Tuesday, April 26, 2005
I didn't go looking for Islam, Allah came looking for me
I haven't smoked a cigarette in 2 weeks...I've smoked 2 in the last 4 weeks and I feel better...baby steps, baby steps...I never was big on drinking anyway, but that's next on the list...Maybe the extremely occasional glass of wine, never ever the liquor again...Pork is a little tougher with the wedding coming up next May, we are mos definitely doing the Carolina style BBQ and that will be hard to resist but if we get Nate Thurmond or Memphis Minnie to do some halal spare ribs that should please both Allah and my brother Cyrus...The prayer times are a little more difficult for me to keep, especially at work, but no excuses...I am trying to learn the verses in Arabic, remembering order and another language is a lot for me, but no excuses...I want to know the peace of complete submission to Allah...I seek the light and comfort of Islam...and I don't want their eyes on me while I read on the bus...I don't seek nor serve misogyny, honor killings, terrorists, the Taliban, paranoia, hate, fear, greed, repression, destruction or any of the other things humans have twisted the words of their holy texts to explain away. Action speaks louder than words though, let mine define the man who I strive to be.
Monday, April 11, 2005
how long has it been...
since I really wrote something down here...some big changes at the workplace, now begins operation: takeover...I gots the google adsense stizz occcuring up here nowadays which I wrestled with for about 5 minutes til my curiousity got the better of me...I'm also working on get my free webhosting sorted so I can get some tunes up here, I have crates mates, crates..."Nanny 911" is one of the best shows on the tube along with "Show Dog Moms and Dads"...Still haven't seen Sin City...I got chased by coyotes when I was walking my dog Otto in the Presidio here in SF on Friday night before last...word...coyotes...here in SF...WTF...If you google coyotes and presidio... the National Park Service which administrates the Presdio has some stuff about coyotes on their site. SF chron sez they came across the pedestrian section of the Golden Gate bridge at night or sumthin...CRAZY
score on April 11th at 9:13pm-
revenue streams: sales, ebay, google
mood: optimistic
serving: Allah
listening to: Busta Rhymes "Turn it Up"
coyotes in SF: WTF
score on April 11th at 9:13pm-
revenue streams: sales, ebay, google
mood: optimistic
serving: Allah
listening to: Busta Rhymes "Turn it Up"
coyotes in SF: WTF
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
M.I.A.
Back ON for May 13th at the Independent here in SF!!!
Funk all over yo CAPPS watch list...
http://www.miauk.com/
http://www.boingboing.net/2005/03/12/mia_for_intergalacti.html
http://www.theindependentsf.com/may2005.htm
Funk all over yo CAPPS watch list...
http://www.miauk.com/
http://www.boingboing.net/2005/03/12/mia_for_intergalacti.html
http://www.theindependentsf.com/may2005.htm
Cannabis Compound Slows Artery Disease in Mice
LONDON (Reuters) - An active ingredient in cannabis can ease inflammation and slow the progression of coronary artery disease in mice, and possibly humans, researchers said on Wednesday.
Daily low doses of the ingredient, THC, prevented atherosclerosis, a primary cause of heart disease and stroke in western countries, without producing the associated high.
"We have proven that very low doses of cannabis therapy will have an anti-inflammatory effect that will slow the progression of atherosclerosis in mice," said Dr Francois Mach, of Geneva University Hospital in Switzerland.
He and his team do not know whether THC, or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, will have the same effect in humans. But they believe the discovery will help find compounds that produce the same effect in humans without side effects such as raised blood pressure or euphoria.
"The goal now is to find new molecules, new compounds, that will act only on this anti-inflammatory effect," Mach told Reuters. Atherosclerosis is a common disorder of the arteries. Fatty materials build up and eventually block the arteries and interfere with blood flow.
THC and similar molecules are known as cannabinoids. Cannabis, which contains more than 60 different cannabinoids, and hashish have been used for centuries for medicinal purposes.
Mach and his team gave mice which were genetically engineered to be prone to atherosclerosis very low oral doses of THC with food each day. The dose was about 10 times less than that from smoking cannabis.
"It is the first study showing any beneficial effect of cannabis therapy on atherosclerosis," said Mach.
Cannabis creates a high when it binds to receptors called CB1 on the surface of cells in the brain. In the mouse study, another receptor, CB2, which is found on immune system cells and has nothing to do with euphoria, was affected. The dose given to the mice was too low to create a sense of euphoria.
Mice given THC had a slower progression of the disease than other mice not given the compound. The scientists are now studying whether THC can prevent the illness in the rodents.
"We are planning to look in more detail into how cannabis interferes with inflammation," said Mach.
"What we have proven in mice is that acting on this receptor 2 ... has an anti-inflammatory effect that is very beneficial against the development of atherosclerosis."
In a commentary on the research in Nature magazine, Michael Roth, of the University of California in Los Angeles, described the findings as striking.
"But they should not be taken to mean that smoking marijuana is beneficial for the heart," he said.
...OF COURSE NOT
Daily low doses of the ingredient, THC, prevented atherosclerosis, a primary cause of heart disease and stroke in western countries, without producing the associated high.
"We have proven that very low doses of cannabis therapy will have an anti-inflammatory effect that will slow the progression of atherosclerosis in mice," said Dr Francois Mach, of Geneva University Hospital in Switzerland.
He and his team do not know whether THC, or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, will have the same effect in humans. But they believe the discovery will help find compounds that produce the same effect in humans without side effects such as raised blood pressure or euphoria.
"The goal now is to find new molecules, new compounds, that will act only on this anti-inflammatory effect," Mach told Reuters. Atherosclerosis is a common disorder of the arteries. Fatty materials build up and eventually block the arteries and interfere with blood flow.
THC and similar molecules are known as cannabinoids. Cannabis, which contains more than 60 different cannabinoids, and hashish have been used for centuries for medicinal purposes.
Mach and his team gave mice which were genetically engineered to be prone to atherosclerosis very low oral doses of THC with food each day. The dose was about 10 times less than that from smoking cannabis.
"It is the first study showing any beneficial effect of cannabis therapy on atherosclerosis," said Mach.
Cannabis creates a high when it binds to receptors called CB1 on the surface of cells in the brain. In the mouse study, another receptor, CB2, which is found on immune system cells and has nothing to do with euphoria, was affected. The dose given to the mice was too low to create a sense of euphoria.
Mice given THC had a slower progression of the disease than other mice not given the compound. The scientists are now studying whether THC can prevent the illness in the rodents.
"We are planning to look in more detail into how cannabis interferes with inflammation," said Mach.
"What we have proven in mice is that acting on this receptor 2 ... has an anti-inflammatory effect that is very beneficial against the development of atherosclerosis."
In a commentary on the research in Nature magazine, Michael Roth, of the University of California in Los Angeles, described the findings as striking.
"But they should not be taken to mean that smoking marijuana is beneficial for the heart," he said.
...OF COURSE NOT
"Although no one has investigated the possibility of rat humour, if it exists, it is likely to be heavily laced with slapstick."
Many animals may have their own forms of laughter, says a US researcher writing in the magazine Science.
Professor Jaak Panksepp says that animals other than humans exhibit play sounds that resemble human laughs.
These include the panting sounds made by chimps and dogs when they play and chirping sounds observed in rats.
This suggests that the capacity for laughter may be a very ancient emotional response that predates the evolution of humankind, says Panksepp.
Research suggests the capacity for human laughter preceded the capacity for speech.
Professor Panksepp, of Bowling Green State University in Ohio, US, explains that neural circuits for laughter exist in "ancient" parts of our brain, whose general structure is shared amongst many animals.
Young chimps "play pant" as they mischievously chase and tickle each other.
And when rats play, they make chirps which some scientists associate with positive emotional feelings.
When rats are tickled in a playful way, they become socially bonded to humans and are rapidly conditioned to seek tickles, the US neuroscientist explains in Science.
The chirping sounds could be provoked by nerve circuitry in the brain which releases the neurotransmitter dopamine. These dopamine circuits also light up in the human brain during human amusement.
"Such knowledge may help to reveal how joking and horsing around emerged in our expansive higher brain regions," Professor Panksepp writes.
Professor Jaak Panksepp says that animals other than humans exhibit play sounds that resemble human laughs.
These include the panting sounds made by chimps and dogs when they play and chirping sounds observed in rats.
This suggests that the capacity for laughter may be a very ancient emotional response that predates the evolution of humankind, says Panksepp.
Research suggests the capacity for human laughter preceded the capacity for speech.
Professor Panksepp, of Bowling Green State University in Ohio, US, explains that neural circuits for laughter exist in "ancient" parts of our brain, whose general structure is shared amongst many animals.
Young chimps "play pant" as they mischievously chase and tickle each other.
And when rats play, they make chirps which some scientists associate with positive emotional feelings.
When rats are tickled in a playful way, they become socially bonded to humans and are rapidly conditioned to seek tickles, the US neuroscientist explains in Science.
The chirping sounds could be provoked by nerve circuitry in the brain which releases the neurotransmitter dopamine. These dopamine circuits also light up in the human brain during human amusement.
"Such knowledge may help to reveal how joking and horsing around emerged in our expansive higher brain regions," Professor Panksepp writes.
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Monday, April 04, 2005
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