Dom responded, and his response was awesome check this out!

Very cool science show. They seem like they know what they are talking about from the little bit I listened too. These new HIV drugs aren't really vaccines exactly, but it sounds like they have great potential.

The question of "is it good for humans later" is pointless as far as I am concerned. Nature is a cruel master. Civilizations have developed to help cope with nature. We build shelters to protect us. We build social structures to help us get food and water. We build medical systems to help keep us healthy. We can do these things because we have evolved these capabilities. To not use those abilities would be stymie - ing evolution.

Mitchondria came from a symbiotic relationship between bacteria and eukaryotic single cell organisms. This infection happened before we evolved the ability to fight infections...

Suppose we did not treat HIV. Like the story says, there are some people who have a specific mutation in the CCR5 receptor that won't allow HIV infection. If everyone gets exposed to HIV, only these people and others who have other sorts of protective differences ("mutations") will survive. Now, a couple hundred years later, humanity is more "fit" because evolution ran its course concerning this one thing - HIV infection.

Good in theory, but will not happen exactly BECAUSE of evolution. Bald eagles almost became extinct because of a chemical that came into their environment (it doesn't matter that we were responsible for this point) which made their egg shells more fragile. The eggs could not support the weight of the parents that sit on them. so the eggs would collapse and the parent crushed the young. Eagles are not smart enough to realize that maybe they shouldn't sit on their eggs any longer. They are not able to build nice warm, cozy incubators for their eggs. In fact, if we had not removed the chemical from their environment in the 70's (DDT, I think) they would very likely be extinct right now.

Humans, on the other hand, have evolved such abilities. We are not wild animals and we could not survive for long without the social structures we have put in place. Why should it be OK to deny the use of a drug like this to help against a viral infection, but not OK to no longer allow trucks to deliver food from rural farm areas to cities. How would all those people in NYC eat?

There is another argument: Let's say there are some mutant eagles that build super strong eggs, so they don't crush their young. All the non-mutant eagles die off after a few generations, so now the species has evolved to have only these mutant eagles with super strong eggs are left. The chemical in the environment is not threat to these remaining eagles. Only 2% of the total original eagle population had this mutation. Luckily, the eagle population was large enough and varied enough for this mutation to be a possibility. But now, the genetic fitness of eagles is dramatically less. The population has lost 98% of its variation. What happens if another challenge comes along that these eagles can't handle? The genetic variation for many, many generations of these eagles will be so small that is it highly unlikely they would be able to survive another challenge like, let's say, an avian HIV. Maybe all of the eagles that had a mutation in CCR5 that could have saved them from avian HIV. Unfortunately, none of them had the super strong egg mutation so they all crushed their young and died off.

The exact same concepts would be applied to the human HIV story. If we let it run its course, and part of the population survived and that population is now somehow better able to withstand viral attacks because of this evolution, the genetic fitness of humanity would be much worse off.

So, my point is that evolution gave us the ability to protect ourselves and to not use those abilities is to ignore evolution. You could extend my theory to the n'th degree and say that eventually, nothing will be able to kill us. Where do you draw the line between benefiting from the abilities you have evolved, and actually interfering so much with evolution that you destroy the concept altogether? In a way, this is already happening. There are people with genetic mutations that would normally kill them before they were old enough to breed. Medical interventions now allow them to live long enough to breed. They do. Now there are more people with these mutations that would have been winnowed out without medical intervention.

I am not sure I have the answer for "where do you draw the line?". I've given this very little thought, but I think you draw the line at changing the genetic material of the gametes (sperm and egg). I think this would be wrong. But maybe it is not so simple as that. If you could take two people with cystic fibrosis, and fix the single mutation that causes the disease, I would say we should do that. These people could live normal lives with normal lung function. The gene would only need to be fixed in specific cells in the airways. In fact, some of the very 1st gene therapy experiments were to do exactly this. But what about when those two people get married and decide they want kids? Should we fix the bad gene in their sperm and eggs so that their kids come out normal?? I don't think so, because now you have pushed the line....how far do you push it? People with sickle cell anemia, which could theoretically be fixed in such a way, are resistant to malaria. What if cystic fibrosis people have some benefit we don't recognize yet?

Anyway.....I have to get back to work.

No, I don't know anyone studying bone density.

Ok... I listen to nerdy podcasts all the time. Video games, tech news, science. One of which is a podcast called "the naked scientist". I know, weird.

I also have made decent friends with a scientist at Roswell. He researches cancers, obviously, but I bug him with my science questions and tell him about my excitement in current research all the time cause he's more likely to give a hoot... but then what about you lot.

Here's the email I sent him. I'm busting with excitement, I think you should be too.

Subject: More Scientist Stuff

Body:

I swear I'm going to break down and go back to school so I can do this all the time.

Check these two things out.

They've found an chemical HIV vaccine, it was reported on this British Scientific Podcast called "The Naked Scientist". I know weird. Here's a link to the iTunes store for it and a link to the web site. They have enhanced podcasts so if you have iTunes you can scrub the progress bar until it's the title "New HIV Drugs" shows up, it's even easier on your iPod the sections are divided into bars. Relatively early in the show.

But then there's always this sort of thing where just because it's great news for humans now, is it necessarily good news for humans later? I think I emailed you a link to this podcast before. It's a sci-fi story about weather it's good that we destroy diseases since it may stymie evolution link . Think link mitochondria are some of the largest bits of debate weaponry that creationist scientists use against evolutionists (sp? bad terms?), but that's not what this is about. Figuring weather we should stop viruses before we've learned to live symbiotically with them and they improve us is, if that's what they're up to.

....ahhh. Ok, I'll stop bugging you. Really though, if I'm just pestering you let me know. I'd hate to be a nescience. I just get so excited.

Hmm, last question. I have an idea for a study but it has to do with bone density. Do you know a scientist that's in that kind of research?

OK... I'm lying in bed again.

I think the babys coming way soon. Like in a few days, like maybe 20. She's gonna blow.... holy crap where are we gonna put this friggin' baby! Meg keeps complaining about pains in her public bones and I know that's just tantamount to shooting out a baby!

I'm buying the house as fast as I can. Oh, it's on Sanders Street in north buffalo, it has a wood burning stove in it and a huge master bedroom since it's a bungalo. As soon as we settle in and Meg feels ok letting the baby stay with my mom for a bit we'll have a house warming party. I can't wait to see you people in my own house.

I think babies make girls daft. OK, I'm aware that Meg must like me since she's preggers with my love child, but she's been awfully smoofy lately. She keeps crooning at me. OK, in her defense I did just wash my hair, and you know, you can't wash dreads to often or the hair gets dry and snaps off, but it had been too long. Yeah I was starting to get a lil rank, but I washed my mop, and she's all croony.

Ok, the kitty likes me a lot too. So much that we have to have discussions about what not to stand on while I'm on the computer. She's lying on my arm right now, she's so cute. She sleeps next to me now and Meg thinks she's a whore. I think the cats really just waiting for me to fall a sleep so she can chew on my hair again.

Kitty Reading Estrip... too cute


Get away from Paul's lappy Kitty, he's allergic!


I went on a camping trip on Friday and Saturday, and I have to say that I really really had a good time. I was on vacation, it was only a 2 day vacation, but I needed it. Works not too bad, but it has it's moments, but being a pre baby daddy will make you wanna run away screaming sometimes.

I went to brushwood with (e:vycious) and crew. (e:des) was there, and their extended circle of friends, Knife, Scriber, Matthew, H, Emily Randy, and the lot of them. It was for a festival call Dionisia... I know I spelled that wrong, but oh well. Yeah, this place was really awesome, and I loved it. I forgot how pegan-hippie-goth I used to be, back when I was revolting against my Christian up bringing and I was looking around for stuff to satisfy my deep emotional state. I found the pegan community to be quite welcoming. I always thought it was peculiar that African-Americans practiced Christianity after they had a choice to do anything but. I mean they were only Christian because they were slaves and what they practiced religiously scared their owners. As a newly liberated 19 year old I was trying to put all former ties to slavery behind me, I was free.

My parents never knew all the things I did, or they'd start praying like nutz. Funny thing is while I was in a drum circle, or a Native American sweat lodge I was praying for them, and I felt more self righteous and sincere than I ever could in a church.

I didn't start practicing wicca, but I did start celebrating holidays that weren't on the calendar. I like holidays, everyone's excited, people gather, there's food and games. I did a a lot of drumming in those days and hoped to attract a really cute and smelly girl every once and a while. I forgot how much fun drumming was till I got to Brushwood. Meet some intersteing people. Saw some old chubby ladies and men naked and dancing and free...some young one's too. It felt good to be around people that in touch with who they were and open and free about it. I drummed so hard I still have bruises on my thighs from when I was looking for a snappier sound. I'm really glad I got a chance to reject who I was. I would never have become an understanding person when it comes to others if I was holding on too tightly to what I was. That trip put me back in touch with 19 year old Tony. I didn't realize how much I missed him, and how much he missed everyone else.

I think I'm going to keep drumming. I have a small djembe and I'm going to buy a big one. I don't know what happened to the one I had before. I think a roommate got to it or some such, but that's ok. I'll get a new one. Here's some trees and sky from my trip.



I'm glad I'm posting again....I write to remember.

If anyone wants to do some drumming just say so and I'll be there.

So, I'm sitting in bed jabbering with the Megasaurous (she's half in the buff, her hoobers are staring at me mockingly since there will be no lovin' tonight) reading (e:pauls) journal when blamo! Weiner!

Ahhh, I really love those dudes... boy that sounds weird, but let me clarify. I love how completely unabashed they are at times. I'm sure Paul knows that everyone is reading his journal even work folks (hi Del, hey Cathy!), but that won't stop Paul from sportin' a lil flip flap to show you peeps what he's been up to. Here here for being your self, and not being ashamed or afraid to show it. It's how I like life.

Oooh you guys deserve an update. I've been tending to the Megg and child who in another universe would be named fizzgig and it's ok...ehhh good even, sorta.

Meg is at the complainier stage of pregancy that comes after the complainy stage. Well in her defense she's really pregnant now and the weight of her belly is so much strain that theres no comfortable position for her to lie in. If she lays on her back the baby squishes her sciatic nerve, on her sides and the baby tugs at the skin and tendons on her sides. All she has for relief is Harry Potter, which she started at about 3 months into her pregnancy and she's now in the middle of book 5, she's a speed reader..

I don't read the paper copies. I read the audiobooks while I work out in the early mornings. Ok, ok I know some might say that reading has more to do with paper than ipods, but what I say to them is go tell that shit to their freind Barney Rubble cause I'm not listening.

....oooh. I feel asleep before I finished thsi and I don't quite remember what this post was supposed to be about. I'm just glad I posted it.

Hmmm, maybe the end of this can be a recap of the last few days since I stoped typing it.

Hmm.. India gate was nice. Caught up with (e:chico). I really like that dude he's generally cheery. His new gf is supa nice too. Ooh, a big shot out to (e:jim) for setting that up and James for putting up with Mya's craziness. She just about ate his face the entire time we were there.

Otherwise, I think my cat is having an affair with me. She's the only cat I can be near without going to an anaphylactic shock, or coughing until I vomit. Late at night I wake up to her laying on my pillow above my hair, which I think she chews on, or licking my lips, it's kinda hot... She's my favorite cat in the world. I keep trying to get (e:paul) to meet her since I'm convicned that she's natrually hypo-allergenic but he's not convinced.

I should end this soon, maybe just post a part too tommrow since if this is too long no body will want to read it.

Oooh one last thing. Let (e:pmt) borrow a copy of 300. I think that (e:paul) is going to hate it. It's really violent..., but something must be said about it's artistic presentation and the fact that there's 300 buff dudes in diapers. Like this dude, I'll just wait to get his review


Ok peeps. I miss you dudes, but at least we have the journals. Speaking of I have a lot of catch up to do....

Yeah, I guess this should be about me, but whatever!

I don't know how many of you know Kim, but she' s an amazing girl, she's been at a ton of estrip parties, and it's her birthday on Tuesday!

What does this have to do with you... NOTHING! But her birthday party is being celebrated tommrow (that's Saturday June 7th), and it's casino themed.

She'd like everyone to dress up as swingers, and you get chips at the door, she even touted a bunch of other type naughtiness (toys and such), so there's going to be lost of fun and merriment to be had by all...

Her and her roomie spent lost of dough on this shindig and I think they just want it to be a smash success so i'm calling out the troops.

It starts at 7:00 pm and it's at 153 Mariner (for all of you non natives and those of you suffering from naïveté it's that street right next to the Old Pink in Allentown... yeah).

Um... I'm excited.

You should be too... er better yet you should come.


Ooh and just so you'll read this posting! Here's a picture of the toolset I wanna buy from Target. I'm not sure if I wanna get this or go to Sears for something of better quality, the only thing is I don't have a lot of time to deliberate. I have to put Mya's bike together tonight, if I don't she'll revolt!

If anyone has any better expertise on tools and things of that nature just reply or like send me a text or something, and don't be a tool. Show up at this party!

Ok...

So I killed the fish.

...wait. Alright, let's back up, here's the story.

Meg has moved in, but back when we were just talking bout doing all that we were doing some heavy duty hanging out with one another, and as a result one or two of her pets were being slightly neglected. Ok she only has two.. a cat and a fish. I have no pictures of the cat (but I'll post some, Kitty is so cute and fuzzy), and as a result of the days events, there aren't any of the fish either.

One morning after a little scuff we made up in the parking lot of my office and she gave me her fish. He's He was a Japanese Betta. A war fish. The kill each other on sight and like very confined spaces non-oxygenated places. Which make them great desk fish.


Uh, the midget (Mya) came by the other day after her first day at the day care down the road and wanted to see the office, so I gave her a lil tour. She fed the fish that used to be hers and left happy that she'd gotten to meet so many people, but very much dissatisfied that she didn't get to write on any of the many grease boardsthat were scattered about and littered with markers.

Unbenouced to her she wasn't really feed the fish at all. Apparently that fish would play dead for them kinda often too and well I guess this time he just wasn't playing. This morning after several sharp raps on the bowl I decided that he'd had his fill of me and sent him on a trip through the municipal city sewer system.

I've been thinking of what kind of elaborate lies I could tell her should she ever return to see the fish, but then decided to just pick on up on the way back from lunch with (e:paul). We stopped at the fish store and I saw him. A shimmering blue beacon of hope and some snails and i'd always wanted snails, so since the betta and the snails normally got along I bought them all for about 10 bucks. (Who says money can't buy you friends)

I had some Halo 2 figurines lying around and decided to decorate the bowl a bit with a few of them. Good think too. Those snails love climbing on stuff. Plus, that Halo 3 beta has got people going wild, I figured I could get in on the action and have my own Halo Betta (snort, puns are funny.... they're not? really? darn...)

The old fish was red... this one is blue, so if Mya comes back ever, notices and asks why I'll just tell her that this is the other fishes cousin and he's bowlsitting for a tad while the red fish goes looking for that purple fish her mom dropped down the drain when she was two. (True story...about the purple fish anyway).

Here's some pics. I call the fish Mister Chef, and the snails are collective know as "the Brood".

I also popped up a picture of my cute lil psudofamily shrine. I love those gals.

On a completely separate note doesn't this picture of Jame Joyce look a lot like Paul Visco?


The Brood



Red Verses Blue


Mister Chef


Who ever get's enough of Mister Chef


Le Shrine

::Download Flash Video::

::Download Flash Video::

I haven't seen you peeps in a minute.

I know this is really short notice, but if you're wondering what to do this fine Friday night, but there's a free concert at the Albright Knox.

Starts at like 7ish, and I hear there will be some booze perhaps, and fud (not a spelling error it's pronounced fudd like elmer, but it's the stuff you put in your mouth when you're hungry).

I'll be there, so if it's not everything you hoped for you can throw tomatoes at me, or like come and say "hi, where're you been you friggin' abandoner!?", or something.

Later peep-o's

Ok...

Went to the park today (I know I've been gone for a long time, hey yall), took the midget and my nephew "Squishy".

His momma nicknamed him that when he was in the womb, and it hasn't gone away yet. She was watching "Finding Nemo", you know that scene where the goofy flat fish finds a piece of plankton and coos to it... I figure, if you end up a football dude. You know, on defense, being nicknamed Squishy, or "the Squish" not so bad. If you end up addicted to Wendy's and not quite able to scratch hard to reach places on your on body, not so good. Even if you end up a little tubby.

Both of the kids are about 3-4 and the exact same height, and they like to hang out w/ each other and 2 kids isn't too much. So away we had snacks and one of them dropped a fishy cracker (you know the Pepridge Farm doodles) near a nest of ants and the ant rejoiced!

It was kinda nice giving them a leg up and watching them go to town. We crushed a cracker up and srpinked them and it was gone in minutes. Very very fascinating.

Ants are a lot more fun when they're not in you're cubicle.

We bought this really awsome 10$ kite from target to fly since the day was delightfully windy and went to the watefront to fly it. It was really cool. Didn't take any sticks to get it up and running so it was out of the box and in the air in seconds, and out the grasp of the 3yr old you entrusted it to and into lake Erie in about 45 minutes. Still, I was so impressed that I'm going to go get another one.

• SPIDER MAN 3 SPOILER DON'T READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU PLAN TO SEE THE FILM ***

In Theaters Now! !

So don't spoil it for your self go see it before you read this



Went Thursday night because I wanted to see it before anyone else because of stupid people like me who'd release news about it before I got to see it. (Sorry if I'm doing that to you, but I did post warning so what ever dude). The woman even came with. She's awfully sweet for those sortsa things. She genuine likes nerdy things when they're put together well. We saw Grindhouse together which I will defend as being a must-see-in-the-cinema masterpiece that challenges the pallet and expertly pays homage to a vein of film that I'm very glad was forgotten and she loved it. A co-worker (you know who you are), confessed to not being able to see since it really is a gross movie, and he's lady fair's gross out factor was too high.

On the other hand. I'm very disappointed in what came of the 3rd installment of Spidey, which as far as I'm concerned was the best nerdy franchise out right now, but I guess after this pieceof crap the only thing that's left that hip and nerdy is the Batman series, correct me if I'm wrong. [Yeah, they may put out another superman, and (e:matthew) will disagree with me, but that movie was dull].

I thought the movie was well paced, but the scenes that would have looked far better on the cutting room floor outweighed the scense that were compelling and fascinating by about 10 to 1 (rough estimate, don't' quote me). There was some really good scenes (ok, only 1 comes to mind, but none of the charm of the previous films made it to the edition, and I can't understand why.

You know that brief manky and uncozy feeling you go when you watched our soon to be Dark Lord of the Sith, now whiny Jedi brat trade love pats with his poo poo on the veranda? Well Rami managed to stretch that feeling out for about a solid 30 minutes near the end of the film.

I heard that McGuire didn't want to do Spidey movies anymore past this one, and that maybe they were killing the series. They wrapped up a lot of live plots by the end of this film, and they could do another, but after seeing that crud I don't' care if they do. Especially after the hot steaming popping on that the best Spidey villain receives be becoming a bad plot device at the end of the film.

Ok, my rant is over. Hopefully I haven't detracted anything from your predestined movie going experience. Sorry it had to come to spoilerish material, but I had to get it out.


I missed you peeps...

So uh, I'm at another birthday party. this time its for Del's daughter Chloe. She slept most of the time but all the other kids had a good time.

Cookie monster showed up... couldn't find Del anywhere or else I'm sure he'd of gotten a picture with him too. Ok Del is inside the suit! His time inside consisted mainly of freaking out babies except for the cute on in the green shirt) and getting harassed by adults. Yeah I told del that his pic would be on the interweb seconds after he donned that outfit

If I can find it on my data card I)l upload me givin' cookie some luuv..


Oooh the later picks are from Shari Millers party last week at Lasertron. We played a game of Cyber sport which is like hyper lacrosse for parapalegics (sp?) Mario also made an orange anna nichole smit grave site cake... it was saddly delicious




Cute as a button






I wanted to pour a 40 on this cake


Birthday girl





Cookie Luv