so, we're going to 2 tbsps of paprika in the fruit bowl for lutein, which could be as much as 8 mg of iron, according to the usda. it's also a fair amount of vitamin c, a lot of vitamin e and a good chunk of vitamin k. like, i wonder if you could just live on this stuff.

the purpose is lutein & beta-carotene, as it's the only thing i can find for the fruit bowl that makes sense. but, it may lead to (cost) reductions in other items. 

that said, what i'm going to have to try coming out of this ferritin build is to just boost my dietary intake to 500% a day and see if that's enough.

so, we're done with the oxford society economics youtube site and i'm going to subscribe to this; the quality of the lectures is variable, but it looks like an interesting enough source of information to keep up with, for sure.

https://www.youtube.com/c/OxfordEconomicsSociety

doesn't it rather suggest that parents are less likely to purchase junk food for their kids if the cost exceeds some psychological barrier point? a chocolate bar at $0.99 might seem like it's pocket change, and it's worth it to shut the kid up; but at $1.15, it's no longer affordable.

it's worth asking, though, if that's sort of good enough. i mean, there's a huge difference between parents feeding their kids garbage and consenting adults deciding what to put in their own bodies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUV_rtyQlW8

i could type a long response and a short response to this, and i'm going to pick the short response.

a lot of what is being discussed here relates to the idea of placing normative value judgements on a decision-making process that is more complicated than is being let on. at the end of the day, humans need sugar and calories more than they need vitamins and fibre, so when poor people find themselves in a situation where they have limited resources, it actually makes sense for them to choose the diet options that are higher in fuel than the ones that are lower in it. you might not realize that if you take a sort of an elitist perspective on it, which is something this presentation does in multiple places.

if you have $20 and you have to make it last, you really should buy lard, rather than vegetables. that's the correct choice, in context. that's just the simple mathematics of it.

but, it means you need to be relatively active, in order to burn the extra fuel, and i think that's the fundamental error being made here and by a lot of policy experts: they focus on restricting diets, rather than on coercing people to be more active. that's really what they're doing wrong.

i haven't seen studies on the topic, but i'd strongly suspect that if you were to get people to exercise more then a healthier diet would follow as a corollary; you wouldn't need to get people to change their consumption patterns, if you could just get them out and about. they'd do it on their own.

we could have these big debates about consensual behaviour and statist overreach, but in the end i want to push the policies that i think are going to work, and it doesn't seem like any of these attempts to try to restrict people's diets are likely to work. but, if we look at the kinds of jobs we do - from working cash registers to sitting on computers - the commonality is that we spend most of our time at work sitting down, nowadays.

it would actually be relatively simple to legislate a rule enforcing an amount of mandated cardio at work. and, that's the path i'd advocate walking down - not restrictions on diet, but the renormalization and legal mandating of physical activity in the workplace.

today's post is my techno-guitar piece, the time machine, which ended up ripped apart and reinterpreted in as many ways as could be imagined. i'm especially proud of the fully written out phil-collins-as-imagined-by-richard-d-james drum part.

apologies to marty mcfly and ray bradbury. it was really more about the sound effect, honestly.

====

regarding this piece, my memory is blurry; yet, i have a vivid recollection of playing parts of it for my guitar teacher on a sunny day, where there was still snow on the ground. it's funny how we remember seemingly irrelevant details, but i guess the atmosphere of the performance is important because the performance is. that would date it to roughly march, 2001. 

i switched the piece from classical guitar to piano halfway through writing it, and vaguely remember thinking that an impossible interval had something to do with it (a specific c# cannot be hit on a standard classical). yet, that doesn't change the fact that it's guitar music. the counterpoint is very guitar. 

to further complicate things, i've long wanted to turn the piece into a jazzy idm romp. it has a kind of a jingly feel to it that belongs in the warp records sphere. 

so, what is this? a classical guitar piece? a jazzy piano piece? a techno tune? all of the above! as with other pieces from this period, this is presented here in multiple formats: several rendered midi tracks, live guitar versions, a vst version and a "full band" version - as well as multiple remixes. 

i have included the original midi file (and sheet music in pdf) as a bonus item in the download, if you want to play with it on your own. 

conceptually, the time machine aspect referred simply to the slowed down guitar chords at the beginning of the song. if you play it a certain way, it sounds like time is collapsing in on itself. or, so i thought, anyways. the various versions i have created here have made an attempt to take that idea to it's logical conclusion. it's a mix of the vision i had at the time and a bit of hindsight. 

six further mixes were added at the end of may, 2015. two of these are "techno" mixes of the song, three are interpretations of the piece on a solo instrument and one is a rearrangement for a full string orchestra. i've decided to present the material in a way that is really two eps combined together, with the first being arrangements for multiple instruments and the second being arrangements for solo instruments. note that there is a placeholder for the track as it was initially written for a 21-fret classical guitar. four more mixes were added in mid oct, 2017: two orchestral mixes and two more interpretations for solo instrument. 

written early 2001. drastically rearranged in june, 2014. rendered, arranged and performed over june and july, 2014. released on july 21, 2014. six new mixes were added in late may, 2015. re-released on may 28, 2015. four new mixes were added in mid october, 2017. re-released & put on indefinite hold as to status on oct 15, 2017. as always, please use headphones. 

the album version of this track (the time machine + reprise) appears on my fifth record, jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj (inri052): jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj 

this release also includes a printable jewel case insert and will also eventually include a comprehensive package of journal entries from all phases of production (2001, 2014, 2015, 2017). 

* download only 

released march 21, 2001 

j - electric guitar, programming, digital effects & treatments, digital wave editing, loops, production, composition 

the various rendered electronic orchestras include acoustic bass, synth bass, electric bass, upright bass, brass section, orchestra hit, drum machine, electronic drum kit, nylon guitar, electric guitar, violin, viola, cello, contrabass, french horn, trumpet, tuba, trombone, synthesizers, synthesizer effects, harp, music box, detuned piano, piano, bells, flute, hammered percussion, vibraphone, marimba and mellotron. it also includes choir.

so, i sent this to the gastro-enterologist....

what i'm thinking is that the fit test should rule out bleeding in the bottom half and then i can talk to him about whether he thinks a ct scan is a better approach than a fobt to rule out bleeding in the upper half.

=====

hi.

this fax is from jessica parent, in a follow-up to the appointment that was had on april 29th @ 11:40. it was determined at that time that your office would call me back on the week of may 3rd to schedule a scope, which did not happen. at this time, rather than schedule a scope, i am hoping that i can schedule a follow-up appointment to speak with dr. *****  a second time.

i want to provide the following information for such a follow-up:

regarding colon issues:
the issue regarding the colon is to determine whether i am bleeding or not, and also to determine if i'm having an immune response. i have now done four sequences of blood tests with many results and believe it appears to be exceedingly unlikely that i am bleeding anywhere at all.

1) my ferritin increased rapidly from 6 to 17 after going on 300 mg/day of iron supplements for two weeks, suggesting i don't appear to be losing blood. 
2) my reticulocytes were normal to lowish, indicating i am not overproducing blood.
3) my haptoglobin was in the exact middle of the range, indicating that any deficit in rbcs would be at the production stage rather than the loss stage.
4) my igA, igG and iGM levels as welll as rheumatoid factor are all low, indicating i'm not having an immune response. my serum protein electrophoresis was also normal.
5) my vitamin d is in normal ranges, indicating i can at least absorb one type of fat soluble vitamin.
6) there's no blood or albumin in my urine, indicating i'm not bleeding through that pathway.
7) my ck & ldh came in normal, indicating i'm not experiencing organ failure or damage and not rupturing via that pathway.

my next scheduled blood work will test for vitamins a, e and k, which will provide further evidence regarding the absorption of fat soluble vitamins. while dr ***** has already ordered an fobt, i have not done that as i am on iron pills and have a diet high in vitamin c. i am going to call dr ***** on monday and request a fit test, which will allow me to test for blood in the stool.

given that there is no indication of bleeding, i believe that a fit test is a more appropriate screening procedure than a colonoscopy, and that a decision on a colonoscopy should be postponed until the results of the fit test are in everybody's inboxes.

regarding stomach issues:
the issue regarding the stomach was mostly concerns regarding absorption, although the fobt was also ordered to check for bleeding.

as before. there is little indication that i am bleeding.

regarding celiac,

1) there is no family history of celiac disease on either side of my family.
2) i have now been tested or will be tested for the following minerals and vitamins:

a - pending
b1 - next time
b2 - next time
b3 - next time
b5 - next time
b6 - next time
b7 - next time
b9 - absorbing
b12 - absorbing, but rechecking.
c - next time
d - absorbing
e - pending
cholesterol - perfect
k1 - pending
sodium - absorbing & regulating
potassium - absorbing & regulating
magnesium - absorbing & regulating
phosphorus - absorbing & regulating
chlorine - absorbing & regulating
calcium - absorbing & regulating
chromium - next time
manganese - pending
iron - not absorbing in food, but absorbing in pills
nickel - next time
copper - pending
zinc - absorbing & regulating
selenium - pending
molybdenum - not available
iodine - pending

as i am absorbing everything so far except for iron, this would not indicate a general absorption problem, and would make celiac disease very unlikely. i would consequently propose that any stomach scope be postponed until i can talk to dr ****** a second time, as i can't see any reason to test for celiac, at this time.

i suspect that the problem is a genetic condition that reduces iron absorption, and that this is being exacerbated by some combination of falling estradiol levels, high amounts of dietary calcium, phytic acid, tannins and, potentially, oxalates. that is, this seems to be some combination of a dietary issue and a genetic issue, and the best idea is probably just to stick with iron pills.

ok...

so, what the doctor ordered was fecal occult blood test, which has all of these dietary restrictions regarding iron pills, vitamin c and certain types of vegetables - which are all huge problems for me. it's really going to be very disruptive to have to alter all of this for two weeks to check for something i know i don't have.

so, i'm going to call him on monday and ask him to mail me a fit test instead, which can speed up the process. it's less specific - it only checks for colon issues, whereas the fobt can also check for stomach issues, and that's probably why he ordered it. but, it can be done immediately, and get me some basic data to base a scope decision on.

i should get this test back well before i'm able to schedule a scope, and that should determine whether i want to scope from the bottom, from the top, both or not at all.

and, now i'm going to fax the specialist.

https://labtestsonline.org/tests/fecal-immunochemical-test-and-fecal-occult-blood-test

there's a bunch of fake diseases like this out there that are essentially designed to allow for medicalization of something that really isn't medical.

i mean, these people need some kind of intervention, clearly. and, coming up with this disease and labeling them with it is just a pragmatic means to intervene.

but, you can't catch or inherit ibs, and you can't exactly cure it, either. as a pathology, it's bullshit.

they should rename it "shitty american lifestyle syndrome".

no, really.

- ibs as a disease has no known cause, and a vague set of symptoms.

- risk factors include drinking alcohol, smoking, eating shitty food and not exercising enough

- treatment options include drinking less, quitting smoking, eating better and exercising more

that's not a disease.

that's fucking america.

so, i gotta finish what i was doing, first.

i just slept all day again. *shrug*. i feel like i'm fighting something off.....

i asked around, and there's no family history of celiac on either side. that just makes it that much less likely. 

my mom claims everybody on that side has "irritable bowel syndrome", but the truth is that they're all drunks with shitty diets and they're just suffering the consequences of making bad choices - ibs is one of those made up diseases that doctors use to describe people with bad lifestyle choices. and, i don't have any of those symptoms, either....nor do i exhibit any of the trigger behaviours.

she claims her father had some colon issues, and then said it "runs in the family". but, colon issues aren't actually genetic - they're mostly caused by eating meat, which i mostly don't do. she thinks everything is genetic.

celiac is genetic; colon cancer isn't.

i got an interesting response from my uncle though, who claims he had a bad case of diverticulitis - a condition that, like celiac, is genetic. remember when i had a terrible reaction to what i thought was a sunflower seed allergy, and concluded that it felt like i shit my intestines open? well, that's diverticulitis.

it went away, but the consistency of my stool hasn't recovered. that said, that's also when i brought in things like beets, as well as the probiotic yogurt. it's probably the latter.

but, of the collection of weird intestinal conditions brought up, it's diverticulitis that makes the most sense to watch for, so far.

this is a strange synthesis of hard data analysis and specious post-modernist nonsense, to the point that he seems to want to suggest that the data upholds the post-modernist nonsense. i can't say i'm so sure. but, it's nice to see that this sequence of speakers is shifting towards data and away from theory because, as he points out, it's about time.

what he doesn't address is the kind of difficulty of building data sets over periods of time in economics, which has historically been the excuse - the data doesn't exist. maybe that is what is really starting to change, these data sets that have been building since the 70s or the 60s or the 40s are finally big enough to actually do something with. but, it's still just a start. and it just draws attention to the need for economists to focus that much more on the qualities of their tools of analysis, before they can start making predictive statements. which is what everybody wants from economics, one day - predictive science.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3RlHf9SqsU