Dear Austin Allergies

Dear Austin,

I hate your allergens this year.

 

Am I crazy or are everyone’s allergies like a million times worse than usual this spring?

I rarely get allergies outside of about a one-week period in early fall when all of the mountain cedar blows down with the cold temperatures, but this spring I am dying. Literally, I feel like I’m not going to live to see the end of this semester, and this year it’s not because of final exams or the wrap-ups of semester-long projects. So, what is this devil magic that is keeping us all sneezing, coughing, and exuding disgusting radiance all over the place?

Like this:

 

Hawt.

 

According to AccuWeather.com, we’re experiencing EXTREME! levels of indoor dust and dander…

 

Surely this can’t really be what’s causing all of our turmoil… can it? What, are Austinites overdoing it on the Spring Cleaning front and stirring up dust and dander and throwing it into the air, or are we just way dirtier at home than most people and we carry it out into public? Or could it be that we as a city collectively spend a proportionately larger amount of time outdoors running, hiking, biking, climbing, and playing on the lake than the lazier cities of the US where people only venture from within the confines of their air-conditioned chambers in order to reach their cars? I’m sorry, I for one just don’t believe that the root of all of our suffering is coming from inside the house. I call bull shit, AccuWeather.

Conspiracy? Possibly. Is this perhaps Kim Jong Un’s true force of terror? Hah, no. Well, probably not. It would be pretty ingenious, wouldn’t it? Allergen Warfare. Gives flower power a whole new meaning, eh?

What I keep overhearing, and have experienced first-hand, is that doctors are saying allergies this year are worse than ever before. While at Starbucks this afternoon for my second dose of caffeine to take the edge off my pounding sinus headache, I overheard an older gentleman chatting about his allergies with the barista. This guy had to be in his 70s and he said exactly what everyone else is saying: in all his life, he’s never had allergies this bad. This spring his doctor had to go so far as to prescribe him an inhaler because his allergies are developing into asthma-like symptoms. So what this means is allergen levels are higher and are causing more extreme symptoms than they have in at least seventy years! That’s insane. Ugh, what a great time to be in Aus-auss-schooo. ‘Scuze me. Austin.

So, here I sit, indoors, suffering with a stopped-up head, feeling like my brain is trying to expand like a sponge in a jar full of water, unable to enjoy the best part of Austin—the outdoors—while receiving mixed messages . If AccuWeather is correct, I should be out there instead of in here… If my doctor is correct, I should stay in here and not out there… Ugh. Good luck with your allergies, Austinites. Here, I’ll save you a trip to the doctor and prescribe you what mine did me: drink lots of fluids, take an anti-inflammatory, and stay inside. I’m going to think more on that conspiracy theory now…

PS: carry tissues and cover your face when you sneeze. Unless you want to look like this:

Double hawt.

 

 

 

 

Gutenberg Thwarts Gun Control?

Thanks to the Internet, gun control as we know it could very well be in the same boat as hand written letters and paying for porn… a thing of the past. 3D printing is a relativity new manufacturing process that’s rapidly growing in popularity. What is 3D printing you ask? Well it’s just that, a machine that converts a digital file into a three dimensional object. Using an additive process, successive layers of composite material are layered and dried in specific shapes, as the layers build up an object begins to take form.  3D printing is the biggest advancement in the print world since the invention of Gutenberg’s movable type printing press in 1454.

This is all very well and interesting, but what does it have to do with gun control? Well according 25-year-old Cody Wilson 3D printing is the key to preserving our constitutions 2^nd amendment. Wilson, a University of Texas Law School graduate opened Defense Distributed in summer of 2012.                                                                  Cody started out with a vision; his goal was to create a fully functioning, printable, firearm, specifically the parts endangered of being outlawed. In case you aren’t familiar with current gun control policies, a bill is going through congress attempting to outlaw assault rifles and limit all civilian magazine to capacities to 10 rounds. Today the most popular assault rifle owned by Americans is the AR-15. One on the main reasons attributing to its success is its shear simplicity in design. Consisting of only 5 basic main parts not only enables extensive customization, but it also makes the AR easier to regulate. At this moment the only part considered lethal (have to be 18 or older to buy) is the lower receiver. This is the part that houses both the trigger mechanism and the firing pin. Congress is moving to specifically outlaw this lower receiver in hopes of rendering AR’s unusable.

AR-MPR-Lower-Receiver1

Wilson wasn’t having any of this so fresh out of law school he went straight to work. He started by digitally recreating the blue prints for the receiver. Then in a software program Wilson virtually tested the part to see how different materials would react to the force generated from firing a bullet. The next step was to create a CAD file with the finalized blueprint. This CAD file is sent to a 3D printer, which in turn begins building the part from the bottom up, one hair thin layer at a time. By the end of the day Cody is left with a fully functional, Colt AR-15 compatible, lower receiver. Cody demonstrates its effectiveness by posting a video of himself on YouTube firing 600 rounds from his printed AR, using a home made hi-capacity magazine of course.

As far as authorities are concerned their hands are tied. Cody has done his research and as of yet there are no laws regulating the manufacturing of firearms for personal use. For Wilson though this wasn’t enough, he is a man of principle who has a point to make. Before long he acquired a Federal Arms permit enabling him to legally sell weapons. But this too wasn’t enough for our UT graduate. He truly believes everyone deserves the freedoms he has so he created a site called DECAD.ORG. Part of the Wiki Weapons Project, Cody uploads the CAD files of his weapon parts to the site for free downloading.

So what’s keeping bad people from printing up un-registered weapons? As of now 3D printers a prohibitively expensive, running an average of $10,000-$20,000. In 3-5 years however, 3D printers could very well be a common household item. When this happens I am sure congress will have to revisit its Gun Control agenda. Internet has changed nearly every aspect of the human experience, in some ways good, others bad. A far as printing firearms goes though only time will decide, perhaps it is the ultimate expression of civilian freedom or dark force enabling new more violence in the form of untraceable murder.

Dear Humanity, Good Job.

Dear Humanity,

You’ve proven yourself this week, good job.

This has been an incredibly tragic week for America, and it’s only Wednesday. First, some asshole chose to ruin the lives of many at the Boston Marathon through an atrocious act of violence on Monday. Today, an explosion in West, Texas has left many families incomplete, without homes, and without power. Already five firefighters and one police officer have sacrificed their lives while aiding victims of this explosion.

These are horrible events that have left a large number of people devastated. But what can we take away from all of this?

People have come through this week. Humanity has really proven it is alive and well and is asking for absolutely nothing in return. When the explosions occurred at the finish line at the Boston Marathon, people immediately responded by running TOWARDS the smoke! Fear did not stop them; they instantly ran to help in disregard of their own safety. They could have stood by and watched from afar, but instead they ran to the aid of fellow human beings for absolutely no other reason than that it was the right thing to do. In the wake of the explosion at the West Texas fertilizer plant, emergency crews from all over the region rushed to the aid of those caught in the explosion’s destruction.

There’s also this: someone created a Google doc for Texans in the area to post their contact information offering a place to stay for anyone in need. Way to go, humanity. Way to go.