Ed Koch has croaked. He was 88, so I guess it’s no big surprise. Personally, I think they ought to throw him in the back of a pickup truck and bury him in a gingham dress near a Sears somewhere north of Westchester. Odds are they won’t be doing that, but it would make for a good dog and pony show. Not as good as Chuck Hagel’s confirmation hearings, though. The faux outrage from the likes of l’l Lindsey Graham and Ted “Joe McCarthy” Cruz (plus the actual crazy old man rage of John McCain) has been quite enjoyable. I know he’s Obama’s nominee, but it’s fun to watch these guys eat their own.

I’m listening to John Hodgman on WTF right now, and he just mentioned that he’s 41. I don’t know about you, but that makes me feel really old. I always figured he was more or less my age. Seems like everybody’s younger than I am these days.

Speaking of getting old, I decided to quit drinking coffee almost a year ago. I was cold a couple weeks ago and decided to have a couple of cups, and I felt like my heart and brain were going to explode. It was quite an unpleasant experience, so I decided to get myself some decaf.

A few days back, I drank probably a pot and a half of decaf, and felt like crap. So I looked to see if there’s a problem with drinking too much decaf. Damned if there isn’t. I knew there was some caffeine in decaf, but, damn, this article says there’s up to 10%. Plus, it’s very acidic which puts

your body into an acidity crisis, which forces it to liberate alkalizing minerals from your bones to maintain the proper pH balance. Over-acidity is an important cause of osteoporosis, arthritis and calcification of blood vessels and tissues, according to “Human Biochemistry and Disease.”
[…]
As such, decaf coffee consumption is associated with heartburn, stomach ulcers and digestive problems.
[…]
In addition to the acidity side effects, both decaf and regular blends of coffee raise your risk for certain diseases, such as heart disease, atherosclerosis, high blood cholesterol, rheumatoid arthritis, glaucoma and possibly even cancer, according to “Nutrition and Public Health.” Robusta beans contain a much higher content of diterpenes, which are fats that increase triglycerides in your bloodstream and elevate circulating liver enzymes. Chlorogenic acid is found in both caffeinated and decaf coffee and is believed to raise plasma levels of homocysteine, which damages blood vessels and eventually leads to atherosclerosis, or hardening of your arteries.

Oh, good. Not only that, but

The decaffeination process uses the solvent methylene chloride, which often leaves residues within the coffee beans. Methylene chloride is a known carcinogenic that is toxic to your lungs, nervous system, liver and mucous membranes, as cited in the “PDR Guide to Drug Interactions, Side Effects, and Indications.” Repeated or prolonged exposure to methylene chloride can increase your risk of cancer. Even “natural” decaffeination methods use ethyl acetate, another solvent that can have serious health consequences in large amounts. Ethyl acetate is found in trace amounts in some fruit, which is why companies can claim their coffee is naturally decaffeinated.

:paranoid:

So not only does decaf suck, it’s also trying to kill me. Isn’t that special