ppp 03-05-07

Quote of the day: Age to me means nothing. I can't get old; I'm working. I was old when I was twenty-one and out of work. As long as you're working, you stay young. When I'm in front of an audience, all that love and vitality sweeps over me and I forget my age. George Burns (1896 - 1996)

Many people talk about their grand children in glowing terms. Others speak of their "grand dogs" (canines owned by their children) using the same superlatives. I have no grandchildren. My daughter has a dog but I do not hold enough affection for the animal to entice me to call it a "grand dog". If and when my children have children I will then become "a man who has a child who has a child". I feel much too young to use the "G word".

I do have a "grand" in my life at this time… it is my GRAND HOUSE. My son bought a house in mid December and we have been working on home improvement projects since. I really enjoy working on his remodeling projects…. so much so that I can do it on the Sabbath without the least twinge of guilt. As one grandparent said about the grandchildren, " I have the best of both worlds. I can play with them and spoil them and when they get cranky I can just hand them back to their parents". I feel much the same way about the Grand House. I can go over, have a great time building and making a big mess and simply go home when I want and leave the mess behind, My son is grateful for the help and doesn't seem to mind the mess as long as we see progress. I guess I could get used to the title "Grand carpenter" or "Grandyman". I am not just "a man who has a child who has a house."

ps. Best answer this week to the question "How are you?" was "Grand-tastic!" (a nurse who provided the inspiration for this week's ppp)

pps. Occasionally, some of the links require FREE registration.... I'm sure you can handle THAT slight inconvenience.

Confusion, anxiety, muscles spasms, shivering, dilated pupils, high heart rate, high blood pressure are all symptoms of serotonin syndrome. Fatal in too many cases because it goes unrecognized. Precipitated by drug interactions in many cases. SSRIs (Prozac and company), Effexor, or MAO inhibitors may be the set up while drugs like antibiotics (Zyvox), pain killers (fentanyl, Demerol, tramadol), triptans (Imitrex and company), valproic acid, lithium, L-dopa, or Meridia may be the trigger. OTC and "natural" products can be just as deadly (dextromethorphan, ginseng, St John's wort, tryptophan), You won't see it until it is too late unless you are looking for it.

If you ask any of the 200 scientists at Abbott Labs you will hear "Yes!". Don't worry, it is only in the area of obesity and diabetes…. not like it was something important like hair loss. Think of this as a dead canary… or about 200 of them.

Bayer will be laying off some 6,500 worker worldwide. About 1,000 in the USA, 1500 in Germany (home country), and rest rest in Europe, Asia, Canada, and latin America. http://www.therapeuticsdaily.com/news/ar

Garlic found to have no effect on cholesterol levels. The NIH funded study pf patients with marginally elevated cholesterol showed no benefit at all,,,, except that more mouthwash and toothpaste were purchased.

Legislature approves mandatory vaccination of young girls against cervical cancer caused by the human papaloma virus (HPV). Governor will sign it. Makes perfect sense to me. I doubt that it will encourage anyone from engaging in any more sexual activity but it could protect young Viginians who remain virgins until their wedding night from the indicressions of their new husbands.

FDA has sent letters to 20 companies who are making ergotamine tablets for migraines without FDA approval. They have 60 days to stop making the drugs and 180 days to stop distribution. I don’t know how you raise your kids but if you tell them that they have 60 minutes to stop an activity I would expect they would be VERY NAUGHTY for 59 minutes. Expect no less from these generic houses.

Lawmakers want to fund universal healthcare by adding a 3% tax on hospitals, laboratories and physician practices. Sure, they want to also use tobacco settlement money, luxury tax on liposuction (and other cosmetic surgery), and some Federal Medicid money but the tax will be a pivotal point. If they wish to drive up health care costs then they are on the right path. Most hospitals are working on very thin margins, less than the proposed tax. Maybe the "Universal" part will be when no one will be able to receive health care. (Minnesota had a "provider tax" for a few years and it was not pretty).

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