Entry 347: Cough Syrup is Bullshit, Right?

Lil' S2 came down with something nasty last week.  He's still getting over it.  Actually, I might have been the one to give it to him, as I came down with something about a week ago.  He seems to have gotten it much worse than me, though.  Maybe that's because he's only one -- you know, developing immune system and whatnot.  We took him to the doctor on Thursday -- mainly because Lil' S1 happened to have an appointment anyway, so we made it a two-fer -- and the doc prescribed him some cough medicine.  We've been giving it to him twice daily, as per the instructions, and... he's still coughing.  Is it less than he would be otherwise?  I don't know.  How can you tell?

I think cough syrup probably doesn't work -- at least not in any real way.  However, I'm basing this entirely off my personal, anecdotal experiences -- I have very vivid memories of being a kid hacking all night, taking disgusting cough syrup, and then hacking some more -- so I could be wrong.  I suppose I could research it, but reliable medical information is notoriously difficult to find online.  I need somebody else to research it and report to me their findings.  I listen to this podcast called The Gist, and they have a segment featuring a science-minded journalist named Maria Konnikova called "Is that bullshit?" and I would love to hear an episode on cough syrup.  Maybe I will suggest that to the show via the appropriate social media platform.

Anyway, Lil' S2 is still sick, and it's just he and I for a while.  S took Lil' S1 to Abuja, Nigeria for two weeks.  I'm not making that up.  S's idea of a good time is taking a four year-old to Africa.  She's weird that way.  I was quite nervous about it.  But she insisted that she could handle it and that it was no less safe than going to a big city in the States, so, okay, I trust her.  Plus, she has to go for work no matter what and having him here with us right now would be brutal.  A sick one-year-old and a hyperactive four-year-old, by myself for a fortnight?  No thank you.  I'm feeling pretty good about things now anyway.  Like many people, I get anxious about big events before they happen, but then once they start I calm down immediately.

[According to the Internet, this is Abuja]

It also helps that I went online and got a virtual tour of the daycare facility where Lil' S1 will be staying.  It's really nice, and it came recommended by S's colleague who lives in Abuja and sends his kids there.  So between that and the nice hotel where they are staying, I think they will be fine.  I mean, I don't like that you hear so much about warlords enslaving children and forcing them to become soldiers in Africa, but Africa is a pretty big continent.  If somebody wanted to come visit Washington, D.C., I probably wouldn't stop them under the logic that there are violent drug lords in North America.

In other news...

To follow up on my Colin Kaepernick discussion from last week, you should check out this short video by George Carlin Jesse Ventura.  I completely agree with it -- or at least I agree with 80% of it.  I'm not sure why he had to bring 1930s Germany into the discussion (Godwin's law?).  Putting social pressure on people to stand for the national anthem or mandating kids say the Pledge of Allegiance isn't good, but neither of those things exactly puts us on a road to Nazism.  But that's where I always am with Jesse Ventura -- right at 80%.  I'm totally with him and then he veers off into conspiracy theory land and loses me completely.  Yes!  Exactly!  Right on!  Preach!  Wait... why does this mean 9-11 was an inside job?

Alright that's all I got.  Short entry, but it's a work night.

Until next time...