The situation in the United State is, indeed, bleak for liberals. The biggest problem being that we don't have a "unified front" like the conservatives appear to. So, what does this mean for me? The voting process in the United States is a farce. We have a two party system that makes it impossible for independents or third parties to actually get elected. And in the end, that means that when you are in the voting booth, you MUST be a hypocrite. It's pretty much required. I have always felt that I should vote with my conscience. But this no longer applies since no one else appears to do this. There are a set of values that I hold dear to me, but the only candidates who support them have little chance of getting elected, so I have to settle for someone who might. It's kind of like being in a situation where you have three possible mates. One is bad for you, but you like him/her. One if good for you, but you don't feel like she/he's the right one. And one is non-descript. You DO have a choice because no one else is involved in this decision. But with elections, you add the input of millions of other people (who don't really count in the end unless you believe the lies about your representatives actually representing you) and the situation gets hairy.

So in November of 2004 I am going to walk into the polls and pull the lever for the liberal candidate that has the most chance of winning. Even if I can't stand that fuck. (In the end they're all fucks of varying degrees in every party) I'm going to be a hypocrite and shelve my morals and values and vote for the most likely winner. As it is, none of the current candidates are good enough for my tastes. Kucinich is about the closest to what I believe, but he only pays lip service to what he's campaigning for. I think if he were elected and got in the thick of it, he'd probably be overwhelmed. (We need more type A liberals with a sense of order and organization, like me, to run as candidates. None of this softie crap, stop and smell the roses crap.)

Oh well... just venting about how much I hate our election process. Don't even get me started on the last election or electronic voting and Diebold...

NOTE: To those more politically correct than I, I use the term "babes" in this JE strictly for illustrative purposes. I'll also admit that this JE can be considered sexist, but I will state that I am not sexist and my wife would concur.

Yes, it's obvious. We all know it. We men do EVERYTHING that we do in life for sex. It doesn't matter if you're a "pencil necked geek" a "stud" or a "ponce". It's all about sex. Let me explain.

Exhibit A

First I want to go back about 15-20 years in my own experience. In 1985, I was in high school. I didn't yet have a girlfriend, but the time had come. As it was at that time, my tastes were already a little off kilter compared to other guys. I hated Def Leppard and loved Duran Duran. I wanted nothing to do with Ratt or Dio, but thought Tears for Fears and Japan were awesome bands. I was a new wave/punk kid (I was a ggek too, but that didn't mean the same thing it means today). But why? The answer is again, sex. During my jr. high years I carefully studied the types of girls/women that I found attractive and realized that they tended to be new wave/punks. They liked guys who were clean cut and stylish. This observation led me to the assumption that if I looked and acted like those guys, they would like me. And if they liked me then sex might happen. :) I was right. :))) Between the ages of 12 and 16 I spent a lot of time practicing my look and making sure I had it just right. I made horrible mistakes along the way, but I learned and then eventually, I hit the jackpot. Yes, I got some sex at 16. I was riding high (no pun intended). Keep in mind I was also a decent kid and didn't just "wham bam thank you mam" her. I dated her for about two and a half years until we went off to college.

Along with the interest in the new wave/punk look, I also had a background in music playing piano. I was pretty good at it too. So as I hit my teens I put two and two together and realized that if I started using my musical abilities to bolster my image, my chances of getting someone to have sex with would increase. So, after some considerable effort in saving money and convincing my folks that it would be worth it, I got a synthesizer. I wasn't a computer geek at all, but I eventually got an Atari ST for composing music. So how is it that I'm an IT guy these days? The answer again?! Sex.

Back in the 80s and even early 90s, all the babes hung out around musicians. They had the lion's share of the "babes". (I'm talking real life babes, not the ones on MTV or Much Music or Xtina Uglierra's videos) The metal, punk and new wave bands all had their share. This is what attracted me to music. Again, it was all about sex. As the styles changed from stylishly debonair in the 80s to stylishly slobby in the 90s, I followed along all the while using my musical abilities to woo quite a few female acquaintances. (Mind you I didn't have sex with all of them since I WAS interested in a relationship.) A few of those acquaintances became long term relationships with one of them eventually becoming my wife.

But then a funny thing happened. The "babe" vortex came along in the 90s and the pool around musicians dried up. I noticed it while I was in my last year of college. Women didn't seem to be paying much attention to us musicians. They seemed to be more interested in a new kind of man and it became evident that the "babes" were starting to pay more attention to the former geeks. Mostly because of the money and power the mainstream geeks (Bill Gates being the most obvious) were beginning to control. The geeks were finding different ways to woo the "babes" away from the musicians and over to them. Another example I would point out is John Romero of iD software. And during the dotcom boom, a lot of these "babes" were all over the guys who ran the local ISPs and hosting companies. I saw a friend of a friend who started a local ISP in my city go from being a science geek with OK looks to a complete egoistic prick with a hot babe girlfriend (later to be wife). It can happen to the best of us. Then the booth babe phenomena extended itself to the computer geeks. By that time geeks had firmly won the battle for the "babe". But my main point is that the attention moved away from the "Rock Star" (to use the term generically) and onto the "Tech God".

So how does this tie in with sex? Well, getting back to my personal experience... When I graduated from college (a little late) in 1994, I was a Communications major with the emphasis on Music Production. I was no longer a musician, but was looking to become a producer. Mostly because the writing was on the wall and musicians don't really make a lot of money. My 80s image was no longer getting the "babes" and I needed to get a job. After a few crappy stints, I happened to be in the right place at the right time. A job as a network admin was offered to me by a small organization with little money to spend but a lot of really nice equipment to learn on. During my years as a musician I'd made the move from Atari ST, to Macintosh and learned a bit about Unix in college as well. When I graduated, I moved to the Windows platform and began experimenting with Linux. But the job I got with that organization was a HUGE boost. From there my "geek" side flourished and today I work with all sorts of systems and am a stolid Linux/*nix user. But again, why? Sex. Having this jobs keeps me and my wife happy. Keeping her happy ensures that I have sex on a regular basis. My wife loves me for many other reasons than my employment status of course, but the relationship had to build from some base. That base was that I am responsible and reliable. That was all I needed to keep her happy. And I am happy for it all because of sex. :)

Three men are sitting together at work the day after a particularly drunken night.

The first guy says, "Whoooo boy! Last night was a doozy. After you guys dropped me off I was feeling a little frisky and the wife wasn't. So I went down to a strip club and met up with a dancer that I brought home. I don't know WHAT I was thinking! Anyway, the dancer and I started making out and then the light comes on. Whoops, it's the wife. :0 Well, needless to say she had a fit and we might be splitting up. I don't know though, maybe if I make it up to her it'll work out."

The second guy says, "That's nothing. You guys will probably work it out, but I think I'm in deeper shit. I was also feeling a little ready for some action and I new Jenna wouldn't be up for anything because it was so late. So I called this escort service and had them send a girl over. Believe me, we went WAYYY farther than just making out. I got so lost in the moment, it took me a while to realize that Jenna was standing on the stairs looking down at me pumping this call girl on the couch. I'm sure you can guess she's asking for a divorce. Now THAT'S deep shit."

The third guy who seemed to be the most depressed says, "I think I've topped both of you guys. My wife caught me blowing chunks in the bathroom."

The other guys, "Huh? You think that's worse??! WTF!?"

To which he replies, "Oh you bet it is... Chunks is my dog."

(A little stale I know, but still funny to me.)

First, I want to say how incredibly stupid it is that people can now exclude foes ad friend's foes from journal entry repsonses. That's just ridiculous. It takes away from any incendiary fun that could be had in the journals.

Second, I want to state that I have recently been thrust into a great migration project that will take the better part of this next year. as part of that migration I am learning HP-UX. Originally, I was a little worried since I had no knowledge of the environment at all. But now that I've had a few weeks to play with it, I have to say that it beats the pants off of Sun Solaris in every way. I can't tell you how much hatred I have towards Sun right now. So many late nights wasted trying to make a Sun box running iPlanet/SunOne Messaging server actually work without any hiccups. To be fair, the Sun box does work NOW (after two years of fine tuning and resolving tons of issues that support had no clue about), but finding help is incredibly difficult and there really isn't any kind of community built around free exchange of info for Solaris. Either way, I have to say HP-UX does a better job of packaging Unix in an easy to swallow form.

Now, on to the poll!

Speaking as an IT guy/gal, I take my lunch to work in:

A.) A recyclable blue plastic grocery bag
B.) A recyclable brown paper bag
C.) A synthetic zippered lunch bag
D.) A metal lunch box
E.) A cooler with ice
F.) My laptop bag
G.) I don't need no steenking lunch!
H.) Food? You actually eat food?
I.) Dietary supplement #725 is adequate for my nutritional needs
J.) Cowboy Neal stole my lunch and ate it
K.) Where I come from, we don't get a lunch break pilgrim.
L.) In Soviet Russia, lunch bag carries YOU!

Due to the aforementioned migration, my postings will probably be fewer in the next year, but I will surface from time to time for all two of you that wait with baited breath. (Or is that battered breath?)

Just for the record, I would pick selection A for my lunch transportation vehicle.

It happened. I knew it would eventually. The love afair had to come to an end. My Supermatch 20" CRT died on me this past Sunday. I turned it on, it went fuzzy and then blanked out. It came back a few times, but was always fuzzy. I'm sure it's dead. Not bad considering that It's from 1995 and I've owned it these past five years. But, the time has come to replace this wonderful machine. For the time being I'm stuck with a Viewsonic 17" monitor that can't support higher than 1024x768. And so I come to you my friends (and hopefully some freaks and foes as well) and ask for your opinion on monitors. What brands and types of experiences have you had?

I am looking for something in the 19-21" range that has accurate color for digital photo editing and video editing. I don't do professional print, so I'm not too worried about going to paper. But I want something that is going to allow me to accurately color correct my photos. I tend to prefer 1600x1280, but wouldn't mind going higher since my video card supports that. I also have been interested in trying to make sure that the next monitor is an LCD to economize on space, but I'm not sure if there are any LCD displays that are up to the task of accurate color.

So lay it on me folks. What do you have? What do you like about it? Dislike? Price range?

Thanks! :)

Update: DOH! I forgot to enable comments. Thanks GVT.

First, I'm going to say that it's silly to determine your preference for romantic attraction on something as simple as hair color. But we all do similar things to some extent and it seems to be inescapable.

With that out of the way, let me say that I've always prefered women with dark hair instead of blonde. I've tried to figure out why over the years and from what I can tell, it seems that the brunettes have always been nicer to me than the blondes. However, I have to wonder if this doesn't have something to do with the reverse being true: that blonde women tend to like only blonde or fair guys. So for any females on /. that may read this JE (all two of you) what do you think? Do you prefer light or dark hair color and how soe that relate to your own hair color?

To the guys who read my journal. What have your experiences been? Do you like women with light or dark hair color and how does it relate to your own?

My wife (a brunette) theorizes that the reason a lot of the blondes haven't gone for me is that I am too different from what they are comfortable with. I have dark hair, tan skin (Peruvian background), brown eyes and am fairly tall. I tend to wear a lot of black and have at times dabbled with a "gothy" look. So, the cookie cutter, all American, home-a-rama, sorority girl types probably felt a little uncomfortable with me. Oh... and I'm also a "city boy", so I don't have that "farm boy" demeanor. (Keep in mind this is her take on it, not mine, lest I come off as pretentious)

Just so I don't totally piss off the blondes, I will also say that I've had positive expriences with blondes in the work arena. All the women who I work with are blonde and once they got to know me, they've expressed respect for me. My best friend is blonde. (We are quite often mistaken for a gay couple because we're both tall, thin and have short hair. I'm dark, he's blonde and we're pretty good looking.)

Finally, *no* I don't REALLY judge people by their looks or their hair color. I make my impressions based on a long term interaction with an individual. One of the nicest things about the internet is that it removes the image element. When we all interact in a JE, we're really interacting with each others minds. For me, that is where the real interest in a person lies: how mentally interesting and similar is the person on the other end of the wire.

I've been a busy guy lately. Having to learn HP-UX 11i and Oracle 9i in a mad dash for a migration at the end of the year. So... not too much time to post on /. as of late. Anyway, my wife found this today. While I don't condone praying for someone's death, I did find the idea that there are people out there who hate Bill O'Reilly more than me entertaining. Enjoy. :)

At times I like to celebrate inane phrases that I've heard on Slashdot and elsewhere. They have no real meaning and yet contextually, they mean a lot. Here they are in no particular order:

1. EAT MY FUCK BITCHEZZZZ!
2. All your base are belong to us
3. You FAIL IT!!!
4. NOT!
5. I am the great Cornholio! Are you threatening me?
6. Why you motherfucker cocksucker! You'd fuck your own mother for a nickle you son of a bitch! (Thanks to Red Deutch, the Bum Bar Bastards and the Tube Bar)

Does it get any better than this?

Note: As of 4:16PM, My karma is "Excellent" and I've been able to post with a Karma bonus since about May. (Seems like it either takes about six months of being a Slashdot logged in user, or maybe a certain number of posts to get the Karma bonus) Today I responded to an AC who was trolling with regard to Slashdot's own Michael. The AC wondered whether or not they would be modded down even though they said nothing really offensive other than calling attention to the topic. A little while later, the post was definitely modded down. So I posted in response with my logged in account to see what would happen. I'm not certain, but I suppose I might get mod bombed. (It's happened before) Anyway, I get a big kick out of playing with Slashdot in such unconstructive ways since there is little else to do here at times. Especially when news is slow.

UPDATE: As of 4:18PM, (just after I finished making the JE) the post was already modded down to -1 Offtopic. I am starting to wonder if Slashdot has a system in place that flags certain comments (regarding the whole Michael/Seth issue) and all responses to be automatically checked and set to a downward moderation? Interesting...

The wife and I were helping our in-laws move on Saturday. On the way, I nearly ran out of gas because I'd overestimated how far I could go on a quarter tank without taking into account AC usage and stop/start traffic. So we had a fun ride in a rural area looking for a gas station with the fuel light permanently on. We hit all kinds of traffic that kept us tied up for a good 30-45 minutes total. All the while the gas was burning away. Just before we found a station, we passed a traffic jam in the oncoming lane and thought, "Great... we'll be stuck for an hour trying to go back to our destination. (We had to pass it to find gas) Finally we found the station about a half mile beyond the traffic jam and fueled up. On returning, it turned out the the accident was cleaned up and the traffic was flowing reasonably again. However, as we approached the intersection, I passed a police car that was just about to pull out into traffic. He got behind us and followed us up to the light. I wasn't really concerned because I hadn't done anything wrong. But then he pulled up next to us and flashed his lights at us. The only thing I could think was that I had either broken some rule I was unware of or my tailight was out. He pulled up to the passenger side and rolled his window down. My wife did the same. Then he said something that surprised me. "I just wanted to say that I like your car. It's the first one I've seen with a reference to Linux on it." Then he gave me a thumbs up and took off. I thought that was damn cool. :) For those interested, my reference to linux is just the word 'linux' on the back of my car.

Update for 6/22/2003 below

I am making this entry in the hope that someone else may benefit from this. The entry was sparked by reading a comment in today's story on ADHD. Be warned, there is information contained within that is of a personal nature. While I and my wife have no problem sharing it, some people may find it offensive. If you think this might be you, don't read it.

My wife and I recently conquered a series of problems that had been plaguing us for a while. Both of us were manifesting symptoms of the various ills that are common to people in their 20s and 30s today. Initially, it looked like we would get various health problems at different, unrelated times. After some research and changes in our lifestyle (mostly diet), we are doing better than ever before.

For the past six or seven years, I'd been having steadily increasing (and seemingly unrelated) health problems. I've had a yearly sinus infection since I was a child, but in the past decade, they've gotten progressively worse. Last year was the absolute worst. I actually had two sinus infections almost back to back and had to deal with two solid courses of antibiotics (about 12-14 days each). The first one hit me in March and the second one in June. For the second one, I was prescribed Levaquin (a broad spectrum antibiotic) for 14 days. Oddly enough, I had noticed in previous years that while Levaquin was really good at curing my sinus infections, it also had the side effect of horrible depression. This made no sense at all since antibiotics do not interact with the neural system at all. I couldn't figure it out, but I was experiencing it last year and hated every minute of it. It took about a month for the depression to clear up. In addition, my Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disorder (GERD) starting becoming more intense over the past five years or so. I didn't think there was any kind of connection, so I didn't research those symptoms together. Additionally, most doctors also don't draw the connection. However, when I had a really bad GERD flare up in the middle of one night soon after my March sinus infection, I decided I had to do something.

The next week, I went to the doctor and told him what had happened. He scheduled me for a special X-Ray to look at my esophagus. I was hoping there would be some kind of physical explanation. However, the X-Rays came back normal. Then he prescribed Nexium for me. I almost decided to take it until I found out that my insurance company wouldn't cover it and I would have to go with a less reliable generic alternative. I got the prescription, but I felt wrong about it. Here I was just barely out of my 20s and I needed to get a pill for something I really shouldn't be getting until my 40s. What's wrong with this picture? I also thought about how much the pharmaceutical industry is pushing Nexium, "the Purple pill", etc... It's got to be VERY profitable for them.

WARNING: Personal info coming up here: Soon after completing the March course of antibiotics, I got another new problem on top of the GERD flare up. I had a terrible itching rash in my genital region. Since my wife and I are currently monogamous, I was pretty confident that it wasn't anything like herpes or gonorrheah. What I wound up with was a terrible rash that started as itching, but became broken painful skin around the corona. About the same time, my wife had a yeast infection. I found some info online about the rare but possible occurence of a man getting a yeast infection. This turned out to be the case, and fellas I have to tell you IT SUCKS. I couldn't do a damn thing for over a month until it healed. However, this was not to be the last one that I would get. Being informed of what it was, I was advised to use over the counter cream for about a week. This resolved the problem after a long period of time though.

Due to both problems I had a very big decision to make. Most of the documentation I'd read about the generic version of the GERD medications I was going to take, indicated that once I started taking it, I couldn't really ever stop. Not to mention the inconvenience of having to take this at specific times before or after eating. I wasn't ready to commit just yet. And knowing that I had just had the rare experience of a male yeast infection, I was starting to draw connections now. I decided to look up alternative natural remedies. This lead me to some interesting articles on the net about how broad spectrum antibiotics have the unfortunate side effect of killing off your "friendly flora" in your digestive tract. Two of the side effets I found, were IBS/GERD and yeast infections. Most of the natural rememdies consisted of taking supplements to restore your flora back to normal health so that they would control the natural levels of the yeast, Candida Albicans, in the GI tract. I figured I'd give it a try since I had nothing to lose. I was amazed that it worked. With regard to the GERD probelm, it wasn't perfect, but there was an improvement. For the male yeast infection, it seemed to do the trick even though I had to wait for nearly a month to see results.

Before starting to take the supplements, I was not able to eat anything made with tomatoes because of the GERD issue. Sadly this cut out a lot of what I love to eat. However, after about a month on this supplement, I was able to introduce some of those foods back into my diet. I was ecstatic. I kept taking the supplements. I took them consistently from about April 2002 to the end of January 2003. Since the brand of supplement I was taking needed to be refrigerated, I couldn't take them for the month of February as I was travelling in Australia for the month. During that month, my symptoms slowly returned. I got right back on the supplements again when I was back in the states. After another month, I was back to normal again. Not perfect, but definitely better.

In March, my wife informed me that she was having some pretty bad depression. This is very unusual for her. She couldn't put her finger on the problem at all. There was nothing happening to make her feel depressed and yet she felt like she'd lost a relative or been through a breakup. I started thinking about some of the symptoms that came back for me in Australia (GERD, a little depression, athlete's foot, and a small recurrence of the male yeast infection, etc.). I also thought about the fact that my wife had a yeast infection too. Now, I was really starting to make connections with the symptoms. I did a little googling for "yeast infections", depression and came up with quite a few useul links regarding systemic yeast infections. This is the path my wife and I followed.

That puts us at about the beginning of May. As much as we weren't relishing the idea, we had to admit that every symptom that most sites on the net and most books about systemic yeast infections described, we were experiencing. Many of these symptoms had been increasing in severity over the past decade that we've been together:

-GERD/IBS
-Male and Female Genital Yeast Infections
-Inexplicable and Severe Depression
-Strong foot and underarm odor
-Acne
-Bloating (bellies out of proportion with the rest of the body)
-Cravings for sweets (this was odd for me as I've always been a "salt" man)
-Feeling hungry within an hour of eating a meal
-Steady weight gain (I was at 180. Nearly ten pounds beyond my high school weight)
-Difficulty waking up in the morning
-Food reactions to fruits and vegetables
-Increasingly worse sinus infections

After a good amount of research online and in books, we found that it was possible to bring the yeast infection under control. As mush as it was going to be a pain in the ass to do, we decided to give it a try. Especially when we realized, in retrospect, that we have both had long and solid histories of antibiotic usage. In general, I've been on antibiotics at least once or twice a year since I was in my mid teens. The same with my wife. The chances are pretty good that we had decimated our intestinal flora. The basics to the INITIAL diet (although they vary from one individual to another) are:

-Semi low carb (avoid simple carbs and stick with more complex carbs). This means avoiding all white sugar, honey, molasses, maple syrup, brown sugar, corn syrup, and fructose. It also means not using things like white flour, white rice and avoiding things with yeast in them. Also keep fruit and fruit juice intake pretty low for the first couple of weeks.
-Low fat/protein rich. This is tricky because a lot of sources of protein are also sources of fat. Typically nuts are a good example. However, the good news is that you don't need to eat as much of the proteins as complex carbs.

The other element is garlic. Garlic contains Allicin which is a natural antifungal. This is lethal to Candida Albicans. I currently eat one regular clove per day. You can also take supplements if you don't want to deal with the odor. However, I've found that just a few quick bites of the clove with little contact to the flesh in the mouth and a quick gulp with water help minimize the odor. This is followed up by chewing on a few leavs of fresh parsley which conteracts the garlic odor. I usually eat the clove just before dinner. The "supplement" I spoke of earlier is a "Probiotic". I'm sure many of you have heard of Acidophilus. It's usually in better quality yogurt. However, yogurt doesn't contain everything you need to encourage a healthy flora colony in your GI tract. The best supplement we've found is from a company called Source Naturals. The probiotic is in capsule form and is sold as "Super Carrot Acidophilus". This, combined with the new diet, garlic and a good candida cleanser like Rainbow Light Candida Cleanse have worked wonders for us. Just within a month, the bloating is gone. Both of us are able to fit into old clothes again. We've both lost about seven pounds with no extra physical activity. My sinus infection this year was overcome without any antibiotics and only lasted four days. My GERD symptoms are completely gone. My wife's yeast infections have stopped. Both of us are a lot more alert and able to wake up early with little effort (and no caffeine).

WARNING: More personal body stuff: When I was about thirteen, I had a typical sinus infection and was prescribed a course of antibiotics. Upon completion, I noticed some unusal growths in the hair in my underarm. No matter how much I scrubbed or what soap I used, they wouldn't go away. I asked my doctor what they were and he had no clue nor did he make any effort to find out. I've had these growths since then. Almost, 20 years. I figured it was some kind of genetic quirk. However, within a week and a half of being on this diet, taking garlic and candida cleanser, the growths went away. I was amazed. For all these years, I've had some kind of infection that no one was able to determine, and this change in lifestyle has gotten rid of it. I have to say that was the most definitive proof that this was working for me.

My wife is very happy that she's fitting into old clothes again. She's approaching her college weight and she's nearly 40. Again, this is most definite proof that the diet works in a variety of ways.

One final note. I would recommend looking at the book "The Yeast Connection". It was published in the 1980s, so it's a little out of date, but most of the info is good. The key points about the anti-candida diet are that within the first few days you will feel horrible. It's called "die off". As the candida dies, they produce toxins that mke you feel like you are having a bad hangover. Tough it out though... it's worth it. Also, keep in mind that when it comes to complex carbs, whole wheat flour, brown rice and wild rice are the best sources. Fruits should be eaten sparingly. For the first week or two, avoid fermented foods, cheeses and mushrooms.

It's not easy making this kind of change, but it really has been worth it for us. Hopefully it might be for you too. I will probablytry to update this if any questions arise, but I may not...

ADDITIONAL INFO 6/22/2003:

The product mentioned above (Rainbow Light's Candid Cleanse) has an interesting combination of herbal extracts with interesting properties. I looked at the label and then found some herbal remedy info on a Blue Cross/Blue Shield site. (Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on "Herb Index" in the "Medical Library" section.

Here is a list of ingredients in Candida Cleanse.

The combination seems to provide moultiple benefits for an anti-candida diet. Appetite suppression and metabolism enhancement being the key features combined with the allicin content which is meant to kill the yeast.

A side note on Allicin (a chemical in garlic as mentioned earlier) is that it is not actually contained in garlic initially. According to the info on garlic from the Blue Cross/Blue Shield site, garlic contains allin and allinase. When the garlic is cut, crushed or bruised, the two combine to form allicin. This would lead me to believe that Allicin is better supplied by fresh garlic. I have no real scientific reason for thinking this, it's just a "hunch".

I also wanted to note something else that was mentioned baout garlic on the Blue Cross/Blue Shield site. Apparently, garlic is only antiseptic (antifungal) when it comes into direct contact with bacteria of fungus. Unlike antibiotics, it does not spread through the body. However, my personal experience may contradict this. Specifically the underarm story above. While it may be true that allicin doesn't spread through the body like a broad spectrum antibiotic. I think it's possible for it's effects to spread. In my case, I believe that the source of my candida overgrowth was in the GI tract but had manifestations throughout my body. Once the SOURCE of the overgrowth was brought under control, I believe the extremeties of the infection no longer had a support system in place. This may be what killed off the underarm growths and a toe nail infection I had as well.

While antibiotics may be responsible for the yeast overgrowth in my body, I would still say that in more severe cases of infection (chronic sinusitus, chronic UTI, etc...) that they are still helpful. However, I would suggest (as I have read elsewhere) that if you need to take antibiotics, you should supplement your body with probiotics and allicin. According to everything I've read, it's essential to take the probiotics and the antibiotics as far apart as possible, lest the probiotics counter the antibiotics or vice-versa. For example, if you are taking your antibiotics in 12 hour cycles, then you should take your probiotic supplement six hours after the the antibiotics to put a six hour gap in either direction between your doses. It's also a good idea once you are done with the antibiotics to rebuild your GI flora as soon as possible. I would still stand by my recommendation above. (Source Naturals Super Carrot Acidophilus) While yogurt with live cultures can be helpful, I have yet to find yogurt that contains as many strains of probiotic as the Source Naturals supplement.

After reading the article on Microsoft's "Athens" PC today, I came to a conclusion: there is a very definite distinction between "geek" vs. "user" in a much bigger and less obvious way than most people would think. (I only use these terms because there really isn't anything better. I really don't like the term "geek".)

A while back I was asked by a friend about the difference between the way that "techies" see technology and the way "librarians" see technology. She was going to do a presentation on this for a conference and needed to understand some of the differences. This led us through a few conversational threads, one of which touched on PDAs. My friend asked me why someone so "tech heavy" as myself doesn't have a PDA. I thought about it for a few days. I've been tempted by PDAs on and off, but just haven't been able to convince myself that they are worth it at this point. The real question here is; "why" I think that. After some thought I finally came up with the reason that really seems to work. A PDA is a business tool/toy. I have no need of business tools since I am not a business person. For me a PDA would be as out of place as a day planner or addressbook. I am more enamoured of technology for technology's sake, so my needs are quite different. I gave this a little more thought and came up with a featureset I would like to see in a PDA. Sadly, it probably won't come to pass any time soon since it doesn't fit the needs of typical users.

From my perpective, my "perfect" PDA would augment me and my connection to my networks. I shouldn't need to open it up, take it out of a pouch or hold it in my hand. The display should be eye mounted. It should also have a fast method of text entry since I will probably be using it to code, script or send commands to various machines. It should be capable of presenting a wide range of multimedia. There should a gui macro layer that can overlay remote displays so that the most commonly performed functions can be done with eye tracking.

***Comments not enabled yet. I have more to write later***

Recently a friend of mine bought a new computer. I wasn't even going to try and suggest that he try Linux because I know him all too well. (He has a history of literally setting computers on fire and throwing them out the window when they annoy him too much) He went with Window XP Pro since this machine is going to be for school and some games. He wanted me to get him set up, so I came over and helped him get a firewall (we went with ZoneLabs ZoneAlarm since it was free, not too complicated and worked for multiuser setups) installed, installed some free anti-virus software, hooked up to DSL and set up a "Power User" account so that he coudldn't do too much damage. I also made sure he set up farily secure passwords and told him to run his Windows Updates once a week.

Within about a week and a half I got the first call. He was pissed off because the firewall had asked him if he wanted to block any ports for something he had no idea about, so he said yes to be safe. It turns out he blocked the ports needed to play Battlefield 1942. Now he couldn't connect to Battlenet and couldn't play with his friends. His request: "Can we ditch this stupid firewall thing?" I put up a few reasons why he wouldn't want to do that, and told him if we did, that I would only do a full re-install of the OS and apps rather than try to figure out what happened if he got cracked, trojaned or infected with a virus or worm. He got a little paranoid (not what I intended) and said, "at least let's use the Windows XP firewall like my friends are doing." OK. That's what we did. He was able to play Battlenet and use Kazaa again. (I'd warned him about spyware, but he didn't care)

A day later, he'd called back and said that he wanted to try a few different firewalls because he was now getting the notorious Windows Messaging Service spam like his friends. OK. A few searches and we found a few free firewalls. He tried one, but it would only work when he was logged in as Administrator. So, out that went after an hour. Tried another. It didn't seem to be working at all. Finally he went back to ZoneAlarm... For a while.

A few days later he called back pissed as hell because he said he couldn't even connect to DSL at all unless he was logged in as administrator. and when he did connect, the connection was VERY slow. I asked him if anything had changed and he said he only installed another firewall. After about a half an hour of asking him which one he installed, where and how, I eventually determined that:

1. He had enabled the Windows XP firewall again
2. He left ZoneAlarm enabled
3. The third firewall he installed wasn't starting probably because of ZoneAlarm or XP's firewall
4. He had accidentally set his system to "Off Line" in his regular login.

After helping him work it all out, he informed me that he didn't like firewalls and thought they were a "pain in my ass". He said he was thinking about disabling ZoneAlarm for whenever he wanted to play games or get files with Kazaa.

He went for a few more days and then started to complain about how he kept getting messages that he wasn't allowed to do X, Y or Z unless he was logged in as Administrator. He was already aware of the risk of being logged in as Administrator all the time, but really wanted to start doing it.

I got a call last night. "Dude. I need to get this machines set up so it's easy to use. I don't care if it's not safe, I just don't think it's a risk to have an easy to use system. All my friends do it. So I want you to set me up with just one desktop (account). I want that account to be the Administrator account. I bought this thing so it would be fun and entertaining. It's neither at the moment because I keep having to log in and out to do things." So... I suggested we just move his normal login account to the administrators group and be done with it. This way we kind of keep him from logging into his real admin account. But it's a very paltry solution to the problem...

At that point, I realized why it is that Microsoft is doing better at "capturing the desktop". They place convenience over security. They are doing the equivalent of giving 14 year old kids keys to the Ferrari. Most of his friends have systems that are laden with "strange problems". More than likely the result of worms, viruses and cracked systems. They constantly complain about the Windows Messaging Service spam they get, but they refuse to consider any firewall products.

Even though I explained to my friend that what he wants is insecure, he didn't care, he just "wanted to have fun when I bought this computer". This is what most people want to do when they buy a system. One of the major problems is that fun/convenient and safe are usually mutually exclusive: safe sex, driving within the speed limit, running anti-virus software, etc...

So this brings up the real question: How do you make a system that is safe and won't drive the user insane?

Some ideas:

Insulate the user from the system by making it appear that they have root access even though they don't. Maybe using something like User-mode Linux? Virtual Machines? Or maybe we go the other direction and simplify? Throw out a lot of the capabilities that a regular user doesn't need that are potential security problems. Not just by disabling services, but by incorporating basic consumer firewalls on the NICs themselves. Just use them to block widely known exploits that will not affect the typical user. These ideas aren't complete or well thought out, but just designed to get a conversation going.

Discuss...

I'm going into blowhard mode (TM) here so bear with me. I find it kind of comical that some conservatives feel the need to differentiate their brand of conservative from the "bad" old fashioned conservative. The so-called "neo-conservatives" (or 'neocons' for short). I suppose the idea that they have a new approach to conservative ideals is supposed to make people feel more comfortable with them, or something. Well... what I say is that if you've got a good thing going, there isn't much need to change it. That's why I am proud to be a liberal. No "neo" needed here because a timeless and classic idea rarely needs updating. That is all. Oh... I'm feeling tired... (a wag of the stump to Twirlip)

Note to the AC who was apparently frustrated by my last journal entry: Comments will be enabled on the previous entry when I get around to it. Could be a few days. Could be a few weeks. Could even be a few months. This is largely because I am VERY uninterested in politics. However, some other people here on Slashdot seem to take them WAY to seriously. Personally, I think it's the sign of a mental problem. ;P

Right now this is just a repost of a post I made in Twirlip of the Mists journal. I will (if I ever care to) try and expand on it. Since I don't care about politics all that much, it will probably take time. But, hopefully this document will be useful when going up against some particularly unpleasant anti-libs:

At this point it's just a personal thing I have against Twirlip and his fans. I'm not here for debate, I'm here to taunt and jeer. I highly dislike anyone who believes the following:

-Liberals are bad or misguided people
-Open source is bad because it's "bad for business" (at least the way you define business which is really more chicanery with smoke and mirrors)
-Socialism is bad because it hurts business ...and I also dislike anyone who believes these lies:

-Capitalism is good because it makes everyone wealthy
-The United States the greatest nation on the planet
-The war in Iraq is an anti-terrorism campaign
-President Bushboi is a good and honest man

It is my right to defend what I believe in, just as you defend what you believe in. In general conservatives are so arrogant that they actually believe there is only one way to do things: their way. Trollip subscribes to this because he believes in the concept that there is only one "truth", one way: his way. I am only being as arrogant about my beliefs as he is, yet somehow, conservatives seem to think this is a bad thing. I don't unsderstand why since I am only aping EXACTLY how you behave towards liberals.

If someone wants to debate these things with me, they have come barking up the wrong tree. There is no debate. I have no plans to be persuaded. Just as there really is no civil or logical debating with any of you. You are incapable of this. You have no plans to open your minds to any other way of thinking. Your sole goal is to persuade everyone else that you are right. I've never once seen any of you change your mind on something and swing from the right to even just the center, no matter how wrong you may be. This is because you never will. You hold to your stubborn idea that there is only one way, one answer. In general, it's capitalist imperialism that you believe in.

I have my beliefs and they will never change, just as many of you have your strong beliefs too. However, since mine directly oppose yours, they must clearly be "wrong". In your view, I need to be "educated". And if I don't change my mind to your way of thinking, then I am "arrogant", "ignorant" or at worst, "an asshole". it works both ways baby... I could easily apply the same terms to you.

Even though we (liberals) have opposing beliefs to yours, we are going to just as stubbornly hold to them no matter what we are told. Simply because, as human beings, we have our own best interests at heart and the left is much better at protecting me than the right will ever be. I'm willing to admit that I am thinking of what benefits me. How about you?

On another note:
Here's my answer to Trollip about a "challenge" he posted a long time ago. He claimed that liberals have no idea what their beliefs are. Well here's my answer, more or less in my own inimitable fashion:

Liberals accept the fact that many systems and concepts are constantly changing in the world on all fronts. We believe that in order to cope with those changes, it is necessary to tolerate even the most incompatible concepts as long as they don't bring any harm to bear on individuals.

When I use the word harm, I speak of protecting the guarantee of a certain baseline level of the quality of life that EVERY human being is ENTITLED to. If something threatens this guarantee, that something MUST be dealt with. Whether the tool is discussion, politics, technology, medicine, etc... Some examples of threats to the individual: war, famine, greed (corporate gain at the expense of those who will never attain the wealth of the owners), corruption (the collusion of conservative politicians with big business), racism and nationalism. These are only a few examples of what I stand against as a liberal. This means that I am FOR peaceful negotiation when applicable and a hands off approach when peaceful negotion fails. I am FOR providing foreign aid to countries that are in need and ask for help, with the aim of leading them to independence. I am FOR regulations that place the average citizen's needs above that of the corporate greed. I am FOR the in depth investigation and dissolution of the ties between politicians and business on all sides (left, center and right). I am FOR the counselling and imprisonment (if counselling fails) of racists who believe that their race is superior to others. I am FOR the destruction of the concepts that one country is better than another and the replacement of those ideas with the concept that we are all the same. We all come from the same place: planet Earth. The world is full of so many other problems, that this barely even scratches the surface. While conservatives pay lip service to their opposition of these same things (and seeming support of some of the things I said I was FOR), their actions betray the true core values of conservatism: every man for himself at the expense of all others. That's what we're doing now in Iraq.

This is by no means an exhaustive definition of what it is to be a liberal simply because being a liberal is a BIG JOB. To be a liberal means to strive for an unachievable goal: Complete and total fairness, equality and an equal baseline standard of living for every human being on the planet. This is a difficult task because we ourselves are battling our own inner flaws to try and squash down our own tendencies to greed, fear, anger and selfishness. But that IS the human condition and what I state here IS the road to betterment. I could write for days about what it means to be liberal...

Some basics:
-It means being honest with yourself and realizing that mankind is YOUR business.
-It means that YOU are responsible for everyone around you.
-It is YOUR responsibility to make sure that people less fortunate than you get their fair share of what you have, no matter how little you can afford (not out of greed, but out of ability) to give of yourself.
-It is YOUR responsibility to take people to task when they are not willing to do their fair share for the betterment of others.
-And especially, it is YOUR responsibility to tear down and stand in the way of the systems that would try and take these guarantees away.

Claim all you want that the US is a great country and that capitalism is the best economic system in the world. You still can't claim to have eliminated all the ills that exist in this country and you haven't even touched the world yet. You also can't claim that conservative thought isn't what is responsible for many of the problems that the less fortunate experience. You can't claim that all of your efforts to stand in the way of gun control AREN'T the reason that we have the most violent crime perpetrated with guns in the world. You can't claim that the conservative penchant for aggression (whether in discourse or on the battlefield) isn't responsible for giving our society an uglier and more selfish demeanor.

One last aspect that I will mention of what it means to be a liberal is that we try to clean up after the messes you conservatives make when you are making a grab for yet more profit... Like what's going down in Iraq right this minute. We'll be apologizing to the world for the terrible actions of our government for decades.