health

I've been thinking about this lately—especially after the uproar having to do with the Georgetown student and Rush Limbaugh—but why haven't more people questioned the fact that the HHS mandate only provides free birth control, and not a hundred and one other drugs that are, in fact, much more helpful to the saving of lives? The Crescat, in fact, is also thinking about this (why free birth control...).

Birth control, let's face it, can be helpful for one of two goals:

1. Sexual relationships without 'consequences' (or, to put not too fine a point on it, women being able to have sex without pregnancy as a result).
2. Limiting the expansion of the human population (eugenics).

Either one of these two goals is not something I want my tax dollars supporting. Besides the fact that I'm morally opposed to all forms of artificial birth control, I'm also opposed to paying for other people's sexual gratification, and I'm extremely opposed to population control.

Why, if we're going to take millions or billions of dollars of people's money and use it for free drugs, does this money not go to insulin, to healthy diet programs, to subsidization of healthy foods (veggies, fruits, etc.), or to cancer treatments? Actual lives would be saved through these kinds of measures. If we're going to become a socialist society (at least in terms of healthcare), we should start funding more essential drugs, and not drugs that encourage promiscuity and population control...

What do you think?

See also: Obama's HHS 'Concession' No Concession at All

Since I've started working full-time as a web developer a few years ago, I've probably spent more than 8 hours every workday (and a few hours most weekends) sitting perfectly still at a desk, moving only my fingers, and occasionally my arms, to type, move a mouse, and drink something here and there.

With reports that working standing up isn't really all it's made out to be (you still need to move around, and you're moving pressure points from your lower back to your lower legs...), and other reports stating that it's more about periodic movement and stretching that will help with musculoskeletal fitness, I've been thinking more about ways I can force myself to move.

I've finally found the perfect tool for this, and it's simple and easy to use, to boot! It's called BreakTime, and it's $2.99 on the Mac App Store.

The screenshot says it all, but once you use it for a day, you'll realize how quickly a 45-minute period can go by, and how infrequently you would move around without a tool like this. I try to get up, walk around my condo, do a stretch or two, and refill my water bottle, before sitting back down and hitting the Done button.

If you're like me, you need this app.