Not gay enough - softball players sue

This is hilarious!!!!
I wonder what the "test" for gayness is?
Here's the article:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/04/21/BAS51D26LD.DTL&tsp=1

SAN FRANCISCO --

All Steven Apilado, LaRon Charles and Jon Russ wanted to do was to win the championship game at the Gay Softball World Series for their amateur San Francisco team.

Instead, they were marched one by one into a conference room at the tournament in suburban Seattle and asked about their "private sexual attractions and desires," and their team was stripped of its second-place finish after the men were determined to be "non-gay," they said in a lawsuit accusing a national gay sports organization of discrimination.

The suit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Seattle, pits the National Center for Lesbian Rights, a San Francisco group backing the men, against the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance, which prides itself on barring discrimination based on sexual orientation.

At issue is whether the gay sports alliance violated Washington state's public accommodations laws by enforcing a rule limiting to two the number of heterosexuals who can play on a team.

Apilado, Charles and Russ were members of D2, a team that was part of the San Francisco Gay Softball League. The squad made it to the championship game at the August 2008 tournament in Kent, Wash.

But another team, the Atlanta Mudcats, which had lost to D2 in a semifinal game, complained that the San Francisco team had too many straights.

D2 ultimately lost the championship to a team from Los Angeles. Afterward, Apilado, Charles and Russ were called separately into a conference room in front of 25 people for a hearing to determine whether they were heterosexual or gay, the suit said.

They were asked "very intrusive, sexual questions," including what their sexual interests and preferences were, Suzanne Thomas, a Seattle attorney for the plaintiffs, said Wednesday.

Charles, who was D2's manager, asked whether he could say he was bisexual and was told, "This is the Gay World Series, not the Bisexual World Series," the suit said.

According to Charles' Facebook profile, he is married to a woman.

In a statement, Charles said, "When you play softball, you never expect for anyone to corner you and ask you personal questions about who you are and what you do. It was emotional for me as a coach to go in there and not only get grilled, but watch my team be put in this situation."

The alliance ultimately determined that the three men were "non-gay" and that D2 had broken the rules. The alliance placed the San Francisco Gay Softball League on probation, "with the consequence that if a San Francisco team is found to have too many 'non-gay' players on its roster again," the league will be expelled, the suit said.

D2 has since disbanded, but the plaintiffs each want at least $75,000 in damages and their second-place standing reinstated, along with a team trophy.

Thomas said the men were essentially branded as "not gay enough."

"It engages in a whole series of stereotyping that somehow, gay men are less able players than straight men," the attorney said.

Beth Allen, an attorney for the alliance, said Wednesday that the suit has no merit and that none of the plaintiffs suffered any discrimination.

She said the San Francisco league's suggestion to remove the heterosexual limit is problematic.

"Presumably, if that were to occur, teams could be comprised of heterosexual players only," Allen said.

"This is not a bisexuals vs. gays issue," she said. "It's whether a private organization may say who may be a member of their organization. It's an issue of freedom of association."

Government to Study Climate Change and Human Health Impacts

OK, so if you believe in Global Warming then the following will describe certain health issues that will knock upon your door.

In my opinion, most all of these are OBVIOUS and you would not think a government funded study would be necessary to tell people that there will be more heat-related deaths. Yeah - that's kinda obvious given the higher global temperatures. But as you know, the government needs to spend the money somewhere!

The other obvious one is the higher weather-related deaths. With higher global temperatures comes more hurricanes, tornadoes and thunderstorms to strike down golfers.

The best part is that this study is just a precursor to figuring out where to REALLY spend the big money! "The report, A Human Health Perspective on Climate Change, provides a starting point for coordination of federal research to better understand climate’s impact on human health."

I think I will write up an RFP for "Determining the Public Health Impact From Suntan Lotion Aroma on the Global Warmed Beach."

Here's a quick blurb on it, enjoy:


http://www.nih.gov/news/health/apr2010/niehs-21.htm

A report released today by a federal working group highlights 11 key categories of diseases and other health consequences that are occurring or will occur due to climate change. The report, A Human Health Perspective on Climate Change, provides a starting point for coordination of federal research to better understand climate’s impact on human health. The recommendations of the working group include research to identify who will be most vulnerable, and what efforts will be most beneficial.

"This white paper articulates, in a concrete way, that human beings are vulnerable in many ways to the health effects of climate change," said Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D., director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Toxicology Program, whose institute led the interagency effort. "It lays out both what we know and what we need to know about these effects in a way that will allow the health research community to bring its collective knowledge to bear on solving these problems."

The white paper highlights the state-of-the-science on the human health consequences of climate change on:

Asthma, respiratory allergies, and airway diseases	Mental health and stress-related disorders
Cancer	Neurological diseases and disorders
Cardiovascular disease and stroke	Waterborne diseases
Foodborne diseases and nutrition	Weather-related morbidity and mortality
Heat-related morbidity and mortality	Vectorborne and zoonotic diseases (like malaria, which can be transmitted from animals to humans)
Human developmental effects

The report also examines a number of cross-cutting issues for federal research in this area, including susceptible, vulnerable, and displaced populations; public health and health care infrastructure; capacities and skills needed; and communication and education efforts.

"Earth Day reminds us that changes in the environment are affecting our food, water, and our health," said Birnbaum. "This report provides a guide for researchers throughout the world who are working to improve the health of the planet and the health of all people."

"Increasingly, studies including some co-funded by NIEHS, recently published in The Lancet, have shown us that by understanding how climate change, human health, and human activities intersect," said Howard Koh, M.D., assistant secretary for Health for HHS, "we can prevent some of climate’s worst impacts while providing huge benefits to human health that actually offset the costs of mitigation and adaptation. The white paper integrates these new data in a framework that is a new way of looking at this complex and critical problem."

The ad hoc Interagency Working Group on Climate Change and Health was formed following a 2009 Institute of Medicine Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine meeting on climate change. At the gathering, leaders from NIEHS, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognized that the scientific discussion around climate change needed to be reframed to emphasize the human health impacts and research needs to address them.

Led by Christopher Portier, Ph.D., from NIEHS, membership of the working group also includes representatives from the National Institutes of Health Fogarty International Center, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of State, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, with support and input from the U.S. Global Change Research Program and others.

Tanning Bed Use Might Become Addictive

This is interesting ... you would not think of TANNING as something that could be addictive. But I suppose like anything else that a person does - it could be addictive. Like eating oatmeal or going to baseball games.

I suspect the Government will begin banning tanning for all people under 18.

And when will the Government start imposing huge taxes on the tanning industry?
I wonder then, will they start fining people on the beach or nab people with leathery skin! You'd think people could self-po-lice themselves with the prospect of skin cancer or looking like an old shoe.

Here's the article:

MONDAY, April 19 (HealthDay News) -- Can indoor tanning be addictive?
According to new research, the answer is "yes," with a proportion of people who repeatedly bask under sun lamps meeting standard criteria for addiction, while also reporting higher levels of anxiety and substance use.

And if this really is the case, addiction treatments might actually help prevent skin cancer, experts say.

"If, for some people, tanning is a way to cope with emotions, then there are obviously healthier ways to do so than going to tanning salons every week," said study co-author Catherine E. Mosher, a postdoctoral research fellow in department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York City. "Counseling could be a logical intervention for these people who have excessive visits to tanning salons."

She and co-author Sharon Danoff-Burg, of the University at Albany, State University of New York, published the findings in the April issue of the Archives of Dermatology.

Skin cancer is the most common malignancy, accounting for about half of all human cancers, Mosher said, and about 90 percent of all skin cancers are due to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The disease can be disfiguring and sometimes fatal.

The risks of indoor tanning are concerning enough that U.S. health advisors in March recommended a potential ban -- or at least stronger label warnings -- on the use of tanning beds by people under the age of 18.

While other studies have also reported an addictive potential in tanning, none have focused specifically on indoor tanning, as this study does.

As part of their research, the study authors modified two standard measures of addiction to fit the context. Then, 421 students at SUNY Albany were asked to fill out questionnaires about their indoor tanning habits, substance use and any anxiety or depression they may have experienced.

Questions addressed such issues as whether the person had unsuccessfully tried to cut down on their indoor tanning sessions, irritation when people suggested they stop, guilt about the behavior and whether or not they thought about indoor tanning excessively.

Thirty to 40 percent of students met one of the two addiction criteria used here.
These same participants had about twice the level of anxiety and reported more use of alcohol, marijuana and other illicit substances than non-addicted tanners.

Those considered addicted to tanning lay in tanning beds up to 100 times a year, Mosher said. That's hardly as many times as a crack cocaine addict is likely to light a pipe but, she pointed out, addiction is not just about how often you engage in the behavior.
"It's what degree is this causing impairment or creating feelings of guilt, and also engaging in a behavior despite known risks," Mosher explained.

All of the individuals addicted to tanning in this study acknowledged that they knew the health risks of the habit, she added.

Why would indoor tanning turn into an addiction for some?

One theory has it that exposure to UV radiation increases the activity of the body's natural opioids, which can reinforce the behavior. "There's mixed scientific support for that theory," Mosher said.

"There's also the coping perspective," she noted. "There is some growing evidence now that people use tanning as a way to cope with stressors, as way to increase positive mood, decrease negative moods, cope with environmental demands. In that way it's similar to other addictive behaviors."

But another expert was less convinced that indoor tanning qualified as an addiction
"The hallmark of [addiction] is that people lose control over use of the substance which is manifested by using way more than you plan to use, spending much more time than they usually will spend on using the substance [and] neglecting their jobs, their families despite knowing that the use is going to hurt them," said Dr. Ihsan Salloum, chief of the division of drug and alcohol abuse treatment and research at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

"It's an interesting idea," he said, "but I wasn't convinced that the questions really were modified to the point where you could find out whether people really lost control."

Getting Closer to Monopoly Money

Tomorrow the Treasury Department will release the newly designed $100 bill. You can look at it here:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/04/21/hundred.dollar.bill/index.html?hpt=C1

I have one word to say, “BEAT.”

How does making money look more like Monopoly money make it less able to be counterfeit? I challenge these government clowns to keep the bills looking “old school” instead of beat-school, and put all these foo-foo security features into the old school looking bills. Benjamin should have a SMALL HEAD and be “green” not “pink!” The only bill yet to be ruined is the dolla dolla bill.

I could careless if they redesign change because no one uses change anyway. I do have to point out the conversion of the original Eisenhower dollar coin to the Susan B. Anthony which totally ruined it! Remember? They actually made it smaller than the quarter! HAHAHAHA. It’s bad enough the dime is smaller than the penny and nickel!

Those out there might say that I am resistant to change… that’s not true. I like coins and I like change … like when they changed the Capital Gains percentage from 20% to 15% -- I’d like it even more if they did away with that double-taxation rule and cut it to 0% !!!

Candy-Like Tobacco Could Poison Children Say Researchers

You have to give it to the tobacco companies! Now they're marketing fruit flavored smokeless tobacco! The below article is a little voo doo, since the amount needed to kill a kid would be 3 containers of those Orbs. All I have to say about this is:

1. It's pretty easy to make a profit when you sell a product people are ADDICTED to.
2. At least it is SMOKELESS... so we don't have to smell that crap!
3. At least it dissolves in your mouth, so we don't have to step in it (tobacco).

Here's the article below:

US researchers writing in a leading journal concluded that a new form of pelleted tobacco product that in some cases looks like candy could poison children and lure young people into nicotine addiction.

You can read about the study, by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Northern Ohio Poison Control Center and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), online in the 19 April ahead of print issue of Pediatrics.

Last year, RJ Reynolds, one the biggest tobacco companies in the US, started market testing a new pelleted product made with finely ground tobacco flavoured with mint or cinnamon that dissolves in the mouth like breath mints. The product, called Camel Orbs, contains 1 mg of nicotine per pellet, which is about the same as that contained in the average nicotine lozenge marketed to people trying to quit smoking.

However, according to a CNN news report, Orbs, and other products in the range, Camel Strips (0.6 mg nicotine per strip) and Sticks (3.1 mg nicotine per strip) appear to be a new trend in the tobacco industry to create smokeless nicotine products that people can use in places where it is no longer legal to smoke, like bars and restaurants.

1 mg of nicotine is enough to make a small child feel nausea and vomit, said the researchers, who in their background information stressed that one of the biggest causes of poisoning that leads to calls to poison control centers throughout the US is babies and children swallowing tobacco products. The figures for 2007 show over 6,700 reported cases of tobacco-related poisoning among children aged 5 and under.

A poison control center in Portland, Oregon has already reported a case where a three-year old ingested an Orbs pellet. The center is in a region where the tobacco product is being test marketed.

Lead author and director of the Tobacco Control Research Program at HSPH, Professor Gregory Connolly, told the media that the introduction of these new products could be disastrous for public health, particularly for infants and adolescents.

Connolly said that while the product might be described as a "tobacco" product, to a four-year old child it looks like candy.

"Nicotine is a highly addictive drug and to make it look like a piece of candy is recklessly playing with the health of children," said Connolly.

The researchers also noted that intentional use of smokeless tobacco products among adolescents went up 6 per cent per year from 2002 to 2006.

For the study the researchers worked out how much nicotine, based on median body weight, children would have to ingest to experience symptoms of poisoning:

• A one-year old child could get mild to moderate symptoms of poisoning from 8 to 14 Orbs, 14 Strips or 3 Sticks, while ingesting 10 to 17 Orbs, 17 Strips or 3 to 4 Sticks, could cause severe poisoning and death.
  
• A four-year old child could get mild to moderate symptoms of poisoning from 13 to 21 Orbs, 14 Strips or 4 Sticks, while ingesting 16 to 27 Orbs, 27 Strips or 5 Sticks, could cause severe poisoning and death.

The manufacturer argues that the packaging is child resistant, but the researchers said that adults could leave them lying around opened, and that this together, with their appealing candy-like appearance and flavoring, increases the chances that children will ingest them.

In an interview reported by CNN, Reynolds spokesman David Howard, said he didn't think Camel Orbs looked "at all" like Tic Tac mints.

Howard stressed that the product was marketed to adults and came in child-resistant containers, and said it was unfair to criticize a product because of its flavoring, and pointed to smoking cessation aids like Nicogum. Besides, nearly every household has products that can poison children, such as cleaning products, medicines, health and beauty products, he said.

But that is not the point, commented one expert, who said children will be influenced by the behavior of the adults they observe.

Dr Jonathan P Winickoff, a Harvard medical professor and chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics Tobacco Consortium, told CNN that, the last time he checked, he didn't see adults going around "drinking toilet bowl cleanser in front of their kids".

Winickoff also commented that accidental poisoning of young children was no the only cause for concern, intentional use by kids and teenagers was likely to be another public health problem from introduction of dissolvable nicotine products.

He said teenagers will look at the products and think they are harmless, and not realize they are exposing their brains to nicotine and priming themselves to become nicotine addicts.

"If teens ended up using smokeless product because they are attracted to candy flavors and they end up getting addicted to nicotine, the public health benefit of smokeless tobacco is neutralized," said Winickoff, who was not involved in the study.

Nut Tree Health Mix

I get alerts on Foods that have been recalled. Most of them are processed yuck foods like some Hormel processed meat garbage. Sometimes fruits picked from converted cow fields get recalled because of E.Coli .... but today's recall is funny: "Nut Tree Health Mix"

You would not expect THAT to get recalled. Sounds all granola-ee, healthy and foo foo to me. Anyway, this Bark Mix was recalled because it could kill you if you have allergic reactions to sulfites. For those of you who do not know, I'll give a quick lesson:

Sulfites contain one sulfur atom bonded to three oxygen atoms (SO3). The compound mostly appears in the form of a salt. This compound is used mostly for preservatives. Manufacturers use sulfites to preserve dried fruit, for example.

Sulfites normally occur in wine but can also be added as a preservative. Without sulfur, wine would tun into vinegar. Sweet wines, like my favorite Moscato d'Oro, contain more sulfites than dry wines. White wines contain more sulfites than red wines. Sulfites have caused headaches in people who have an adverse reaction to drinking wine. Too bad for them!

Read your label... sulfites may be masquerading as:
Sulfur dioxide, Potassium bisulfite or potassium metabisulfite, Sodium bisulfite, sodium metabisulfite or sodium sulfite.

Symptoms may include breathing issues within minutes after eating a food containing it, or migraines. People with asthema are more susecptible, and people who cannot take asparine.

So, back to the Nut Tree Health Mix ... the recall is because they had sulfites in the mix and it wasn't declared. I suppose they were using the sulfites as a preservative. I wonder what they do with all the packages? Thow them in the dumpster or do they give them to people they see hugging trees and wearing Birkenstocks? HA HA HA.

If anyone has a photo of "Nut Tree Health Mix" please send it along!

Here's the actual recall notice:

New York State Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker today alerted consumers that Green Land, 212-03 48th Avenue, Oakland Garden, New York 11364, is voluntarily recalling "Nut Tree Health Mix" due to the presence of undeclared sulfites. People who have severe sensitivity to sulfites may run the risk of serious or life-threatening reactions if they consume this product.

• Company: Green Land (Oakland Garden, NY)
• Products: Nut Tree Health Mix
• Distributed: Distributed in the metropolitan New York area
• Why: Undeclared sulfites
• Illnesses reported: None

Triggers that May Cause Fainting

Today is going to be a daily-double in terms of posts. I found this interesting bit of information today!

These are nine triggers that may cause fainting - as published by the NLM. I didn't make these up :-)

Ultimately, #9 would be "below average" as a friend of mine says.

Also, number 3 - wow, you have to have been eating wads of bread, pasta, and pancakes to have to strain that much to push one out! The warning sounds before fainting probably sound like this "ewwww ewwwwwwwwwwwwww ewwwwwwwwww"

Here's the list:

The U.S. National Library of Medicine says the following triggers may cause fainting:

1. The sudden onset of extreme distress or fear.
2. Being in severe pain.
3. Straining to have a bowel movement.
4. Standing up for a long period.
5. Excessive and forceful coughing.
6. A rapid drop in blood pressure, which can be triggered by factors including dehydration, some medications, bleeding or standing up too quickly.
7. Abusing drugs or alcohol.
8. Having low blood sugar.
9. Having a stroke or heart attack.

Wernicke's aphasia

I came across the following definition of a disorder called "Wenicke's aphasia" and now I understand what the people at the donut shop had! It makes more sense when they couldn’t follow simple closing procedures, or I had to post a sign for the person who opened the store to “TURN ON THE DONUT MACHINE” since that’s WHY they were there after all.

I didn’t really detect much from speech issues, since most of them never spoke to the customers to begin with! But I suppose if they did they would ramble and not make sense.

Anyway, here’s the definition below. Stay tuned for stories about such employees in my upcoming Small Business book.

How does Wernicke's aphasia present?
Wernicke's aphasia results from lesions — often strokes — in the left temporal lobe. Patients have fluent but nonsensical speech with paraphasic errors, neologisms, and impaired comprehension of spoken and written instructions. This is commonly mistaken for a confusional state, particularly because of the absence of localizing signs such as hemiplegia. The speech of the confused patient may be rambling and tangential, but comprehension is not impaired.

$60 Million Stadium

I was passed this article about some place in Bumble, Texas building a 60 million dollar stadium. OK, no problem… maybe for a AAA baseball team? Or maybe it’s for some super duper monster truck races? No, it’s for a HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL team?!??! Whaaaaaat??? http://highschool.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1074494.

One of my favorite lines in the article is:
The stadium was part of a larger $120 million bond package passed in May 2009 that included nearly as much money for a state-of-the-art auditorium for performing arts.

I think they are mistaking the “performing arts” auditorium for the beer tent they’re going to put up right next to the High School stadium. They can be just like the Dallas Cowgirls stadium that has the redneck drunk tent right next to the stadium.

Today was a good day

"Today was a good day."

How many times can you start a blog post with those magical words? First of all, it looks like iDonate World Wide is getting off the ground. For those of you who do not know, there will soon be an iPhone Application that allows you to donate to various charities around the world. The donations will not only be for the big guys (Red Cross, United Way) but for local churches and other organizations that do not have the technical savvy or reach to increase their donations via new technologies. We are about two weeks away from launch.

Secondly, it appears that a program called “For Your Brain” will be an up-and-coming force for seniors (and anyone else thinking the ol' memory is going – including me!) We are currently running a pilot program at Potomac Green, and I am the defacto trainer – I guess my years of Security Awareness TAV! training qualify me for this. Anyway, I got the best complement that any trainer (or program) can get … a woman said she was very impressed with the class because she went to her granddaughters baby shower and kicked ass in some of the word jumbles/word search puzzles that were run. She beat out most of the yunnings. I need to mention that this is only after she attended 4 sessions.

Thirdly, I am off to Las Vegas for a week. Yes, a business trip to “bring home the pork” but also a get together with JIMBO and DAVEELLIS. A great opportunity to get back on the felt and test out some of my new theories in tourneys and cash games, and enjoy some Manhattans. I think I should take down the Harrah's tourney to unseat K as “Best Poker Player” in the family. Speaking of K, I have to give her a shout out. I'm here this week in Vegas to celebrate DAVEELLIS' 40^th Birthday (yeah, what a geezer!) and K had no worries with it. Well, normally she wouldn't anyway about a trip to Vegas, but this weekend contains March 18^th – our wedding anniversary. She had no problem with me here on the 18^th and us celebrating when I return. But like with most things, I have something up my sleeve for the 18^th. Stay tuned, for anyone that cares!

Fourth, on the plane right now. Smooth flight AND drink certificates from Southwest! I ordered two bourbon (prolly Jack) and DCs and used my drink certs. A third would be a good exclamation point! So, I dig in my bag for another drink cert but unfortunately I packed my others in the suitcase! ARG! As I put my bag down I look up. Flight attendant has a bourbon and DC in her hand and says, “Do you want this one? We had a mis-pour.” Oh no! I have to take one for the team.

See, good stuff happening. I believe a tourney “taken down” is in my future here.

Plus, today was the first day that I got into the car and it was too hot, and I needed to roll the windows down. My peeps in California don't know what I'm talking about – but you East Coasterners do! This is when you know Winter is OVER and Spring is here!

Well, that's it for now. I'll ship a couple posts of the goings on here. As I said, and I will quote myself, “Today was a good day.”