for those that are curious, the idea that shoulder pain is correlated with a ruptured spleen is known as "kehr's sign" and seems to be fairly well regarded. 

i just wanted to be as thorough as i could in trying to understand what was going on.

ok, my shoulder is starting to soften up a tad.

i think there's a decent chance that i strained it when i was on my last soy milk run, as i had a heavy load to take back in my knapsack on my bicycle, and i was only wearing a little pink tank top.

and, in fact, if you take economics 101 nowadays, they teach you that almost immediately - that competition is harmful, and should be avoided as much as possible.

it's very frustrating when you hear these christian, liberal do-gooders fundamentally misunderstand what cooperation is really about.

cooperation is not preferable because it is a moral decision, it's preferable because it's a superior strategy.

i keep posting this. maybe somebody will watch it, this time.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7n0igh

the frustrating thing about this is that the science on the issue is actually quite settled. there's a plethora of studies out there that are monolithic in deducing that reducing travel is pointless.

the problem is that that contradicts what people call "common sense", which is in truth just a collection of fallacies and specious deductions.

there are many, many examples where science entirely debunks common sense, and this is one of them.

https://www.insauga.com/the-double-mutant-covid-variant-from-india-is-already-in-brampton-unconfirmed-reports-indicate

yeah, the media spin around the situation in india is to treat them as a developing country that needs foreign aid. that's very frustrating to see at this stage in history, and not what i said at all.

the reason that countries like canada and the united states want to focus on stopping the spread in places like india is that the variants are going to end up back here, in the end. you can't build a wall to keep the virus out - and that comparison is deeply applicable, in fact. i've argued repeatedly in this space that the best way to reduce the flow of central american migrants is to invest in living conditions in central america, which isn't about "foreign aid" and isn't an act of altruism, but is about realizing that this is actually in our own collective self-interest. but, both parties are controlled by a small elite that benefits from access to cheap labour, so nobody wants to address the root causes. reducing the supply of cheap labour would be the best thing we could do to help rebuild the union movement, which is exactly why nobody wants to do it.

at least with the virus, the class interests are minimized, so we should be able to see that helping them is the best way to help us. there's never been a wall that kept the barbarians out, and there's never been a travel ban that's stopped a virus from spreading. if you want to stop this, you need to send them doctors, not put an end to international travel.

and, yes - the same thing was true in the united states, not that long ago. at the time, i called for the same thing in the united states; it was fairly early in the pandemic that i actually called for doctors without borders to set up shop in the united states, and i was laughed at. in hindsight, maybe that wasn't so laughable. but, now the situation has shifted to india, and so i'm calling for a redeployment of resources there, instead.

but, the media is just using it as an example to set up a hierarchy and is framing it in the language of foreign aid. again, it's hubris, it's arrogance - and it's out of touch with reality.

travel bans will solve nothing. if we don't find a way to work together and deploy global resources to areas it's required when hotspots pop up, this will continue forever - or at least until we decide it's now "normal".

the best idea with pot this strong is probably to mix it with caffeine.

so, i may pick up some green tea early in the month and try to mix it with that.

so, i got my strawberries.

i mentioned that the pot i was gifted by the lowrider has a very powerful aroma, so powerful that i decided i had to try a little bit of it for two reasons: (1) because it smells so bad that i need to get it out of the house and (2) because it smells so bad that....what's it like, anyways?

i mean, this is a double-edged sword - if you're looking at just putting the pot away in the cupboard, the stink is both a curiosity as to the quality of the stuff (something i've been unhappy about regarding the store-bought pot) and an annoyance that needs to be neutralized. if i leave it in the cupboard for six months, is it just going to end up like the store bought stuff? so, i tried the smallest little bit on the way to the store - and outside of the house, as always.

when somebody rolls up behind you in a lowrider and offers you free drugs, you should probably be a little skeptical that they're giving you what they say they are. i'm not going to post links, but it seems like the black market is reacting to legal pot by trying to undercut it; the pot they're selling is actually very cheap, relative to the legal varieties, and even relative to what the going rate on the street was a mere couple of months ago, so the general reasoning behind spraying it isn't there. the idea behind the spraying is usually to increase the price.

the pot was sticky - something you don't get with legal pot, here - but not sticky enough to generate suspicions. really, my honest analysis is that this was fairly potent, high quality bud that is probably becoming scarce and would have sold for a decent sum before the regulation schemes came into force.

the count was probably closer to .75 g than 1 g (it didn't register as 1 g on my food scale), but i'm not complaining about the counts on free marijuana samples.

so, i just took a little bit of it, maybe an 1/8th of an actual gram but about a fifth of what was there, and mixed it with the raspberry leaves i had in the cupboard from last year to produce a small, persy-sized joint. i went over near the railroad tracks on the way to the store, smoked it and biked off to get strawberries. and, i think these are the correct social conventions and would heed people to re-establish them.

the result was what was advertised from the strain, which is "death bubba" - a very mild "high" followed by an irresistible urge to pass out, which i gave into about ten minutes after i got in. while this may be the ideal strain for somebody that is suffering from insomnia, it really wasn't what i needed this morning, and i'm looking to chug a pot of coffee now to compensate.

it could be that even an 1/8th was too much for me on this strain after barely smoking anything at all for the last 9 months, and i just got the sedative effects as a result of taking too much. or, it could be that this particular strain is really only good at the sedative side of it, and doesn't really provide for much in terms of an actual high - and potentially because the thc is too dominant in the chemistry. 

so, if i was out in the smoking section of a concert, and i took like one toke from somebody's joint, this strain might act as a catalyst for the effects of the amp distortion - it's the kind of pot you might want before a post-rock or psychedelic rock concert. maybe - if you take the very smallest amounts of it. personally, i prefer the kind of pot that makes me more giggly and less inhibitive, not the kind that knocks me out and wastes my day. i thought that was just a little tiny bit, but even that much was far too much.

so, what do i do with this, then? i'm not sure i can mask the smell in the cupboard, and i don't want to spend the week smoking pinners until it's gone. that's just going to make me sick, when i want to be doing something. and, i'm not sure what the best way to even do that even is.

for me, pot this powerful is probably best smoked as the smallest pipe hit ever, but i don't have one and definitely don't want the smell of one in here.

i'm going to leave it in the cupboard and try to smoke it in the tiniest amounts, very, very sporadically - after i finish something, between projects. hopefully, it doesn't rot when it's in there, but i'm not going to get much out of it, otherwise. and, like i said before - it could be in there for a while, especially now that i know just how potent it is. 

right now, i want to put it away, drink some coffee, do some cleaning in here and settle in for the week.

today's post is the box set for the third record.

===

purchasing this release comes with the immediate download of the release that you linked to it off of. be sure you make the right choice. 

inri016: created in the summer of 1998. released as a standalone ep on nov 16, 2013. audio permanently closed on oct 12, 2016. release finalized on oct 27, 2016. 

inri018: initially written in 1997. recreated and reconceptualized in late 1998. salvaged somewhat at the end of 1999. remastered in 2013. compiled & released on nov 13, 2016. finalized on nov 19, 2016. final album version added as a bonus track and refinalized on dec 15, 2016. 

inri027: streamed to disk in one take on the afternoon of march 9, 1999. ripped back to wav format from cd-r in late 2013. released as a one track single on nov 21, 2013. release finalized on sept 12, 2017. 

inri028: constructed over a few days in april, 1999. ripped back to wav format from cd-r in late 2013. released as a one track single on nov 21, 2013. release finalized on sept 12, 2017. 

inri029: recorded over 1997-1999. constructed in this form in june, 1999. published on november 30, 2013. re-released (with new hidden track) and finalized as symph003 on sept 13, 2017. 

inri031: recorded over the spring and summer of 1999. originally released on inrimake in october, 1999 (with an accidental phase reverse). the first section was modified further at the end of 1999. minimally altered and split into it's own ep on january 3rd, 2014. spliced further, appended to and remastered over sept, 2017. re-released and finalized on sept 28, 2017. 

inri032: recorded sporadically, and without cohesive intent, over '98 and '99. originally compiled in the fall of '99. augmented and minimally altered in january, 2014. released on jan 3, 2014. finalized as lp006 on sept 21, 2017. 

inri033: written and demoed in multiple stages from 1996-1999. initially constructed in this form in dec, 1999. slightly resequenced in jan, 2014. re-released jan 3, 2014. finalized as lp007 on sept 19, 2017. this is my third official record. 

inri034: written & recorded in the fall of 1999. originally released on inridiculous in december, 1999. split into it's own ep on january 3, 2014. remastered, finalized & re-released on sept 28, 2017 

originally created from 1996-1999, but mostly over 1999. this compilation is dated to dec 20, 1999. slowly remastered, reconstituted, compiled, reconstructed, released and finalized from 2013-2017. compilation finalized on sept 28, 2017. as always, please use headphones. 

released december 20, 1999 

j - guitars, effects, bass, keyboards, tapes, synths, piano, sequencers, live drums, drum programming, hammerhead (909 emulator), sound raider, sampling, cool edit synthesis/sequencing, loops, digital effects processing, digital wave editing, noise generators, metronome, a broken tape deck, windows 95 sound recorder, sound design, found sounds, chance, vocals, flute, text-to-speech synthesis, remixes, reconstructions, reinterpretations production

https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/inridiculous-box-set

there were some more climate talks, but i mean...

what year are the targets set to, now? 2050? they used to set the targets to 2020. 

it's time to stop talking, now, and start acting - if it's not already too late. and, i don't have a lot of reason to expect much more than a cover-up and a pr gloss from this administration, that people don't start to clue into for another 2-3 years.

and, we don't have a movement on the ground to push them with.

the only chance we have is to talk them into trying to see it as a business opportunity, and we're even running out of time on that.

i think we're seeing a biden doctrine develop, and it's sort of what everybody should have expected - this is a 75 year-old man that's seen the world pass him by and doesn't fully understand the decline that's set in in america during his lifetime. and, it's uncovering something about him that he tried to hide: he seems to be somewhat of a bully.

so, the biden doctrine seems to be something like this: america is the dominant ape around here, and when it walks into the room, it's going to grab you by the lapels first and put you in a position of subservience, so that you show the proper respect. you can prostrate yourself, if you think it's appropriate; the point is that the hierarchy has to be established as a precondition, before any discourse can take place. he may even turn out to be relatively benign with you if you show him the proper deference, but the pecking order must be defined before anything else.

it's a sheltered outlook of reality, in 2021 - after years of trumpism, and many more years of american unilateralism giving way to a global multilateralism that sees american influence as dangerous. in the sense that it turns back the clock to the 50s, it's almost more trumpist than trump.

i suspect that there's a large number of young staffers that are arguing for a course correction, but whether they're heard or not depends on how long biden manages to live and maintain some semblance of mental health.

and, thus this is maybe an interesting angle - for all the attempts to compare biden to roosevelt, which always were and always will be laughable, he may, in the end, turn out more like churchill, as he tries to save a crumbling empire from collapse.

the armenian genocide is not a controversial thing, it's been universally acknowledged by historians since the time it actually happened. so, what is this resolution in the senate about?

on the one hand, it's an act of arrogance - as though the american senate gets to write history. i mean, on that level, it's absurd. if they repeal the vote, does that mean they can erase history, too?

but, it's really a political message to the turks that their days in the western alliance are numbered. for, there's only one reason it took 100 years to do this - because we didn't want to upset our turkish allies.

that said, there's an argument that it's kind of unnecessarily provocative, with little real purpose or value. i mean, nobody cares if the united states senate thinks a genocide happened in armenia or not - it's not an argument, it's not evidence, etc. if some academic somewhere changes their position on this, please let me know who they are so i can ridicule them in this space for the next twenty years. it's just intended to piss them off; there's no other reason to do it. and, that might not be the best way to deal with the substantive differences arising between the turks and the increasingly saudi-aligned americans.

in that sense, it's nearly a declaration of war. but, i don't think it's intended that way - it's intended to be an act of supremacy, to put the turks in their place, and is coming off more like a delusion of arrogance.

the turks may not react immediately. but, it's bound to fester, and, in the end, is likely to just end up unhelpful.

but, i'd encourage you to consult historians for history, and not the results of votes passed in the legislative bodies of representative democracies.

i've already made it clear that the science doesn't support travel bans, and that the political movements behind it are just rebranded trumpism. so, i'm not going to keep yelling at the wall about it.

but, this is a much better idea - cooperating with the indian authorities to help contain the virus at the source.

that said, it doesn't take a lot of insight to realize that the problem in india is going to reduce mostly to poverty. and, realizing the reality that the existing government in india is hindu-supremacist, and consequently in favour of the enforcement of vicious caste systems, is an important sobering process in realizing what's really possible, here.

the right way to do this is to help, not to ban. but, india's levels of inequality means it needs more help than we can give them by ourselves.

i'm going to actually call for something that has been missing so far - an international health force to get in there and clean things up. and, i'd call on the indians to cooperate.

otherwise, this will just carry on....

this is not the black death, clearly; but, the black death didn't have airplanes. we may find this dies harder than historical viruses, and we might have to deal with that as a consequence of the inter-connectivity and ease of travel inherent to modern existence.

so, while this is probably more about a pr push by the pmo, it's actually also the right health strategy - if globalized efficiently. we need to stamp these variants out where they are, not erect bans on travel....

https://globalnews.ca/news/7786301/canada-india-covid-medical-supplies-coronavirus/

i've had absolutely no gastric discomfort from the pills. if anything, my feces has really hardened up, quite a lot - which is supposedly normal. so, my body isn't giving me any signals that it wants me to slow down on the iron.

i am concerned about metals & alzheimers, but i seem to be a long ways from needing to concern myself with iron buildup. and, while i don't want to take zinc pills, and will resist it unless necessary, if it seems like it's an absorption issue with phytates, then it might be the better answer than eating more meat.

so, what am i going to do?

the data is upholding the diet regarding everything so far, except iron. i'm otherwise in spectacular health. and, i'm at least reacting to the iron.

is there any evidence i'm dealing with a zinc deficiency? frankly, there isn't. but, i mean, my track record in guessing serum levels isn't so great.

if my zinc levels come in fine, it's going to suggest that it's mostly genetic rather than phytate or calcium blocking. i mean, this is the question we don't know the answer to - am i just bombarding myself with so much iron that my stomach has no choice but to absorb some of it, or is the actual operative difference more along the lines of that i've separated the iron out from the diet? i'm taking the iron on an empty stomach, as directed - except with vitamin c. this is very similar to the heme test i took, except it's working this time, which suggests quantity is the issue, rather than quality.

but i don't know yet, really.

in the end, if it's *only* iron that is of concern, i'd rather just take iron pills than blow up the diet. and, for those reading along, that's potentially a valid caveat - for all it's overall health benefits, those with iron absorption difficulties may experience the onset of anemia when following this diet, and may need to supplement with iron on a daily or weekly basis, once your stores are up a little.

i got some rest. i'll need to briefly get out for some strawberries this morning before i settle in for the week. i've got two phone appointments this week, and will probably get the second half of the blood work done on friday, now that i know my hemoglobin isn't critical. so, let's hope this week is more productive.

for the day, i'll just be cleaning a little. and eating...