Nelson Hollow Bridge New Hampshire1995 and 2008

On a trip in 1995 I took this picture on the way from Maine to Nova Scotia.  Today I scanned in one of the pictures I took of a covered bridge.  I had no idea at the time that it was quite the landmark.  Being curious about the name on the bridge I found some pictures of it taken in 2008 and some interesting facts. 
No longer in service, this covered bridge at Nelson Hollow, just 4 km outside of Doaktown, is the oldest covered bridge in New Brunswick and the only one remaining in Northumberland County. Also known as the Mill Brook #5, this covered bridge traverses Bett's Mill Brook.

On a sign posted over the entrance to the bridge is the warning:

$20 fine for Driving on This Bridge Faster Than a Walk

These pictures were taken in 2008 I found them on a web site called New Hampshire Covered Bridges or you can find it by entering the the term Nelson Hollow Bridge.



Ontario researchers launch massive health study

Ontario researchers launch massive health study

Just a comment on the increased negative focus on people with diabetes. Are diabetics at risk of becoming a segment of society that is going from the designation of 'patient' to 'villian' by reports that they are becoming a burden to society economically and medically?
I am really happy to see that an ambitious study is in the works the results of which will surface many years down the line however. More needs to be done in changing people's behavior now not later.

General Anesthesia More Like Coma Than Sleep

General Anesthesia More Like Coma Than Sleep

Interesting new considerations about general anesthesia.

Priests Brawl at Jesus' Birthplace

   Every so often one runs across something so absurd that it makes my RidicuList.

First of all for men who profess to follow in the footsteps of their model, Christ Jesus, it's doubly ridiculous that they should then fight in the Church of the Nativity. 

  This happened in Bethlehem, West Bank where Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests attacked each other with brooms and stones as long-standing rivalries erupted in violence during holiday cleaning on Thursday.
  The basilica, built over the grotto in Bethlehem where Christians believe Jesus was born, is administered jointly by Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic authorities.
  Any perceived encroachment on one group's turf can touch off vicious feuds.
So dozens of priests and cleaners were scrubbing the church ahead of the Armenian and Orthodox Christmas, celebrated in early January.  Thousands of tourists visited the church this week for celebrations.
  But the clean-up turned ugly after some of the Orthodox faithful stepped inside the Armenian church's section, touching off a scuffle between about 50 Greek Orthodox and 30 Armenians.
  Palestinian police, armed with batons and shields, quickly formed a human cordon to separate the two sides so the cleaning could continue, then ordered an Associated Press photographer out of the church.
  Four people, some with blood running from their faces, were slightly wounded.

All I can say is that they must have missed the part where Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount "love your enemies and pray for those who are persecuting you"; or where Paul mentions to "return evil for evil to no one and if possible, as far as it depends upon you, be peaceable with all men; do not avenge yourselves but yield place to the wrath for it is God that will repay vengeance; and  do not let yourself be conquered by the evil, but keep conquering the evil with the good." Romans 12: 17-21.

A DANDY POEM

A lady in Nova Scotia found this poem in an old magazine in her attic in 1905.  She sent it to  Reader's Digest many years later when she no longer had a home. 

She talks about the fact that the lawn was never cut until the dandelions were over.  She describes the picture on the page as having a pale blue sky and a new moon.  In the foreground were three little yellow dandelions.  In the background was a big one which had gone to seed.  Here is the poem which describes it so beautifully.

If you should ask me whether I

believe in spooks, I should reply,

The only spook I can rely on

Is that of Uncle Dandelion.

T'was just the hour when twilight ceases,

His ghost appeared to his three nieces.

His face beneath the crescent moon,

Was like a gossamer balloon.

Miss Anne and Fan Delion's knees shook

Though it might have been the breeze.

Miss Nan although she made no sound,

Was firmly rooted to the ground.

And then the breeze got fresh and,

Tore off Uncle's wig and right before the

 frightened eyes of his three nieces

Blew Uncle in a thousand pieces.

Author Unknown

By Mrs. Edith B. Harris

Annapolis Royal, N.S.

IN MEMORY OF THE 2010 FOOTBALL SEASON

'Virtual biopsy' may detect athletes' brain injury


Football season in North America is nearly over for another season but the long lasting effects from on-field hits, legal or otherwise, will span decades and likely be debated for that long.  No matter whether it's a sport,  car accidents or any head injuries this idea is long past due.

If this procedure is indeed as promising as it looks we can only hope that it might save the lives of many athletes.  It could also prevent violent behaviors that arise because of undetected brain damage that lead to spousal abuse and even death.   It could even reduce progressive brain diseases such as early onset Alzheimer's that greatly affects the quality of life of so many.

Until something is written in stone that would give a dedicated sports player an acceptable way to save face (interchange manhood here), thus enabling him to sit on the sidelines without question will go far to reduce the tragedies that is seen far too often on and off the playing field.

THE GREAT MOLASSES FLOOD of JANUARY 1919

This story is not about Grandma's Molasses but about the worse industrial accident disasters in Boston Massachusetts history. 

 Perhaps it is where the saying 'slower than molasses in January' came from but in this case it was fast enough to kill this January in 1919.

  A giant molasses tank blows up, sending a wall of thick, sticky syrup through the streets of a Boston neighborhood. The blast and the molasses flood kill 21 people and injure 150.
The Purity Distilling Company built the tank in 1915 on the waterfront of Boston's North End, a populous neighborhood of Italian immigrants just a few blocks from the city's financial and downtown shopping districts. With a diameter of 90 feet and 50 feet high, the iron tank could hold about 2½ million gallons of molasses, ready to be distilled into rum or industrial alcohol.
At least, it could hold the molasses until shortly after noon on Jan. 15, 1919. No one is sure what caused the disaster. Workers and neighbors had complained about the tank leaking for years, so the owner painted it brown to hide the leaks. But the disaster was likely not due to overfilling, because the tank didn't merely give way — it exploded.
The local temperature had risen from 2 degrees above zero to the 40s in a couple of days. It's possible that the rapid heating started a fermentation process, or that newly added warm molasses somehow reacted with colder molasses lower in the tank.
Whatever caused the explosion, the tank gave out a dull roar, and then its two sides flew outward with a mighty blast. One huge piece knocked out the support of an elevated railway, buckling the tracks. An engineer stopped his train just in time to avoid an even worse disaster. Fragments of metal landed 200 feet away.
Besides sending shrapnel whizzing through the air, the explosion flattened people, horses and buildings with a huge shockwave. As some tried to get to their feet, the sudden vacuum where the tank once was created a reverse shockwave, sucking air in and knocking people, animals and vehicles around once more, and shaking homes off their foundations.
That was just the first few seconds. The real terror was about to begin.
The tank had been filled to near capacity, and 2.3 million gallons of thick, heavy, odorous molasses formed a sticky tsunami that started at 25 or 30 feet high and coursed through the streets at 35 mph. Victims couldn't outrun it. It knocked them into buildings and other obstacles, it swept them off their feet, and it pulled them under to drown in a viscous, suffocating, brown death.
When it was over, more than a score had died, and seven or eight times that number suffered injuries. The mess took months to clean up, and the legal issues even longer.
It was the height of the post-World War I Red Scare, and the distillery blamed anarchists, who they said knew the molasses was intended for alcohol to make military ammunition. The victims and their survivors blamed the distillery for faulty construction and unsafe operation.
More than a hundred separate lawsuits dragged on until 1925, when the U.S. Industrial Alcohol Co., the distillery's owner, finally settled the claims for nearly $1 million (about $12 million in today's money).
One of the strangest industrial accidents ever lingered on, and not just in a few safety improvements. On warm days for decades after, the neighborhood smelled of molasses. And if you listen to old-timers, even today, hot weather brings a vague, sickly sweet smell to the streets of the North.

From the Wisdom of Chief Tecumseh

Give thanks
when you arise in the morning,
give thanks for the morning light.
Give thanks for your life
and your strenth.
Give thanks for your food and give
thanks for the joy of living.
And if you see no reason
for giving thanks,
rest assured that the fault
is in yourself. 

Impaired walking can be a killer

  There were two articles in the LP today that highlight the need to take care of ourselves particularly at this time of year and for some very good reason.  Because this blog o'mine is so wildly popular and widely read and I must be very famous by now I'm sure this will save somebodies life....'tap tap tap'... is this thing working?  Has anyone tried to use the comment box???  Oh and besides it's my 40th blog which deserves a very important topic and one that has actually touched my real non-blogger life.

  Nearly 40% of pedestrians killed on Canadian roads in a recent snapshot year had been drinking, with two-thirds of them have a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) more than double the legal driving limit.  Fewer than one in five was at or below drivers' legal content of 0.08 according to the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators.
  New Year's Day is one of the deadliest times of the year for pedestrians and experts say people need to take the dangers of "drinking and walking" seriously due to the fact that they are not dressed properly nor do they pay attention to traffic or other hazards.   
  The stats are strikingly similar in the U.S.A.  Many pedestrians are never tested for impairment and the problem therefore may be underplayed because the stats don't reflect those whose fatal injures occur outside of road settings such falling down stairs, tripping or gun incidents.  A landmark study in Prevention found January 1st has more pedestrian crash deaths, on average, than any other day of the year, with 58% having high BAC's.  Halloween ranks second.
  The holidays themselves are a risk factor for death and thus the soundtrack for many a North American Christmas isn't Bing Crosby but rather the scream of ambulance sirens found a new study report. 
  In a 25 year period between 1979 and 2004, researchers identified an excess of 42,325 natural deaths---that is above and beyond normal winter increases---in the two weeks starting with Christmas.  On Christmas and New Year's Day especially, they report that "mortality from natural causes spikes in dead-on-arrival (DOA) and emergency department (ED) settings with more of these deaths occurring on Dec. 25, Dec. 26 and Jan. 1 than on any other day.  These findings were written in the journal of Social Science & Medicine and professor David Philips, of the University of California at San Diego went on to say that these increases in DOA/ED settings, spanned the top five disease groups: circulatory, neoplasms, respiratory, endocrine/nutritional/metabolic disease and digestive.  The increases are anywhere between 3 and 10% depending on either demographics or the causes of death.  Less clear is the reasons behind this fatal phenomenon. 
  Cancer deaths increase in every medical setting leaving those to ponder what mechanism it is that causes such calendar-specific spikes.  Many plausible lines of reason were discussed in the article but none offered clean evidence of what is driving this trend.  So that is what researchers next step will be.
  "For now", Phillips says, "the message is pay attention to your health, and to your health resources, particularly on these two occasions.

  On January 1, 2009 the father of my children and my good friend, had a massive heart attack and died three days later.

Your Picture of the Day

A couple of years ago I had the pleasure of an invitation to view some flowers a lady had on her patio including this wonderful hibiscus plant.   Her award winning Dahlia is my profile picture here on blogspot.

I also have a picture of a yellow one that I took in Florida in 2005 which I just love.  Unfortunately it's really small and does not do the flower justice but I love the paleness of the yellow and found one online that looks pretty but not as pretty as mine I don't think.

My Cousins In 1890's Canadian Steamboat History

Two Brydges brothers made a living in the steamboat industry in the Lake of theWoods area in northern Ontario in the late 1890's.  Edward W Brydges and his brother Clarence M Brydges ran a service between Rat Portage (Kenora, Ontario) and Ft Francis.  My father had told my mother that he had a cousin who was a "captain of a steamboat" but my mother was always skeptical about this.  Indeed it was true.  Captain Ed Brydges apparently made such an impression on my dad that he wanted to name me Edward should I have been a boy.  It's funny how little bits of knowledge that I had of my father have finally connected in an unexpected way for me.

In the following article there are different types of boats mentioned that belonged to the brothers.  Edward's boat was a luxury liner in those days called the Edna Brydges named after a daughter.  He also had a ferry named Kinina after his wife.  His brother Clarence piloted the ferry Annie Mac.  The history of what they carried and charged is an interesting bit of history.  I've also found references in the Manitoba Morning Free Press which is cited on their pages in Ancestry.com.

Some History of Canadian Steamboats in the1890's

WATERFRONT FLOTSAM – Kenora Miner and News – 1905

The Catherine S showed up Monday last at noon time with a three-pocket tow from Dawson Narrows.

Tomorrow at noon, the Keewatin will go on ferry duty while the Argyle with the Brandon takes the conference delegates for a ride on the lake.

The Clipper returned Sunday from her trip to Big Island with oxen for the Indians. On Monday she took some picnic parties out to the Sultana and later on took a fishing outfit down to Quarry Island.A tow of 15,000 logs was taken to the Keewatin tie mill on Wednesday by the Shamrock, brought in from Grassy River.
The Day Star, the Presbyterian mission steamer, is busy these days taking out supplies to the school for the winter. She left Saturday with a big load of flour, syrup, etc.
These were among the busy fleet of steamboats that plied the Lake of the Woods for close to a century. They hauled log booms, hosted dances, took excursions, transported mining supplies, brought settlers along the route to their new homes, and dramatically changed the style of travel on Lake of the Woods.  Previous to their use all lake travel had been done by birch bark canoe, then by York boat. But with the increased traffic on what was then the only practical thoroughfare to the Canadian west, the need for faster and larger vessels was realized.
The first steamboat on the lake was owned and operated by the Canadian government and was put into service in 1872 as a tug to pull York boats through the two sets of rapids on the Rainy River. The nameless steamer was joined a year later by another and then another which was christened Lady of the Lake. These first steamers were engaged in passenger service, conveying settlers from Rainy River to Rat Portage (now Kenora, Ontario), or west via the North West Angle and the Dawson Trail. The Lady of the Lake, at 115 feet in length, was a side-wheeler that ran the route until she was dismantled in 1880. Many of her parts, however, were used in the construction of another steamer, the Lilly McCauley. The Shamrock, Monarch, and Highland Maid all ran the passenger route between Fort Frances and Rat Portage. Their one-way fare was $6.00 for adults (which included meals), $3.00 for children, $5.00/head for cattle and horses, $8.00/ton for household goods, and $10.00/ton for supplies. The round trip could be made in less than 48 hours – each leg of the trip averaging about 21 hours with layovers to pick up and discharge passengers. Because the trip could not be made without refueling, there were wooding stations located along the main steamboat routes where the boats could pull in and stock up on wood.
The passenger boats eventually began to offer leisure tours and in doing so initiated the first attempts to attract tourists to the lake. As the industry of the region expanded beyond the original base of fur trade into commercial fishing, lumbering, gold mining, and tourism, steamboats became an even more common sight on the lake.
While saw mills were becoming established in the communities of Keewatin and Rat Portage, logging camps were being constructed on all parts of the lake. In the journals of John Gardner, one the area’s earliest settlers who worked at various logging camps, the arrival of the steamboats was always recorded with an account of the number of workers brought out, the replenishment of supplies, and the delivery of much-awaited mail. The Jenny Lind, Lotta S and the Clipper were all engaged in freighting men and supplies to the camps. Other steamboats, the Empress, Kingfisher, Algoma, and Mather were used to tow the immense log booms from down the lake to the sawmills in Rat Portage.
The Sultana, Regina, and Mikado steamboats were each part of the operations of successfully run gold mines on Lake of the Woods. Their purpose was multi-fold. They were used to freight supplies, equipment, labourers, and ore. As well, potential investors were escorted out to the mines aboard the company steamers. The Scud and Frank Marshall were often seem loaded to the gills with packed fish boxes en route to Rat Portage where the fish were then shipped to market by rail. During the commercial fishing heyday of the 1890s, four million pounds of fish and a quarter of a million pounds of caviar were shipped annually from the area.
Through the course of 90 years, side-wheelers, stern-wheelers, sturdy tugboats, elegant excursion boats, and accommodating ferries plied the lake. But with the coming of the railway, roadways, and diesel and gasoline engines, one by one the steamboats fell into disuse, bringing an end to this significant era on Lake of the Woods. The steamboats met their ends in various ways. The Couchiching, a steam tug, was built in 1883, abandoned on the sandbar at Bush Island in 1897 and ten years later was dynamited into oblivion. The fish boat Keewatin and the ferry Kennina both burned. The Speedwell was wrecked on a reef. Others simply outlived their usefulness and were dismantled and sunk. The remains of some of those early boats are scattered along the lake bottom off various islands and in numerous bays and provide intriguing exploration for divers. They are, however, protected archaeological sites and cannot be disturbed.
SIDEBAR
The Annie Mac, a ferry between Rat Portage, Norman, and Keewatin, was jokingly called “Consumption”, because her exhaust “sounded as if it were the last gasp of a diseased lung.”The Clipper was reputedly the fastest boat on the lake, and the first boat on the lake to have electric lights.  The 75-foot Edna Brydges was launched in 1895. She could accommodate 60 passengers in style. White linens, silverware, and caviar were dining room staples.  The Kathleen ran “blueberry excursions” on the Winnipeg River. During these outings lunch could be obtained on board or, for those who brought their own picnic basket, hot water for tea was available.

http://www.lakeofthewoods.com/

Take you Favorite Curry Dish with you to the ER???

Neuroprotective Against Stroke And Traumatic Brain Injury Discovered In Compound Derived From Curry Spice

One compound, called CNB-001, which was derived from curcumin, the active ingredient in the spice turmeric, proved highly neuroprotective in all of the assays; it also enhanced memory in normal animals.
TBA is the only approved drug that ameliorates the behavioral and memory changes resulting from stroke but only in 20% of the time.

Although 20% doesn't seem like very much but if it lessens the terrible damage that strokes cause and it's you that's facing paralysis and lifelong disabilities even 20% is more of a chance than you had before before.

How Chromium-6 Gets in Our Water

CROMIUM-6

 Chromium is known as the 'Erin Brockovich' chemical since it's hazards were brought to light in a movie by the same name a few years ago.  In the news today results of chromium testing in a number of cities in the U.S.A was released and are frightening.  The 'winner' is Norman, Oklahoma at a whopping 200% above recommendations.
 

Most reports about chromium-6 doesn't really say how it gets into the water but this is what I found on Wikipedia..............in short....it's from manufacturing and is in everything we purchase, use and drink. It leaches into the soil from abandoned car plants, tanneries, paint companies and maybe the biggest cuprit of all is from the production of electronics.

One of the most important things I read in the information that I found may be passed over by most as insignificant so I have highlighted it.  This could be a piece of the puzzle in the global obesity epidemic and it's about time scientists started to look at WATER as the vehicle of doom..........that statement may be a bit dramatic I admit but they aren't coming up with any answers.

Despite growing evidence of the dangers of hexavalent chromium in tap water, the EPA has done nothing about legal limit requirements. Water utility companies don't even have to test for levels in their tap water.

The average hexavalent chromium levels in the tested tap water was 0.18 ppb, compared to the recommended 0.06 ppb.

Top five cities tested:

• Norman, Oklahoma, population - 89,952
  Hexavalent chromium level 12.9 ppb
• Honolulu, Hawaii: population - 661,004
  Hexavalent chromium level 2.00 ppb
• Riverside, California, population - 280,832
  Hexavalent chromium level 1.69 ppb
• Madison, Wisconsin, population - 200,814
  Hexavalent chromium level 1.58 ppb
• San Jose, California, population - 979,000
  Hexavalent chromium level 1.34 ppb

 

Glass is colored green by the addition of chromium(III) oxide. This is similar to emerald, which is also colored by chromium. A red color is achieved by doping chromium(III) into the crystals of corundum, which are then called ruby. Therefore, chromium is used in producing synthetic rubies.

The toxicity of chromium(VI) salts is used in the preservation of wood. For example, chromated copper arsenate (CCA) is used in timber treatment to prevent wood from decay fungi, wood attacking insects, including termites, and marine borers.

 Tanning-manufacturing of leather products.

Refractory material

The high heat resistivity and high melting point makes chromite and chromium(III) oxide a material for high temperature refractory applications, like blast furnaces, cement kilns, molds for the firing of bricks and as foundry sands for the casting of metals.                                                      

Several chromium compounds are used as catalysts. For example the Phillips catalysts for the production of polyethylene are mixtures of chromium and silicon dioxide or mixtures of chromium and titanium and aluminium oxide. Chromium(IV) oxide (CrO₂) is a magnetic compound. Its ideal shape anisotropy, which imparts high coercivity and remanent magnetization, made it a compound superior to the γ-Fe₂O₃. Chromium(IV) oxide is used to manufacture magnetic tape used in high-performance audio tape and standard audio cassettes. Chromates can prevent corrosion of steel under wet conditions, and therefore chromates are added to drilling muds. Chromium has been suggested to be connected to sugar metabolism, although no biological role for chromium has ever been demonstrated biochemically. The dietary supplements for chromium include chromium(III) picolinate, chromium(III) polynicotinate, and related materials. The benefit of those supplements is still under investigation and is questioned by some studies.

• Chromium(III) oxide is a metal polish known as green rouge.
• Chromic acid is a powerful oxidizing agent and is a useful compound for cleaning laboratory glassware of any trace of organic compounds.

 

Cancer Patients Are At An Almost Five-Fold Increased Risk Of Developing Listeria

Absolutely a must read.
We've all heard about Listeria in recent years but do people with blood borne cancers know about this??? I do not think so. As a former medical person and a present day survivor of NHL* I am shocked to discover this information.

*NHL That's not the hockey league that some folks find difficult to survive through.

Cancer Patients Are At An Almost Five-Fold Increased Risk Of Developing Listeria

TALK TO THE COW

What started out as an entirely different subject has ended up at the barn apparently.   If you bear with me I might be able to get out of the muck and the mire and get on with how I got here in the first place.  Patience is of the essence here....

I phoned my upstairs neighbor and friend who is not well this week either and we got to talking about physical limits and when to know the right time to push those limits in order to make progress.  From there we talked about other people's expectations of us particularily when they think--- (yes I'm a mind reader as well as being a master blogger)--- or they at least intimate that we are not making the kind progress we should be achieving. 

You all are doing SO well just hanging in there with me and being patient and just sitting there quietly........ and I haven't heard nary a one say "Are we there yet??" 
Your reward is near.

 :>>enter the cow here<<: ----My attempt at a little http:// humor here but I have no idea what it would do.
Did you know that the cow can be led up the stairs but cannot be led down the stairs?.....and while that's no bull although it could be it is not gender restrictive, it's a fact.   
My point here is that other than the person himself or herself, no one has all the facts.  There are always varying degrees of limits that one exists under at varying points in that recovery and many of those are absolutely impossible to do no matter how much we wish or push or prod or pray for it to be otherwise.  I'm sure that the cow would really like to go down those stairs too if she could. 
The progresses made are within your own 4 walls all by yourself on a daily if not hourly basis as you try to achieve a dignified quality of life and get done the things that absolutely have to get done. 
 In other words it's nobody else's business but yours and your doctor's with the exception of some government or insurance agency that sends you a check every month.

I love the Herefords.   Almost every farm here had them, we owned one and they are tied to many childhood memories including falling off one but that's another story. 
When I went looking for the lovely mother above ( the cow, the cow,)  I came across some information that only I or my family  could appreciate but aren't you blessed you're going to get it anyway.  The first exports from the UK in 1817 of this breed was to..................ta daaaaaaa...... Kentucky, US of A. perhaps the home of the NOT so free back then otherwise my maternal grandmother's family would not have trekked by covered wagon all the way to Canada and thus the reason for my being.  You must be overcome.


Hereford cattle are a beef cattle breed, widely used both in intemperate areas and temperate areas, mainly for meat production.
Originally from Herefordshire, England, United Kingdom,^[1][2] more than five million pedigree Hereford Cattle now exist in over 50 countries. The Hereford cattle export trade began from United Kingdom in 1817, starting in Kentucky, United States,^[3] spreading across the United States and Canada through Mexico to the great beef-raising countries of South America. Today, Hereford cattle dominate the world scene from Australasia to the Russian steppes. Hereford Cattle can be found in Israel, Japan and throughout Continental Europe and Scandinavia.^[4]

This Will Grow On You

I came across a new word in the newspaper the other day and had to look it up.  So now that I'm enlightened I've been wondering how am I going to use it.  Let's see now.. according to the first definition:

ac·cre·tion

[uh-kree-shuhn]

–noun

1.

an increase by natural growth or by gradual external addition; growth in size or extent.

Being shut in for 4 weeks without of exercise or any physical exertion beyond lifting eating utensils for the most part.  I understand accreeetion very well as I believe that a certain amount of 'natural growth' and most certainly 'gradual external addition' is happening to me as we speak. 

2.

the growing together of separate parts into a single whole. 

Yep I think this is an inevitable natural progression of acreeeetion There will be  reruns and remakes of old movies like 'The Thing' and 'The Blob eventually morphing into 'THE THINGAMABLOB'. 

I am seriously thinking about Wii-ing.  I heard that you can get rid of 'gradual external additions' by ............Wii, Wii, Wii-ing yourself all the way at home.

YOUR "YUCK" MOMENT OF THE DAY

The Last-Ditch Method To Fight Intestinal Superbug?

Now a small but growing number of doctors are trying a last-ditch treatment: Using good bacteria to fight off the bad by transplanting stool from a healthy person into the sick person's colon.
Yes, there's a yuck factor. But reports of several dozen cases in a medical journal and at a meeting of the nation's gastroenterologists this fall suggest that with no more inconvenience than a colonoscopy, people who have suffered C-diff for months, or longer, can rapidly improve.
"This is the ultimate probiotic," says Dr. Lawrence Brandt of New York's Montefiore Medical Center, who has performed 17 of the procedures.
Yet it's much more complex: An entire bacterial neighborhood is transplanted.

 "C-diff, formally named Clostridium difficile, has become a menace in the nation's hospitals, and can spread outside of them, too. Some patients suffer just mild diarrhea, but others, especially older adults weakened by previous illness, can develop a more severe condition called colitis. There aren't precise counts but some government estimates suggest C-diff may be responsible for as many as 15,000 deaths yearly."
Up to a third of patients experience a second infection, and some go on to suffer recurrent bouts. Those worst-case patients are put on increasingly strong doses of the powerful antibiotic vancomycin for weeks, even months, at a time, treatments that Brandt says can cost $2,500 or more with each try.


http://health.yahoo.net/news/s/ap/us_med_healthbeat_stool_transplants

Submerging Your Feet In Alcohol Will Not Get You Drunk--Danish Study

Research in the Christmas issue published on bmj.com today explodes the Danish myth that it is possible to get drunk by submerging your feet in alcohol. The authors, led by Dr Peter Lommer Kristensen from the Hillerød Hospital in Denmark, say it was important that the myth underwent scientific scrutiny to prevent students wasting their time experimenting with this activity. Three adult volunteers took part in the study. None of them suffered from any chronic skin or liver disease and they were not addicted to alcohol or psychoactive drugs..."

Now why in the world would the medical community discourage a harmless myth that only allows students or other young people to waste their time and alcohol on their feet?  To me it makes perfect sense!~!  After all dont' they waste their time drinking anyway and with worse consequences than sitting around pickling their feet?

Castle Acre, Norfolk, England

This is the area where my paternal ancestors lived in the 1600's.  By 1806 some  immigrated to Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, then to Dunnville, Lambton, Ontario by 1863, Petrolia Ontario by 1870 and westward ho to the prairies by 1891. 

Castle Acre

Castle Acre
The Priory, Castle Acre
Castle Acre is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is situated on the River Nar some 4 miles (6.4 km) north of the town of Swaffham. It is 15 miles (24 km) east of the town of King's Lynn, 33 miles (53 km) west of the city of Norwich, and 103 miles (166 km) from London.[1][2] The village is best known today for the twin ruins of Castle Acre Castle and Castle Acre Priory, which lie immediately to the east and west of the village respectively. Both were founded soon after the Norman Conquest by William de Warenne, the first Earl of Surrey. At its heyday, Castle Acre played an important role in the affairs of the State, with many visits from royalty. Castle Acre itself was once a fortified town and still possesses one of its gates, the Bailey Gate. When first established, Castle Acre was one of the finest examples of Norman town planning in the country, and much of this can still be seen.[3] The civil parish has an area of 13.18 km2 (5.09 sq mi) and in the 2001 census had a population of 799 in 370 households. The parish shares boundaries with the adjacent parishes of Rougham, Great Massingham, West Acre, South Acre, Newton by Castle Acre and Lexham. The parish falls within the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk. Local government responsibilities are shared between the parish, district and county councils.[4][5] The village lies some 0.5 miles (0.80 km) west of the A1065 Mildenhall to Fakenham road, but is clearly visible from the road. The hamlet of Fiddler's Green lies to the northeast of the village.  Castle Acre shown within Norfolk
Area	13.18 km2 (5.09 sq mi)
Population	800
- Density	61 /km2 (160 /sq mi)
OS grid reference	TF816151
- London	103 miles (166 km)
District	King's Lynn and West Norfolk
Shire county	Norfolk
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	KING'S LYNN
Postcode district	PE32 2
Police	Norfolk
Fire	Norfolk
Ambulance	East of England
EU Parliament	East of England
List of places: UK • England • Norfolk

Castle Acre

Who Lies More about Attending Church Canadians or Americans?

And the answer IS: 

Canadians are second only to Americans in the unexpected research results found in a study done over a 30 year span by the University of Michigan. It included more than 400 different surveys and 750,000 people in 14 countries done by Philip Brenner a research fellow at the Institute for Social Research.  I say unexpected only from my point of view in that we are talking about people that regardless of where they live, say they follow the truthful Jesus Christ as their model.

Although my first reaction was "liar liar pants on fire",  to be fair the study reveals that the misrepresentation is not wholly intentional but due to the way the study or any study is framed, that is by the way the questions are asked.  This became evident when time-use diaries ask people to record everything they did on a given day versus being asked a direct question. 

When asked directly people are more likely to give what they see as a desirable answer but when simply recording their daily activities the results are a more accurate representation because nothing is singled out.  Thus people have no idea what answers the researchers are really interested in and their guards are down in connection to any sensitive areas they may have in religion, politics, buying habits or sexual orientation.

Stats in the U.S. reveals that 35 to 45 per cent of people said they attended religious services regularly, but time-use information says 25 per cent is more accurate.

In Canada, the percentage of people who said they worshipped regularly fell from 41 per cent in 1974 to 25 per cent by 2005 but actually over that time period it shows up as 22 to 10 per cent.
In Europe the biggest gaps between people's reported and actual religious attendance are found in predominantly Catholic countries.  But even in Ireland--where reported church attendance tumbled from 90 per cent in the 1970's and '80's to about 46 per cent in 2006--the gap was about four to eight percentage points.

Reginald Bibby, a sociologist at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada, says once people develop a "churched" identity, it tends to stick and they answer questions about their religious behaviour based not just on what they actually do but on what they try to do and think they ought to do.

Well... so what does that mean?  Does it mean that they can feel better about themselves because they meant well?  And does that mean that Canadians really aren't liars?  Or perhaps is it because "they are open to the possibility of greater involvement in religious groups," as he further went on to say?

Since when do 'good intentions' trump the truth?

I'm sorry but I just can see Jesus Christ saying to his disciples that he went to the synagogue 7 times when in fact he only went 5 times no matter how badly he wanted to attend those other two times.

   Beyond the Gods & Back, Bibby's book on the decline of religion in Canada, will be published in January.

Thirst Drives Person to Seek Relief

On my way to the city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in July 2009, I stopped for a break and had a small lunch and a drink of water.  What I saw while I was there was absolutely mind boggling.

 If you look through the fence on the right you will see a red object which is a car that was about to be backed into the alley, out onto the street,  will turn right and park beside the silver car on the corner of the next block at the gas station. She drove to a building across the street!!!

About 5 minutes later the car comes back around the corner and into the spot where it is now in the picture.  I happened to be standing outside my vehicle and able to see the occupant emerge from the car, a young lady with a very large beverage in hand reminiscent of a slurpy. 

She walked up to the door on the slanted roof addition and found the door to be locked.  She then had to walk around to the FRONT of her building and presumably went in through the front door!~! 

Now don't that beat all? She could have saved a lot of time and fuel emissions if she would have only walked out the front door in the first place.  I guess thirst makes people do funny things.