To grow life to destroy it

Even if I were a strict vegetarian, some of the rhetoric being flung around the stem cell debate would still give me pause.

Quoted on NPR yesterday, stem-cell research opponent: "We can't grow life only to destroy it."

What? Where stop the squeamies so that murder doesn't tweak on a conscience? We grow life all the time with the sole purpose of destroying it. Entire industries and economies predicate themselves on growing and killing life. Meat packing plants. Corn silos. The freezer aisle offers both animal and plant life generated only to be killed.

And not just killed: eaten.

Perhaps the morality becomes a question in a science lab with just one cell at a time. Isn't one of the first tenets of 4H not to name your livestock? Perhaps we're afraid scientists are too familiar with the individual cells. I didn't think individual cells were complicated enough to identify provenience.

On the other hand, we, as a society, seem to think nothing of growing chickens in boxes to spec then killing them.

When a stem-cell someone tells me that we're growing fibroblasts out of humans cells to augment the protein content of my dinner, then I'll have a snark and get really upset.

I smell a faint reek of hypocrisy. Was that last night's dinner left out too long?

My half marathon...

I like half marathons. Wind me up and watch me go. I don't go fast, though I'm not last either. I wouldn't mind being last, as long as I was running the best possible race in me at the time.

Had a great day today. This was the first annual Boston's Run To Remember, 5M and 13.1M courses through boston. It's been a few years since I've done a half. It's such a humane distance. I know how long it takes me to do a whole marathon (4:50+), I've done two at remarkably similar times.

In general, perhaps one should avoid first annual events like one used to have to avoid 1.0 software; this went off pretty well. They changed the start time last week from 10 to 8am; the 8am start got off at about 8:18. The first mile was slow; there was a City of Boston pond in one of the roadways (but it means this slop is melting and I'll take it, even with a minute's delay). The water stops weren't frequent enough, with enough tables or pre-poured water, and they should have been set up on both sides of the course.

Besides that, though, I had a great day. There were plenty of finisher's goodies, the course was well-patrolled (it being a remembrance race for fallen police officers, after all) and well-marked. The expo was a lot easier to get through than the marathon expo. The post-race fest was fest-y. There was plenty of GU on the course for those who partake (I do).

I met a guy, Paul Martin, an amputee who smoked me with a 1:31 and has written a book "One Man's Leg." I promised I'd do the library thing and give it a read. Real friendly. The book's got good reviews on Amazon (which could mean anything or nothing).

For the numbers crowd, I ran my typical half time, 2:04, and am quite happy with things. Off for some protein and the rest of the day.

WHDH-TV - Boston - The News Station

more winter, March 10th

More snow. Hard froze nearly halfway through March. I'm going bonkers, barking mad, with the snow. it's time to think about daily sunscreen. too bad I only have three square inches of skin exposed during the daylight hours still. drag to have had snowcover since december. world is small. shrinking.

two weeks ago saw snowdrops poking up where some snow had melted. they got theirs, I guess. fun to imagine their silent, astonishing strength if they actually manage to rise and flower after all this nonsense.