403: forbidden

Bumble Bee & Chicken of the Sea canned tuna items listed here should not be eaten, due to failure of sterilization at the packing plant.

Ursula K. Le Guin on why human communication is like amoeba sex. (Yes, really.)

Some Cambrian-era fossil comb jellies had skeletons. (Note that comb jellies are not actual jellyfish. Instead they're the oldest/most basal animal clade. True jellies are relative newcomers.)

I've had what appears to be the common cold for just about exactly a month, now. My dysfunctional asthmatic lungs, further irritated by the sub-freezing Boston air, can't kick it out. A week ago, I started trying to damp down the inflammation with my seasonal steroid inhaler. It couldn't keep up, but the only changes in symptoms were progressive exhaustion... and I stopped wheezing. I was initially naive enough to think that was a good thing. Oh so not.

I landed in urgent care Friday morning, with symptoms that were apparently minimal until I started coughing. Things I don't want to hear a doctor say again: "You're not wheezing... Oh. You're not moving enough air to wheeze."

They gave me four rounds on a nebulizer (another way of aerosolizing medication), which turns out to be intensely dislikable. Oh, and a chest X-ray. There aren't words for how happy I am to not also have pneumonia on top of it all. They sent me home with a bottle of prednisone, which is the 'stop that right there!' of steroids for suppressing immune response. I "should" start seeing the positive effects today. Still waiting...

Also got a peak flow meter, the relationship of which to my oximetry readings I'm still trying to figure out.

So far, so good? But God I'm tired.

[ETA 01:49, 2/10/2014 - Prednisone does seem to be having an effect. The little airways are synched up better with the big ones, rather than delayed (and making crackly-bubbly noises) from being nearly closed off as they were before. It's not magic, but it's something.]

Paychecks for Pulses: Universal Basic Income in the NYTimes.

"All Books Have Genders", Niel Gaiman.

I had never thought of stories as being gendered before, and am going to need to turn the idea over in my head a few times in order to see if it fits anywhere.

John Scalzi has written a viciously satirical letter to the politicians whose comments about sexual assault have made the news recently. (Trigger warning: Rape.)

"What use are the humanities? As a weapon in the hands of the restless poor."

(h/t siderea)

I hope those of you who celebrate it had a great Shavuot, and that Americans in general had a good Memorial Day.

I've been settling into my summer internship well, and it's keeping me busy with worthwhile tasks. (Unlike classes, which often seem to keep one busy with non-worthwhile tasks.) I went ocean kayaking last Thursday, and must say that it's beautiful out there. Hoping/planning to make that a weekly outing. Pictures may follow.

Back when it was an unfinished batch of songs, I linked to a few items from solarbird's Cracksman Betty. And then it grew up and became an album. :D You should go listen, particularly if you like rock, folk, or alternate history tales. (My favorite tracks are "Song for a Blockade Runner" and "Columbia", but YMMV.)

How to Read a Scientific Paper. I wish more people knew how to do this.