Science is Vital (by sarah)

Science is vital - it provides us with technological break-threws which are the corner stone of the modern economy, it provides medicine which we have all benifited from in one way or another and it has fueled the creative industries. At a time when other countries have increased their science funding regardless of the economic state or even becuase of it, our government has decided to slash funding.

Ham stringing the country for at least the next 20 yrs if not 100 (in my opinion). I am watching the brain drain increase as friends are already feeling for other countries where they can continue their research and eat.

This is why I just thought I'd bring Science is Vital to your attentions. Please sign their petition regardless of what your job is (without science you wouldn't have your TV, toaster, kettle! or car - just think about it for a while).

There is also a demo on the 9th of Oct and lobbying on the 12th for those who can make it - check the site out for info on those.

The Google-Fu and MySociety Rap (by sarah)

My Google-Fu
Does Work for you
I writes to my MP
I helps my community

Remember
TheyWorkForYou
And MySociety

Helping you to say what's wrong
Which is why I made up this song
To let the people know
About how and where to go
To set things straight
To fix things
B4 it's to late

When I sees things out of place
I writes it on MySpace,
Live Journal, Blogger, WordPress and twitter
Yes I'm a social media witter!
Citizen journo of the worst kind
Google and you will find

ME

Doing electronic rants
For my community

First Day Back (by sarah)

It's Jean's first day back at school today - she is actually five now!

I made sure we had everything ready last night and we where ready in plenty of time until it came time to leave and I discovered I'd completely forgotten lunch!

Anyway she got to school ok - she was very impatient this morning to get there and instantly disappeared into the playground with the other kids.

The only thing was I had to write a letter to the school about the library book they had sent Jean home with over the summer - it was a big book of bible stories and crafts and also some little 'moral' stories and true stories. It was these latter two that made me decide to censor it.

They were absolutely awful 🙁 with implications that those who had been abused in the Nazi Death/Work/War Camps were not protected by God because they didn't hold secret bible meetings :/ And many similar things, including a child in what I would call a mentally abusive situation trying to gain some self respect only to be hit back down because they 'stole' from the parents :/

I'm sorry I just could not read this to my child. And because these bits where hidden in the 'side-boxes' I don't think the school had any idea what it was like either. I was highly unimpressed.

Chris Al-Asward (by sarah)

Last night I leaned of some sad news, Chris Al-Asward also known as Lethe Bashar died in July just after his 31st birthday. This came as a bit of a shock as I was just wondering where he had got too so went to check his twitter profile. Being the brains and drive behind Escape Into Life I hadn't noticed a complete absence as his other twitter account was still going strong being the one that drove his EIL project.

On his profile page was a tweet saying he had tragically died 🙁 I couldn't believe it and felt crushed at the same time and then that sinking feeling of - do I have the right to be this upset - after all I have never met him in the flesh. He lives the other side of the world but he had found me on twitter and had encouraged me in the realms of art and writing.

When I have pain flare ups I sometimes cannot sleep and he was often there to talk too. I started my art journal because of a side project he started with the idea of it being sold in the EIL shop. I've took far longer on this than I have expected but I love working on the Art/Visual Poetry Journal.

It is also through him that I found The Flying Trilobite a young artist who seeks to combine science and art, I can't remember but I think he was profiled on EIL. And it was then through him I found the paleo-art site Art Evolved finially giving me a way to combine the two parts of me - The Artist and the Scientist.

Part of my anguish last night was having not noticed that someone I regually talk to was gone, I know the last few months have been pretty much a wipe out for me but still 🙁 Also as Alaric agreed with me - what of his books? His work? His Art? His Creations? What would happen to them?

I have been told since that there are plans to publish these and everyone is working hard to mantain the websites. The is also a Prize in the pipelines The Chris Al-Asward Prize for braking down the barriers in the arts.

I did cry and it made me realise that my definition of friendship is probably quiet different from most peoples. I am sad that Chris is gone. I spent last night trying to track down all his sites and stuff - getting stumped for a while until I remembered he'd gotten rid of one of his twitter accounts and stuff like that.

I also signed his memorial book.

TYCHRIS

Blood Donation Stupidness (by sarah)

As some of you know I can't give blood due to having had a blood transfusion myself in the past - this is a newish rule and I have given blood in the past but I understand that there are risks of human mad-cow disease and things and these where becoming concentrated by the fact that those most likely to give blood are those who have had a life saved by it.

I personally would have died aged 4 and half without blood so am very keen to encourage people to donate. I try regually to get Al to go but after an initial issue of him being underwieght (for his height) he has just been too whimpy.

Then a friend of mine pointed out he couldn't give blood though being perfectly healthy - the problem? His sexuality.

(Warning I do obviously now talk about sex and things in the post.)

Know anal sex runs a higher risk of bleeding and therefore fluids mixing compared with virginal sex. So I always assumed the rules would be like - if you have had unprotected anal sex not for six months or something like that but it's not.

The exclusion is on men who have anal or oral sex with other men as they are a higher risk group for viruses that live in the blood. But hang on a minute HIV is spreading rapidly through the hetrosexual population and erm... what about women having anal sex with men and for that matter oral sex with men?

I could find no reference to them only if you've had sex with a man who's had sex with another man - but erm... that is assuming they would actually have told you? And then the restriction is 12 months before giving blood.

Prostitutes fall under the catagory of never give blood too. But what of say someone just sleeping around that is not mentioned plus they say all the blood is tested and they are always short of blood. There is no distinction over weather condoms are used for 'gay' sex. Why I wonder - last I checked they were still number one for reliability and protection. A woman on the pill who sleeps around I would have thought would be a higher risk than say men who have had say three boyfriends ever?

I don't have the statistics so I can't say for sure - but they are also lumping everyone/man together here. Though they are saying it's only men who have been sexually active with other men but there are different life styles.

Ok so the viruses such as HIV and hep. aren't detectable in early infection so leave that buffer zone of 12 months since unprotected sex or exclude everyone who have ever had anal sex or oral sex with a man! And that would include a large proportion of women!

I understand that this may result in more blood being taken that subsequently can not be used but would that out weigh the amount of usable blood you would get?

I wonder what the EU and other countries rule on this one and weather getting their transmittion data would be helpful here?

I may have missed it but I didn't see any restrictions on women having unprotected sex :/ Of any kind!