Window ledge nap.

Bottlebrush Ohia (although not actually an Ohia).

Monkey pod, in bloom for the second time this year (those tiny pink dots, barely visible). It just shed the seed pods last month from the last time!

Wild lavender azalea. Our roadways are bordered by these right now. In the cooler areas, the color is a deeper purple.

Wild azalea closeup.

My son had a bad skateboarding weekend, although he calls it 'good,' because he had fun for the most part & got some great video shots. Why I say bad is because on Saturday, he screwed up his hands, ripping patches of skin on the heels & the moons (mounds at the base of the fingers) as well as bad roadrash on an upper arm & a jammed thumb. I guess it's all in the perception.

That wasn't enough to stop him from skating on Sunday. I got a call from him on the cell phone while I was online. Returning the call, he told me he hurt his knee... didn't think it was broken, but thought he needed to go to the hospital. Shit!

When I got there to pick him up, there were 2 cops with him & his friends. Seems the friends carried him to the front on a board.

At the hospital, the wait was LONG! After checking in, it was 2.5 hours before he was called in, in pain because their seating is horrible for someone who's injured. Overall, we were there for over 4 hours!

After viewing my son's accident on the video camera my son insisted upon bringing in with us, the doc had X-rays taken of his knee & thumb. No breaks, but the doc said he thought my son tore a ligament in his knee. He gave me prescriptions for pain meds & a pair of crutches for him. Unfortunately, with his hands as messed up as they are, he is having a hard time using them, so pressure from crutches will agravate the pain on them.

A nurse came in & cleaned & dressed his other injuries. She gave us the discharge instructions & we left, stopping on the way home at a McDonald's for a very late supper.

I take him to his regular doctor this morning. We were to be called if the radiologist saw anything bad in the X-rays, but my son's been tying up the phone line with his online Game Cube gaming. The receptionist at the clinic is supposed to call the radiologist before the appointment, so we'll know more then. She asked if the ER doc made a referral for a specialist, but he hadn't. I guess that'll be up to the clinic doctor, if he feels it's necessary. There isn't a whole lot that can be done for a torn ligament, other than staying off that leg for awhile. No skateboarding for at least a month, which already has him depressed & bored. Like I told him & the nurse confirmed, it takes about 2 years for that sort of injury to heal. He wasn't happy.

Maluhia (which means tranquility), my newest dog, adopted at Christmas time. Age now 4 mos & 1.5 weeks. I was told she is Siberian Husky & Japanese Akita mix. She sure looks like an Akita I saw that won its class in a dog show last year.

This is Sherman (he came to me already named), whom I adopted when a friend was on his way to the Humane Society with him, because his owner moved to the Mainland, leaving poor Sherman, still a pup (I suspect abused, because of his timidness when I got him) about 9 months old, behind. This dog apparently likes to play with rocks, although I've never caught him at it, because he ground his front teeth down to the gums. He's now about 6. I believe he's a Rhodesian Ridgeback & whatever.

Here's Sherman again, standing atop the remains of the rock wall he insists upon knocking down. Yes, I know it's unfair to chain a dog, but I have no fence (or money to put one up at this time). Where he is, he WAS keeping the weeds down, but no longer runs as far as his chain allows (it's about 18' long). He has 2 favorite spots to lie... atop the car (hood, mostly) or UNDER the left rear fender, hidden by the tall grass. The car is dead... blown headgasket.

This is a closeup of MY bouganvillia. It actually appears more purple than this pic shows. I have 2 plants, which at the time I took this pic were covered with a vine called 'maile pilau' (pilau means 'stink'). I later started yanking under the plants, breaking the vines from their root sources. I uncoiled most from the plants, but wore myself out quickly, so left the rest to wilt. With the vines removed, the plants can produce more of the lovely fuscia bracts (the actual flowers are hidden between the 3 colorful bracts).

Here's something I worked on today, in another of my new graphic toys... Bryce 5, a landscape & 3D generating & animation program. I had to scrap & restart a half dozen times (working with one of the included tutorials)! Damn tutorials that are incomplete or unclear!

My son said "Cool" when he found out I got this program. He has played with it before, on the school's computers (Macs, V2). When he saw that this one is version 5, he figured the one he played with is 'antiquated,' but I rather doubt that, knowing how few programs there are out there for Macs that are also available for PCs, & that they don't upgrade the ones for Macs as often as for the PCs.

I started on the second included tutorial, but as usual, I'm not doing something quite right, because I can't get the dragonfly's eyes positioned in the right place (following their instructions). I've already scrapped it once & will have to again, because not only can't I get the eyes right, but the dimension of the tail portion didn't come out the same as it should have, & did the first time. Perhaps I'm better off finding users' tutorials, just like with Paint Shop Pro! *Sigh*

Last Friday, I picked up my new camera (& most of the accessories & software I requested through the VA Vocational Rehabilitation Commission's Independent Living Program). Over the weekend, I took a few pictures (about 140 of them!). Of course, since I'm just learning how this camera operates, not all of them turned out very well. I haven't deleted them yet... I'm going to play with them in Paint Shop Pro (the Anniversary version 7 that was one of the software programs I also just got) to see if they can be fixed at all. What also didn't help was that on my trip to Kalapana, the day was very overcast most of the time. So, some of what I've posted below has been adjusted for that. Once I learn how to use the camera's built in software filters, perhaps that won't be a problem for me anymore. I definitely need the polarizing filter attachment, as I found out when trying to take pictures of hermit crabs & gobi fish in a tide pool, since those really turned out weird.

So... enjoy!

I really like this one! Lots of power in this wave.

A beautiful pink hibiscus found along the roadside between Kalapana & Pohoiki (unretouched).

Red Ohia Lehua blossom.

Pretty pink bouganvillia beside a sego palm... semi-wild, along the roadside.

Nearly ripe noni fruit (morinda citrifolia). This is one of the things I ingested (aged juice) as part of my personal cancer treatment. It has to be the stinkiest fruit I have ever smelled! It's taste isn't all that great either, but was not as bad as I expected (not as bad as the smell!). The University of Hawaii, Manoa campus, began researching its effectiveness as a cancer remedy in 2001. It supposedly also works to regulate blood pressure (lowering it, which probably caused my weakness while taking it, since my blood pressure is normally low anyway).

Kahena Beach... where one is welcome to bathe in the nude & swim with dolphins, as some I know do frequently. The beach is about 30 feet below where I was standing to take the shot, just off the roadway. Obviously, I purposely avoided getting any people in this shot, even though there were some at the beach this day, in bathing suits & not. If you want to see the nudists, you'll have to come to the Big Island & visit Kahena Beach for yourself!

 A lady about eight months pregnant got on a bus, and she noticed the man opposite her was smiling at her. She immediately moved to another seat.

This time the smile turned into a grin, so she moved again. The man seemed more amused.

When on the fourth move the man burst out laughing, she complained to the bus driver who had the man arrested.

The case came up in court. The judge asked the man what he had to say for himself.

The man replied, "Well, your Honor, it was like this: When the lady got on the bus, I couldn't help but notice her condition. She sat under a sign that said, "The Double Mint Twins are coming.", and I smiled.

Then, she moved and sat under a sign that said, "Slogan's Linament will Reduce the Swelling.", and I had to grin.

Then, she placed herself under a sign that said, "William's Big Stick did the Trick.", and I could hardly contain myself.

BUT, your Honor, when she moved the fourth time and sat under a sign that said, "Goodyear Rubber Could Have Prevented this Accident..." I just lost it. "

Judge, "Case Dismissed!"

This one really got me laughing! Thanks Chuck & Sharon!

A sad tidbit from one of my health emails:

Daily Dose
April 8, 2003

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Growing up? Take a pill...

I've written before about children and drugs -- how seemingly every kid nowadays with even the mildest case of "ants in the pants" is immediately force-fed a mega-dose of good old vitamin R (Ritalin, of course)...

Yet even though research shows that prescriptions of Ritalin and related drugs rose an alarming 26% in the late 90s (and even more dramatically since then, I'd wager), this variety of amphetamine stimulants -- actually class II controlled substances, like cocaine and morphine -- jumped in popularity less than half the rate some prescription antidepressants did over the same time period among minors. That's right: Doctors prescribed drugs like Prozac and Zoloft to minors 62% more often in 1999 than they did just 4 years earlier, according to a 2002 article in Ambulatory Pediatrics.

But why have we all of a sudden become a nation of dysfunctional youth -- alternately hyperactive or depressed? Is it because of the ozone layer? The insidious Joe Camel? Or is it because of rap music on MTV? Nope. Unhh-Unhh. Negative.

It's because of the almighty dollar -- the stuff that makes the world go 'round for drug makers and insurance companies. You see, by enlisting the aid of cut-rate insurance group doctors -- and using direct-to-consumer advertising to convince adults (parents and teachers, for starters) that children need "treatment" -- drug companies have developed a powerful push-pull to tap into the last taboo drug market: Kids.

But if you ask them, they'll tell you that the recent boom in psychiatric drugs for non-adults is due to radical advances in the diagnosis of mental illness. In other words: It's not that kids today are so much more manic or melancholy than they ever were -- it's just that before, we didn't know it. That's right, according to the powers-that-be; many of us surely suffered from serious mental disorders growing up, but were left untreated...

And if you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you!

Studies reveal that a combination of medication and therapy has shown to be the best among the mainstream approaches for treating teen depression. But pills are much cheaper than shrinks, so they get the nod when insurance companies are footing the bills. Also, any old garden variety, wet-behind-the-ears doctor (the kind usually employed by HMOs) can prescribe antidepressants -- no specialist needed. They write a prescription, and everybody wins...

Except the children.

Whether their enviable youthful exuberance is mistaken for the made-up myth of ADHD -- or their normal teenage hormones are mislabeled as clinical depression (or both, why not?), these souls will forever carry the burden of feeling like they're "different." That's not to mention the abuse their peers can heap on them -- or the pressure they'll be put under in the illicit schoolyard drug market (believe it). And because of the drugs our doctors nowadays are doling out to them like Halloween candy, many will also battle substance abuse problems later in life...

Actions to take: Parents, don't believe the drug company pitches, whether you see them on TV or hear them at the doctor's office. Remember your own teen years -- how a small thing could seem like the end of the world. And remember that part of being a parent is enduring the agony (believe me, it can be agony) of calming your children down when they're wild -- or cheering them up when they're blue.

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Conflict of interest = compounding interest for research providers

Well, better late than never! It seems that someone else has finally started to wake up and take notice of the blatant conflicts of interest in biomedical research -- something I've been squawking about since Everest was an anthill. Ironically, it's the Journal of the American Medical Association -- a frequent target of mine for its pandering to the FDA -- that published an article describing the crisis in depth.

What do I mean by "conflicts of interest?" I'm talking about the more than 60% of academic institutions that have "sponsorship connections" with start-up companies -- and conduct the "unbiased research" that determines whether the "start-ups" live or die. I'm talking about the 1 in 4 "independent" investigators with biomedical industry affiliations. I'm talking about the obvious association between industry sponsorship and favorableness of results in the arena of biomedical research.

But what does all this really mean? It means that much of the research that forms the basis for so many areas of modern medicine -- but especially prescription drugs -- is compromised at best, worthless and misleading at worst.

Though I'd rather eat a pound of nails than do it, I must give JAMA credit for reporting the painstaking review of over 1100 original studies that yielded the hard facts about this widespread conflict of interest -- one that's been working its sinister effects on you and your health for years. It's late, but at least one of the establishment's "respected" medical journals has finally sounded the alarm.

The sad fact is, it may not be enough to "reform" health care -- virtually every aspect of the mainstream medical "business" is pointed, however subtly, toward one main objective: Drug company profit. And one article in JAMA isn't going to change that.

An ounce of parenting is worth a pound of pills,

William Campbell Douglass II, MD

Pharmaceutical & chemical companies are what's been keeping our stock markets afloat. If not for them, the US stock markets would have crashed a long time ago. Is it any wonder that they're pushing drugs on nearly every US citizen? Some of the drugs prescribed initially may not be what the patient needed, but because they believed the drugs were necessary, they continue taking them, because to stop means withdrawl, a return of the 'illness,' etc. In the meantime, these drugs have health-detrimental 'side-effects,' for which other medications often get prescribed to remedy. They are also known to cause permanent, debilitating damage to vital organs.

NONE of the patented prescription drugs are completely of natural sources. The pharmaceutical companies are prohibited by the FDA from patenting anything that comes from nature. So, these companies perform research to find a man-made chemical synthetics that have SIMILAR effects of the natural, plant-based chemical, which they CAN patent. Unfortunately, these synthetics always have some form of 'unwanted effects,' which the research companies work to prove are 'minor.'

Some excellent news just came by phone! I got a call while writing the above from the local office of the SSA. Since I was online at the time, I disconnected & returned the call.

The SSA employee said, "It appears that you qualify for SSI. I need to have an interview with you to explain the benefits..."

So I have a phone interview for tomorrow morning, just before having to drive into Hilo for my doctor appointment with the regular VA physician. I'd better let them know I may run a little late! (Done, along with letting the LVN who helps our DAV chapter with filing disability claims about the SSA determination.)

YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now I can take this fact back to the VA in my dispute over their findings & hopefully get them to change their findings & grant me a higher disability rating & find for unemployability, as the VA psychiatrist has stated. With that, I will finally be able to do for my son as I have always wanted.

I have also learned this morning that my camera & accessories, as well as the software I have requested, have finally been ordered. There was a glitch (Murphy's Laws, as typical for me) with the software order, which the counselor had NOT been notified about. She got that straightened out this morning, so these have both been submitted within the last 24 hours. "Squeaky wheel..." finally got the grease. She had also missed ordering my printer, so today has requested additional bids & will order the printer for me as soon as the competitive bids come through (hopefully within this week).

I've also spoken with the consultant in regard to another item that has fallen through their files. I requested a graphics tablet, to make it easier for me to work with pixel accuracy in Paint Shop Pro, especially with drawing. He is going to hunt up what he feels would be adequate for my needs & send it on to the counselor.

Unfortunately, I've learned that the VA Vocational Rehabilitation budget has been cut recently (their information meeting was this morning). Some of what they used to contract out will now have to be handled by these counselors, when they are already so overburdened with paperwork & client numbers that they can't get stuff done in a timely manner. How the f... did this happen, in the middle of their fiscal budget year, in a program that had previously had more than adequate funds? The next year's fiscal budget doesn't come into consideration until NEXT month!

Damn you, Shrub, for pushing these types of cuts through so quickly! This, in a time when there will be hundreds, if not more, Veterans coming into an already overburdened system! He cares nothing (no matter what he says) for those who are sacrificing their health, sanity & perhaps their lives, for this country. Nor does he care about the elderly, since Medicare budget cuts are also on the table, at his provocation.

Mahalo to all who have been saying prayers & sending me White Light in this! Please add the current military, not just those in the Middle-East, but everywhere, as well as Veterans, disabled or not, to your prayers. Also send White Light to the elderly, that they not be put out in the cold or shut away & forgotten. One day, you might be there yourself.

Letter from Prison

An old man lived alone in Jackson, Wyoming. He wanted to spade his potato garden, but it was very hard work.

His only son, Bob, who used to help him, was in prison.

The old man wrote a letter to his son and mentioned his predicament.

Dear Bob,
I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won't be able to plant my
potato garden this year. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. If you were here, all my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the plot for me.
Love, Dad

A few days later he received a letter from his son.

Dear Dad,
Go ahead and plant the potatoes now. It's the best I could do under the
circumstances.
Love, Bob

Virgo

Analytical Virgo, as the sixth sign of the zodiac, you represent purity, perfection, and practicality. Virgos put things in order to unify the world. Mercury, the planet of mental and intellectual principles, and ruler of Virgo, makes you a methodical and organized worker who brings an analytical, systematic approach to all facets of life. You project a serious image overall, one only strengthened by your problem-solving skills and fastidious refinement.

Yours is the second of the earth signs, which makes you a dependable, responsible individual. You are reserved and modest in your behavior, and discriminating in your choices. You connect strongly to Mother Earth, and are therefore extremely health-conscious.

As a Virgo, you rule the sixth house of the horoscope, associated with the quality of work. Furthermore, this section of the chart shows how you analyze, deal with, and communicate details. The sixth house also involves health matters in general.

Virgo mode is mutable, which means that you are a levelheaded communicator who makes sure that whatever is being discussed is precise and accurate. Your role in a team is that of quality control.

Your strengths lie in your sharp mental powers, especially in scientific, or technical areas. You are well spoken and witty, and have a good understanding of other people's problems. Above all, you're a great problem solver, providing clear analysis to complex issues.

Your weaknesses are that you tend to be too much of a perfectionist, which can lead you to pedantic, petty, or schoolmasterly behavior. Your critical and sometimes negative outlook on life can be a downer for others, who may describe you as reserved, overly critical, and timid.

     Although most of the above description does seem to fit me, I have to disagree with one word used in the last paragraph... 'pedantic.' From the Webster's Dictionary definition of that word, it absolutely does NOT fit with my personality. I am far from unimaginative (ask anyone who's read or listened to me recently! ) Although I do tend to run on a narrow track while doing research, I do get easily side-tracked & have been known to be looking in one place for one particular topic when something else catches my eye & I'm off & running in a whole other direction until I drag myself back to the original topic, because I love to learn new things.
     I looked up 'ostentatiously' as well, wanting to know specifically what the Zodiac writer was intending since it is part of the definition of pedantic. I find the definition entirely off with that. I am not conspicuous, vainglorious or pretentious in my learning. I quickly learned as a child NOT to raise my hand when I had the correct answer, since doing so only brought on alot of abusive torment & teasing by my classmates. When I only wanted to help them learn, they turned my knowledge into  something I almost despised, so I mostly set myself off in an unnoticed corner all through my years in school & college. It has been very difficult for me in recent years to present what I learn (present tense, because one never stops learning!), especially with the constant berating I get from so many. But I just can't stop myself from trying to help others to learn what can make changes for the good.

Main Entry: pe·dan·tic
Pronunciation: pi-'dan-tik
Function: adjective
Date: circa 1600
1 : of, relating to, or being a pedant
2 : narrowly, stodgily, and often ostentatiously learned
3 : UNIMAGINATIVE, PEDESTRIAN

Main Entry: os·ten·ta·tious
Pronunciation: -sh&s
Function: adjective
Date: 1673
: marked by or fond of conspicuous or vainglorious and sometimes pretentious display
synonym see SHOWY
- os·ten·ta·tious·ly adverb
- os·ten·ta·tious·ness noun