Peoples in school don't know no English

One of my responsibilities is at work is to grade student essays (for those who don't know, there is now an essay on the SAT, and the whole exam is out of 2400 points.) These are essays that students write during simulated exams.

Some of these essays really suck. Nouns and verbs don't agree; past, present and future tense are all mixed together; double negatives; conversational English. I'm surprised that I haven't yet seen any IM/text message abbreviations. "I think that 2 B happy U must B able 2 communicate successfully." Except that the last two words are probably too complicated.

We don't pay as much for gasoline as we should

Some time in the late '90s I drove through that spit of Canada between Michigan and Niagra Falls. Gasoline was advertised there at 80 cents per liter, which works out to a little over three dollars (Canadian) per gallon.

I knew at the time that we paid very little for gasoline, compared to the rest of the world, but this was the first time I came face to face with the issue. I thought then, as I still do, that here in the US we should be paying prices on par with the rest of the world.

I realize that this is something of a self-defeating position. I enjoy driving, and I do a fair bit of it - gasoline forms a very real part of my expenses - and I don't have money to spare. But I also realize that it is because of the low price of gasoline that Americans neither invest much in public transit, nor use it. I think that the availability of gasoline has also fed into the American notion that driving is a God-given right, rather than a privilege to be granted only to those who can show adequate mastery of the necessary skills.

I am not the first to point out that our nation's dependence on oil, including foreign oil, has created real international and political problems for us. I doubt that I'm the first to propose that the low price of gasoline has reinforced that dependence by encouraging oil use and discouraging investigation and investment in alternative energy sources.

If I lived in a warmer climate, I'd probably use used vegetable oil for fuel; it's just too cold here during the winter, and I can't afford to keep two vehicles.

Since oil is an exhaustable resource, we do need to develop alternate energy sources. Unfortunately, we don't tend to invest in the future - we defer maintenance on our bridges, and prefer to treat the uninsured in the ER rather than provide them with insurance. We also seem to be devoid of a sense of personal responsibility ("Yes, I realize that my client was hypertensive, obese, had coronary artery disease and a family history of cardiac disease, and had spent the morning shoveling snow (that well-known trigger of heart attack), but it was the Vioxx that caused his heart attack.") So we need some sort of a kick to get us to act. I've long thought that high gasoline prices would provide that kick, though three dollars per gallon doesn't seem to have done very much. Maybe we need to wait for regular to go to $6.59 per gallon.

We probably won't be waiting very long.

Scruffy is Shadow's puppy

I've noticed this since about the second day after they moved in with me, though exactly how to describe it has eluded me until now. Shadow, of course, goes where she pleases, with rare interference by me. Scruffy spends much of his time following her around like a puppy, including going up to the window sill, to the food bowl, and to the litter boxes, which sit together in my tiny bathroom. It is this last behavior that I find most humorous.

I am led to wonder, though, if he was separated from his mother too early, and Shadow is a sort of surrogate.

I am also continually impressed with his resilience. Last night both cats were still scratching at their ears, so I gave them the mineral-oil Rx again. Shadow for the most part accepts this intrusion, though I don't think she's particularly thrilled about it. Scruffy has to be caught, which is always traumatic for both of us.

The chase is always centered around the bed. Typically under-the-bed is his favorite hiding spot - it is also the hiding spot that it is most easy to catch him at, as I can remove all of the boxes and other hiding places, then fold up the bed (a futon) and grab him on the third or forth attempt. So, if he doesn't start out under the bed, I chase him until he's there, then close off the bathroom and gate off the steps, then remove all of the extra hiding places.

The first two or three times we went through this, he inflicted some significant scratches on me, but I've since learned to wear socks, long sleeves, and leather work gloves. When possible I also use a towel, but I haven't yet figured out how to catch him with the towel, and so have to transfer him to it, wrapping his limbs and claws to his body but leaving his head sticking out, like a little kitty burrito.

I do worry about hurting him.

This time I caught him, and wrapped him up, and it occurred to me that if I gave him some tuna before letting him go, then he might associate the tuna with me, in addition to the chase, capture, and treatment. Unfortunately, I didn't think of this until I had him caught and wrapped up, and so hadn't prepared the tuna.

This wasn't helped by the fact that I have a manual can opener, rather than an electric one.

So once I had treated his ears, I had to carry him over the gate, down the steps and into the kitchen; find a can of tuna and the can opener; open the can (that was the most interesting part - if only I had a prehensile tail) and dump it out onto the only clean plate I could find, which involved attacking it with a fork to pry it out of the can. I then offered him some tuna with a fork, but he would have none of it.

Earlier he had showed real interest in a previous can, half of which I put on a plate and placed for the cats. Shadow immediately dug in, and I sat quietly petting her as she ate, hoping that this would serve as an example for Scruffy, and he clearly wanted the tuna, as he approached the plate several times. Each time he came to the plate I reached out (slowly and calmly) to pet him, and each time he then retreated. Eventually he just sat a foot from the plate and watched his sister eat all of the fish. He didn't get any tuna, and I didn't get to pet him.

So I was surprised that he refused the tuna now. I guess he was too scared or traumatized. When I let him go he disappeared under the bookcase (his other main hiding spot), so I placed the tuna plate out for him there, but although he came out after a few minutes and sniffed at it, he didn't eat any. Once again, it all went to Shadow.

He's looking scruffy again, too, since I haven't been able to brush him since a few days ago, when I was came upon him and his sister sitting quietly on my desk chair, and was able to pet and brush him for a few minutes. He seems to like being petted, but his fear is a more powerful motivator.

San Francisco takes a new tack on universal healthcare

This past Friday, the New York Times reported on a new universal healthcare effort in the City of San Fransico. (No doubt other papers reported on it also, but the NYTimes article was the one that came up on my Health Econ class's discussion board). Back in the last millennium, the city's residents passed a referendum to provide healthcare for all, but until recently, the city has been unable to put together a successful program. This program, called Healthy San Francisco, came together when they took a slightly different look at the subject: since many of the city's residents already have coverage, couldn't universal coverage be achieved by concentrating only on those without coverage? So far, it appears that it can, but the program is still coming together.

The issues, for those new to the subject, include the fact that our current system for universal healthcare (viz: the emergency rooms of the nation's hospitals (viz (videlicet) is a term I don't get to use enough)) is just about as inefficient a system as Rube Goldberg could ever devise. Ill, uninsured people avoid seeking medical care (because they can't pay for it) until their situation becomes dire, at which time they report to an ER. Medical issues that at their incept might have been treated with simple, inexpensive treatment are often much worse by the time patients seek treatment, meaning that treatment is more costly in terms of time spent ill, time spent in treatment, time spent by the healthcare provider, physical and support services (X-ray, blood work, etc.) and financial cost. A wound on the leg that might initially have required cleaning, stitches, and instructions on wound care might eventually require expensive antibiotics for infection, and amputation of a deeply infected, gangrenous leg. And treatment in the ER costs more than what the same treatment might cost in a primary care setting (in costs to the provider, which are often passed along to the patient)

So SF has launched a program to address these issues. The NYTimes article is unfortunately vague on how the program is funded, since this would be the most interesting part for me, as the need for such a service is not news. Without that information, it is difficult for me to see how easily the SF program might be adapted for other communities. It will be interesting to see how the program fares

My cat sleeps in strange positions

She must have about forty vertebrae in her spine, based on how she twists herself about. Her head is presently under her tail and rear legs.

It's very cute, but very disturbing.

Providence Fire Department's Special Hazards Unit secretly works with the Justice Department

On the radio:
Providence Fire Department Engine 12*: Can we get Special Hazards down here [at this auto accident]?
PFD dispatch: Will that be for hazmat or for an extradition?
PFD Engine 12: For an extradition.

I think they meant extrication, but I can't swear to it.

*I don't actually remember which unit called in; apologies to Engine 12.

Fat-free rock candy

Overheard at the candy store:
Woman 1: Oh, look, they have rock candy
Woman 2, looking closely at the label: Yeah, but it's the fat-free kind, so it can't be any good.

* Special thanks to my brother, who passed this along