gdp's Comments

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Plant workers: Don\'t toss needles in recycling bin | Local & Regional | Seattle News, Weather, Spor

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 03:30:37 +0000

brionlogan, you're doing it just fine. Not to worry. In some municipalities, they are set up to incinerate medical waste like sharps. But in areas where they don't, the landfill is where those needles go. The only thing is to see that they can make it there with an intact safe container. Your 2 liter bottle is just fine. My own needles are from insulin pump infusion set inserter needles, and smaller, so I generally use a smaller plastic drink bottle. When full, I duct tape it closed, write "medical waste, used needles in permanent black marker on the tape, and toss it in the garbage bag along with the used cat litter. I'm pretty sure nobody is going to be digging it out...

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Plant workers: Don\'t toss needles in recycling bin | Local & Regional | Seattle News, Weather, Spor

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 03:25:35 +0000

Be sure to set up the propane fired deep fat turkey fryer up next to it, so you can tend to both at the same time. And remember, very well frozen turkeys fry up the best... No, don't do this. Please.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Department of Licensing typo turns Milton teen into 21-year old | Local & Regional | Seattle News, W

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 03:19:42 +0000

Not only a typo, but a bit unusual in that here's a DL photo that's really cute. Doesn't hurt that she's 15, but those cameras seem usually able to make anyone, no matter how amazingly beautiful, look like something the cat dragged in. She lucked on on that score...

KOMO - Seattle, WA : What was with the spooky \'sky tornadoes\' over Seattle? | Weather Blog | Seattle News, Weather, Spo

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 01:25:29 +0000

Joeld79, if you really believe all that crap, may I recommend you discuss this with your doctor. There are meds and other therapies that can help you deal with these types of vividly imagined, dreamed up, paranoid delusions. Also, you should learn how to properly evaluate the types of information and it's sources that you've likely based these thoughts on. Remember, just because it's on the Internet, doesn't make it true. In fact, the folks with real knowledge properly researched and attained, usually do not just dump it on the net. Meanwhile, all the kooks and nutcases put their crap on the net just as fast and visibly as they can. It's up to you to winnow the chaff from the wheat. It will also help if you are vigilant to be sure your looking at info impartially. If you only look for things that confirm your beliefs, you can start from almost any point, and manage to document your belief. And never forget Occam's razor: Given two possible explanations for a thing, each equally possible, the simpler one is very likely to be the right choice. Learn the meaning of "media literacy". It's wildly obvious you have not yet done so, nor mastered the skills it entails...

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Police: Renton crash victim identified through public input | Local & Regional | Seattle News, Weath

Mon, 9 Jul 2012 07:34:22 +0000

Interesting that Komo still on tonight's 11 o clock news, like this article, was saying police had not yet released her name. meanwhile, over on King 5, they were interviewing the young man who had recognized the victim as his mom, and contacted police to identify her. They had her name and photo on screen. That means that not only was the information now public, but we know the family already knew, since the son was the one who recognized her from the info shown on TV... Wonder why Komo wasn't monitoring the other stations in order to try and stay up to date...

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Case file: Sex offender photographed young girls at Costco | Local & Regional | Seattle News, Weathe

Sat, 23 Jun 2012 05:34:18 +0000

Even if simply taking the pictures of young clothed girls in public isn't a crime (and I suspect it isn't unless his sex offender status makes it so), his then posting of those photos en mass on Russian web sites seems like it should at least be a violation of privacy rights, and publishing rights. Adults photographed in public may not have a right to expect the photos of others to not be published, but I suspect that photos of minors published without parental permission would fall into a separate category. And even if they have no illegal status attached, certainly with his history, they constitute evidence of his fixation on young girls, and possibly intent to do worse. One only hopes that the kids themselves, and hopefully the parents too, don't then get dragged into some public mess. With luck, the legal proceedings can do what's needed without it becoming a big spectacle that could only serve to trouble those kids.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : City reverses course, allows breast cancer survivor to swim topless | Local & Regional | Seattle New

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 16:58:42 +0000

Seems odd that in a city where, last weekend, something like a hundred thousand people lined the streets and cheered wildly for something like 700 or 800 people mostly or fully naked on bikes except for a bit of paint (and not always even that), that anyone in city administration would somehow worry that anyone might still be offended by this. Even full nudity in public, if with no intent to offend, is simply not illegal or regulated in Seattle. Going topless? Almost not an issue to notice on some beaches... It's just sad that this parks official would have even thought this could be a problem. And applause for this lady's courage in dealing with her situation.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : One sunny day in June (that\'s all, folks!) | Weather Blog | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Breaking

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 15:30:17 +0000

On the other hand, while it may not have been bright and sunny, the weather cleared up enough, and was warm enough, that I not only got slightly sunburned on the unpainted areas of my Solstice parade cycling paint job, but it was nice enough to entice a whole lot of enthousiastic onlookers (I saw one count of 100,000 people) to show up, and rough estimates of between 650 and maybe as many as 900 fellow painted cyclists. That would be, I think, a record for the fun event. If the weather is good enough to allow that, I'll take it.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Election rules put brakes on city\'s parade float supporting same-sex marriage | Local & Regional |

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 02:49:31 +0000

Odramamustgo, just what gives you the odd idea that we "liberals" would automatically object to a Christmas nativity scene on public property? That, by itself, is not likely to be an issue with most liberals, at least those thinking clearly. The issue, when there is one (and it's often blown way out of proportion, usually by civic leaders, no matter which side of the political fence, trying too hard to be politically correct), is when the displays of one religion are allowed, while similarly peaceful, celebratory displays from other religions, are not allowed. THAT becomes an issue with clear thinking liberals. The other times there are issues with religious displays, no matter the type, is when some crackpot, often an overly motivated proponent of one religion jumps to the contusion that his/her religion, being of course, the only correct one, is more entitled to put up a display than others, and defends his/her views with baseless but time and money consuming law suits... Liberals don't have a problem with religious displays. we DO have problems with governments favoring one religion and barring others, or trying to promote one religion over others. Both of these are a problem simply because governments should take particular care to separate themselves from religions. People have every right to express and celebrate and display their religious beliefs. However, neither they, nor governments, have the right to dictate what those beliefs and practices should be to other people. And dude, this isn't liberal or conservative. It's one of the bedrock principals of the U.S. constitution, put there by founding fathers who were much closer in time to their own varied history of religious persecutions which often were a reason why they'd come to the new world in the first place. Whether liberal, conservative, or a tea drinker or whatever, if you consider yourself an American, you should feel an obligation to defend these principals of the constitution.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Poll: Americans know how to save energy, but balk | National & World News | Seattle News, Weather, S

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 00:21:39 +0000

I said neither that bison didn't contribute, nor that eating meat was the only, or even the major cause. Only the simple statistic that existing herds of beef, and poultry farms contribute sufficient Methane to be contributors on a par with fossil fuels to greenhouse effects. It might be pointed out, however, that when bison roamed in their millions, there were also vastly greater amounts of forest and rain forest areas on the planet, which help to reduce greenhouse gasses. The whole picture of global warming is very complex. Human agriculture is only one part of the puzzle. I do not claim that Human consumption of meat is the cause of global warming, only that the agricultural practices that support it, have a significant effect. Much more of an effect than would be the case if we did not eat meat. And this is far more than just the methane from the animals. Figure in as well, the energy costs of raising the animals and the food needed to feed them, as well as the carbon sinks that might exist on the land used to raise the animals, if they weren't there (I'm thinking greater amounts of carbon using plants/crops...). Global warming is not the only concern. Consider that 75 percent of the corn raised in the U.S. is used to feed cattle. How much of the worlds hunger problems might be eased by that corn if it were used to feed people instead. Raising cattle does make for tasty steaks. But it takes far more calories of corn to produce a meal of meat, than the corn could provide directly. For every 100 calories you feed a cow, you end up getting back roughly nine or ten calories worth of meat (closer to 20 calories, if figuring the energy from milk). Is this the only factor in climate calculations or world hunger calculations? No, of course not. But it simply is data that exists, and can be verified, and it's data that seems a good deal more than just trivial. Draw whatever conclusions you wish from it. I didn't make it up. Just passing it on.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Poll: Americans know how to save energy, but balk | National & World News | Seattle News, Weather, S

Sun, 10 Jun 2012 00:26:03 +0000

Don't get your science information just from the news. Most of the newscasters, and especially anyone on Fox, simply don't know enough about it,or science in general, to be able to intelligently discuss it. So they parrot what they've been told to say. Frankly, the same is true of many on the other side of the political fence. Instead, base your information on the actual data. It's harder to find, but it's out there. While the role of CO2 is only partially understood, and the roles of other greenhouse gasses, especially Methane, have been overly ignored by the media, the overall measurable effects, regardless the sources, are undeniable. You can debate till we're all blue in the face the degree to which global warming is human caused (very likely, even if the degree to which it is so isn't fully known), but what is not in question is that it's happening, and that it's got the potential to cause dramatic negative impacts on human civilizations around the world. Rather than arguing who's at fault, it would be better to start figuring out how to deal with, and perhaps reduce, those negative effects. Regarding debates. Don't ever evaluate the value of a body of data based on the loudness of the debate or the naysayers. That just means the subject has touched nerves, likely those with a bunch of money. For example, here we are over 50 years beyond the point where the data linking smoking and lung cancer was no longer in question. Yet there are still people who aren't sure, who think it's a ploy (by whom? for what end?). It's a testament to the power of advertising and the intentional confusing of the issue by those (In this case, people who don't want to see tobacco production and use decline) who don't like the data. In the case of global warming, the data suggesting that fossil fuels have a very large role to play is virtually irrefutable. But the loudness of the debate simply underscores how much money is at stake. I'd suggest to you that all of us, liberals, conservatives, tree huggers and oil men, would be delighted to find that in fact, fossil fuels do no harm. It would make things so much easier for all of us. Nobody has much to gain from falsely promoting wrong ideas of global warming. But we all have an enormous amount to loose if these fears prove true. The downside to doing everything possible to prevent global warming is a bit of cost, some inconvenience and annoyance. The downside of not doing anything and then finding it's both as bad as some feared, and no longer preventable, would be a worldwide disaster for humanity. The math on that just doesn't support ignoring the data on the assumption that it must be political or otherwise wrong. The risk, if it's right (and by far the majority of people who actually understand that data, believe it is) is just too great.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Poll: Americans know how to save energy, but balk | National & World News | Seattle News, Weather, S

Sat, 9 Jun 2012 22:52:54 +0000

Partly. It was Ted Stevens, however, who converted it to it's final form of a series of Tubes... Actually, though, he never claimed to have invented it. Only to have taken a role in it's development. For an accurate account: http://www.snopes.com/quotes/internet.asp

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Poll: Americans know how to save energy, but balk | National & World News | Seattle News, Weather, S

Sat, 9 Jun 2012 22:50:52 +0000

Part of the problem is that this is enormously inefficient. You have to feed the cow 100 calories worth of plant food (like corn, etc) in order to get back about 9 calories when you eat the meat. It's a bit more for milk (somewhere shy of 20 calories, I think), but this is still a very inefficient way to use those initial 100 calories of food.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Poll: Americans know how to save energy, but balk | National & World News | Seattle News, Weather, S

Sat, 9 Jun 2012 22:48:24 +0000

Naturally raised, grass fed (etc) beef is indeed healthier than what is normally found in the markets. But all beef, no matter how lean or well raised, still has unhealthy levels of fats, and the wrong kinds of fats at that. And digestion of meat causes an acidification of the blood stream (two of the amino acids released into the blood by digestion of meat are quite acidic), and the body has to adjust the pH. The result is loss of bone mass and osteoporosis as we age. Cultures that don't eat meat, also don't get osteoporosis. As well, the metabolism of meats releases a cascade of reactive oxygen species (ROS) an similar damaging compounds, which may play a significant role in cancers and the inflammatory conditions in the blood vessels that are part of the process of coronary and other artery disease. Plants, by contrast, have fewer of these acidic amino acids, and are also full of a wide range of phytochemicals and antioxidants which work to combat those damaging effects. They're there for a reason. We animals generally try to shield ourselves from the damaging radiation of sunlight, through hair, skin pigment, skin opacity, clothes, etc. We do that to minimize absorption of those damaging ionizing energies. Plants, by contrast, cannot do this. They NEED that energy to photosynthesize their food. Plant cells are not somehow immune to the damage that can be caused by that radiation. Instead, they defend themselves with a whole raft of chemicals designed to repair the damage as it occurs. Those same chemicals, in our diet, can do much the same thing for us, protecting our cells from similar damage, even if caused by slightly different mechanisms...

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Poll: Americans know how to save energy, but balk | National & World News | Seattle News, Weather, S

Sat, 9 Jun 2012 22:28:34 +0000

To an extent, yes. But compare our teeth to those of a true omnivore, like a bear. While we can chew meat, we don't have the teeth to tear meat from the animal much less catch and kill it in the first place without a tool like a knife to help. We started eating meat before we were fully modern humans, simply because we'd had to move from the plant rich forests to grasslands, we stood up on two legs so we could see predators and run down prey. So yes, to that extent, we're omnivores. But our underlying anatomy, such as our digestive system and metabolism, never changed. It didn't need to. Evolution only cares about maximizing survival in order to reproduce. Once we've reached an age where we no longer increase the survival of our offspring, Evolution no long cares. The diseases that plague us are not those of youth, though they plant their seeds there. We pay the price for our diet as we get older, and the mismatch between our design and our diet catches up with us. Yes, we have canines and incisors, but only barely evolved. Again, compare to the teeth of a bear. Compare our anatomy to those of chimps or gorillas, or other great apes. Teeth are almost the same, as are digestive tracts and metabolisms. They are all complete herbivores, with the slight and occasional exception of chimps, who may occasionally add small amounts of animal food such as insects, grubs, etc. While human history is one of an omnivore's diet, most of the evolution that made it possible, in response to environmental changes that made it necessary, were evolutions in our culture, our ability to make and use tools, to develop the ability to control our food sources through agriculture and animal domestication. If we wish to live healthy to an older age than our paleolithic ancestors usually did, we will have a better time of it if we match our diets to those of our more distant ancestors from whom we inherit our underlying metabolic/digestive/etc design. However, I'm the first to admit that this is a lot to ask of many people, who've lived their whole lives with what may amount to incorrect dietary information and habits. Our entire food economy is set up to support these habits and beliefs, and changes are not likely to happen quickly. But just consider... On average, with all other factors figured in and adjusted for, people who follow a vegetarian or vegan diet typically live somewhere around 13 years long than those following the typical American/western European diet, and they tend to live those longer lives with fewer health problems as they age. This doesn't mean that a typical meat eater cannot also live to a ripe old age. It just means that on average, the vegetarians do better...

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Poll: Americans know how to save energy, but balk | National & World News | Seattle News, Weather, S

Sat, 9 Jun 2012 20:26:35 +0000

One seldom discussed means to save energy and lower one's "carbon footprint" has to do with diet. The climate impact of raising animals for food is enormous. People who move to a vegetarian, or better, vegan, diet, lower their carbon footprint by far more than those who save with efficient cars, or even those who move to a bicycle. In fact, the global warming effect caused by raising animals for food, including the Methane emitted by livestock raising (from the back ends of the cows, and the manure of both cows, but also pigs, chickens, and the rest) and the impact of cutting down forests to raise those animals, actually exceeds the impact of the use of fossil fuels by themselves (51 percent of global climate warming is due to agriculture)... Kinda makes you think, doesn't it. Not that I'm saying don't worry about CO2. That's important too, but it's just not all of the picture. And more, people don't usually expect the answer to the question of which source of meat in our diet has the most damaging effect on the global environment. The answer is fish. While eating fish may be somewhat healthier than eating beef, the means of getting those fish are an absolute disaster for the ocean ecosystems. Miles long drag nets pretty much sterilize whole large swaths of ocean floors, and these systems don't regenerate quickly. While people by culture, are omnivores, biologically, we retain the much earlier design of pre-human species. We're designed as herbivores. We get frequently told that eating more fruits and veggies would be so good for us. But the agencies saying this just politically cannot quite go all the way, and saying (correctly) that eating meat actually is not good for us. Milk and dairy may be even worse. But just try to convince the entire state of Wisconsin that milk is not good for you. Or Montana that beef is unhealthy... Way too much money, livelihoods, and more is invested in our meat centered national diet for such information to be easily spread by any government sources (USDA, for example). But if people did switch to a plant based diet, incidence of heart disease, strokes, and type 2 diabetes would drop to a tiny fraction of what the country sees now. Many cancers would be reduced by as much as 70 percent. But enough. I'm starting to lecture... sorry 'bout that. but if you're interested, do some research. The info is actually out there if you look.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : \'Beat the Bridge\' raises millions to beat diabetes | Local & Regional | Seattle News, Weather, Spo

Mon, 21 May 2012 03:55:40 +0000

What a sanctimonious sounding statement. I'd like to assume that was not your intention. but your narrow mindedness is clear. Perhaps you're not actually that ignorant, but merely didn't think your comment through before posting? Here's a thought: Which is more godly, to sit in a church and listen to words, which no doubt echo those you've already heard many times before, about living life as god intends; or to put those ideas into practice, to actually get out and demonstrate with caring selfless actions that you know how to do so?

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Chef Paula Deen hid diabetes, pushed high-fat food | Entertainment | Seattle News, Weather, Sports,

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:40:38 +0000

Sorry Kiara. I do tend to be wordy. But I wasn't making it up. It's very well researched, and not "fad" or fringe information. And for the record, the sort of plant based diet I was talking about is one almost 70 percent of the worlds population eats, and in those populations who do eat that way, heart disease is often almost unknown, as are strokes and type 2 diabetes. Type1 diabetes and many cancers are also drastically reduced. But despite the evidence, Americans cling to their myth that you need lots of meat, dairy, and high quality protein, and that eating all the highly processed and chemically altered and contaminated foods we all seem to be willing to buy, is a good and acceptable thing. It my be one of the big reasons why America has the health care crisis it does. These diseases are all the most expensive ones, the ones that drive up all the health care costs the most. Sorry. Getting wordy again.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Chef Paula Deen hid diabetes, pushed high-fat food | Entertainment | Seattle News, Weather, Sports,

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:26:19 +0000

Well, sorta. (Also type1, for the last 44 years. Also insulin resistant (type 2) on top of it (thanks dad...) You're right that day to day, fat isn't the enemy. But for type 2 diabetics, being overweight certainly IS a factor, perhaps one of the biggest, and high fat in the diet makes that more likely. Among other things, high fat in the diet, and higher body fat, drastically increase insulin resistance, worsening type 2 diabetes. Also, high fat diets raise cholesterol and blood lipid levels, raising the risks of heart disease drastically. Considering that heart disease and strokes are the biggest killers of diabetics (and non diabetics, but diabetics are at much higher risk of both), any diabetic who doesn't pay attention to the fat content of their diet may be ignoring an important factor relating to their long term health. And getting fatter makes good control more difficult for type 1 diabetics too. Also, regarding your comment on milk products. Two points. Taking full fat milk versus skim milk, while the percentage of carb calories in the skim milk is higher, it's because of the lowered fat calories. The carb content is the same for each. Half and Half has lower carbs simply because it's the skimmed fat that makes it, with less of the water soluable lactose (milk sugar). Second, just as a note, are you aware of the disturbingly strong link between a higher incidence of type one diabetes in children who were nursed on a cows milk based formula instead of breast fed? Gives you a moments pause. So does the strong research showing that certain cancers are strongly enhanced when a diet is high in milk protein, or other animal proteins. That's not a concern of diabetes control of course, but certainly something to be aware of. All in all, it emphasizes the advice that a healthy diet should be one high in vegetables, grains, legumes, fruits, and lower in fats and animal products. Read "The China Study". Read Dr. Esselstyn's "Prevent and reverse heart disease". Read any of Dr. Dean Ornish's books on diet and heart disease. Or Dr. Joel Fuhrman's "Eat to Live". Just a few of the many researchers who, over the last 20 or 30 years, have been zeroing in on the fact that the closer to a Vegan diet a population eats, the healthier it is. This is information that's not promoted by the USDA (a government agency charged mostly with promoting agricultural industry and interests, not public health, despite the fact that they're the one's issuing dietary guidelines and helping to set nutritional policies.), or by the American heart association or American Diabetes association (both of which are strongly influenced by the financing from those same food industry sources that influence the USDA). Even doctors who know this to be true, often are reluctant to suggest it to patients simply in the belief that most patients won't consider the idea, thinking that switching to a vegan diet is too radical (as if bypass surgery isn't radical...) Recent research into diabetes control has found, quite surprisingly, that the same vegan diet, even though lower in fats, lower in protein, and thus higher in carbs, nevertheless can result in better diabetes control, even for type 1s. In my own case, since switching to a vegan oil free (vegan, with no added oils allowed either, as suggested by Dr. Esselstyn's book) my weight has dropped, my insulin dosage requirements have dropped very significantly, by cholesterol levels have dropped (total cholesterol last test was 83, causing my cardiologist to happily tell me to cut my statin and niaspan doses in half, since lowering those values by diet was much better than doing it through drugs. About the only thing the diabetes has done that isn't as common in non-diabetics is that my triglyceride levels have not dropped as much as the other lipids. My endocrinologist is also very supportive of the whole thing, noting my A1C has remained the same, despite higher carbs in my diet. And for the record, if what I now believe to be true about diet and health is as true as I think it is, then at least for me, I not only cannot eat an entire deep fried cheesecake, I won't touch even a bite. Neither the fried part (high fat) nor the cheese (dairy, animal source protein) fit. the sugar part, if in small portions, isn't so bad. but frankly, since changing my diet, my whole taste for fatty foods has completely changed. It no longer even tastes good. The cheese I used to love now tastes oddly clinging to the tongue. Not good at all. Now, I'd much sooner grab a nice fresh Honeycrisp apple, or make myself a fresh salad if I've got the munchies... Yes, changing my diet this much has taken somewhat of a learning curve to figure out what I can eat and want to eat and how to cook without oils. But I feel a whole lot healthier, and the test numbers seem to support that as well. Oh, and Paula Dean's diabetes? It suggests that there is such a thing as Karma in the world... And even before changing my diet, her whole style of cooking seemed, and tasted, totally toxic to me. I don't hate myself enough to eat like that. Never did.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Man gets lost class ring back 45 years later | Offbeat | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Breaking New

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 07:58:33 +0000

If you really want to replace it, you can. Class ring companies keep the molds for individual styles almost forever. (I once got a replacement for a Josten's ring that had worn totally out, some 50 years after it had been made. Company still had the mold, and even covered the replacement under warranty (not perhaps possible with an actually lost ring, rather than a worn out one), so it cost my customer only postage. That was some time ago (25 years or so), and perhaps these days they're no longer so generous with warranty coverage. But they do still keep the molds, and can make an exact duplicate for you if you contact them. Your school should have records as to which company was used, in the event you no longer have the paperwork...