Evidence shows that having a vegetarian diet may significantly reduce the chances of getting cancer.  According to this research, the reduction is about 12%.  This perked my nerdy interest, so I did a quick internet search, which revealed that cancer treatments cost about $34,000 over 10 years, though treatment costs vary widely for different types of cancers.  Multiply the population of the US (about 300 million) by the average rate of canter (33%) and you get 12 million for a number of people that might be saved from cancer through vegetarianism.  Granted my analysis is all very unscientific, but if it is at all close to reality, it means we could be saving millions of lives and about $41 billion per year in medical costs.  Might that make a dent in this nation's health care cost problems?  And this is not even including the economic benefits that this might have from reducing obesity in the population.

On a personal note, cancer and heart disease run strong in my family medical history, so this is an especially pertinent issue to me.  I have been thinking for a while about either going vegetarian or at least curtailing severely my consumption of meat and this, along with the economic and environmental impacts of raising meat, might just be the last push that I need to send me down that road.

I have been hearing and reading a rot on the news about the erections in Iran.  For those who have not been paying attention, there was a huge erection in Iran this week.  It was the erection that kept the infamous Ahmadinajad in place as the head of his country as opposed to his reformist rivar, Moussavi.  Those unfortunate resurts were arso the spark that rit the braze of protests sweeping across Tehran right now.

One thing that caught my attention, though, was a sound bite of the protests that ensued.  The mob was protesting in Engrish.  Now I onry know a rittre about Iran, based on the rimited reading that I have done on that region, but I am fairry certain that their ranguage of state (the ranguage that one would assume a protester wourd want to use to communicate with their porititians) is not Engrish.  I can onry assume that the protesters were not trying to get the attention of their own Farsi speaking poriticians, but rather some far away, Engrish-speaking audience.  The US, Perhaps?  Then question that is begged is, what do they hope we will do about it?

President Obama wants to increase fuel standards to 27.5 mpg for cars and 23.1 for trucks. In the news, they are reporting that the White House figures this might cost an average of $1300 more per car and the media is now asking consumers if that is an acceptable trade.  What gets me is that we already have cars that can get this kind of fuel economy and better at a very low cost.  Some examples are the Honda Fit, Volkswagen Jetta (Diesel), and the Nissan Versa.  And here's the great thing: we already have them and they are very inexpensive.  See?  You CAN have it both ways.  For those of you who think you need it, I know it's not all big and manly like a Dodge Charger or a Ford F350, but do you really have to have that?  The ladies aren't looking for that in a man, and if they are, they're not the ladies you want.  A smaller (and probably much sportier) car will do you just fine.

Now here's some full disclosure: I actually have a truck (if you can call it that).  I bought it when I got down here because I wanted something that I could use for the next couple of years to haul my stuff from school to school in the military.  But I didn't go for some jacked up I-have-to-compensate-for-my-tiny-Asian-penis truck.  Being quite comfortable with my tiny Asian penis, I went for the smallest truck I could find in this market - a 2000 Chevy S10.  I have so-far gotten 24 mpg IN THE CITY with it, so I am already beating the new standard.  Woot.

I guess my point is this: I want the auto industry to stop whining about how hard it is to make cars and trucks with decent fuel economy when we have had them for years and I want the media to stop fomenting the panic.  In the words of John Stewart (on Crossfire), "please, stop!" And for anyone who is buying into the BS and feels themselves starting to panic, you already have a choice to buy a fuel efficient car and you DON'T have to pay more.  They are already here.

These aren't not quite politics, but they are current events - here are two news stories that I found particularly amusing today:

1. A soldier in Afghanistan makes the cover of the New York Times...   ...in his pink boxers: http://www.star-telegram.com/metro_news/story/1375079.html

   I see the makings of a new Army uniform!  Hey, they say the best strategy is to have the element of surprise, right?

    

2. Oh the irony - Environmentalists saved by big oil:

   http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/may/06/oil-tanker-rescues-green-activists-yacht

   Thankfully, there are other eco-friendly endeavors of a similar nature that are less likely to fail, though perhaps also less likely to make the news for just the same reasons (http://www.greenerideal.com/transportation/automotive/earthrace-boats-100-biodiesel-and-carbon-neutral/).

Enjoy!

So here's that personal stuff that I promised.  Some exerpts from my life down here:

--The scene is set with me, very tired, outside the gym with three different kettle bells laid out in front of me.  In front of me stands a relaxed Sergeant (Cadre), smiling.  I have just completed a circuit set of sprints, row machines and burpies, so I'm sweatin' pretty good now.--

CADRE:  Gruber, pick up that 45 lb kettle bell and sprint around the building.

ME:  Hooyah, sergeant.

ME (thinking):  I am pretty sure that sprinting and 45lb weights is not a combination that exists in this universe, but I guess I'll try anyway.

CADRE:  Be back in less than two minutes.

ME:  Hooyah, sergeant.

ME (thinking):  Yeah, right.

CADRE (as I am coming back around the building):  one-minute-fifty-two, one-fifty- three, one-fifty-four...

ME (thinking):  Holy shit, I'm going to make it!

CADRE: one-fifty-seven, one-fifty-eight...  ...good.  Hydrate.  Are we having fun yet?  You look tired.  Want to quit?  Get on your face and show me 35 good four-count push-ups.

ME:  Hooyah, sergeant.

--I am now doing push-ups--

CADRE:  Gruber, who is the father of Combat Weather?

ME (thinking):  Shit, I don't know, but I do remember seeing a lot of pictures of some captain with "Grimes" written on his name tapes.  Oh, what the hell.

ME:  Sergeant, that would be Captain Grimes.

CADRE:  Colonel Grimes.

ME:  Roger that.

ME (thinking):  Yessss!!!!

CADRE:  Who has the first SOWT coin?  Look at mine.  It says #610 on it.  Who has the nuuuuuuumber ooooooooone coin?

--Long silence--

ME:  Uh, Colonel Grimes?

CADRE:  Colonel Grimes is DEAD!

ME (thinking):  Shiiiiiiiiiiit.

CADRE:  Get on that looooong lawn and bear crawl to the other end.  When you get to the other side, log roll back.

ME:  Hooyah, sergeant.

--later, after bear crawling about 70 yards and log rolling back about halfway--

CADRE:  You're slowing down, Gruber.  Are you getting dizzy?

ME:  Hooyah, sergeant.

CADRE:  Are you going to puke?  I'd like to see that.

--after finishing the log rolls, I try to stand up--

CADRE:  Sprint over here.  Hydrate.  You're sweating like a pig.

--I try to run in a straight line, but being so dizzy, I probably looked like a drunken sailor trying to get his land legs back--

CADRE:  Get down and do sit-ups, unassisted.  Who has the first SOWT coin?

ME (while doing sit-ups):  Uh Sergeant Lofts?

CADRE:  SERGEANT LOFTS???!!!  Really?  Pick up that kettle bell and sprint around the building.  You'd better be back in two minutes.

ME:  Hooyah, sergeant.

...And it pretty much went like that for a long time.  I didn't puke though.  And by the way, the number one coin belongs to Mrs. Grimes.  I found that out after it was all over.  Not all workouts are such smoke sessions, but it is actually kind of fun when it happens.  I guess it breaks up the routine and makes things interesting.