Homeopathy, Hackers and High Efficiency October 24, 2001February 20, 2017 HOMEOPATHY Gray Chang: ‘Sorry to spoil your faith in Oscillococcinum, but I hate to see people wasting their money on useless cures. I would suggest herbal teas instead, since at least there is some possible benefit from the ingredients, and you get some hot water and relaxation time with the tea, which is always beneficial.’ Doug Gary: ‘I’ve had great experience with Oscillococcinum. And here’s a little secret: You can use about 1/3 of each little container and it will work just as well. Think of the savings! Homeopathy only requires a small amount of the remedy to work. And work it does. It has transformed the physical and emotional well being of me and many people I know. I understand fellow readers’ skepticism about things they haven’t experienced — and this one is worth experiencing. Check out this link to some great info and books. David Jelinek: ‘With regard to homeopathic remedies: I’ve used Zicam for colds, and on the box it says that it’s homeopathic. Normally that would set off alarms in my head, but this stuff is amazing. Just as advertised, it knocks out colds in a day or two. One of my friends had the same experience. And there is clinical research to back this up (which is why I became interested in this in the first place). And I have no financial interest in Zicam. I just think it’s amazing that we’ve actually cured the common cold.’ ☞ And let’s not forget Cold-Eeze – zinc – that apparently also mitigates the severity and duration of colds. As for Oscillococcinum . . . you really think I’m going to let a little science fly in the face of my hard-won ability to pronounce it? Next you’ll be telling me there was never such a thing as antidisestablishmentarianism. HACKERS Dan Nachbar: ‘You said: ‘I’m actually more afraid of disruptions to the electric grid and/or our computer systems than I am of Anthrax.’ I don’t think you need to worry about the computer networks. There have been ‘computer terrorists’ for years – they are called ‘hackers.’ Folks in the networking business know what it is like to spend every day under constant attack. It’s annoying, but life goes on. ‘The good news is that the Internet, at its core, has been built with the assumption that it will be constantly under attack. The people who designed the guts of the Internet spent (and continue to spend) many a sleepless night puzzling out what tricks a perfectly informed and dedicated attacker might use and then designing mechanisms to thwart such attacks. The usual standard is to design a system that even the designer can’t break into. In many other businesses, security is not a central or well-rewarded part of the organization. As evidence, consider the poor quality of the folks doing the work. In contrast, computer security folks, particularly the core system designers, are some of the very brightest people in the business. (Microsoft’s failure to incorporate comparable safeguards in its software and their spectacular PR success in making this failure appear to be an ‘internet’ problem rather than a Microsoft specific problem is a topic for another day.) ‘So overall, for computer networking, nothing is changed by recent events. To my way of thinking, the recent change is that other ‘systems’ (air traffic, US Mail, and who knows what’s next) are now joining the ranks of the ‘hacked.’ These other systems have operated for years with few if any safeguards against bad behavior on the part of users. What surprises me is that it took the bad guys so long to think of it. In the end, the rest of the world’s systems will need to be redesigned and then operated with the same ‘paranoid’ design assumptions that computer network designers have used for decades. The result will be some user annoyance, but life will go on.’ HIGH EFFICIENCY Steve Meyer: ‘The refrigerator is another place where gobs of money can be saved. In my case, I bought a new energy-efficient fridge for $800. For doing this I got a $200 energy-saver rebate from the power company AND my electricity usage dropped so much that, in addition to buying fewer kilowatt hours, the power company reduced the rate I pay per KWH. Quite a nice payback (the money and feeling good about saving energy).’ ☞ Click here for a little more background and some efficient brands. Karen Tiede: ‘Last night, I went to BJ’s Warehouse Club. The car next to me was idling when I went in – thought someone must just have dashed in for a case of tuna ($0.45/can). I shopped every aisle, but that car (Blazer, natch!) was STILL IDLING when I came out!! Why shop at a warehouse club in the first place if you’re going to spend what you save on gas, not to mention wear and tear on the engine?!?’ ☞ Not to mention having your Blazer stolen. Marvin Dennis: ‘No mention of fuel cell technology? If I understand correctly busses in certain metropolitan regions are being fitted with these. Problem now is size and weight but very enviro-friendly. And fusion as a power source looks like it’s only 15-20 years out. After seeing some of what’s going on at Atomic General in La Jolla, it appears this may be a practical alternative. The waste from nuclear fusion has a life of decades not millennia; and the raw materials are cheap and plentiful. You can find out all about both at howstuffworks.com. Mike LeBoeuf: ‘Your three stated goals – Crush terrorism, Create a third-world Marshall Plan, Work toward energy independence – would be the major focus of my administration if I were President. It’s not enough to eliminate the terrorists. We have to fill the void that allows this cancer to grow through aid, education and opportunity. In my opinion, there never would have been a Third Reich had there been a Marshall Plan after World War I. As for energy independence, when will we ever learn? Let’s hope the horrors of the past month will cause us to get serious about this.’ ☞ Mike LeBoeuf for President.