Awesome

So I'm washing the dishes when my wife says to me, "Hey, what's this?". I walk over to the computer and there are little thumbnails of young Asian girls on the screen with strictly Asian script on the screen as well. Apparently, somebody had commented on my last blog post and went through the trouble of registering a google account and then going through the word verification process so they could spam my blog with porn (I think--I can't read any Asian script but the photos seemed to point in that general direction).

Now, I'm not opposed to porn, but it seems weird and a bit misguided to post that here. The internet is so wide open and seems to funnel people into previously unattainable niche markets, why go through the trouble and probable waste of time to post in a place where there is an exceedingly low probability of finding an interested party?

This is really just a curiosity question. I deleted the comment, like I said, not because of disapproval or disgust, but because it has no place here. Just curious about how, when a person only has so much time available to him (or her), that person wouldn't try and maximize the positive outcome from the effort by being more discerning about where they post.

Anyway.

And, oh yeah, Happy Birthday to my beautiful wife! ;)

From Just Another Blog

Back after a long hiatus.

My life has been chugging along and I'm a bit shocked at how much time I've allowed to pass since I last posted.

The quick and dirty run down of events in the last few months. Just before my wife and I went back to the town we both grew up in, I had gotten a false alarm call for a kidney transplant. We both decided that since I appeared to be much higher up on the last than we had planned for, I would just put a hold on my plane ticket and try and use it on a future trip. I was fairly certain that even being higher up than we had thought, I was unlikely to get a call while my wife was back visiting her family for five days. So naturally, four days before Christmas, and two days before my wife was set to leave, I received another call for a kidney, which ended up being a go. She was able to get an extension for her flight as well (thank you Delta!) and just before midnight on the 21st I went into surgery.
Of course, something can always go wrong with these things, but we got through everything without any hitches, and compared to a lung transplant, this was a walk in the park. I was out of the hospital in a week, and with my immediate possible future radically different than what we had expected, I got all of my plans in place in order to return to school and finish my degree in biology. I'm supposed to start this summer.
I've been trying to make sure all the hoops I need to jump through for financial aid and registration have been jumped through, and am focused on getting my health back. I honestly don't think the experience of declining health due to end stage renal disease is close to as bad as the experience of declining lung function, but I had forgotten how much better I felt before the renal decline.
As a cf'er, I've been fairly typical in being extremely lean my whole life. I'm not tall, 5'8", and the most I've weighed is 130 lbs. With the kidney issues my weight had dropped to 110, and in order to maintain that, I was basically force feeding myself in order not to drop any further. I had forgotten what it was like to have an appetite, energy, focus. My weight has been slowly climbing back up and I'm doing more than I have been able to in quite some time.
Life is going well. We're adjusting to the new reality, a much more expansive one than before, and I'm pretty happy I didn't die, again. I received a kidney much sooner than we had thought would happen, I'm going back to school to finish my degree, I have a new nephew on the way, we can actually look to the future and believe it may be longer than we had thought.

Maybe I'll put more down later, but I thought I'd get started with something small or I might never have gotten around to it.

On the Origin of Species 150th Anniversay.

For the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, the British Council presented a talk by E.O. Wilson. The talk is just under a half hour, but I've been so busy lately I had to split it up into a few different viewings. I think it is definitely worth your time if you have an interest in this subject or scientist.

Wilson is a huge inspiration of mine, as I'm sure he is to many an aspiring naturalist. If you haven't read any of his work, I suggest you go pick something up now. You're in for a treat.
Besides being considered the father of sociobiology, he is instrumental in the modern conservation movement, a leading figure in the theory of island biogeography (I believe he is credited with coming up with the theory itself), and the winner of a great many awards from the National Medal of Science to the Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction (actually, two).

Many years ago I wrote to him after reading his autobiography Naturalist. I was surprised when, several weeks later, I received an envelope back in the mail addressed from E.O. Wilson. I was even more shocked when I opened the envelope to find a letter from the great scientist himself, the response giving evidence that he had actually read my letter and taken the time to respond himself.

Things have been hectic lately. Everything from a pointless debate with creationists over at Florida Citizens for Science to trying to figure out school and the kidney transplant issues. Now with heading down South for the holiday and trying to squeeze in my museum volunteering before Wednesday afternoon, I wanted to post this before I found myself completely unable to tear away from life. The last couple of days I have come to a clearer idea of what is and isn't fruitful. As PZ wrote, it is basically pointless to debate with creationists, and after nearly two hundred responses to one particular post with no evidence that we were even speaking the same language, I realized the only thing all the time and energy I put into the "debate" accomplished was to push aside all the other areas I need to focus on in my life at the moment.

In all honesty, I'm sure after the Thanksgiving holiday is over, and we're back in town next week for the daily grind, I probably won't be able to resist dropping back by and engaging in the pointless arguing again. But for now, I'm rather proud of myself that I've resisted the temptation to basically go and do nothing but spin my wheels. I'm one who has generally acted as if I enthusiastically support pyrrhic victories my entire life, but am gradually trying to teach myself that some of these causes are lost---such as an attempt to debate with a great many creationists---and I am merely expending time and energy that could be spent more wisely elsewhere.

Anyway, I hope you all have a safe and enjoyable holiday, whatever you are doing and whoever you may find yourself doing it with. Happy Thanksgiving, and see you all in December!

Get me a cup o' this joe!

Thanks to Bad Astronomy for this little bit of outstanding!

Flu Shot

I was able to get my seasonal flu vaccine the other day. The day I received my shot, they got a shipment of swine flu vaccine in. I'm hoping that they won't run out by the time I go back for my nephrology appointment in early December.

I'm still a bit torn about getting the vaccine. Not because of all the crazy bullshit that the anti-vaxers are spewing forth, but because there is some evidence that immunosuppressed patients cannot be assumed to mount a vaccine response. This does not mean you get vaccinated and something awful happens, but rather, you get vaccinated and the outcome may be as if you did not receive the vaccine. I cannoot stress that may part enough. At the moment, the CDC is still recommending transplant recipients (among others) receive the flu shot--not the intranasal, as this is a live attenuated virus.

Despite my initial concerns that I might be taking a vaccine from someone who could most definitely benefit from it, I ultimately decided I would get the vaccine. I will follow the science as it becomes available, to find out if the transplant population benefits from the practice.

And until then, I'll be getting my flu shots.

Free Concert!

The Gainesville Community Band and Buchholz High School Band will be performing today at the Phillips Center here in Gainesville. For those of you in the area, you ought to come check it out. The concert is free and open to the public, and the Phillips Center is a nice venue for those of you who might not have had an opportunity to check it out. It's located on UF campus, on Hull Road which is right off of SW 34th Street.

Hope to see you all there!

Edit

I meant to post on this awhile back, but I'm extraordinarily undisciplined. Anyway.

I went through my blog and deleted over a hundred past posts. I tried to make a simple cut off based simply on time. If the post occurred prior to September of this year, I threw it out. There were a few entries that I think would have fit with what I want this to move toward in an overall manner, but it seemed easier and would require less determination as to what was or was not a hanging chad in terms of content to just make a relatively fresh start.

So for the very few who have come here consistently, sorry if I took out something you liked, and for anyone else, I hope to make this a bit less haphazard and slightly more focused.