I am CuTRis

I stopped following a couple of friends I knew way back in school recently, because one was touting MAGA and the other is promoting anti-vaccine misinformation. For the latter, reposting other people's garbage about their child dying from the vaccine without researching it or even considering the alternative world we would live in if there were no vaccines, I just can't argue with people who can't accept science. One could say that seat belts killed a person in a car accident, if that person was wearing a seatbelt. The reality is, the person would have died with or without the seat belt if the accident was severe enough. It's also not unusual for these stories to be completely made up. But these individuals aren't going to be thankful that they don't have to endure an iron lung the way people did back in the 1950s during the polio epidemic. They just want to propagate crap.

Recently, when I was editing my book "Covid Time," for the last time before publishing, I couldn't help but notice all of the crazy things that we as a people have been through--especially since the pandemic. So I was kind of lost in thought, when a co-worker was talking about having covid during a virtual meeting. I offhandedly said "at least it's not killing people the way it was originally--I think due to the vaccine." The supervisor, who referred to COVID-19 as "The Big C," (which is a reference to cancer in my world) expertly moved away from the issue, and I couldn't help but think I had made a stupid political faux pas. Lost in thought about everything we've been through, and all the people we have lost, and all of the stupid political decisions that had been made on both sides, it slipped my mind how politically charged the whole idea of vaccination has become. Science cannot be talked about any longer, because of a faction on the p...

There were just four of us for Thanksgiving. I cooked, and my turkey took longer than expected. My mom thought it was the addition of all those Brussels Sprouts I added halfway through. I suspect that contributed to the delay. But dinner was good, and we had a toast to those friends and family we lost. There were five since July. One of the two cousins just two weeks ago, my wife's aunt in Sheboygan, my friend Kaikaik in July and my dad in October. It was a tough year. My job is an unknown, so 2025 will be interesting as well. May we weather the lies, tariffs and hate mongering to come. My wish is that we learn to tolerate differences, trust science, and consider the welfare of others in the future. -KJC

The current trend is to blame systemic racism for inequality, and cancel culture has stopped the exploration into other possible factors; and so, solutions. Some questions I have are what are the reasons that some African-Americans have succeeded while others haven't? Second, of the growing number of black homeowners in my neighborhood, many seem to be recent immigrants from Africa. Why are they able to succeed? Answering the systemic differences between success and not may offer real solutions. Simply looking at obvious, surface issues without further exploration is inconsistent with scientific study. If a patient told her doctor she had foot pain and the doctor simply prescribed pain medication without further study, the results could be disastrous. If the pain was caused by diabetes, introducing more medication for the body to process could make the original disease worse. Yet, this is how cancel culture diagnoses social illness. Now, after all that's happened, is there le...

My newest novel is a Science Fiction. It is titled, Noah's Ark: 39 Million Light-Years from Earth   https://www.amazon.com/Noahs-Ark-Million-Light-Years-Earth/dp/1696073782 It is available in paperback or eBook; and just in time for Christmas! https://www.amazon.com/Kevin-J.-Curtis/e/B004SBGR7W/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJuw_UrKxhA Language is unsuitable for small children.

https://www.smm.org/

We were lucky enough to be given a tour of the SPRUCE Project in the Chippewa National Forest, North of Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Our tour guide was W. Robert Nettles IV, SPRUCE Project Operations Manager at Oak Ridge National Laboratory . I went into the site fueled primarily by my lifetime of interest in the natural environment; as well as my interest from volunteering as a park ranger in the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. However, by the time I was done, my interest in technology, from over 10 years as an IT professional, was thoroughly peaked! Definitely off the "beaten path," in a spruce bog in Northern Minnesota, this site boasts an incredible array of scientific equipment that is supported by an amazing technological infrastructure! There are control sites and some of the chambers have added heat, carbon dioxide, or both. A lot of equipment and experimental testing goes on 24/7, 365 days per year. These guys know their stuff. The 10 chambers are connected ...

Pooping in a Bucket May Add Years to Your Life UnAssociated Press May 18, 2018 An unscientific study by two guys from Toledo is raising eyebrows around the scientific community. It seems that pooping in a bucket, rather than in a toilet or on the floor, can actually add up to a decade to your lifespan! No one is sure how it works, but the study came out in writing and it was double-spaced, so it has to be true! People around the country are "jumping on the bandwagon;" as bucket sales have skyrocketed by 423% since the report first hit the New Bedford Journal of Medicine.

My son is in Kindergarten and so he decided on his own, to make a model of our solar system with paper and color pencils. At his age I was probably watching ants...

My preschool age son was telling me about herbivore s, carnivore s and omnivore s—while correctly naming various animals that belong to each group. Then he told me that he likes "all the ivores!" I had to agree that I like all the ivores too...

I saw the Mummies exhibit at the Science Museum of Minnesota. I went because I had a complimentary ticket. After having done so, it has reinforced for me that grave desecration when perpetrated by a museum, is called "Science."

"Driving" the Tugboat   Prehistoric Rhino

My son enjoyed the Minnesota Science Museum on Saturday. He really liked the miniature tornado exhibit.