Hey Ivy and Hubs, I'm not sure being able to carry a tune is one of the criteria for winning these singing talent awards anymore. It certainly wasn't when that chicken catcher won America's Got Talent. He got the, awhhh, he's a chicken catcher, let's give him something to make him feel better, award. And Taylor is pretty, sweet, and doesn't she write her own music? I guess that does count for something.
Maybe there's not many people who can tell when someone is way off key anymore. Too much exposure to loud noises. And then just maybe, off key is the new normal. We may have to retune our ears and learn to like it. Not.
I never have figured out how most of that rap got into the music industry. Much of it is just loud noise to me. (I'm a pea??) Years from now they may listen to people like Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli and say what is that noise?
If you are someone who keeps shaking you head at what you see going on in the world these days when others don't seem to mind, you just might be one of the few people who havent been replaced by your pod yet. It's probably on back order. Be patient, it's coming.
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And then maybe it's not a pod at all that is the reason for our apathy, it might come from the use of those antidepressants. I've always suffered a low level of depression, sometimes even higher. Can't help it with everything I see around me. Being depressed can be just grief not depression at all.
Years ago, when the new SSRIs came out, I decided to try one. Instead of my highs and lows, my anger about what I saw going on in this world, I became apathetic, but not quite apathetic enough to not care that I was apathetic. Didn't take the med long enough. I didn't do apathetic well. I'd rather be high or low than apathetic. I observed the same thing in others who took those meds. I preferred dealing with my family and friend's anger,their highs and lows than their apathy.
Those meds are one of the most prescribed group of drugs today. Maybe it isn't a pods that are replacing us, we've drug ourselves into apathy. Maybe that is part of the plan.
"I'd rather be high or low than apathetic."
I bet there are a lot of people suffering from bipolar disease that think the same thing. That doesn't mean they don't need those drugs. I think your crusade against SSRI's and other antidepressants is misplaced Carol.
... one person's idea of what apathy feels like (or is), may be another person's feeling (or idea) of accepting what they can't change.
I'd never call that giving up - I wouldn't even call it apathy. I'd call it focusing on the things you can change.
Like I told Jan. I once had a cure for Apathy....but noone listened to me......so.....who cares.!!
"It is hard to believe anyone in the country could not know we are in a deep recession. It has dramatically cut the demand for and, therefore, the price of most basic raw materials, especially energy. But the oil and gas industry keeps pretending this has not happened and instead has been blaming Interior Secretary Ken Salazar for the decline in the leasing of and drilling on federally owned lands and the resulting job losses."
Balance of power
Kudos to Interior Secretary Salazar's new approach
by Thomas Power
click on HOme; and scroll down to the article....
Good analysis by Paul Krugman NYT today re: U.S. banks vs. Canada's banks.
Also, pushing passage of the financial reform
bill passed by the House, but so far, among the missing in the Senate timetable...
1. Independent Consumer financial Protection Agency.
2. Establish limits on leverage, the extent banks can rely on borrowed funds
3. Limit securitization by requiring lenders to hold on to some of the loans they make
Good and Boring
Chloe,
I have to look up this information for my son Tom, and thought about U...
Lynch: Yes. Transcendental Meditation is a mental technique—it’s not a religion, it’s not against any religion, it’s not a cult, it’s not a sect. It’s a mental technique and an ancient form of meditation that Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is bringing back now. It’s a mental technique that allows any human being to dive within and experience subtler levels of mind and intellect, and transcend and experience the unbounded, infinite, eternal level of pure bliss consciousness, what modern scientists call the unified field at the base of all matter and the base of all mind.
Demystifying David Lynch
The Missoula-born director debunks local rumors, discusses peace factories and reveals the secret to understanding his surreal work.
On Iphoney. Chloe, I'm
not talking about people with Bipolar Disorder
but people who experience normal
highs and lows. Bipolar Disorder is a
serious mental health disorder and requires
mutiple drugs not just
SSRIs. Will discuss later.
Coreen,
Will read that in a moment, but I wanted to tell you this first, since U R hear:
I went to see Cosmos moon last night, up-close. I drover to lake shore drive beach, by on of the museums, and sat and watched for a cpl of hours..with a six pak. drank three and put the rest in the trunk......very relaxing with some music.
U know at one time, one could go and walk on the beach at night, or start a camp fire...now it would get U arrested, or robbed....
Oh, yeah, I guess that IM never speechless...kinda weird, like I said before....in real life I don't talk that much, unless it is one to one. And that depends on what is being discussed...some times my friend ask me to put in my two cents worth..but they mostly talk about sport...nothing to say on this normally...I don't watch a lot of sports...unless it's play offs, or championship games...I could never follow all of those baseball games....and when asked about who did what when...I say why...I love-loved to play all sports...but not talk about them...never was too impressed with a friend ( Jim ) that could tell you passed gas, when, where, and against which team....boring..I think that Im chatty here, cos this form of conversing is more like thinking out loud...cept U answer back...
U as in a general U, U all answer back...even when I don't want the answer...it will come....right Don?
Im a little lazy today about doing my exercises...( I just remembered I owe U a thread about health..will get on it today) when ever i am, I lie down for 10 min. exactly 10, and feel refreshed, and ready to go...but no more than 10 min......later
And I'm not against the use antidepressants just the overuse
and misuse of them.
"in real life I don't talk that much, unless it is one to one"
Solar, nothing wrong with listening...if one is always talking, it's easy to miss hearing what is being said....
When you were watching the moon did you ever get to see Mars... Last night the moon was bright late again, but could not see Mars.
Solar,
This may fit right in to your exercise post.
Stand up, move around, sitting kills...
Your Health: Too much sitting puts the body on idle
Or to put it musically....could have selected Jessica Simpson as Daisy, but forget the imitation, get the original.....
Nancy Sinatra-These Boots were made for walkin
"....dive within and experience subtler levels of mind and intellect, and transcend and experience the unbounded, infinite, eternal level of pure bliss consciousness"
Beautiful quote Solar. Thanks.
"The scientist in Dr. David Dosa was skeptical when first told that Oscar, an aloof cat kept by a nursing home, regularly predicted patients' deaths by snuggling alongside them in their final hours.
Dosa's doubts eroded after he and his colleagues tallied about 50 correct calls made by Oscar over five years
He's accurate enough that the staff — including Dosa — know it's time to call family members when Oscar stretches beside their patients, who are generally too ill to notice his presence. If kept outside the room of a dying patient, he'll scratch at doors and walls, trying to get in.
Nurses once placed Oscar in the bed of a patient they thought gravely ill. Oscar wouldn't stay put, and the staff thought his streak was broken. Turns out, the medical professionals were wrong, and the patient rallied for two days. But in the final hours, Oscar held his bedside vigil without prompting." furry angel of death: Oscar the cat
And to go along with your thoughts about the
universe & time, Solar & Don, you both may
like this....A book by physicist, Sean Carroll,
Caltech, recounting the history of scientists
thinking about the 'arrow of time', the clock's curiously one-dimensional march ever onward..."From Eternity to Here,the Quest for the ultimate theory of time"...
A Science Book worth your time
Chloe
I remember seeing something on TV about that cat, Oscar. That's amazing. I've also read that many animals(dogs & cats)know alot more about our health than we do, esp. if we're sick.
Coreen,
I just listened to the "Boots Are Made For Walking" song and I put my dusting slippers on and I'm going to dance around my floor and clean it. It made me want to get up and move.
Chloe, somehow, with your response, I feel I may have stepped on your toes. If so I am sorry. My problem with antidepressants is perfectly expressed in this article.
CDC: Antidepressants most prescribed drugs in U.S.
"Dr. Ronald Dworkin tells the story of a woman who didn't like the way her husband was handling the family finances. She wanted to start keeping the books herself but didn't want to insult her husband."
"The doctor suggested she try an antidepressant to make herself feel better."
"She got the antidepressant, and she did feel better, said Dr. Dworkin, a Maryland anesthesiologist and senior fellow at Washington's Hudson Institute, who told the story in his book "Artificial Unhappiness: The Dark Side of the New Happy Class." But in the meantime, Dworkin says, the woman's husband led the family into financial ruin."
"Doctors are now medicating unhappiness," said Dworkin. "Too many people take drugs when they really need to be making changes in their lives."
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/07/09/antidepressants/index.html
Maybe we need counseling. Maybe we need some exercise. Maybe we need to change our diets, God forbid. Maybe we need someone to talk to. Maybe we need a blog to express our frustrations on. Everyone doesn't need an antidepressant.
Often there is a better choice than popping a pill, especially one that is costly, has side effects and has very little proven efficacy in anything other than very severe depression.
I'm not against treating depression or prescribing antidepressants and don't want to have given that impression.
Carol,
U didn't step on Chloe's toes. When she doesn't agree with something; she say's so that all....that toe's part tho...I can see that happening, she..........
Carol,
Wouldn't it be cool if a lot of Doctors said that:
"Maybe we need counseling. Maybe we need some exercise. Maybe we need to change our diets, God forbid. Maybe we need someone to talk to. Maybe we need a blog to express our frustrations on. Everyone doesn't need an antidepressant."
I think that the majority of people could be helped with some straight talk, and a program of regular exercise......It helps to keep the brain healthy, and it will keep u from getting depressed b/c it sends the feel good signals that u need....instead of ....oh im so depressed, that I need my mommy, i need some drugs, i can't help, I can't do nothing about it....I you're ass, get up and move you're ass, and get t he hunter gatherer in you some hunting time.
Coreen,
I did not see Mar's last night or the night before, that's the main reason that I went by the Michigan Lake, to see if i could...after you said so on Thursday, I been looking for it...just to say hI...to my cousins.....
Solar, I just think that I might have left the impression that I don't believe in depression or don't think it should be treated with medication. My whinning could have done that.
I do get the opportunity to see things in medicine, that are in themselves pretty depressing. The quickest and easiest thing to do is whip out a prescription pad and write an order for a pill. It's often done without even getting a good description of the problem because that takes time for listening to your patient.
That's one of the disadvantages of living in the big city. You lose the sky.
Carol, Solar's right. You didn't step on my toes, and I'm sorry if I left you with that impression.
You know we've been going back and forth on this for a while, and I've tried not to say much. I mean on one hand, you said that antidepressants cause apathy, and on the other, in the past you said they don't do anything, that a placebo is just as effective.
I just feel like you have to be careful when you make generalized remarks about peoples mental pain. I feel strongly about this, and realize there are no definite answers.
You remember what happened to Tom Cruise when he said basically the same thing a while back?
I don't know, I guess I feel like you've made up your mind what works for you, and doesn't, and you have to be careful to understand that it's often different for other people.
Someone else agrees about Taylor Smiths performance last night Carol:
"Last night, Taylor Swift was the big winner of the night, winning Album of the Year, but she was also part of the evening's most memorably awkward duet, when she teamed up with Stevie Nicks for a medley that included Nicks' "Rhiannon." Swift has carved out a very impressive career for herself by working hard, being very well-rehearsed (see her "surprised" reaction to every single awards victory she's had in the last year) and understanding her strengths (personality, songwriting, stagecraft) and weaknesses (limited vocal range). Placed next to Nicks, and handed a song that wasn't written with her skill set in mind, Swift gave the kind of performance where, if it had happened on "American Idol," Paula Abdul would have started her comments by telling Taylor how pretty she looked. "
The Grammys: What was your most/least favorite performances?
Your reading way too much in what I say Chloe and taking some of it out of context.
Taylor does have something that a lot of people like. One is her youth and vulnerability. Does she write her own music?
I really like Lady Gaga. She's weird but a really neat person. I heard her on Oprah and she surprised me.
uh, I mean Swift.
I think the article says she does write her own music.
Ok, I agree. I may have taken it out of context. But still, I think it must be a subject that is important to both of us, but we needn't agree.
I do agree with what you said about therapy being important for many people, to work their way through and understand their problems. Undoubtedly.
I really do think the definition for talent has changed. I'm just old fashioned.
I do want to make sure you understand that I'm 'never' offended by differing opinions. Never, ever.
"I really do think the definition for talent has changed."
... that's why I liked the way that article put it: "understanding her strengths (personality, songwriting, stagecraft) and weaknesses (limited vocal range)."
Chloe, you don't see all the bucks of drugs people are taking like I do. At the jail I need wagons to carry them all in. Our perceptions are different because the environment we operate in are different.
I'll say the environment is different. You've got to have plenty of kooks in that jail. Eventually it has to take it's toll, and color your thinking somewhat.
What about who won America's Got Talent. I don't know if you watched that one this year but there were some extremely talented people who lost to the chicken catcher. He sounded like Taylor did last night.
I know our perceptions are different Carol. This place would be pretty dull if we all thought exactly the same thing. I'm here 'for' the differences, as much as anything else.
At the same time, I hope you won't take it personally, if I disagree with you about something. I want to feel free to be honest, and I want you to do the same thing. I sure wasn't looking to put you on the spot.
I looked at that u-tube of Pink...why do U think that I call U pinks?....
Never watched any of those talent shows Carol, but I do usually keep up somewhat with the professional talent. But not Taylor, except what I read.
XM even has a station called Pink Solar.
But Chloe, I saw the same thing in private practice. I've been in health care for almost 40 years.
In that book I told u about feelings and emotions.
In t his book that I told U about. They did a study with 18 people. They hooked electrodes and studied the symptoms of depression, and Parkinson's.
After the 17th, the 18th person was hooked up, something unexpected happened, after hooking it up to the electrode that gave them all relief the someone...it crossed wired with the other side-her left side and had a real bad effect....she was immediately depressed, said that she couldn't live like that..etc, etc. started crying, and when they disconnected..she was back to normal..smiling and good nature d....
Ok. So much for the kook theory.
40 years is a long time.
Dwight Freeney may be out for the Colts, Coreen. He's a pass rusher. Suppose to be a good thing for the Saints.
Solar, did you get a tingle when you watched Pink?
Solar, I think it's all about synapses.
the electicla current not passed into the general motor control structure as intended, but had flowed instead into one of the brain stem nuclei that controls particular types of actions..Those actions as an ensemble, produce the emotion sadness.
Remarkably the switch had been turned on inside the brain, in response to the switch that had been turned on outside of the brain...
Ha, if he didn't, one of these pics ought to do it for him: Pink Soars Through The Funhouse In Seattle
That was interesting Solar. Do you have a link to that study?
"..the switch had been turned on inside the brain, in response to the switch that had been turned on outside of the brain."
... for some reason, that makes sense (that-that could happen).
Carol, yes, but then again my whole world tingles....
Aren't synapses electrical impulses Carol?
That must be a really good feeling Solar.
The brain and what it believes is in charge of outcome. When I was working my way thru college, I worked at a pharmacy. A lady came in and asked for the Correctol with 50 tabs in the bottle. We had a bottle with 100 tabs, which was cheaper at the time. She would not get it because she insisted that it would not work for her. She had to have the one with 50. No changing her mind.
Yeah Carol, but that's a complete loss of logic there. That sounds more like a neurotic person. If what you believe makes no sense, then that person has lost touch with reality, imo.
And what is even more amazing about Pink is that she can be dangling up in the air, spinning and she can still sing!
But even if it makes no sense to us, it works for her.
LOl Carol. Now that's a 'true' talent. I think Solar's over viewing those pictures and tingling again.
I have some things to do, and then I'm going to bed early. See you guys tomorrow.
It's all in what we believe.
It works for her, in her opinion. But if she kids herself about too many things, how long will it keep working.
Yeah Carol, but if we believe we're Santa Clause, doesn't that make us a tad crazy.
Overveiwing nothing....I had to start the comp over again...I hate when that happens....
In order to be considered sane, what we believe needs to make some sense.
Synapses are how the electrical impulses are carried. More like the wiring.
".I hate when that happens...."
... me too Solar. I just knocked myself off the site a couple of times too. But I didn't have to restart my computer. I was lucky.
The brain won't fool it..but it will fool U...that the way that evolution works with it...
Carol I don't have a link..it is from a book that I haven't been able to finish all year...I keep putting it down for something else, and have to start all over again...and its from the library...
It is interesting though, that they are electrical. And 'chemical'. And that there are chemical 'imbalances'. And misfires. And that people without enough serotonin (as well as other chemicals) are possibly depressed, unless they find a way to get enough firing.
U can't fool the brain that is..but it can fool U..it is protective of U and will send u some wrong signals....it primary job is to protect the organism....the body..as a whole..that is why Mary, can sum up the chemicals that she needs when she refuses to use what the Dentist give her...she is her own drug dealer...:-)
And I have read that it's important with babies to provide enough stimulation and learning to get those synapses firing, and to make sure they keep doing so, because that will affect their mental well being for the rest of their life.
"U can't fool the brain that is..but it can fool U"
You can fool the brain Solar, if you lie to it long enough. Your brain depends on your 'consciousness' to keep it well informed. It believes whatever you tell it over and over. That's why it's so important to be careful what you think about on a regular basis.
That's why 'mediation' works.
That is why feelings evolved from emotions. We needed emotions first in order to survive, and then to go and get all sappy over some pinks in a blog; later on...
Oh and when I got that tingly feeling...is when Maria let go of the damp-wet mop she was dancing with...and did the tango with me....can u say..like that song....hot-hot-hot.!!!
U aint fooling me.! even if U have a lawyer.
... "While many of our reactions stem from our unconscious minds and happen almost instantaneously, we are not therefore slaves of our unconscious programming. On the contrary, by working with our conscious attitudes and decision making, we can actually retrain our unconscious minds."
See you tomorrow, Mr. Tingle. (.. it must be exhausting, tingling all the time, but I guess it really keeps the synapses going, huh.)
I don't need shots at the dentist but try to take away my antidepressants and you'll lose your hand.
Hahaha see U tomorrow Sally.
The electrical activity is chemically induced.
I think we can learn to work with our brains/bodies. Use both more effectively.
Our emotions can change the way the body works. Look at all of our autoimmune diseases. They are inventing new ones every minute, it seems. With these diseases, the body starts attacking itself maybe due to some inner hatred/anger we have toward ourselves.
If the body can be programmed to distroy itself, it can be programed to heal itself.
Remember that song, I wanna new drug? I seem to remember that they came up with a wonderful idea for a drug.
Hewy Lewis and the News.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6uEMOeDZsA
Carol,
Yes I beleive that is where they are headed..and with the help from the study of genetics and others, etc. they will get the results that they want, also with the comps that can help them work faster than ever before....not too long ago they decided that the brain created matter...or so they thought..still do imo....
The book is called Joy Sorrow and the Feeling brain....looking for Spinoza....the last part is why I picked it up...and got a two fer..on a little bit info on one of the greatest minds that ever was..and the other about Antonio Damasio, and his work...
When they research any new drugs, any drug, they use the double blind studies so that no one, the doc or the patient, knows who is getting the real drug and who is not. And even using the double blind method the placebo has some effectiveness and has almost as many side effects. That's the power of the brain.
I think that one can read almost all of it, on line..they won't let you read a few of the pages tho.
You keep working on coming up with the answers Solar and when you find them, share them with us. Don't include too much of that real strenuous exercise in your solution. I want something almost as easy as taking a pill.
I still feel like they may be trying to create a society of people who do as we are told and don't ask any questions.
Does anyone here remember that movie about the pod people, "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"? It was kind of like the Stepford Wives.
Carol,
Thats inevitable imo...the ubiquity of electronics will see to that..we are headed down a road that we can't stop....the movie that comes to mind for me...is the Matrix..
I now think that u can understand my quest for the religious background to understand my familia..her need for more and more medicine to pull her out of her depressions, and other mental trips..there are people that actually do it to themselves, and then there are others, that did not..that's why I think that both of U and Chlo R right....My sister even was convinced that she was possessed...she brought it on her own...she was a very beautiful women, until she started reading the bible, 18 hrs a day..she was given all of the medicine that she wanted..instead of a kick in the ass...now she is grossly overweight, and uses a ton of drugs.....she did what I asked her to do for a little while...but gave up, and started praying for her health....don't work that way.!! anyway a combination of things started me investigating many, many different things...now im confused...later
Hi all, did not mean to disappear. Some personal things have been going on the past few days in addition to having the 8 y/o. She is a doll but wants to be doing something all the time. I took her home to her house last night so I could get her to school more easily this morning. Big mistake! I hardly slept all night - missed my own house and bed. So have been a zombie today. Her other gr'mother is caring for her this week and I get her back on Friday through Sun.
I have been reading the discussion about antidepressants. It made me think of EST - or electric stimulation therapy or shock treatments. Years ago they used EST as treatment for many types of mental disorders. Now only used for severe depression, usually as a last resort. Carol, we saw them do EST's in Pineville,LA and were aghast that -that kind of thing could be done to people. I know a man who was immobilized by his depression and EST gave him back his life. He says now though that he has lost much of his memory of things that happened at that time. I don't really have a point here - just wanted to join in some kind of discussion.
Ivy, Sounds like you had a great anniversary.
I am sorry some of you have had such bad weather. I talked to my sis yesterday in Tulsa, OK and they have had terrible weather. She is sick of it.
Solar, so sorry your sis has had depression. My mother was depressed when I was a teenager. She got pretty paranoid for a while and at times thought she was having heart attacks - which I suppose now were anxiety attacks. I remember being terrified that she was going to die and leave us. My dad was a pretty absent father - so knowing he would still be around was no comfort.
Sorry I missed the Grammy's the other night. Taylor Swift is such a cute little girl - her music does not do anything for me though.
My new ( and I hope final) date for retardment is June 1.
Chloe, I quess that I step on a lot of toes when I bitch about antidepressants because everyone is either on one, wants one or tried one and it didn't help.
I want a new drug. I want an antidepressant that will grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference. Maybe there are working on one.
Hey Carol, there is no drug I know of to give you serenity, but you can get it for free at Al-Anon.
Well, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow so another 6 wks. of winter.
The strangest thing is happening at my house. I heard something beating on my window and thought it might be a limb from a tree. I opened the blinds and it is a red cardinal. It keeps pecking at the window and then it will fly into the window. It's trying to break into my house.
Solar, I went back and did some reading of past comments and reread what you were saying about your sister's illness. My mother got really deep into fundamental christian religion and became morbidly obese and developed Diabetes and died of a massive heart attack. I think most of her problems came from depression. She never took meds for depression - I wish she had. Maybe they would have helped. My dad just kept telling her to "snap out of it." I was angry with him for years after she died. I blamed him, but probably that was some misplaced anger.
Solar, I wish your sister could get some help.
Mary, I wonder if your cardinal sees his reflection in the window and thinks its another bird.
Solar, I can understand why you feel the way you do about religion. But I think for your sister and my mother - it was a rope to hang onto when they felt/feel they are drowning in dispair. My mother was sexually abused as a child by her stepfather and some of the literature shows that child sexual abuse can lead to depression and eating disorders. In my mother's case I think this was at the heart of her problems.
I had an appt cancelled this morning so had a little time to visit here. Now, must get back to work.
I told U pinks about a month ago, that we should go and find that rodent and make him co-operate with the weather, now we have another six weeks of winter...
Jan,
Thanks, but i think that my sister did it to herself. she convinced herself that she was depressed, but long after she was bothered by reading the bible, and deciding that everything was evil...she would pray all day and night on Halloween, she did it to herself...all the meds that she was taking did not help..
I had her exercising and juicing for six months, and she was losing wight and talking about normal things for a while....that was 2 years ago...she doesn't want to talk to me...she say's that the devil sent me, to mess with her mind.....she is preoccupation with saving my soul..but won't talk to me..she prays for my soul......what she is really doing is trying to save herself..by doing it....
she lights about 20 candles at church per week..another way to pay for souls to get from purgatory, and into heaven...when she is waiting....maybe she will have enough credits to get into see the promised after life...
It seems that religion is a part of depression, at least for the people that are going through it, in some form or another...
Now my Mother in law...was a different story..she could be seen going through the stages of depression..she didn't take too much medicine, and when she did, it did not make a diff.
She was intelligent, but sad all of the time...with her it was completely genetics...she did have a sickness..and not self-deceived into believing that she was...she was in and out of special homes that the government sent her too...after her ins. ran out..she was bounced around quite a bit...
I could see that there was a big difference in the way that she was depressed, and the way that my sis, and a cpl of others...my MIL did not have any excuses at all she just said that she was one of the unfortunate ones that this happened to...she herself did not have any pity fore herself, and very little patience with others that brought it on themselves..I used to make her laugh once in a while...She was Italian, and Croat ion, and gave me the recipe to her Italian sauce...im the only one that can duplicate it...my Father in law said..while he was living with us..for a little while. He was a nice man....but very selfish, and it added to her depression i think.....she was in and out of mental hospitals since she was 19, off and on with real depression...
None of that going on over here...not even with the new snow that is falling right now....let er rip im ready.!
I didn't see any groundhogs or woodchucks today, but last night I did see a large wild hog on our main road into the neighborhood. If that bright moon was still out, it's possible he saw his shadow.
If the numbers quoted in this link are near correct, my feral friend was probably not alone.
"You can have two boars and two sows and if they have two litters each year with six piglets in each litter, in just three years you can have 16,000 pigs," [an expert pigologist] explained. "The problem with that is that those are conservative numbers."
Pig Problem
Pork, the other white meat....
Solar,
I think you are describing "religiosity," not religion.
Ivy,
Thanks, I thought about that after I posted, and was too lazy to correct it....I should have...
Going to shovel the drive...for the last time I hope, or near the last time..later
Thanks, Solar. I think it's an important distinction between the two. Faith, i.e. belief in a power greater than ourselves, can be a source of solace for many people; when it turns controlling and excessive, it is as destructive as any other dysfunctional behavior.
Ivy, Good point. It is interesting that people who have a psychotic disorder such as manic depression, schizophrenia or severe depression often have delusions or hallucinations that involve religiosity. The voices they hear they often attribute to God or a higher being consistent with their own religious beliefs. People who experience these phenomena are ususally out of touch with reality.
Solar, for my mother, her faith was a source of comfort for many years and then later in life it became an obsession and she began to replace other activities she once enjoyed with watching religious programs and praying, etc. I was living in another state when all this began to change. I tried to get her into some psychological treatment but my dad was a barrier.
Fo
Fo= who knows where I was going with "fo"
Ivy, wow! maybe we should get into raising pigs. Sounds like it could be lucrative.
Solar, sounds like you have really tried to make a difference in your sister's life. In my mother's later years, even with a nursing background, I could not help. With physical illness you often can get a person to get help, but not always so with mental illness.
Jan, I've enjoyed reading your posts and am so glad you are back, You always have so many words of support and add a lot to any conversations we are having here.
Sorry to hear your retirement was moved out a little further again, but I'm assuming that works for you (must be the end of the semester in June, I imagine). After all, it's only around 4 months to go, if I'm figuring right.
Sorry to hear you didn't sleep last night - I take it your granddaughter got a good nights sleep though. :)
... hope you're enjoying her company.
I saw two of the most beautiful blue jays (there's normally so many during bird season, that I probably wouldn't have taken such a close look) just a few feet outside my window, much closer than they usually get, so it gave me a good opportunity to see all their markings clearly. When comparing them to the one on line, the page also has an interesting piece of information about how they sometimes control their own parasites, using red ants or rolling on ant hills. Blue Jays and Ants
Seems pigs are not the only feral animals currently plaguing people's neighborhoods. This video is about feral beagles on Long Island (sorry for the lead-in commercial, those make me want to boycott the products advertised.)
Bad Beagles
Beagles are seen as such friendly dogs. All of America was thrilled when "Uno" won Best in Show at Westminster two years ago. My brother was just telling me that Department of Agriculture purposely trains beagles for use as "APHIS" airport dogs, the ones that sniff incoming overseas baggage for contraband plants and fruits. (Don was the first to mention the plant and fruit inspections at border-crossings.) At least until this video surfaced, beagles were thought not to scare people the way the German shepherd drug-dogs do. Course, the DEA wants to scare people.
Beagle Brigade
".. belief in a power greater than ourselves, can be a source of solace for many people; when it turns controlling and excessive, it is as destructive as any other dysfunctional behavior."
I agree Ivy. Key word: dysfunctional.
Anything done to 'extreme' excess can eventually become mental illness, imo. I still think our worst mental and emotional problems are caused by conflicts that we fail to solve, or at least deal with in some way, by integrating some kind of solution into our thinking. We either find a way to work them out, or they keep getting worse.
I feel like a may be getting into dangerous territory again, by even discussing this stuff. I'm the one who has to worry about stepping on toes Carol, not you. My opinions often don't coincide with others opinions. I've had to learn to live with it.
... don't know if others heard about this:
Attorney: Rip Torn heading to rehab after arrest Torn heading to rehab
Ivy, It's hard to believe such a cute dog could be dangerous, but I have long considered feral dogs to be a one of the worst threats of any animals I've seen out here - maybe even our 'only' threat. They've been known to kill lots of small animals.
Jan,
I agree with Chloe's comment, we're so glad you have some free time to spend with us. I hope this is a harbinger of what's to come following your "retardment." lol
Thank you to one and all for the anniversary wishes. I had told Hubs, no party, keep it low key. He did. We ate dinner with the extended family ("dutch treat")after which we scooted to a movie theatre and watched "It's Complicated." Our nieces had a good time watching us watch the movie to see what parts we laughed at. lol
... sounds like the perfect anniversary celebration Ivy.
Mary, It was also good to see you here this mornig. That cardinal banging on your window isn't actually trying to get into your house - it doesn't actually see that window, but see's space beyond it. He/she is confused.
I had one window that a lot of hummers kept running into last summer (oh man, I can't wait for spring), but in that case I finally realized it was because I had a red stuffed animal inside on the window seal. When hummers see red, they think they're seeing food. Not sure that any colors attract cardinal though, unless you've got a big pile of sunflower seeds (they sure do love them) right inside that window. :)
ps I used to buy those sunflower seeds in 50 lb bags.. ha, speaking of excess.
Chloe,
I hope they give poor Rip the privacy they didn't give Tiger.
I'm sure Mary's cardinal was just seeing his shadow. He thinks it should be Cardinal Day. lol
If the sunflower seeds are visible inside the window, there would also be squirrels trying to break in.
LOL Ivy. I didn't even think about the squirrels.
I don't think anyone is going to give Rip a problem. It's nothing like Tiger. His story was all about betrayal. Rip apparently didn't even know what he was doing.
Here's some hair-raising ideas to reuse coffee grounds. It was linked to a feaure report from Consumer Reprt that no coffee brands are good enough to rate its "excellent" ranking.
I don't plan to wash my hair or face in coffee grounds, but some of the other ideas sound palatable. I already toss mine into the compost...
Rise and Shine
My two favorite times of day are time for coffee and time for wine. lol
Chloe,
The behavior that accompanies alcoholism and addiction causes the same disruption and betrayal to the family. In any case, nothing gives the press the right to invade and intrude the way they did.
We had a Beagle when we were growing up. She was a house dog. The sweetest dog ever. That's so sad that those dogs are probably hungry and freezing. It's hard to believe that they could be mean but I guess if they're wild and in a pack, anything can happen.
Waiting to go to see my bank lady. Should
take some drug before going. Agree with everything you guys said re mental issues and Chlo right , people who need meds are the ones who won't take them.
Computer crashed this am after downloading Trend Micro. Hope I can
get it back. On Iphone.
Carol, I had problems with Trend more than once, and won't use it any more. If you are still having problems, go to your control panel, and go to 'uninstall programs' and uninstall it properly. If you still have problems, you'll have to do a system restore, but I don't think you will.
I use Cyber Defender now, and I love it. I figured Microsoft would be the best around securing it's own windows.
" .... nothing gives the press the right to invade and intrude the way they did."
I know you're right Ivy, but as we all know it goes with the territory. Right or wrong, it's the price they pay for fame - they have no secrets.
... an excellent article, and in my case, eye opening:
"With figures from the American Academy of Family Physicians showing that the shortage of primary care doctors in the United States could reach a 40,000-doctor gap within 10 years, it’s not surprising that both houses of Congress sought ways to promote primary care in health care reform legislation.
One notable group of physicians was not included in the list: neurologists. That makes sense when you first think about it — neurologists aren’t generalists, they’re specialists. They specialize in the brain and central nervous system. But it’s more complicated than that.
Neurologists may be specialists, but in a lot of ways, they practice more like generalists. When you think of neurology, you might think of cool imaging tools like functional MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) or complex diagnostic tests. But the reality is that most neurologists, like primary care doctors, spend an inordinate amount of time talking to patients. For the best neurologists, their most important diagnostic tools are the physical exam and the patient history — just like primary care doctors. Indeed, neurologists were the only group of physicians who met the first requirement to receive primary care incentives — having at least 60 percent of their Medicare billing in certain E&M codes — but were not included in the list of primary care providers.
“But neurologists, as a specialty, face many of the same issues as primary care and general internal medicine practitioners on assuring that there are well-trained, available providers to treat the growing demand for our care. And just as a primary care provider needs to spend a lot of face-to-face time with a patient with hypertension or diabetes, so do neurologists working with patients who have Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis or epilepsy over a long period of time. Like primary care providers, neurologists must spend a great deal of time with their patients doing evaluations and follow-up management of chronic disease.
lost in the shuffle — and woefully under-compensated — is the time spent getting to know the patient.”
Stiffed on the Bill?
.. by the way, that 'Washington Diplomat' is kinda a nice blog - there homepage: WD Homepage
It seems strange that all the dogs in this "pack" were beagles...did someone toss a whole litter of puppies? Usually dogs-running-wild are made up of mixtures of vagabonds who "hooked up" along the way.
Chloe,
Your point about the "price of fame" is valid. It's not hard to understand why someone like author J.D. Salinger (who died last week) became a recluse when he realized how high the price of fame is.
Naturally, we ate too much last week. So, now that I am home, I am trying to cut back, especially on sugar. It's pretty difficult - sugar is in everything. I already feel light-headed. Does anyone know how much daily sugar intake is advisable? Should I be going cold-turkey, or cutting back gradually? If I say anything crazy tonight, or start making a bunch of typos, it's because my eyes are crossed and my head is spinning. lol
If you're lightheaded, your eyes are crossing and your head is spinning, I'd eat some sugar.
Actually a peanut butter cracker would be good. That's a good snack if your blood sugar is low.
I just ate a satsuma because I was starting to feel that way. All I've had today was an instant breakfast and 2 pieces of toast. I am having visions of Mexican food going thru my head so I may have to go get some. I must be part Mexican because I could eat Mexican food every day.
Or as Solar would call it, Tex-Mex food. Although I really liked the food when I went to Mexico City.
Hi Maria,
There is a guy over at tm, (Pogo) and he eats more Mexican food than any mexican that I know...think like u..he is part mexican now....Have u tried the wheat tortillas ...pretty good for left over tacos.
Chloe,
Liked you're 1:58 post. I agree with it.!! It is real simple to me. If I wanted to get the advise so I could pass health care...I would talk to people in the field of health, including the neurologist, think that they go hand in hand with the rest..healing the mind, is part of the over all healing imo...
I think there is a big difference between what most Americans call "Mexican food" and actual Mexican food. The real thing está muy picante! Solar, you may correct my grammar if I misspoke it. lol
All this talk about Mexican Food is making me hungry. It's my favorite too - I think I'm going to have to make enchiladas tomorrow. I've been planning to for about a week now, but never have gotten around to it.
Hope Carol got her computer going. Do you know Mary?
Solar, like your idea of talking to people in the field, if you're going to make a decision regarding health care. But the only people people they're talking to are the ones with lots of pay off money.
Like you say, it should be simple, but simple isn't on their agenda.
See you tomorrow.
Ivy,
you're Spanish Grammar is much better than my Spanglish grammar. that was perfect. What I noticed about "muy picante" is that it varies from family to family. I do prefer it on the hot side, and now getting in the habit of drinking hot hobo (hey where is Don?) to make it hotter. im the only one...my niece made tamales that were for the kids, and then some mild ones, then some hot ones, and then the ones for me...
See u tomorrow, u just got here.!!
Last time I talked to Carol, she had just got home so hadn't had time to work the computer yet.
Solar, I think I can run off people faster than you can. Or did you leave also?
I'm here! My serenity has been taxed to the max today.
I now have a 400 lb quadraplegic in a bed in our waiting room at the jail because the judge was tired of all the tricks he's pulled to avoid his ajudication. Do you know what is involved in taking care of a 400 lb quadriplegic? We don't have an infirmary and no night medical staff. Had to hire a nurse's aid for nights and during the day since we aren't any more than a clinic/urgent care center and we also administer medications. We aren't a nursing home.
Spent the afternoon at the bank trying to trace and figure out how much money I lost last year. Actually that was the most pleasant part of the day if that tells you anything.
My Trend Micro expired yesterday and it just removed itself from my computer this morning. I think that stinks. It shouldn't give you any new virus protection but just turn itself off all together. I hate that software! I screwed around this morning trying to download it and when I got it downloaded and tried to get it going, my computer went to that blue screen that said crashing. I turned my computer off but it did come back up this afternoon. I hope it continues to work.
I came home and had to screw with trying to activate the Trend Micro. It took me forever. It is the only software that ever has given me that kind of trouble and it does that every year.
And what's this about Beagles? When the Beagles go bad, the end is near. I think it's written in Revelations.
Gracias, Solar. I so wish I could be fluent in a second language. Spanish and/or French would be perfect. I took one year of German too. My grandfather was from Germany, but he never taught his daughters (including my mother) a word of German. They learned to sing "Silent Night" in German, that was it. Same thing with Hubs' parents...back in the day, I think there was a lot of pressure on immigrants to "unlearn" their old language and culture and "be American." I understand it, but it's sad. A lot was lost in the space of one generation.
P.S. Because I studied French at a young age, I did learn to "roll my r's." It's not an easy thing if you're not born to it. lol
Mom's close friend who passed last week grew up in Germany...during the war! I can't imagine what her youth was like. One of the things my mother will miss most about losing her is every time she spoke (in English, that is), it was in the same accent my mother heard her father speak in.
Ivy,
All my nieces and nephews teach their new born both Spanish and English, and are going to encourage them to learn more languages...does two things..makes them talk the native toungue, and gives them a little edged in the job markets...with 3 or 4..who knows?
In our house it was both, with my Mon pretending that she didn't speak english, or understand it too well...we were caught more that a cpl of times planning something...she has a good poker face...she doesn't have perfect hearing...but not bad...she hears what she wants to hear HA.!
I read where we are losing ( the world ) many languages that won't ever be spoken again...shame.!!
Carol,
Sorry for the hard day that you r having...don't know what to say about you're 400 lb problem...
Ivy,
I took 1 yr. of German also. With all the Cajuns down here you would have thought I would have taken French but my mom had taken German also. Now I think they teach French in elementary school.
I can still remember how to count to 10 in German.
Ivy and Solar, I was reading your comments about Mexican food. We have our own brand of Mexican food here in NM and it is actually called New Mexican food. Whenever you eat in a restaurant here and you order NM food - they will ask if you want "red" or "green" for red or green chilis. The chilis can go from mild to very hot. I like mild and John likes very hot. For me the green chilis have a milder flavor and red chilis have a much stronger flavor. I think the red chilis overwhelm the food it is served over.
Mary, when my blood sugar is low, I eat peanut butter on a graham cracker. It is also good for a fast lunch.
Carol, wow! You do have some really tough days. I ruined my back getting large ladies on the delivery table when they had been knocked out with anesthesia.
Off to watch Idol.
Jan,
They had alot of good voices on Idol tonight.
I can relate with the ruined back. I've had a fusion with plate and screws in my neck, a 3 level fusion with a big plate and bunch of screws in my lower back and cement in between from a compression fracture. I'm still taking care of big women who are numb from the waist down. I'm scared to death when I have to help someone out of bed for the first time because if they fall, it will probably be all over for me.
Oh, that sounds good. I'm putting graham crackers on my store list for tomorrow.
(^_~)
I had a long phone call that took me away from the laptop, so I missed a beat...Carol's 400-pounder...I'm speechless.
Jan, I was so confused last week about the broadcast times for tv shows during Mountain Time...so I don't know what you've seen yet on Idol. Before I got distracted by my phone call, they had just picked a girl from Fort Collins to go to Hollywood. She was so cute. It just reminded me, I had wanted to cruise by the Balloon Boy's house there as a tourist attraction, but I forgot to do it. I guess that makes me a hypocrite...I was mad about those people doing that to Tiger. No doubt Hubs would have put the kebosh on that idea anyway. lol
Jan,
While you were away for awhile, you may have missed the comment about Jeremy and his wife coming to town this week, in fact tomorrow. One of the OB U/S techs is going to do an U/S on her Thurs. afternoon. She said she can many times tell the baby's sex at 14 wks. and Stephanie is 18 wks. so we're hoping, but it doesn't matter to me. I'll be excited just seeing the little baby moving.
Mary,
Are your screws titanium? That's supposed to be better. I have a young nephew who had spinal fusion surgery, and they didn't use titanium. The screws "rusted" and he had to undergo a repeat surgery last year. So unnecessary to put him through that twice.
Mary,
If you find out about the baby's sex, are you going to share the secret with us? It seems like none of the new mothers these days want to wait until the actual birth. They are always in a hurry to "decorate." I wanted it to be a surprise, and when the room gets done, the room gets done.
I just found out they were coming about a week ago. Not much notice. They probably won't get back down here before she has the baby, so I put together a little pregnancy celebration party (shower) at one of their favorite restaurants ( Mexican, of course). It was so last minute, I couldn't believe that everyone I called said they would come. I told Jeremy about it because I wanted to make sure it would OK but it'll be a surprise for Stephanie.
Ivy,
It really doesn't matter to me but Jeremy and Steph. want to know. You know I'll share the news with yall.
Yes I'm pretty sure the screws are titanium. Maybe the plates also. I know the rod in my right arm that goes down the middle of the bone is titanium.
I think the rod in my arm was about $80,000. Is that unreal. How many titanium golf clubs could you buy for that and the rod is only about 12-13 inches long.
Well, since I ran everyone off again, I guess I'll go to bed. Have to work tomorrow. Nite all.
Mary,
We will be happy as you are, boy or girl, as long as he/she is healthy is what matters most at this time.
I recall now that it was a spine-straightening rod that my nephew got. I think there are screws that keep it in place. He had a curvature of the spine that was progressing and was painful. It was such a waste they didn't do it right the first time...the added expense was just part of it, the pain and suffering to a kid was absurd...they must have known better, but did it on the cheap.
Carol,
I can't help but think about your 400 lb. quadra...does the warden ever get to just say no, we are not equipped to take such-and-such an inmate at our jail? What about you...can you say send them to a hospital or such? I feel your pain.
Mary,
You never run anybody off...on the contrary, we run to post whenever we see you are here. lol
But speaking of running off, I do have a book that is calling me...another by Geraldine Brooks who wrote my other two recent favorites ("Year of Wonders" and "People of the Book.") This one is a clever device...she picks up the story of the March family from the classic "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott (what girl didn't love that growing up?) and spins a tale of the missing father who went off to war. I won't give away any plot secrets, but it is enthralling.
The title of the book simply is "March." That's the family name, but it is also a meaning-laden device. I'm sure there's a professional literary term, and now that it escapes me (or I just don't know it), it will be bugging the bejesis out of me until I discover it.
Mary, All that metal. Are you in a lot of pain? Do you take anything? A few years ago I was helping John mow the yard in Arkansas. I woke up about 2 am afterwards, and thought I was having some kind of stroke or something - I can't remember what it felt like but I was terrified. We went to the ER and they took some x-rays. I have some pretty bad degeneration of the spine or something. Anyway, I have not followed up - I think I am afraid to. I just try to keep up my exercising and not think about it.
Ivy, March sounds like a great book. I will have to look for it. I loved Little Women when I was a teen. I have seen every movie version of the story.
My 8 y/o gr daughter loves PB on graham crackers too. She is really picky and I can get her to eat that. Given the choice she picks terrible foods. I try to feed her healthy when she visits. when my son brought her over last fri nite he brought a dozen krispy kreme donuts with her. I put them all in plastic bags and only let her have one for desserts. She would sit and eat several at one time if I let her. I had to put them in the cabinet out of my sight too. I am just as bad at times.
Mary, your pregnancy celebration for Jeremy and Stephanie sounds wonderful. How very thoughtful of you.
Ivy, if you have missed the auditions, you have not missed much. I am sure you will see the good ones in a couple of weeks when they get to Hollywood. Some of those that audition seem to have mental problems. I almost wish they would screen those out. It seems cruel to have them on. But I guess that sells the show. I bet the 'pants on fire' guy goes to H'wood.
Mary, I am like you. With all my grandkids I have not cared what sex they were.
I went over to see my new gr g'baby, Abigail the other night. I think she is the smallest we have had in my family. She weighed 5 lbs 14 oz. Last Friday when I went over, she weighed 6 lbs 3 oz. She is so tiny. Her little face is so small. I am just not used to small babies. We have had big babies in the family - 8-9 lbs usually. Amie said she is just now getting into newborn clothes. When the first brought her home, Amie said they had to go out and buy some preemie clothes. She is doing very well and mom and dad are surviving too.
Carol, I miss seeing your comments. Hope your computer is fixed soon.
Its about 10:30 here. I am off to bed.
Jan,
I went to this excellent Ortho. doctor in Houston. All the docs. around here go to him so I figured he had to be good. He's not one to do surgery unless you really need it. I waited until I was losing sensation and having weakness in extremities before I let him cut on me. A big part of the problem with my back is due to the severe osteoporosis. I had alot of bone spurs that would close off the neural foramin along with herniated discs that were impinging the spinal cord.
This is just one of our problems:
"In the meantime, we now understand exactly why it was that US regulator The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) found it so difficult to detect Bernie Madoff's fraud - several SEC staff were apparently spending their time trying to use the regulator's computers to access porn sites instead of helping to combat crime.
The Washington Times has revealed that around two dozen SEC employees have been caught in the last 2 years trying to use their work PCs to access porn sites. And one individual - a supervisor to boot - made 1,800 attempts to visit adult content websites during a 17-day period!"
And that John Edwards managed to fool so many for so long. Who was the first to expose him? Was it the National Enquirer? An enquiring mind wants to know.
Carol,
There must be something about the images on those sites that stimulates people's brains and makes them crave more. I wonder what that could be? What could be so powerful a stimulus that it overrides common sense? Could it be something about the brain itself?
If the SEC doesn't have filters on their system to screen out those bad sites, they need to hire new computer people. Hubs cannot even access eBay on his work computer.
Carol, you will appreciate this one. At the Univ hosp and School of Medicine here, there is a Doc who has lost his medical license and been suspended from his duties at the SOM and univ Hosp. (He had a VP position). He is a single guy who was involved with a female psychiatrist (also a faculty in SOM). It seems he prescribed some anti depressants and anti anxiety meds for her during their relationship. The deal is that someone with prescriptive privaleges is barred from prescribing for family or someone they are involved in an intimate relationship. Apparently, the woman filed a suit against him. It sounds like a romantic relationship gone bad. In a way I feel sorry for the guy. But he should have known better.
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