Quoting The New York Times:

President Obama ... said the tobacco legislation was "a bill that truly defines changes in Washington" and one that "changes the way Washington works and who it works for."

These kinds of comments are often just political BS, but this statement is somewhat true since, as I’ve said before, the only reason tobacco is legal while heroin is not is the rich & powerful lobbying force behind tobacco.

Quoting The New York Times:

The legislation will enable the Food and Drug Administration to impose potentially strict new controls on the making and marketing of products that eventually kill half their regular users.

Obviously the fact that heretofore the FDA could not regulate tobacco -- a horribly addictive and deadly drug -- is just absurd.

Quoting The Wall Street Journal:

"Allowing the FDA to regulate tobacco in any capacity would inevitably lead to the FDA regulating the family farm," Rep. Howard Coble, R-N.C., said during the House debate.  "This could create uncertainty for family farmers as they are already struggling."

Talk about BS.  "Family farm" is not synonymous with "tobacco farm."  And guess what, when the product that you sell kills millions of people annually while serving virtually no valid purpose, then you deserve to go out of business.

Being rich and famous must not be all bad.  Scott Adams posted an entry called Tuesday, the entirety of which is:

No blog post today.  Sick cat.

...and he still gets 20+ comments on it.

Of course based on the kinds of things he posts, this could be one of his experiments on humanity and psychology which will be explained in a later post.

Quoting The New York Times:

That’s the term being used to describe the invisible yet toxic brew of gases and particles clinging to smokers’ hair and clothing, not to mention cushions and carpeting, that lingers long after smoke has cleared from a room.  The residue includes heavy metals, carcinogens and even radioactive materials [...] Third-hand smoke is what one smells when a smoker gets in an elevator after going outside for a cigarette, [Dr. Winickoff] said, or in a hotel room where people were smoking.  "Your nose isn’t lying," he said.  "The stuff is so toxic that your brain is telling you: ’Get away.’"

Over the weekend we were in Maryland for Travis and Megan’s wedding.  Before the wedding, I had to go to Best Buy, and this Best Buy was in a mall, which was so packed that I had to park about a quarter-mile away.  As I walked towards the store, I thought, "At least I’m getting some exercise."

What I needed at Best Buy was a battery for Kim’s camera, because hers was dying and the charger was back in PA.

It occurred to me that humans and batteries are constantly dealing with the inverse of the same problem.  For humans, the problem is that our bodies are so good at storing energy that we need to go out of our way to get rid of it on a regular basis.  For batteries, the problem is that they can’t really store very much energy, so they need to be recharged often.

The solution is obvious: we need a way to plug our phones and other gadgets directly into our stomachs and our butt cheeks.

I only get sick about a couple times each year, and even then it’s usually mild, so I may be one of these people.  I checked out this article to see if I match any of their "secrets."

Training for the Body - I’m not an exercise nut, and I could stand to do more of it.  But I do exercise at least a couple times per week, even if it’s just 30 minutes of drumming.

Pay Attention to Your Mouth - gargling with antiseptic mouthwash?  No.

An Apple a Day - No.  One per month, maybe, and then only in pies.

Don’t Worry, Conquer Stress - Yes.  I rarely get stressed over anything.

Up Your Vitamin Intake - Yes; I take a multivitamin daily, and I drink milk daily (mentioned in the article for vitamin D).

Mind Over Body - Uh, this one is talking about some loon who "doesn’t believe in sickness" so... no.

Just Say Om - Yoga/meditation?  No.

Increase Your Social Ties - No.  I’m a hermit.

Accentuate the Positive - "a positive emotional style -- described as happy, enthusiastic, and calm" - yeah pretty much.

Wash Your Hands - Over and Over - Yes.  Also note this video wherein they recommend (a) turning off the faucet using a paper towel so as not to re-contaminate your hands and (b) using your shoe to press the toilet flusher.  Of course (a) is blindingly obvious to anyone who understands the purpose of hand-washing, and (b) is obvious to anyone who has seen a public toilet; unfortunately "obviousness" seems to fail just about everyone I ever see in a public restroom.

Get Your ZZZs - Yes.  Admittedly, being self-employed makes this much easier, since pretty much the only thing that determines when I go to sleep and get up is "when I feel like it."