June 2012

Diabetes and the law

There is a big discussion over the new planned ban on sugar filled drinks in NYC. One of the main arguments that people for the ban put forward is that sugary drinks are a factor in obesity, and that obesity causes diabetes. This is actually being shown to be false. The correlation between diabetes and obesity was actually the subject of my graduate study while I was in school. The data was interesting.

To understand why diabetes is not causal to obesity, we need to look at what diabetes is. There are two types of diabetes, one is a childhood onset, called type one, or insulin deficient diabetes. Type one diabetes is abbreviated as DM1, for Diabetes Mellitis 1. The old school abbreviation is IDDM, or insulin dependent diabetes mellitis. The other type is type 2, or insulin resistant diabetes. This type is the one that is frequently blamed on obesity. It is abbreviated as DM2, or NIDDM.

Studies over the past 15 years are showing that the obesity is merely a symptom of the disease that appears to have a genetic component. What they are finding is that to get Type 2 Diabetes you need to have
some combination of a variety of already-identified genetic flaws which
produce the syndrome that we call Type 2 Diabetes. Only one in five people who are obese have diabetes, and nearly one quarter of people who are diagnosed with type two diabetes are not obese.

A study done in 1998 of the prevalence of diabetes among twins produced some interesting results. What it showed was that identical twins have an 80% concordance for Type 2 Diabetes, but that non identical twins had much lower concordance. This kind of finding begins to hint that there is more than just bad
habits to blame for diabetes. A high concordance between identical twins
which is not shared by non-identical twins is usually advanced as an
argument for a genetic cause, though because one in five identical twins
did not become diabetic, it is assumed that some additional factors
beyond the inherited genome must come into play to cause the disease to
appear.

 Certain genes have been found that are markers for type 2 diabetes. In people of European descent: SHIP2, ENPP1, PPARG, TCF7L2, HNF4-a, PTPN, FTO, KCNJ11, NOTCh3, WFS1,  IGF2BP2, SLC30A8, JAZF1, CDKAL1, and HHEX. In non European descendants, there are different genes. The more of  these genes you possess, the worse the performance of the insulin producing Beta cells in the pancreas.

It has long been known that African-Americans have a much higher rate of
diabetes and metabolic syndrome than the American population as a
whole. This has been blamed on lifestyle, but a 2009 genetic study finds strong evidence that the problem is genetic.

In short, the scientific evidence is mounting that the medical community may have been mistaken in insisting that obesity was the cause of diabetes, rather than a symptom of a syndrome that results in diabetes. Using the law to remove the freedoms of individuals is a serious matter, and to do so by using a false premise is a tragedy.

By Divemedic, ago

Vote for the moon

A group in Orange county, Florida is circulating a petition to be added to the ballot that would pass a county ordinance to require that all businesses in the county give employees paid sick days. They are seeking one hour of sick time for every thirty seven hours worked. The law supported by the petition would also prohibit employers from disciplining employees for calling in sick. This will increase labor costs by 3%, as well as make it more likely that employers would have staffing woes, further increasing costs to employers.

This stupid law will probably pass, because the idiots voting for this will not understand that employers will have only three ways to deal with this added expense (essentially, a tax):
1 Cut costs. This will happen through lower wages or lay offs.
2 Increase revenue. They will raise prices. This means that many of the businesses that currently do not offer sick time, like convenience stores and fast food places, will charge more. Hello, local inflation.
3 Simply close Orange County locations, and move out of the county.

This is the basic flaw of Democracy: Everyone thinks that they can live at the expense of everyone else by simply voting for it.

By Divemedic, ago

Homework

Why do people go to school? What is the purpose? Nominally, it is for the student to learn certain things, as defined by the objectives of the course. When I was a student in public school, I found the actual learning process to be boring. I would seldom do homework, and I usually put my head down and slept in class. Yet with all of that, at exam time, I would get A’s. Students and teachers alike would complain that I wasn’t doing the work. I pointed out that the point of the class was not to do homework, but to master the course objectives, which I had done, as evidenced by the fact that I had passed the exam.

So teachers began making the completion of homework a substantial portion of the course grade. One of the things that I remember from a 7th grade world history class was that we were given assignments every day, and we were required to complete these assignments and place them in a notebook. This notebook would be collected at the end of the semester, and would be graded. The grade for this notebook would be 60% of the overall grade for the course. I remember one of those assignments. It was a line drawing of a Roman Gladiator, and the assignment was to color in the picture. I felt it was a waste of time, and I didn’t do it. I scored 90% plus on every exam, and I failed the class. The girl who sat next to me failed every exam, turned in a stellar coloring book, and got an A in the class.

This is why we are turning out educated idiots. The focus in school is on obedience, not education. That is why I don’t criticize this mom, who is under fire because her daughter didn’t turn in her homework.

If I had to do it all over again, I would drop out of school as soon as I was able, and take the GED. Then I could attend a community college for an associate’s degree. Public school is a waste of time.

By Divemedic, ago

Chavez gun control

So as Hugo Chavez, the Socialist leader of Venezuela, sees his lead in polls cut from thirteen percent to only five percent in only six weeks ahead of the October 7 election for his third term, the civilian ownership of guns is now outlawed. Socialism is such a good idea, that it has to be mandatory and backed by a monopoly of government force.

Hugo Chavez’s government says the ultimate aim is to disarm all
civilians, but his opponents say the police and government may not have
the capacity or the will to enforce the new law.
Criminal violence is set to be a major issue in presidential elections later in the year.
Campaign group The Venezuela Violence Observatory said last
year that violence has risen steadily since Mr Chavez took office in
1999.

Do you think that this was a manufactured crisis, just like Fast and Furious? The past decade has seen a consolidation of power by Chavez. Him being declared president for life is just around the corner.

Gun confiscation will be followed by dictatorship.

By Divemedic, ago

WTF?

So today, I read about an 11 year old that is pregnant because she was at a sleepover, and the 36 year old man who lives there, while high on Lortabs and Xanny bars, mistook her for his wife and had his way with her.

Then I read about the Canadian 14 year old that is on her third pregnancy with her 35 year old boyfriend. Where are the parents in all this?

Before I was retired, I held the record for medics in the area, by transporting a 12 year old girl to the hospital who was in active labor. I just can’t understand this sort of thing.

One thing I do  wonder, is why are girls hitting menarche earlier and earlier?

By Divemedic, ago

The Shield

I was told that they would be as rare as hen’s teeth, but I got a telephone call from my brother on Monday. He said “Aren’t you looking for one of those new Smith and Wesson Shields? They have one at the gun store.”

I arrived at the gun store 30 minutes later, and we walked out the door with it less than 15 minutes after that. The advantages of a CCW in Florida.

It is indeed thin. Less than an inch thick. The reason I wanted one has more to do with another dimension: Most of the miniature pistols have grips that are so short that my last finger hangs out there in space, and isn’t wrapped around gun. I have been told that you can get used to this, but now I don’t have to. With the 8 round magazine inserted, it fits my hand just fine.

We took it for a test drive, and the female of this household loved it.In fact, if I ever plan on carrying a Shield, it looks like I will have to buy another one. This is her target:

All 12 shots that she fired were in the ‘danger zone’. With 100 rounds through it on this test drive, not a single malfunction. No jam filled break in period for this pistol.

By Divemedic, ago