White Lightning Axiom: Redux: Neato.

Friday, February 09, 2007

Neato.

Yesterday, I discovered Google Reader. I'm hooked. Nearly all of my most frequent visited sites (All of the ones I put into blogrolling) are now in my subscription bank. Sure, I still visit the site's that I read and comment on, but the blogrolling publish detection alogrithm was not cutting it. Sooo much easier this way, and I don't have to keep plinking sites to see if any of you have posted today. So no more Methuselah blog-reading sessions for me. Why did I not pick up on this sooner! I can be such a neophyte sometimes.

Karate is going well for me. Joints are hurting, but not failing. Soooo, either healing is taking place or irrevocable scarring. On top of that, I was sent into combat (sparring) last night and was quickly disabused of any feelings of grandeur from my short-lived glory of earning my orange belt. Of course, I've got the next form down and just need to tidy it up for the next test. After the sound 'schooling' I got last night, I think I'll need to dedicate a bit more energy towards paying attention to what some of the more seasoned members are doing. Either to mimic their tactics or at least learn a bit about them so as to formulate a workable solution to my habit of providing them with a target rich environment.

Finally, this:

Trans fats banned in Philadelphia
By Patrick Kerkstra - INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Some bad habits, it seems, are easier to kick than others.

It took five years for Philadelphia City Council to agree on a smoking ban, but today - mere weeks after the idea was first proposed - council unanimously approved a bill banning trans fats from most dishes served by city restaurants.
<...>
Philadelphia's ban on the use of such products begins to take effect on Sept. 1, when restaurateurs will no longer be permitted to fry foods in trans fats or serve trans fat-based spreads. By Sept. 1, 2008, trans fats will be banned in all other types of food prepared in Philadelphia eateries. The ban will not apply to pre-packaged foods - such as a Tastykake Krimpet - sold in city stores and eateries.[ed. and scrapple, spam, etc...]
<...>
New York City has already outlawed use of trans fats in restaurants, and 19 states are considering banning or restricting use of trans fats. Many restaurant chains and institutions - such as universities and school systems - have already done away with trans fats or sharply reduced their use.

Philadelphia's ban will be enforced by the Health Department, but it does not include penalties for violators. Ramos said he does not expect eateries to flout the law, and he said penalties could be created if they were later deemed necessary.

Farging nanny state nonsense. Didn't anyone learn from Prohibition? I cannot wait till the Mob opens up the "Al's Trans Fatty Acid Speakeasy" and watch as gourmet chefs run off to Moose Jaw to ply their poisons. The interesting points here are that 1) There are no Fines, 2)Restaurants only, 3) Philly only. Sooo, if you wrap your food in plastic or sell it at the curb, are you exempt? What defines an 'eatery'? Is a pub included? And what's stopping me from just eating the entire tub of Crisco at the supermarket? I'm probably going out on a limb here, but most people cannot afford to eat out at restaurants so much that this could possibly be the problem. It's the Prepackaged food that I wolf down by the crate that kills. Precisely the tax-base the politicians do NOT want to destroy. You want to save money on health-care? Then give a tax deduction for keeping healthy and within the weight range that is considered appropriate. Yes, I know, fraught with fraud and bell-curve cases ... but it's GOT to be asymptotically better than THIS!