Hey fatty... I'm gonna beat you up!

This is interesting ... I don't know about you, but all the bullies in my elementary school were big fatty fatheads. I find it surprising that bullies will pick on gigantic fatties, and I wonder if fatty-bashing vernacular is the same as what I remember:

- two ton tess
- "don't sit on me, fatty!"
- fatty fatty two by four
- fatso

But then I suppose it is all fun and games for the bully until the fatty eats them for dinner.
How do you bully a fatty? Take away his twinkies!

I used to bully a fatty in school, until I got sat on! HAR HAR HA HA HO HO HO HI HI HO HA.
At least you can hear the fatty coming when they back up ... they beep.
I knew tons of fatties, they always ordered 5 meals and a Diet Coke to drink.

Remember those Yo Momma jokes? My favorites: "Yo Momma so fat when she wears high heels they turn into flats." "Yo Momma so fat she bleeds crisco." "Yo Momma so fat they named a State after her."

Anyway, I figured you'd like those fatty jokes. Remember, most all health problems in the US can be attributed to two things: SMOKING and BEING A FATTY. I urge everyone out there to laugh at two smokers and two fatties today. Perhaps only thru "bullying" will they stop their behavior.

And, no, you're not just big boned.

Here's the article:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_98305.html

Bullies Target Obese Kids
Being overweight is prime factor regardless of race, family income, study finds

MONDAY, May 3 (HealthDay News) -- For kids, a few extra pounds may invite trouble from the schoolyard bully.

New research suggests that just being overweight increases the risk of being bullied. And factors that usually play a role in the risk of being bullied, such as gender, race and family income levels, don't seem to matter if you're overweight -- being overweight or obese trumps all those other factors when it comes to aggressive behavior from other children.

The study found that being overweight increased the risk of being the target of bullying by 63 percent.

"One of the reasons we started this study is that obesity is so much more common today. Now that about half of kids are overweight or obese, it doesn't make you such an outlier anymore, so we thought maybe kids wouldn't be bullied for being overweight anymore," said study author Dr. Julie Lumeng, an assistant research scientist at the Center for Human Growth and Development at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She added that the researchers also hoped they might be able to find some protective factors against being bullied, such as doing well in school.

"What we found, much to our dismay, was that nothing seemed to matter. If you were obese, you were more likely to be bullied, no matter what," she said.
Results of the study will be published in the June issue of Pediatrics, but were released online May 3.

The study included 821 boys and girls from a nationally representative sample of children selected from 10 sites around the United States. Bullying behaviors were assessed in third, fifth and sixth grades. The youngsters were mostly white, half of them were male and 15 percent were overweight in the third grade.

By sixth grade, teachers reported that 34 percent of the study children had been bullied, and mothers reported that 45 percent of the children had been bullied, while 25 percent of the children themselves said they had been bullied.

Previous research has shown that boys, minorities and children from low-income groups are more likely to be bullied, so the researchers took these factors into account to see if they made a difference. The study authors also considered a child's social skills and academic achievement in their analysis.

"No matter how much we retested, the findings were very robust. Obese kids are more likely to be bullied," said Lumeng.

She said that one of the reasons she believes the findings were so consistent is that prejudice against overweight or obese people is "so pervasive that it's acceptable." But, she added, "Obesity is really complex. It's not all about willpower. It's a brain-based disorder, and I hope that message becomes clearer."

Dana Rofey, an assistant professor with the Weight Management and Wellness Center at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, said she wasn't surprised by the findings. "Bullying is the most common psychosocial complaint that our patients present with," she said.

"For parents and pediatricians, one of the issues our study raises is that if you're caring for a child who's overweight, you need to be alert to this and you might want to gently bring it up with the child. Ask, 'How are things at school going?' or 'Does anyone ever say something that makes you feel bad?' because this may be an issue that's difficult for kids to bring up," said Lumeng.
If your child lets you know that he or she is being bullied, Lumeng said your first response should be to validate your child's feelings and let them know that it's not OK for someone to treat them like that.

What to do next can be tricky, agreed both experts.
"Be supportive, and let your child know that you'll help them. Consult with your child and ask how he or she would like you to get involved," advised Rofey. Many youngsters may ask their parents to take a hands-off approach, she said. But she recommends setting some guidelines. "Say something like, 'It seems you have this under control right now, but let's keep talking and checking in about it.'"

Rofey also recommends teaching your child how to avoid situations that might lead to teasing or bullying, and talking with your child about how to reach out to adults if they need to. Depending on the situation, she said that parents may need to step in and advocate for their children at the school. But, she advised always letting your children know what steps you'll be taking.

Let's all chew Khat

I never heard about Khat until I read this stroy. Now I have to go and find some and see what happens! Apparently, you're not going to get liver disease unless you do it A LOT - and abuse it. Seems like that is the case for most drugs ... even the LEGAL ones in your medicine cabinet. Eat enough Tylenol and you'll end up with liver problems.

I have no idea what it looks like or where to get it. More research to come! Stay tuned.

Here's the story about chewing khat:

Chewing Khat Linked to Severe Liver DamageHerb appears to lead to liver failure in some, British researchers say

WEDNESDAY, April 28 (HealthDay News) -- Chewing khat leaves for a mild high is popular in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, and the practice is also seen among certain immigrant groups in Great Britain and the United States.

But chewing khat can cause severe liver damage and even death, British researchers report.
Khat contains cathinone, an amphetamine-like stimulant that causes euphoria, excitement and loss of appetite. Although banned in the United States, it finds its way to North America from Britain, where it is readily available, the researchers reported in a letter to the editor in the April 29 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Dr. Eugene Schiff, director of the Center for Liver Diseases at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida, said the danger posed by khat "is well established in the literature."

"We see this in a variety of herbal substances," he added.

In their letter, Dr. Michael H. Chapman, of University College London Medical School, and his colleagues reported on six patients in Britain who had either died of liver failure or needed liver transplants. The common denominator and suspected cause was the chewing of khat leaves.
The patients were seen over five years and all had been cautioned about khat's risks. One of the patients died and five needed liver transplants, the researchers said.

Chapman's group found no other potential causes for liver damage. Five of the patients had a history of unexplained hepatitis.

Khat has also been linked to mental problems and heart disease, the researchers noted.
While it's not exactly known how khat damages the liver, Chapman's team speculates that it triggers low-level hepatitis, and repeated use leads to chronic liver disease.

Schiff said that when doctors see liver problems associated with a drug as widely used as khat, "it usually means that that particular person is metabolizing it differently, because otherwise you would see it in thousands of people."

Chapman's team thinks that doctors should consider khat as a cause of unexplained liver disease among patients from ethnic communities where khat chewing is common.
Schiff agreed that doctors should suspect khat as a cause of unexplained liver disease in appropriate patients. But, he added, even if you know the cause, patients with this degree of liver failure will still need a transplant.

"People who are doing this are taking it on their own and have no idea that it is toxic to the liver," Schiff said, adding that users need to be better informed about the risks.

Chocolate IS good for you! HURRAY

Second to peeps would be chocolate anything. Here's a study that says eating chocolate will prevent stoke! Unfortunately for me, it is DARK chocolate. I like my chocolate like I like my women ... lite! Oh well, maybe one say they'll find out that PEEPS are good for you!
Here's the article:


http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_98577.html
Ingredient in Dark Chocolate Could Guard Against Stroke

SUNDAY, May 9 (HealthDay News) -- Something in dark chocolate seems to help protect the heart, and now researchers say they have identified the molecular mechanism by which a compound found in cocoa can guard against the damage of a stroke.

The compound, a flavanol called epicatechin, triggers two built-in protective pathways in the brain, according to a report published online last week in the Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism. The research team was led by Sylvain Dore, an associate professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine and pharmacology and molecular sciences at John Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.

Animal studies raise the possibility that epicatechin may someday be used to treat strokes in humans, since its protective effect can be seen more than three hours after a stroke. Existing stroke treatments typically have a shorter window of activity.

While the cardioprotective effect of dark chocolate seen in several human studies appears to open the possibility that eating lots of chocolate is healthy, "I prefer to focus on cocoa," Dore said. "Cocoa is not like chocolate, which is high in saturated fat and calories. Cocoa can be part of a healthy diet, combined with fruits and vegetables."

It was a study of the cocoa-drinking Kuna Indians, living on islands off the coast of Panama, that led researchers to study epicatechin. An unusually low incidence of stroke and other cardiovascular disease in that population could not be explained by genetic studies, and eventually was attributed to consumption of a very bitter cocoa drink.

Studies by a number of scientists, including Dr. Norman K. Hollenberg of Harvard Medical School, identified epicatechin as the protective ingredient in dark chocolate and cocoa.
The latest research looked at the mechanism of protection in mice who were induced to have strokes. "We gave different doses of epicatechin in mice 90 minutes before a stroke and found that it reduced infarct [stroke damage] size," Dore explained. "When we gave epicatechin after a stroke, it had a protective effect up to 3.5 hours later, but not after six hours."

Detailed studies showed that the flavanol activated two well-known pathways that shield nerve cells in the brain from damage, the Nrf2 and heme oxygenase pathways, Dore said. Epicatechin had no protective effect in mice bred to lack those pathways.

The possibility of using epicatechin to limit human stroke damage is distant, Dore said. "We have to be very careful," he said. "There are a lot of steps before going to human trials, potential risks and side effects. We need more work and more funding."

Dore's long-term plan calls for studies of epicatechin metabolites and derivatives, in cardiac disease as well as stroke. "At this point, we are using only the pure compound," he said.

Dr. Martin Lajous, a doctoral candidate at the Harvard School of Public Health who took part in one study that showed a reduced incidence of stroke in people who ate dark chocolate regularly, agreed with Dore in saying that eating a lot of chocolate is not a healthy dietary move.

Not all chocolate is created equal, Lajous said. "That's why we did the study in France, where they eat dark chocolate that is rich in flavanols," he said. "Chocolate comes with a lot of calories. I would talk about small amounts of dark chocolate rather than chocolate in general."

And the protective mechanism by which chocolate might prevent stroke isn't yet clear, Lajous added. The main effect appears to be the lowering of blood pressure, he said. "Flavanols are hypothesized to affect relaxation of smooth vascular muscle, such as the endothelial lining of blood vessels," Lajous said

Smokin' and Eatin'

We are a nation full of chimney-smoking fatties. This is why our life expectancy has GONE DOWN! People in Iceland live longer??? That's just wrong. How about this? If we extract all the fatties and smokers, I'll bet the US life expectancy will jump at least 15-20 years.

I read so much about diseases and it all boils down to being a smoker, or a fatty. Fatties don't exercise and eat like crap, which in turn makes them obese and get The Die-Be-tis (like the Oatmeal Man says it), stroke, heart disease and cancer. Smokers get heart disease, cancer and all sorts of lung conditions.

I know how we ought to fix insurance reform... put on huge fatty and smoker taxes, which will force these people to get into the gym and put down the fork and cigarettes!

If you're wondering, here's the article:

Iceland has longest-lived men, U.S. scores poorly

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - AIDS, smoking and obesity are reversing progress made in helping people live longer around the world, with mortality rates worsening over the past 20 years in 37 countries, researchers reported on Thursday.
They found Icelandic men have the lowest risk of premature death, while Cypriot women do. Some rich countries such as the United States and Britain scored relatively poorly, the survey found.

In most places, men have twice the relative mortality rate of women, Dr. Christopher Murray of the University of Washington in Seattle and colleagues reported in the Lancet medical journal. "Worldwide, the 1990s reversal in the trend in adult mortality is probably a result of the HIV pandemic and the sharp rise in adult mortality in countries of the former Soviet Union," the researchers wrote.

"One of the most striking patterns is the rapid decline in adult female mortality in south Asia; in 1970 this was the region with the highest risk of female mortality and by 2010, (the risk of dying before age 60) had fallen by 56 percent."

Murray and colleagues used a complex formula to calculate the probability that someone aged 15 will die before they reach 60. They believe their method paints a more accurate picture than methods used by the United Nations, and can be used to compare countries with populations of different ages.

In the 40 years since 1970, they found, adult mortality risk fell by 34 percent among women and 19 percent in men globally.

REVERSING PROGRESS But some places had notable reversals in rank, including the former Soviet Union. Russia has fallen from 43rd place for female mortality in 1970 to 121st."Research shows that across countries, inequality in adult mortality has grown to the point where adult men in Swaziland -- the country with the worst mortality rate -- now have a probability of premature death that is nine times the mortality rate of the best country, Cyprus," Murray's team wrote.

The United States, where 60 percent of adults are overweight or obese, fell in overall rankings, from 34th in the world in female mortality and 41st in male mortality in 1990 to 49th for women and 45th for men in 2010 -- behind Chile, Tunisia, and Albania.
But mortality rates fell 50 percent over the same time in South Korea. Murray said he wanted to study adult mortality globally because so much emphasis goes into helping very young children survive.

"Every year, more than 7.7 million children die before their fifth birthday; however, over three times that number of adults -- nearly 24 million -- die under the age of 60 years," his team wrote.

"The prevention of premature adult death is just as important for global health policy as the improvement of child survival." According to the United Nations, 8.8 million children under the age of 5 died in 2008.

Oaktown's Mayor Doesn't Take Paycut

Isn't that a hilarious headline I just posted! Of course he didn't.

Bay Area politics has always been pretty crooked. Dellums is a crook, as was the Mayor For Life, Willie Brown. Some of you on the East Coast may call "Mayor for Life" Mr. Marion 'Bitch Set Me Up' Barry.

Willie Brown dressed nice, at least. The problem was that he used TAX PAYER money! HA HA HA HA HA... still he was elected to the California State House of Representatives a gazillion times and Mayor of San Francisco at least 3 times.

The funny thing about the story below is that the Oaktown Mayor SAID he was going to not take his yearly pay increase ($18K or so), but then he did because he had 'unexpected' costs due to a death in the family. The crazy thing is that he makes $180K and Gavin Newsom makes $209K. Where can I sign up to be Mayor???

Anyway, happy Cinco De Mayo! But if you're in Arizona you better not be outside celebrating and if you are you better have your passaporta!


Here's the full story:

Oakland mayor breaks promise to take pay cut

Despite his pledge last year to join Oakland city workers being forced to take a 10 percent pay cut, Mayor Ron Dellums has never stopped collecting his full $183,000-a-year salary.

When the City Council suggested last June that Dellums take a pay reduction and cut his staff to help Oakland balance its budget, the mayor's public stance was that he was on board. "I am in no way interested in a fight at a time of significant economic despair and economic problems," he said. "This is a time we need to close ranks."

It turns out, however, that closing ranks didn't mean taking less money.

Dellums' spokesman, Paul Rose, declined on Thursday to say why the mayor didn't forgo $18,300 in pay this past year. A statement issued by Dellums' office said only that "changed family circumstances following the death of a close family member made it (taking the pay cut) impossible."

Rose said he did not know whether the statement referred to the August 2008 death of Willa Dellums, the mayor's mother, whose Oakland home Dellums is now trying to sell to help pay off looming debts. Dellums' father-in-law also died in November.

Dellums and his wife, Cynthia, owe the Internal Revenue Service more than $252,000 in back taxes and penalties.

The mayor came under fire from critics soon after he was elected when the City Council granted his request for a $68,000 raise - money Dellums said he needed after giving up a lucrative lobbying job in Washington.

Dellums, who served 27 years in the House and two years on active duty in the Marines, also collects a government pension that tax experts estimate at well over $100,000 a year.

Virtually everybody working for the city was forced to take a pay cut last year - whether through a furlough or actual salary reduction, or both. However, City Attorney John Russo ruled that elected officials couldn't be ordered to comply.

City Council President Jane Brunner ticked off for us a list of those who had gone along with the cut. Three names were conspicuously absent - council members Larry Reid and Desley Brooks, and Russo.

"If you ask employees to take a 10 percent cut, as elected officials we all should be doing the same," Brunner said. "And I personally felt it this year."

Reid, noting that he took a 5 percent cut a year earlier, said his $73,000-a-year salary paled compared to what Brunner and some other colleagues make. He noted that they have second jobs or other sources of income.

"This is what I do full-time, because it takes doing this job full-time," Reid said.

Brooks announced last year that she wouldn't be taking the pay cut. She said the public was already getting more than its money's worth from her office.

"Because I handle a significant amount of the workload in my office, I have been able to return between $150,000 and $200,000 in salary savings to the general fund," she told us Thursday in an e-mail. "This amount by far exceeds the total reduction taken by all of the elected officials combined."

For his part, Russo said he had never promised to take a cut to his $207,000 pay. He said he already took more than a 15 percent hit a year earlier when he gave up his vacation and management and sick leaves - money, we should note, that is typically reserved for nonelected department heads and managers.

The revelation about Dellums and the other officials came at a particularly inopportune time for city officials trying to persuade police to accept cuts in their benefits.

It also looks bad when Oaklanders look across the bay to San Francisco - where Mayor Gavin Newsom has reduced his pay 15 percent, to $209,000 a year.

NYC Almost-Bombing

Did you hear? They caught that idiot terrorist that was trying to blow up his SUV in downtown New York City (near Times Square). That’s great. How you spare us the trial and blow him up in a car!

Anyway, we are very fortunate that these knuckleheads are so very, very, very stupid!!!! They caught him because he bought a ticket to Dubai in CASH on the SAME DAY he was trying to fly out! Hmmm, that’s normal, NOT. What a moron. That’s good, though, because if he booked his flight through normal methods (credit card), to a NON-ARAB country (like Spain), booked a month early, and left on the same day he planned to blow up that SUV – he would have easily got away. Amazing.

I suppose that is why most of these idiots get caught.

Did you hear about the morons who were planning to blow up a building in DC. Well, they got caught because the FBI was notified when a Walmart photo processing employee, who was converting a video tape to a DVD, noticed these dummies were yelling about jihad, death to the great Satan, and were waving around AK-47s. That is pretty bad when you get busted by some teen age flunkey.

How the crackpots pulled off 9-11 still baffles me. I suppose they got lucky by taking flying lessons from another idiot that thought, “Gee, I guess it is normal that they don’t care to learn how to take-off or land the plane. They just want to know how to fly it once it is in the air.” Yeah, normal. Charge THAT GUY with stupidity! Oh and did I mention, they could hardly speak English!

Anyway, Leno can add this guy to his Stupid Criminal bit!

Here’s an article about that idiot:

http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/suspect-faisal-shahzad-arrested-in-new-york-times-square-bomb-plot/19463656?ncid=webmaildl1

OpenSecretes.Org

I recently found the following website called, OpenSecretes.org. As they say in Boston (or if you're Shibon Magnus) it is a wicked cool site. This is from their website:

OpenSecrets.org is your nonpartisan guide to money’s influence on U.S. elections and public policy. Whether you’re a voter, journalist, activist, student or interested citizen, use our free site to shine light on your government. Count cash and make change.

Awesome!!

See, the problem why there is not a third party (Nationally) is cash. A third party will need to compete with the Dems and Repubs to get cash from these companies. In local government elections, where you do not have corporations "buying" and controlling elections because they don't care, as a result there are a lot more Independents and Libertarians elected.

Most people are like sheep and they blindly follow media ads (or media outlets) that tell them who to vote for, or they simply vote their party because that is what they have always done. This is the problem.

As it turns out, most corporations donate to BOTH sides. The Dems and Repubs really are almost the same, they just move taxpayer money to one side or another. They love to spend spend spend and enact rules and laws to impede on society!

Check out who is giving money to these congress people.
When you get fed up: Vote Libertarian!

Roids!

In addition to steroids shrinking your balls and giving you a small pee pee - it will also destory your heart - the below research suggests. I would assume there will be a lot of baseball players dropping dead in a few years.


Here's the article:

http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=1021
Long-term anabolic steroid use may weaken heart more than previously thought

Study highlights:
Long-term anabolic steroid use may weaken the heart more than previously thought.
Steroid-related heart impairment is severe enough to potentially increase the risk of heart failure.

The left ventricle, the heart muscle primarily responsible for pumping blood throughout the body, was significantly weaker among steroid users.

DALLAS, April 27, 2010 — Long-term anabolic steroid use may weaken the heart more than previously thought and may increase the risk of heart failure, according to research reported in Circulation: Heart Failure, an American Heart Association journal. Anabolic-androgenic steroids mimic the naturally occurring testosterone, a muscle-building hormone that promotes male sexual characteristics.

"Anabolic steroids, in addition to being illegal, have important health consequences,” said Aaron L. Baggish, M.D., lead author of the study and instructor in the Department of Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “I think for the first time we’re starting to realize that the heart is one of the organs that is negatively impacted by long-term steroid use.”

In the small study, investigators found that the left ventricle, the heart’s main pumping chamber, was significantly weaker during contraction (systolic function) in participants who had taken steroids compared to a group of similar non-steroid users.

A healthy left ventricle pumps out 55 percent to 70 percent of the blood that fills the heart (a measurement known as ejection fraction). Eighty-three percent of steroid users in the 12-person study had a low pumping capacity (ejection fraction less than 55 percent) that previous studies have linked to increased risk of heart failure and sudden cardiac death. In contrast, only one of the non-steroid users had a low ejection fraction.

Steroid users also exhibited impaired diastolic function, which is when the left ventricle relaxes and fills with blood. The researchers showed that ventricle relaxation among steroid users, as demonstrated by the left ventricle’s ratio of early-to-late blood filling, was reduced by almost half (0.93 compared with 1.80 among non-users).

The left ventricle’s structure was similar in both steroid-users and non-users. Baggish and his co-investigators used a technique known as Doppler echocardiography to examine the left ventricle’s function and structure. The test uses high-frequency sound waves, or ultrasound, to create moving pictures of the heart and its blood flow.

The steroid-using group included 12 male weight lifters, average age 40, who reported taking about 675 milligrams of steroids per week for nine years. The control group was seven age-matched, male weight lifters who reported no steroid exposure. Both groups had similar durations of past and current weight lifting and other physical activity, as well as similar cardiac risk factors other than steroid use.

Although the users and non-users had comparable body-mass indices and body-surface areas, the steroid users had more muscle mass than the non-users. Despite the small sample size, the statistically significant differences in heart function suggest a strong link between steroid use and heart impairment, said investigators who are conducting further studies to confirm their findings.

In previous studies, the precise effects of steroid use on heart dysfunction have been unclear. Part of the problem with conducting studies of steroid-related heart injury is that illegal anabolic steroid use is relatively recent. In the United States, these drugs first became widespread among athletes in the 1980s; so many steroid users from that era are now reaching the age when heart problems often surface. “What we hope is that people start recognizing steroid use as a potential cause of heart disease and a cause of otherwise unexplained heart dysfunction in young people,” Baggish said.

Co-authors are: Rory B. Weiner, M.D.; Gen Kanayama, M.D., Ph.D.; James I. Hudson, M.D.; Sc.D.; Michael H. Picard, M.D.; Adolph M. Hutter, Jr., M.D.; and Harrison G. Pope, Jr., M.D.

They finally Choked!

Last night the unbelieveable happened! The Caps choked their 3-1 lead to the 8th seeded Montreal Expos.... I mean, Canadians.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2009030117

Some stats:

- Caps outshot them: 292-194
- Alexander Semin, who had 40 goals in the regular season, didn't score a single one during the seven-game series despite leading the League in shots on goal with 44. He was 0-for-8 Wednesday night.
- That goalie guy made 37 saves in Game 5, another 53 saves in Game 6 and 41 more in Game 7.
The funny thing is the stupid Montreal coach benched that goalie guy in Game 3 and 4, which they loss, allowing the Caps to go up 3-1! Too bad he didn't bench him for ANY of the last three games!!!!!

Stress is tied to Obesity

Recently, a study was released linking stress to obesity. You'd think it'd be the opposite - that people who worry and are nervious get skinny. But I guess much McDonalds when stress comes!

Here's the article:

Discovery Of A Gene That Ties Stress To Obesity And Diabetes

The constant stress that many are exposed to in our modern society may be taking a heavy toll: Anxiety disorders and depression, as well as metabolic (substance exchange) disorders, including obesity, type 2 diabetes and arteriosclerosis, have all been linked to stress. These problems are reaching epidemic proportions: Diabetes, alone, is expected to affect some 360 million people worldwide by the year 2030. While anyone who has ever gorged on chocolate before an important exam understands, instinctively, the tie between stress, changes in appetite and anxiety-related behavior, the connection has lately been borne out by science, though the exact reasons for this haven't been crystal clear. Dr. Alon Chen of the Weizmann Institute's Neurobiology Department and his research team have now discovered that changes in the activity of a single gene in the brain not only cause mice to exhibit anxious behavior, but also lead to metabolic changes that cause the mice to develop symptoms associated with type 2 diabetes. These findings were published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

All of the body's systems are involved in the stress response, which evolved to deal with threats and danger. Behavioral changes tied to stress include heightened anxiety and concentration, while other changes in the body include heat-generation, changes the metabolism of various substances and even changes in food preferences. What ties all of these things together? The Weizmann team suspected that a protein known as Urocortin-3 (Ucn3) was involved. This protein is produced in certain brain cells -- especially in times of stress -- and it's known to play a role in regulating the body's stress response. These nerve cells have extensions that act as 'highways' that speed Ucn3 on to two other sites in the brain: One, in the hypothalamus - the brain's center for hormonal regulation of basic bodily functions -- oversees, among other things, substance exchange and feelings of hunger and satiety; the other is involved in regulating behavior, including levels of anxiety. Nerve cells in both these areas have special receptors for Ucn3 on their surfaces, and the protein binds to these receptors to initiate the stress response.

The researchers developed a new, finely-tuned method for influencing the activity of a single gene in one area in the brain, using it to increase the amounts of Ucn3 produced in just that location. They found that heightened levels of the protein produced two different effects: The mice's anxiety-related behavior increased, and their bodies underwent metabolic changes, as well. With excess Ucn3, their bodies burned more sugar and fewer fatty acids, and their metabolic rate sped up. These mice began to show signs of the first stages of type 2 diabetes: A drop in muscle sensitivity to insulin delayed sugar uptake by the cells, resulting in raised sugar levels in the blood. Their pancreas then produced extra insulin to make up for the perceived 'deficit.' '

We showed that the actions of single gene in just one part of the brain can have profound effects on the metabolism of the whole body,' says Chen. This mechanism, which appears to be a 'smoking gun' tying stress levels to metabolic disease, might, in the future, point the way toward the treatment or prevention of a number of stress-related diseases.

Participating in the research were research students Yael Kuperman, Orna Issler, Limor Regev, Ifat Musseri, Inbal Navon and Adi Neufeld-Cohen, along with Shosh Gil, all of the Weizmann Institute's Neurobiology Department.

Dr. Alon Chen's research is supported by the Nella and Leon Benoziyo Center for Neurosciences; the Carl and Micaela Einhorn-Dominic Brain Research Institute; the Croscill Home Fashions Charitable Trust; the Irwin Green Alzheimer's Research Fund; Gerhard and Hannah Bacharach, Fort Lee, NJ; Mark Besen and the Pratt Foundation, Australia; Roberto and Renata Ruhman, Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Barry Wolfe, Woodland Hills, CA. Dr. Chen is the incumbent of the Philip Harris and Gerald Ronson Career Development Chair.

It's Scary to be a Caps Fan

I am not a big hockey fan. I rank it right up there with basketball, watching golf on tv, and cricket. That being said, I have been 'interested' enough in the Washington Capitals this year to actually watch a few minutes of last nights 4-1 loss to the Montreal Canadians.

I have listened to the Sports Junkies and they talk about the Caps, not to mention, I also watched the Olympic hockey a few months ago. The Caps fans were all for the Russians (Ovechkin and Semin) and against the Canadians (because a guy they call Cindy Crosby plays for them). I even watched the Gold Metal game, which was USA vs. Canada. Wouldn't you know it? That Canadian guy scored the winning goal in OT, so I started to call him Cindy Crosby too!

I have a friend who said, "If I was sitting here (in the living room) and a hockey game broke out. I would go upstairs to bed." That's how much he likes hockey. Of course, I would have rather been watching Jonathan Sanchez vs. Roy "Doc" Hallady, especially when the Giants beat his ass!

Anyway, I am not a Hockey Hater as my friend is so that's why I'm writing this blurb.
I do like the Capitals since Ted Leonsis owns them, and I used to hang with Fat Ted back in the days of AOL.

But the simple truth is that Washington sports is in shambles! Sports here is a joke! The Deadskins suck! They have 3 washed up running backs and a washed up QB. The Nat-in-als are a laughing stock. They'd be just as bad as the Orioles if they had teams like the Yankees, Redsox and DevilDogs in their division. The Washington Bullets way suck! They should TOTALLY be called the bullets after Gilbert's gun stuff! And then there are the Capitals.

These guys were great last year and choked in the playoffs. This year they are well on their way to laying a big ol' egg. Now, typically I would be rooting against Washington teams and laughing! But this time I am actually rooting for them to win! Amazing, right?

If they did lose that would be a gigantic choke. You'd be spelling choke with a "W" ... this is an 8 seed beating a 1 seed! I am entertained by all the talk radio people FREAKING out! HA HA HA and I have a few Caps fans I have to talk with to see if they are freaking out too! Most of 'em are saying the Caps are going to lose. You'd think they were pre-2003 Red Sox fans!

Well, we will have to see. Game 7 is on Wednesday night!

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.”

College Football Championship!

I'm not going to write about the BCS Championship game on the 7th.... what I am going to write about is that College football needs a PLAYOFF. Who here would love to see Boise State face off against Florida and the winner of that game to play the Alabama/Texas winner? No more voting or silly computers picking the #1. With a playoff, EVERY YEAR we will have a consensus #1 team.

Remember when the NY Giants beat the Patriots a few years ago? Many people dismissed it and said - well, the Giants got lucky in that ONE game. But what they can't argue with is that for the 2007 season the NY Giants were the #1 team because they won the Super Bowl. They beat NFC teams in the playoff, the Patriots beat the AFC teams.

College Football needs to take the top 8 teams and run a playoff.

Round 1:
#8 plays #1 ---> A
#7 plays #2 ---> B
#6 plays #3 ---> C
#5 plays #4 ---> D

Round 2:
A vs. D
B vs. C

Round 3:
Championship Game

The Championship Game should be played the weekend before the Super Bowl
And I suggest it should be played at the location of the Super Bowl! How much $$$
would the NCAA and schools get? A LOT! Plus it gives fans a great game to look forward to and gives us a true #1 !!