Posts by Peter Ashby
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In addition, having pretty much scraped the bottom of the barrel wrt terrestrial sources of mind altering chemicals. Rumour has it that some of those sea slugs have some pretty funky chemistry going on.
I used to use Tetrodotoxin in research, poisoning with it is not a nice way to die. You can keep someone, or something, poisoned with it alive with CPR until their bodies clear the toxin, they can't breathe for themselves since all their muscles are paralysed. TTX does not cross the blood/brain barrier so the victim is aware all the time . . .
Look on the bright side folks, NZ has a long, long way to go to catch up with all the toxic beasties that ring the coasts of Australia. Stonefish anyone? It shouldn't be fatal to healthy adults but people have been known to blow their own heads off to stop the pain.
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So if one of the researchers on a particular community, who is often quoted, is on record as publicly saying that members of that community should "get therapy - or kill themselves", you wouldn't worry about that either?
Depends on how good and honest a researcher they are. A good scientist follows the data, so that person may get their mind changed both by engaging with the community and studying it. The problems arise when people let their biases blind them and thus they produce skewed data, kind of like Margaret Mead in Samoa.
There was for eg a case in the US where a creationist PhD sued when fired from his postdoc research job. He claimed he had been fired for being a creationist, he was in fact fired for refusing to engage in the research he was hired to do because it directly contradicted his beliefs. Then there is the guy who is a YEC and a geologist who participates in papers that talk about rock being Xmillion years ago. He just does a sort of mental dissonance. He also functions as a group conscience since he won't uncritically accept stuff without the evidence. Just two ways of doing science with biases, one bad, one good.
You just have to suck it and see, just how much power would this person have to set up therapies etc or force them anyway? Desire and ability are often two different things and this may be an empty threat.
BTW I have been forced to revise my scientific Worldview by the data several times, paradigm shifts are very mentally stimulating I find.
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The studies on homosexuality that found that in some wider families with homosexual men the female members have more offspring than average and over time those families have just as many offspring as other families. The idea being that male homosexuality in those cases is a consequence of females who are more attracted to males than other females. Their higher fecundity means the lower (though non zero) contribution of the homosexual men is cancelled out making them at worst neutral to natural selection. So on that reading male homosexuality is evolved and perfectly 'natural'. Like men having both nipples and breast tissue, it being something that is difficult to get rid of in just one sex. Only nipples on men is so normal only us scientists think it necessary that it needs an explanation.
Of course other studies show there are other ways to be born gay, like having a lot of older brothers (whether or not you are raised with them) as well as good old genetics.
We always have to careful of assuming that the way we categorise the world to make sense of it is a completely accurate reflection of the joints nature actually has. So if we have learned there is more than one way to be born gay, there are likely to be many 'reasons' or 'causes' why some people enjoy BDSM. None of which as I've said means informed consenting adults cannot do what they want in private.
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Endorphins huh? I can relate to that. Only for me it is self abuse (as some see it) that is necessary since I get my hit from distance running. I have been on long runs where I'm aware on one level that I have say a blister on my arch but it doesn't affect me. Then when I get home and take shoes and socks off there is this huge raw wound which, after I've come down is like really, really sore. It's also how I can go for a run with a sore knee in full expectation that it will 'warm up'. So don't diss the power of my drug of choice Mr Policeman or Dr Psychologist, and the prime reason I do it is because I enjoy it. I need to run for about 40min then I get a 'third wind' when it all becomes much easier, groovy man.
In my sober time however the scientist in me is unsatisfied by handwaving explanations with no statistical power behind them. For eg Emma without the stats (yes I know they are hard to collect) you simply cannot say that there are no discernable trends either way, our psychological tendencies to note some things more than others is why we have stats. Also science and the uses to which it can be put are two different things. Staying with (male) homosexuality since there is good science there the fact that most people seem to be born gay is a neutral fact. You can for eg be born deaf but be taught to speak and lipread. So while some facts can be useful in terms of for eg reassuring parents that it was not upbringing that was the cause, what if anything should or could be done is a separate question for wider society to decide just like we decided not to pursue human germline manipulation in the way we do to animals.
What I'm saying is relax about the research. I know for eg that I am the 'wrong' body type to be a good distance runner, my legs are too well muscled. It explains how the real scrawny guys used to beat me as a teenager. It does not diminish my enjoyment of what I do one iota, just as my awful biomechanics don't so long as I wear orthotics. That you enjoy it and it involves informed consenting adults in private should be more than enough. It is then in the court of those objecting to demonstrate actual harm or inability to consent or some such. Getting tied up in details beyond those facts is utterly unnecessary.
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@Danielle
Mull of Kintyre is only tolerable because of the bagpipes. I like the bagpipes.
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@Mark Taslov
Feel the love
Your completely naive assumption that all members of families are both known to each other and in full possession of aroha for each other and the capacity to feel and express it. I suppose the examples of dysfunctional families that have been presented to you on this thread just slid teflon like from your mind?
When your non existent god pitches up and makes the world a perfect place we can make that assumption. Until then can we please have humane, unfortunately necessary, measures in place to deal with reality as we have it if that is alright with you?
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Or the tender looking deer I startled at the side of the road on my long run this morning? It bounded away into a tall field of barley, but then stuck it's head up to see if I was following. If I was armed that shot was easy.
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@Giovanni
I thought pesto was the name for the process originally not the product? so you can make pesto out of anything you want in effect. I make one out of very finely chopped (I chop very finely):
olives (green and/or black), a cheese (feta often), spring onions or chives, crushed garlic and whatever fresh herbs I feel like held together with a smidgeon of tomato paste (sun dried is good, ordinary is fine too) and some olive oil. Season to taste.I then take however many whole chicken legs as there are persons to feed and free the skin. Under the skin I place teaspoonfulls of the pesto before smearing it over the meat through the skin. Roast for 50min at 180C (ours is a fan oven). The skin goes crispy and the juices that come out can be used straight or as the basis of a lightly thickened sauce with some wine.
I also do that with Italian basil and parmesan (The Proper Stuff) pesto from the supermarket. They have other varieties of pesto too. But I don't call that cooking, that is just fast food.
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I breakfast a lot on low gluten muesli I make myself (only about 20% rolled oats), everything except the dried fruit (dates, sultanas, apricots) is toasted in the oven prior to being all mixed up. In the winter I heat some milk in the microwave and just pour it over and let sit for a minute. Delicious, especially with sliced banana (other fresh fruit doesn't go so well with hot milk, at the moment its cold milk with Scottish raspberries).
I also agree that Brickley has lost the plot, anyone who bleats about those nasty *chemicals* has lost interest in the plot by definition. However back in the days when we were married with children students we did actually make tofu, twice, from dried soybeans. You end up with a lot of waste and it takes all weekend. It is perfectly possible though.
As for preservatives in bottled sauces, many of them these days are merely heat sterilised and sealed well, like my parents used to make. Over here in the UK we have Reggae Reggae sauces and they are done like that. Make great jerk chicken and his Love Apple tomato sauce is to die for. Hits the shelf life is the only thing, but it is possible to avoid preservatives in pre prepared sauces. Check the lids though, we had one jar with a dinged lid and after 2weeks in the cupboard unopened the little button on the top popped up indicating it was fermenting, went in the bin unopened.
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What Uni did Paula go to? Our kids went to the most excellent one at Otago run by the Students Association from '87. What's the betting there was one, but is was not deemed 'suitable' by La Bennett who went freelance?