Today is a stumble and avoid writing cover letters day... so here are some interesting things I have discovered today!
A new study conducted by Lawrence Berekley Library states that if the nations roofs are converted to 'white roofs' or lighter color roofs then we could save up to two years in carbon dioxide emmissions. click here to read in more detail.
This study makes me frustrated at the 'red tape' of our justice system. I understand how converting the roofs could be costly but if this study was successful then why not just go ahead and make all new buildings with white roofs and deal with the others later. At least the the problem wouldn't get worse... This is all in effect now so I suppose my frustration is unwarrented but still erks me.
Another study has produced some good results for heroin addicts. This subject greatly interests me because opiates have affected my life many times... never ending well. I have seen friends slip away and dealt with all the drama and pain going with it. I will also say I have seen the romance of the drug but this ultimately is never worth it. So this study makes me hopeful but also worried. I am under the belief that addiction is a two-parter. It doesn't JUST have to do with the opiate receptors in your brain or JUST your self-will to push it away or not. There is a combination of the two. An addict will always be an addict unless you convince them to change their lifestyle and find another way to fulfill themselves rather than looking for that carefree escape... also an addict will always be an addict if they hear their brain screaming at them and their skin crawling until they get their fix.
So this study shows promise for the 'drug' Ibogaine to alleviate withdrawal symptoms and quiet the opiate receptors in the brain therefore making it 'easier' to convince an addict to change said lifestyle. The potential dangers that I myself see are this. In my experience an addict isn't just addicted to that one drug. Instead (again as I have witnessed) it is in their personality to seek out that feeling the drug gives them or an excuse to act the way they do. That being said I would worry that they would become addicted to Ibogaine itself or if its not such a challenge to quit it would destroy all the 'work' and 'growth' that comes with the journey of a recovered addict therefore making it easier to return to the drug. For example say an addict has been recovered for about 6 months to a year. In that time they have spent 4 months in rehab 2 months on probation and the rest of that time 'fighting to stay on track'. People in rehab have the most support, namely going to meetings, being around other struggling addicts that are also trying to stay clean. While on probation they could be in a group house where this still get continued support and have meetings but feel they have more control, namely it is their choice to stay sober because they could leave the house at any time and get high and come back. Then when they are totally on their own they could get high whenever they choose but they have worked so hard so why throw that all away and have to go through it all again... but if it’s a simple fix, oh I’m not going to spend 2 weeks in the bathroom puking my guts out and wanting to die... I just have to take this pill then talk about my feelings for a while and I'm free to continue my life so maybe just for this party this weekend I can feel a little better about losing my job by getting just a little high...
...there is no miracle cure. I could go on and on about this, but I am going to practice my willpower and stop here. Full article here.
...I am slightly fearful of the Dunning-Kruger effect... stupid people thinking(acting like?) they are smart and smart people being afraid that they are dumb... ("Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge"). I hate the feeling of second guessing myself but have learned that this is much better than being ignoratant and thinking you're the smartest person ever... Ignorance is not bliss.
Paradoxes...
Drinker paradox: In any pub there is a customer such that, if he or she drinks, everybody in the pub drinks
Curry's paradox: "If this sentence is true, then Santa Claus exists."
Exception paradox: "If there is an exception to every rule, then every rule must have at least one exception; the exception to this one being that it has no exception." "There's always an exception to the rule, except to the exception of the rule — which is, in of itself, an accepted exception of the rule."
Nom Lights!
Palindromes
A man, a plan, a canal: Panama!
Never odd or even.
Madam in Eden, I'm Adam.
Murder for a jar of red rum.
I feel like I have been asking more and more 'when did the present become the future?'
Dorsera anglica 
