Suppose for a moment that a new food additive was discovered which had dramatic effects on humans:

1) it acted as a mild depressant.
2) It worked as a sleep aid.
3) Consumed in sufficient doses it was dangerous.
4) When abused, it was downright deadly.
5) It was addictive.

Obviously, the FDA would require all kinds of clinical trials, and the stuff would end up either banned outright or dispensed only under prescription.

I’m being pretty transparent, I know. Alchohol meets these criteria nicely, but because it’s been around for millennia (and because da gummint already TRIED to ban it once) it’s grandfathered in to our diet, our medications, and our culture. Most adults seem to be able to behave responsibly concerning alchohol, and don’t want a minority of substance abusers to ruin things for them.

Okay, let’s switch gears… what about marijuana? All I’ve read on the subject suggests that it’s SAFER than alchohol. Why the stigma? Is this a double-standard? Broad-stroked generalizations suggest that conservatives prefer to keep pot on the no-no list, liberals would like to see it legal for medicinal purposes, and libertarians would just as soon ALL regulations regarding pot, alchohol, tobacco, and anything else not immediately death-inducing be done away with because people are smarter than the government gives them credit for.

I’m not sure whether this post has a point or not. It’s just something I’ve been ruminating on, and it’s little more than an intellectual excercise for me. I don’t drink alchohol, and won’t smoke marijuana whether or not it’s legal. Y’all can pretty much do what you want.

Then again, my mother was killed by a drunk driver. He got the death penalty, self-administered, which is about what I think most drunk drivers deserve. We’ve got legislation starting to lean in that direction (albeit from a great, great distance), because the gummint has ample evidence that people are not as smart as they think they are once they start drinking.

Okay, now I’m rambling. But I wrote something today.

–Howard

I can count the number of video games I’ve beaten as an adult (with and without the help of walkthroughs) on one hand…

1) Pokemon Snap
2) Super Mario 64
3) Gauntlet Dark Legacy

It’s possible there are others, but I doubt it. Mostly I play games to relax, and when they start making me uptight I quit and do something else.

Yesterday evening I picked back up on the Metroid Prime game I’d abandoned back at 18% completion (or something like that). The kids gathered round, and I’ve had a good old time figuring out where all the buttons are again.

Then this evening the game again got sticky and difficult, fighting some dang rock monster boss in blinding snow. I may be ready to give it up again and go do something else.

(No, I don’t need your hints. I’ve already paged through several walkthroughs, and if I play MP any further, it’ll be walkthrough all the way.)

–Howard

Today I finished the last two commercial commissions for the project I’ve been grinding away at for the last month. It feels pretty good.

It feels “I want to go have a party” good, in fact.

Unfortunately, I forged three days ahead of deadline on that project at the expense of doing any buffer-fu today. *sigh*. Like I said before, there’s always more work to do than there is me to do it with. So… no party today. Maybe tomorrow I can get chalain to break out the chaos toys.

–Howard

I made another batch of curried Top Ramen today. It goes like this:

1) crush the ramen noodles in the package, and boil them with two tbsp curry powder, a handful of raisins, a handful of crushed walnuts, and a handful of pistachio kernels.
2) Add about 2 tbsp of dehydrated onion to soak up the rest of the water (there won’t be much if you only start with about 12 oz.)
3) Move to a fry pan — sautee the noodle mess in a little olive oil. Add a dozen drops of Blair’s Sudden Death Sauce.
4) Serve.

I split the serving in half, and refrigerated half for later. I then plowed through the bowl in front of me, and loved it. That was at noon.

This evening I got out the second half, and figured it wasn’t hot enough. After microwaving them, I added a half teaspoon or so of the Blair’s sauce and stirred that in. The noodles now had a sullen red tinge to them.

This time it was hot enough, and then some. My nose is running, my eyes itch, and my mouth feels scalded. My great big dome of a head is still sweaty, and my stomach is suggesting that perhaps he’s reached his capsicum limit for the week. In short, I feel wonderful. I’m ready to go out to eat with chalain.

That must be the endorphins speaking.

–Howard