The best part? It doesn’t tell you the length of the document in advance.

Hey, a lawyer needs to eat. How else are they going to scrabble together enough to make ends meet? [/sarcasm]

Alas, it is official now: http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/jenny-mccarthy-joins-view-host/stor…
I'm not starting to watch daytime TV so just to boycott "the view"

@Mu

Ugh...so disappointed. I wonder how heavily involved in the process Barbara Walters was. I'm disappointed in her if she supported the move.

Congratulations, "The View." Rosie O'Donnell is now the SECOND-most psychotic person you have hired.

@ elburto:

I had lavender the other night, they also had orange blossom and Thai spice. My companion had a chocolate glue-y concoction that had syrup and bits of cake and candy swirled within. But no cayenne or chili, ever.

The fellow who creates these marvels has a year-round shop nearby that his father-in-law runs which serves coffee, tea, cake, pie and ice cream- including wine ice cream ( which they import from another ice cream maker) such as Chardonnay and Port ( Port yet!) which are available in pint containers to go. Think I'll pass.

I just posted on ABC news blog, about The View's poor choice of Jenny as a co-host.

There is another way to look at this:
she has been lately down-playing her antivax position. Perhaps she is trying to break free of that craziness- in public at least- being on the show gives her an opportunity to vent madly on a variety of diverse topics, not merely on one.

Maybe she's there is offer risque comments and tales of sexual largesse.

Still, it IS a case of monetarily rewarding ignorance and pseudo-science AND giving it a platform. But then, it's show business- look at all of the other idiocy with which she's in good company.

The very best frozen treat I have ever had was a dish of soft serve vanilla frozen yogurt that my wife bought for me on my way home from a hellish two-week hospitalization made up of a week of light coma/heavy sedation in SICU and another in the worst hospital room I have ever had the displeasure of seeing. I was only able to eat two spoonfuls, but I wouldn't have traded it at that moment for a promise of the best gourmet ice cream in the known universe.

All the cookies all the time...

The spousal unit makes vanilla ice cream from his grandmother's recipe in a hand-cranked wooden ice cream maker.

None better. Of course with all the egg yolks and cream involved, I'd be much better off just applying it directly to my hips.

I do not find a need for dead animals (besides yeasts, which are on the cusp) in my beer, wine, or spirits.

Probably Scrumpy is not right for you.

Cookie, please.

Probably Scrumpy is not right for you.
Apparently you've been listening to the wilder rumors (or rumours) about Scrumpy.

@Denice Walter:

The fellow who creates these marvels has a year-round shop nearby that his father-in-law runs which serves coffee, tea, cake, pie and ice cream- including wine ice cream ( which they import from another ice cream maker) such as Chardonnay and Port ( Port yet!) which are available in pint containers to go. Think I’ll pass.

Why? Port flavoured ice cream sounds delicious.

DW,

including wine ice cream ( which they import from another ice cream maker) such as Chardonnay and Port ( Port yet!) which are available in pint containers to go. Think I’ll pass.

As long as you pass it to the left.

Hey Orac,

I did compliment you on another thread on this new 'provaxxers -- world domination' schtick. The 'crank, quacks are bad' stuff was getting rather tired and boring.

Orac, giving my '2 cents', I don't share the view that pro-vaxxers ultimate motive is world domination. I don't give them that much respect to think that they could succeed in engaging in such crafty, well concerted plots. Rather, I think the whole autism mess can be seen as one big blunder:

Some time in the past, provaxxers and public health officials really thought that they were doing their noble duties of saving mankind from infectious diseases. The ego boast that was derived from this was also a big bonus.

Then the evidence started creeping in that vaccines were causing autism. Not really concerned at that point they decided to ignore things and engage in a cover-up, perhaps hoping that things would work themselves out on their own. Yet, things only got worse and now to the point that out of sheer desperation they are left playing the 'denial game'.

Yes Orac, real life is rarely as dramatic as it's portrayed in the movies. Studying many human endeavours often reveal incompetence as the prime operating factor, and accompanied by desperate acts to not show them as such.

Evidence vaccins cause autism? What evidence Greg?

O wait, you don't have evidence and just make things up. I thought you were going to leave us for a week, but you are hopeless. A week is SEVEN days of 24 hours, but I get the impression weeks in your universe are far shorter.

Greg:

Then the evidence started creeping in that vaccines were causing autism.

You've stated this almost verbatim on another thread and failed to provide supporting evidence. What really happened is that after Andrew Wakefield submitted his "Case Study", there was widespread consternation and multiple studies were set up to look at the link. They didn't find any, and Brian Deer's investigations revealed why.

Not really concerned at that point they decided to ignore things and engage in a cover-up, perhaps hoping that things would work themselves out on their own.

Riiiiiggggghhhhhht. Independent researchers, departments of health, pharmaceutical companies, health insurers, medical practitioners and national health services from all over the world engaged in a massive and well-organised conspiracy of silence. This despite the fact that health insurers and the South African Department of Health (to name one country) are currently at each others throats.

Yet, things only got worse and now to the point that out of sheer desperation they are left playing the ‘denial game’.

This is Planet Earth, not Planet Htrae. Multiple studies have been done looking at the link between vaccines and autism and found nothing. Andrew Wakefield has been exposed as having multiple conflicts of interest and cooking his data. And finally, the Omnibus Autism Proceedings before Vaccine Court saw the six strongest cases the Petitioners' Steering Committee put forward lose, and lose badly.

@ Krebiozen:

If we are referring to the same thing: I was just singing that stupid song the other day...

@ Julian:

No, I don't like it at all - it tastes musty to me.
but *Chacun a son goute*.

"Then the evidence started creeping in that vaccines were causing autism."
Greg, apparently, the English language is not one of your stronger suits: evidence produced by creeps is not the same thing as evidence creeping in.

One Internetz to Dave.

I may need some advices:

I have a potential career in the making and that career will be launched with the help of Dr. Casanova so I will likely end up in Louisville, KY in 2 years to start a bachelor and progressing to a master and a PhD (i.e. for a while) and more (wherever I'll end up).

Cost of study is not cheap but I can count on 3 years of financing at the tune of 28 500$ per year of grants (QC govt...) for the bachelor and some more during the master and PhD. For the rest, I found out a bank called Sally Mae and I wonder how it work.

Just for kick, I decide to look at real estate price and I find out a condo is 95 000$ in Louisville. You know the price of our condos here in Sherbrooke? 179 000$ for a 2 bedrooms place. Montreal: 239 000$, 2 bedrooms. we're still in a bubble of sky-high prices.

I look again at banks and I find Fannie Mae. I guess they are big players.

Okay, I will apply for a cheap dorm room and eat ramen noodle 24/7 (or close, might need to apply for a meal plan) and collect money to the tune of 20% of the condo's price.

But I want to know more about Sally Mae and Fannie Mae? What are they? how much does Sally Mae loan out for living (not just to cover tuition cost minus my allocation from Quebec....I hope so)?

Will set an alarm on my phone to call them tomorrow.

Alain

Alain,

Sallie Mae, Fanny Mae, and Freddie Mac are organizations sponsored by the US Government, though somewhat independent. Their primary business is to provide various types of loans, often buying loans from various banks and loan companies to increase liquidity and encourage the making of more loans. They are VERY large and are typically willing to lend you more than you should really want.

Louisville is a nice town, though somewhat warmer than Sherbrooke. You should enjoy it.

I.e. They're too big to fail bank? (I think I heard them in the news).

Alain

Alain - they are almost, but not quite, backed by the full faith and credit of the federal government. Which means you can borrow from them safely and expect them to want your money back. Investing in them is somewhat riskier, as it should be.

Fair enough and not too different from banks here.

Alain

Alain - just so you know, it's pronounced "lew-uh-vil". Just so you fit right in.

And as the joke goes, the capital of Kentucky is not pronounced "louie-ville", it's pronounced "Frankfort".

good to know. I'd probably go with the French pronounciation. As for the climate, it drops in the low 10C during the winter, right? Too sad as I won't need my very nice winter coat but that's okay.

Alain

Sometime, you have to really think throughout an issue. The problem I have on my hands is that tuition cost in USA are sky-high compared to here in QC.

A possible solution is to apply for citizenship in US and in particular, KY, in order to lower the cost of studying but I have grants for the next 3 years on a part-time schedule (9 credits/semester) or about a year and a half on a full-time schedule.

That mean that I will have to pay out of pocket my bachelor. I can't contract loan or a credit line because my credit history is not recent enough and the last time I asked for one, it was refused.

Sally Mae require a US based cosigner for international students, I don't have any and I can't ask my PI for a whole host of reasons.

Basically, I would have to rely on my salary to pay for tuition as well living. Better forget it as I need 40 000$ per year and I'm unlikely to make that with my internship.

As for here, Bishop's university charge 665.64$ per semester for 6 credit. Entirely payable out of my pocket at an average saving of 110.94 per month over 12 month to take 12 credits of courses per year (2 semesters).

What I miss is the research experience and the publication portfolio. That's okay; I think I have enough to learn in the classroom.

Alain

Alain, I think that purchasing real estate (which is what you're talking about with Sallie Mae, etc.) is kind of putting the cart before the horse.

^ "which is what you’re talking about with Sallie Mae Fannie and Freddie"

Alain, I think that purchasing real estate (which is what you’re talking about with Sallie Mae, etc.) is kind of putting the cart before the horse.

Yes indeed but don't worry. I'm not gonna buy a place to live for the foreseeable future.

What I plan instead is to study the hippocampus of autistic subjects.

This lab study brains & minicolumns of autistics and I can do my master there.

This lab study the hippocampus of mices. I can do my PhD there on mices, human brains (from brain banks) and fMRI but I might need a co-director (for the fMRI stuff).

As for the post-doc, I can dream and do it on the Blue Brain but that's too far in the futur.

But before I can get all that in gear, I have to finish my bachelor. As my mentor say, baby steps one day at a time.

Alain

p.s. I often forget to live according to that simple rule: one day at a time.

Sometime, I get to wonder if I don't have enough GABA cells in the brain (specifically, the hippocampus).

Anyway, there's a comment in moderation.

Alain

Sometime, I get to wonder if I don’t have enough GABA cells in the brain (specifically, the hippocampus).

Don't. I will note that, as I've maybe said already, that I'd taken a GABAergic interest a few months ago. Of mild interest was that the GABA-B agonist baclofen is known for dredging vivid, disturbing dreams from the seahorse.

Considering how much I daydream, I'd be curious of the effect of baclofen on my brain but then, it might wake up my PTSD.

Alain

I think I'll dissect my moderated post one by one:

First, I could do a Master in Dr. Casanova's lab studying the hippocampus in autistic brains (pubmed has 3 publications on the subject).

Alain

Then, for the PhD, I could do it in Quebec city in Dr. Lisa Topolnik's lab. They study the hippocampus in mices' brains but I would study autistic brain in the mice and the human (the latest 2 on autistic brain tissues as well as fMRI on autistic subjects). I'd probably need a co-director.

Alain

For the post-doc, I can dream and do it on the Blue Brain lab when it simulate the human brain (currently, it simulate the mouse brain).

Alain

Considering how much I daydream, I’d be curious of the effect of baclofen on my brain but then, it might wake up my PTSD.

I strongly suspect the effect would be fruitless CNS depression. I'd have to go back and look at the stuff, but offhand, I wonder whether this reported side effect has to do with a waning of the agonist effect over the course of the night.

^ The "side effect" being the unpleasant dreams.

Seems to be evidence of slightly prolonging REM sleep in a very small, specific sample. It's not clear to me how these 15 extra minutes were distributed.

I strongly suspect the effect would be fruitless CNS depression

Considering the number of meds I uses to lift mood, I'd better not take it (baclofen) but I have to wonder at the uses case of this medication?

Alain

Altho' I haven't experimented with Lariam, I've heard interesting stories from a dabbler...
melatonin was worthless...

I did a pubmed search for both the term "Valproic Acid AND baclofen" and found a free access review here:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6137869

who speak of the interaction of GABA and dopamine in the schizophrenic brain and which the first few pages are interesting.

Alain

I think I found my meta-analysis topic:

pubmed: (("Hippocampus"[Mesh]) AND "Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy"[Mesh]) AND "Humans"[Mesh]

Alain