May 25, 2003

  •      Today, when dropping my son off in town, I stopped in the local 'mom & pop' grocery store to get a bag of ice for my beverages (I have no working refrigerator... I use a small chest deepfreeze ). Someone walking up behind me while I stood in line said "Hi! How are you doing?" Turning slightly, recognizing the voice of a woman who lives just up the road from me, I replied, without really thinking "Good!" As I looked directly at her, I caught a look of pleasant surprise on her face. Why? My usual reply when someone asks is either "Ok" or "So-so." She has admonished me in the past about my attitude in my replies, saying that I never seem to be feeling good, which isn't a healthy way to go about life. Shoot... I just don't believe in lying when someone asks how I feel. My attitude about people asking what I consider an inane question is that if you don't want to hear the truth, don't ask.

         I know that questions like this are just a matter of courtesy & pleasantries, asked by people acknowledging someone they do care about (usually). A verbal 'handshake' if you will, usually by or to a person who has a large 'personal space' (mine is HUGE). But it's one question I don't ask people I know, unless they ask it of me first, or I really DO want to know how they feel right then, good or bad, because I care. When there is an unfortunate issue going on in their lives, I can put them into my 'thought-prayers.' What this means is that I don't pray in the ordinary conception of that word's meaning. I just think about the person, their name, & focus on their concerns & wish that things will get better in whatever way they need them to.

         An example of that latter statement about my thought-prayer is someone I ran into last night at the VFW I haven't seen in a long time. He & his wife were in the canteen, sipping on a few beers & mixed drinks, respectively. I asked him how he was because he is one of the first Veterans I met after moving back to Hilo. He works at the State employment office as the Veterans' representative & I met him when I went there to hunt for a job.

         He told me that he's retiring from his job at the end of the year, with the remainder of the time between now & then on leave. He's accrued many months of both regular leave (vacation time) & sick leave, not having taken much time off work in the years he's worked there. Because he has hearing difficulties & his wife knew he needed to talk to an understanding Veteran, she moved over, insisting I take her seat. This was very odd to me, but it wasn't long before I understood why. He told me then that he has been recently diagnosed with inoperable bilateral metastatic lung cancer. He knew I had been diagnosed with cancer & wanted to learn where he can get more information on alternative treatments for the cancers, even though he's accepting going for chemo.

         Before the end of this week, he is moving to Honolulu to live with his son. He will be getting his treatments at Tripler & staying there with his son will be more convenient than flying back & forth when feeling miserable. His son will also be better able to offer physical assistance than his elderly wife. He's given me his email address so I can write to him, providing him with the links to the information I have found on the Internet in the research I did for my own cancer. I am not going to tell him what he needs to do for his own cancer, but I've already made a couple recommendations, one which he's already doing (noni), for him to be able to make his own choice of treatment, while being better informed as to what is out there for him. His daughter, he told me, is pretty Internet-literate, so will be the one tracking down the stuff I send to present to her dad. He didn't say as much, so I am assuming she also lives there on Oahu. I am adding him to my ever-growing thought-prayer list.

    But back to my earlier response of "Good" to the question of how I was doing...

         What sparked a positive answer, contrary to my normal response? I've been focusing on getting through the rest of the month, financially, since I went overboard a tad with the recent SSI lump sum amount I recently received. I made a fairly large payment on one of my credit cards, trying to bring the balance down to a more reasonable level. With a few required purchases, especially in the form of foodstuffs, since our food stamps got cut in half, with a growing teen who won't eat at school, I was looking a a small check bouncing. My son has had me pay for things he's wanting, with the promise of paying me back with money he sometimes gets for helping out... small tasks for people we know. This started At the beginning of the year, when he 'needed' a new complete skateboard, which I put on my credit card, since he ordered it by phone. Although he's given me a few dollars here & there against what he owes me, his purchases recently have run the total to more than double what it was originally.

         Ok... I'm 'hearing' you all say that I'm too easy with my son & his wants. Maybe so, but I am also teaching him money-management & responsibility at the same time. I've also been harping at him for months about getting a 'regular job,' so he can have the money he needs for the things he wants, when he wants them, rather than imposing upon the little we have been getting to live on, making it difficult for me to keep all the bills paid on time. Unfortunately, I doubt anyone would consider hiring him right now with his knee injury & impending surgery, so a real job is out for now.

         He's a smart kid & I don't hide the truth from him, especially when it comes to our finances. If there's something he wants & there's no money for it, I don't give him some lame excuse, like I've heard other parents do to avoid the embarrassment of being poor. That doesn't teach children honesty, does it, especially when the child will one day learn the truth.

         So, when I learned exactly what my bank account's balance is, knowing I still had one check out which would overdraw it by about $26 & waiting for my upcoming lump sum of the Social Security Disability to deposit into my checking account & not knowing what would get to the bank first, I had asked my son if he had any money stashed away to help with that problem. He had said no, even though I knew he didn't spend all the money he had when he bought a pair of new shoes off a friend who'd scored on them at Ross' but wasn't going to use them himself... he wanted to make a profit. Enterprising kid, that one. I knew my son had stashed change from some money I gave him to run into 7-11 to get us some snacks & drinks a few times.

         My son knows how much his friend actually paid for the shoes, but since the price he paid is still half that which it goes for from local & Internet shoe sources, he feels justified in paying that amount. Personally, I think $80+ (retail) for some of the shoes kids insist on buying is nuts. But it's his money.

         I had thought to stop & check the mail on the way into town to pick him up from school. Sometimes, when I get that urge, there's a good reason for it, but I ignored it this time, stopping on the way back. My 'little voice' was right! I should have stopped at the mailbox before going to town, since what was there had to be taken care of right then, or I'd be listening to a whiny kid all weekend, unless we would go to Hilo today. His lump sum check from the Social Security Administration was in! We hadn't gotten the letter yet from the SSA defining their calculations, so this was out-of-the-blue to be there already! We were actually waiting for mine!

         I turned the car around & went back to my bank in town, so we could set him up an account. There's no way they would give us that amount of cash & I am NOT permitted to put it in my own account. Now my son has his own (joint with me, since he's a minor) checking account, which will cost him $2/mo until the Direct Deposit starts. I thought about having him get both a savings & checking account, so he can learn the financial banking process, but after learning the shitty interest amount they pay on locked 3-year CDs, as well as the piss-poor amounts they pay on savings, with required maintained minimums as well as the amount they charge if you don't keep that in there, I said no way. Banks are ripping off the poor! How in the hell do they expect people to save money when it takes $200 & up to open an account, with forced deposits of at least $25/mo, or they will charge $4/mo for holding your money (while they make a profit off of it!)?!!! And people wonder why the economy today is so fucked up!!!

         I remember when the government mandated a minimum interest payment of 4% paid to customers. Back then, most financial institutions paid 6-12%. This bank is currently offering a rate barely over 2% for that locked 3-year CD! What they pay for conventional savings account, requiring a minimum balance of $200 with required minimum deposit of $25/mo is only 0.9%! And this is the amount that is paid ANNUALLY, not monthly. With compounded interest payments & an additional $300 deposited over a year, the interest earned for that account won't even come to the $4 they will charge for each month that the account drops below $200 for even ONE day out of that month! What crooks!

         I've had my account with this large state banking company for almost 7 years. Other than the great people they have working there, who have always been friendly & helpful toward me, this bank has done nothing to help me, other than hold my money. They even took $4, then later $6/mo for several years from me, even with me having direct deposit. Once they offered the self-service checking plan at no fee with direct deposit (but costing $2 every time I use a teller), I jumped on it, especially since I already had direct deposit. This is what my son now has, but when I think about it, the next time we're around one of the local credit unions, I'm going to check into opening an account there, if what they offer is anything near what they usually had in the past.

         My son went into Hilo sometime today with some friends. He's going to enjoy a couple movies in the theater, including Jim Carrey's latest 'Bruce, Almighty' (yech!). He also plans to get the video DV camera he looked at in Sears recently. I wish he'd done some price comparisons before rushing out to get it. There will be other editing equipment he'll need to get eventually, but it looks as though he's on his way toward becoming a professional videographer.

         It's my job now to find out what kinds of purchases the SSA considers legitimate with my son's money, or we'll have to pay it back. One thing it does allow for is assisting with regular household expenses, such as rent/mortgage & utilities. So I can legitimately charge him half these expenses, yet use 'my' money to buy him 'gifts.' It is required that he save as much as he can toward going for a college education once he graduates from high school. It IS his money, but they have stipulations on how it is to be used.

         I have a few things earmarked for my lump sum amount when it comes in. First is paying off my credit cards. Next will be to make our home better. What I have in mind here is paying a lump amount on my house payments, as well as turning the Agreement of Sale into a recorded mortgaged deed, with the same man as the mortgager. That way, I can qualify for the homestead & disability property tax exemptions, reducing that considerably. It will also give me a vote in my community association. I'm also considering making an offer to buy the properties abutting mine, picking up enough to make my property size a full acre, once consolidated, so I have more freedom considering the county laws, such as in being able to have a cesspool versus an expensive septic system, which does NOT work on catchment systems, since it needs to be kept reasonably full to adequately work to break down the waste.

         That will also give me more votes in the community as well, since it is one per property (even consolidated). I can possibly buy the ones around me for $1200 - $3000 each. It will take 4 more to add up to just over an acre. I'll make the lowest offer first, then come up if they hedge on the amount. I have a couple things I can use toward keeping them down on the selling price, like the damage my house has suffered from their trees to my roof, telling them I'll ignore that possibility of further damage & possible lawsuits if they'll let me buy the property. Many of these people don't live here, some never having seen the properties, but have been paying taxes & association dues every year without any benefit from their property, so they become a financial liability that most would never get to enjoy. They can turn around & buy other property here on the island for that same amount in areas with no association dues, some even larger than these here, at 8020 sq ft average.

         I do have plans to build a real house here, tearing this one down since it's a shell requiring alot of expense to conform to building codes as well as the community standards. I've been working on the design myself, which I will present to a friend who's a carpenter to see if it'll go & what changes would need to be made. But it will be my dream house!

         Thank all of you who have been keeping my needs in your thoughts/prayers! Blessings! And please add this Coast Guard Veteran, Reggie, to your thought-prayers!

May 23, 2003

  •      Grrrrrrr!!! I had my blog for Thursday evening pretty much finished. I've been at least starting them in my email editor, because I can use a font I really like... Black Chancery. For some reason, when I try to specify a font that isn't available in the Xanga choices, it never shows up. I guess that is part of my lacking HTML skills. I must not be using the correct phrasing. I can also manipulate the fonts within the writing, as I just did with HTML, which I couldn't get to work in the Xanga editor. Even though the command to change the font was there, the different font wouldn't show up. Anyway, I had it written, copy/pasted it into the xTools, then deleted the email composition. But I hadn't posted the blog (I wasn't quite finished editing & adding to it yet) & set to changing my Look & Feel. Ooooops!!! I clicked on the color selection to reset my search bar color. Gone with the whole blog, when the color selector loaded into the xTools' browser! Since I copied other things to my clipboard since, not saved or copied it elsewhere & didn't do a spellcheck on it, there was no way to recover it.


          Here I am rewriting the blog & I hear strange noises outside. Things being bumped or knocked around that my dogs had no way to get to. Except that Sherman, my Rhodesian Ridgeback who's pic I posted awhile back, tends to wander like a lummox around the yard if he gets loose. That is, if he doesn't head up the road somewhere. Yep! I go outside (after midnight) with a flashlight, calling out his name, my other puppy going nuts because he isn't playing with her, & he comes lumbering up to me. It seems the spring gave up on a clip hook I use to attach a huge swivel hook onto the chain, allowing the chain to slip off the hook.

         That dog has gone through more chains & hooks than I care to count! Since he paces at times, dragging his chain across the occasional lava rock sticking out of the dirt, the chain wears thin until it gets to the point where he snaps a link. Mind you, I'm using chain that is rated for about 650 pounds or more of tensile strength. The heavy conventional dog chain won't hold him more than a couple months at best. Those wear out quickly where the loops interconnect, right where there's more stress on the chain to begin with. So far, I've only had to switch ends of this chain so what drags on the ground changes.

          I'd prefer to attach Sherman's chain to a flexible tree limb, since that gives, taking stress away from the chain links & hooks, but I don't have any large enough flexible branches on my trees yet that wouldn't snap when the dogs lunge at the end of their chains. Sherman almost pulled down a poorly made carport that was here when I bought the place when 3 mean characters, who'd just stolen & crashed a pickup truck nearby, walked past my house. He wanted to get them badly! Maluhia, my puppy, has already stretched the cable I have her chain attached to, which is designed as a runner & she's still only 5 months old & nearly as big as Sherman! If it wasn't for the cable's slack, she'd probably snap it before long.

          When we returned from my son's doctor appointment this afternoon, as well as a bit of shopping in Hilo & lunch on the fly, Maluhia did what she normally does when the car is back in the driveway, where she's chained. She jumped at the car. She likes to go for rides & tends to jump at the car & get in the way when I'm backing out or pulling in. My son got out of the car, going over to her chain to try to keep her from jumping at the car. Unfortunately, he grabbed her chain just as she wrapped it slightly around my leg by going to my other side. When he pulled, the chain's hook snagged into my denim pants, gouging the crease of the outer side of my knee. I hollered, which got a quick response of "I'm sorry" from him. When he looked at what had happened, he asked if it was caught IN my skin, since the dog was stuck to my pants. I told him that it was just the pants, but that the hook had scratched my leg. He tried to unsnag the hook but wasn't having any luck. I backed it out of my pants myself, with him watching, since I had to run the hook the rest of the way through the pants, then back that off the hook.

          Once in the house, I changed clothes to something cooler (it was very muggy) & checked out the damage. It had bled a little, with the surface skin a bit like a road rash, but it's more bruised now... red & purple. I think both the dog & the kid were more upset than I was when it happened. I know she's just an exuberant puppy, but I am wondering what it will take to get her to settle down as well as to stop jumping up at the car & wrapping around us. She often prances back & forth in front of me, which has already tripped me once badly enough that I fell, injuring the heel of one hand. I need to move her out of the driveway, but don't really have a good spot to move her to right now.

          What's really odd is that when I first got her, she hated car rides. This may be because she & her littermates were brought into town to find homes for in the trunk of a car. Once I stopped letting her stay in the house, every time I go to the car she thinks she's going for a ride. I'd take her every time, but my little car gets hot in the sunlight very quickly. My front windows are off-track, so I can't roll them down very far or they can be lifted out, or even possibly pushed out by the dog. Not good! If my car had a sunroof, it wouldn't get so hot inside with the sunroof popped open. That's one thing I definitely miss about the Volvo I used to drive. Much cooler inside when it's been parked in the sun because of having more air volume since it is a stationwagon, so takes more to heat up & the sunroof left open allowed alot of the hot air to escape.

          Well, as for what this blog originally started out to be about... the trip to the doc. My son was disappointed when the doc told him his knee wasn't yet healed enough for the surgery. He wants it to be more flexible, bending further both directions than it currently will without causing much pain. So we go back in another week.

          The doc asked if there has been a decision made yet about going for the surgery or leaving it be. Since it is him who has to live with the results of the decision, I allowed my son to choose what route he wants to take. So when the doc asked, I said that he had decided awhile back & let him answer. They have to put in a request for authorization with the insurance carrier, which can sometimes take awhile. When I had my surgeries (non-VA approved), I had to go through this process. The woman who handles that in the medical clinic we use is really good about this stuff. She pushed the requests for my surgeries through quickly, even with having to deal with getting a denial from the VA first, since they're my primary provider. I'm sure she can have the authorization within a week or so for my son, once the request gets to her from the doctor. Incidentally, she's the same person who told us about this doctor we're seeing, who had done surgery on her daughter. She also has to get approvals for referrals.

         In the exam room we were sent to this time, I was glancing around at the stuff posted. I first read a 'Sesame Street Goes to the Doctor' poster. Above it, I noticed a certification from the Hawaii State Board of Medical Examiners. I assumed it was his, but upon reading it, I saw a woman's name as the recipient. I thought that maybe that was his wife, but then noticed the date the certificate was assigned... 1973, with the woman's age then of 43! Same last name. Hmmm... his mom? Sure enough, when I mentioned it to the nurse, she confirmed that it is his mom's certification, & that she's still around! That makes her 73 now. I don't think she's still practicing, but the thought of the doctor being proud enough of his mom to have her certificate in one of his exam rooms is neat!

         That nurse who dealt with us this time is a character. She's funny! I enjoy listening to people like her, with an innate ability to crack non-offensive jokes. She helped us set up the next appointment, telling us that next Thursday is booked already, but she'd still add us in. I suggested Wednesday, asking if that wasn't too early, forgetting that's the day he performs the surgeries. She suggested Friday, to which my son shook his head, saying Thursday. When he suggested 1 PM, she told him that's when all his post-operative patients come in who'd had surgery the day before... all scheduled around the same time. Yikes! She ended up setting his appointment for a time when there are two others coming in. She had apologized for the wait today when she led us to the exam room, which really wasn't long, & apologized for how long we'll probably wait next week. How many people would do that? The world needs more people like her in charge.

May 21, 2003

  •      My son has a doctor appointment tomorrow. He feels the doc will tell him he's ready for surgery. The doc said last week that my son needed to strengthen his knee a bit before he would consider doing the surgery. I guess that is to make recovery from the surgery shorter & better able to handle the physical therapy afterwards.

         My son did notice that at one point, with that particular ligament torn, his knee actually started to bend the wrong direction. I bet that was scary! When he told me what happened, I warned him to be careful about doing that, because doing so could cause the remaining ligament to rip from the stress.

         He hasn't stopped skateboarding. Instead, he's changed the tricks he's been working on. No 'ollieing' off flights of stairs, which was how he hurt his knee to begin with, landing wrong. Instead, he's working on improving his 'nose manual,' requiring balancing on the front trucks (wheels) while rolling as far as you can. He has a friend who has been able to go quite a distance, even around obstacles. He even had me videotape him doing the opposite version, 'the manual,' in front of our house, coming down the hill.

         Alot of the time when he goes skating, he's videotaping his friends' tricks. I keep telling him he needs to put together a skateboarding video or two. He says he'd like to, but at this point, he's just filling up VHS-C tapes & not dubbing them onto regular VHS tapes. He now wants to buy a digital video camera & has selected a JVC version he saw at Sears recently.

         Since a friend of mine has done professional videography & had a full editing studio, I suggested he talk to this friend about how best to go about dubbing masters & what equipment would be best to buy. So far, he hasn't. That friend videotaped auto races in the Gilroy, CA area.

         I have a bit of experience myself in this area. I have taped movies & shows off the air (like Star Trek), then dubbed them onto another tape, eliminating the commercials. I have also trained in video closed-captioning, using some wonderful video equipment belonging to the Texas Rehabilitation Commission, who assisted me with financial needs during my last year of college.

         I think my son has found a field he would really like to get into as a career. I just hope he finally understands that the chance of only videoing skateboarding activities as a profession is slim. He'll have to make himself available for more than just that one type of event if he wants to eat all the time.

  • I guess it really does matter to those who you read that you do go to their blogs once in awhile to comment to get comments in return.

     

    ~.~.~.~.~Welcome back, Jim!~.~.~.~.~

     

    Two of my old subscribers from when I first joined Xanga have come back into my readers list. I have missed hearing from all of you.

    Whatever the script error was that caused me to be unable to read my subscription email was apparently fixed by the time I went blog-hopping. With the latest subscription email, the postings are the latest that I was reading yesterday. The error window didn't pop up when I clicked on it for the preview in my email program. I am really thinking that it was a Xanga bug, due to recent modifications they've made to the site which tend to screw up scripts.

    Personally, I don't understand how the changes Xanga makes to their system would affect scripting based upon html & Java, but then, I am almost illiterate when it comes to scripting. I say almost, because I can spot when a tag that should be there isn't, even though I don't quite understand what the tag does. I guess that for me, computer languages will be like all other languages than English... I pick up bits & pieces, knowing enough to get a grasp of what's said, but not able to quote/write it.

May 20, 2003

  •      I spent nearly the entire day Monday, going through my SIR list... something I haven't done in a long time. I still have a few to get to for commenting, but my son wanted to use the Net for awhile & kept hollering at me. Besides, I needed to get supper cooked.

         The main reason for going through the SIR list was to track down where a scripting error came from, preventing me from being able to read the subscription email. This is the second time it's happened that I've come across, although it could have a few other times, since I haven't kept up with reading them every day.

         I didn't get the blog with the script error identified, but I enjoyed  catching up on some of you who I've been amiss about reading in so long. Many of you are doing so well now, but I noticed that the readership, in the form of comments, has slackened off. A few continue to draw loads of comments & eProps, but for the most part, I'm not alone in receiving just a modicum of comments.

         Reading & leaving intelligent comments can sometimes be difficult. So often, I don't know what to say that won't be misconstrued or would adequately respond to the subject of the blog. I wonder if others have the same problems. I also tend to get side-tracked, especially when checking out links people post, or reading comments from others who sound interesting.

         There are also so many on my SIR who haven't blogged in months, some even for over a year. I often wonder what has happened to them. Perhaps they just tired of the 'game' of a weblog community, lacked anything much to blog about, were pushed out by offensive community members that have caused several to leave that I've heard about, or if they've left this plane of existence.

         Of the latter, at least one on my SIR falls into that category. I posted a blog about it after some of my research turned up the answer to her lack of new posts. Many of you knew her through her writings here... Windsong87. Her death from cancer, after her positive attitude about beating the disease, certainly brought home the knowledge that this is a disease that still has yet to be overcome. It appears that through all her treatments in the form of chemo (she had started her 4th round) & radiation, the cancer still managed to spread to her liver & her bones. After the doctor's discovery of the metastasis to those areas, she left us quickly, about a month or so later. I wish I had gotten to know her better. She's with the Angels now, out of pain & enjoying the 'other side.'

         There are a few on my SIR who haven't written in a long time who's words were those of despair. I could 'hear' their pleas for respect & love in the words of pain they posted in their online journals. Knowing they haven't posted in ages causes me to wonder if they've relieved themselves of that pain in what they felt was the only way out. I grieve for them & hope that they have truly found peace.

         Of the others who have left Xanga without any words of explanation, I also wish them the best. It's sad that there are people in this world, much less this web community, who can be so cruel as to emotionally assault certain people, as though it were only a joke. It only shows how little they truly are. I don't think anyone has been pushed out of Xanga unintentionally. Alot of what I've seen has started with one person, just being mean & spiteful. This often set in motion a 'mob mentality,' much like chickens in a farmyard, in which one might be injured & the rest just pick at the injured one until they kill it. I always thought humans were the highest form of animal, but this behavior only proves that we are no better than those chickens. People, there is nothing funny about tearing at another human being!

         Let's all prove that we are intelligent creatures of God. Show that we are understanding of different cultures, beliefs, appearances, levels of competence, etc, in much the way we would like to be respected with our own. No two people are alike, so there is always something 'different' about another that can be considered a fault to another. Treat others as you would like to be treated, giving them the respect they deserve because they are human, just like you.

         Those of you with scripting on your pages, please be sure there are no errors in it, so I can read the blogs in the subscription email again. If you see a small yellow icon in the bottom left corner of your browser displaying your blog, it means there's a script error on your page. Go through your scripts & make sure that all the tags are in place. Be sure that what you posted in your blog is the complete script as it was written. Xanga has been making alot of changes lately that have screwed up some of the scripts already posted in people's blogs. I saw that seanmeister had to revise one he recently gave out that blocks the eProps. Perhaps it's those using that script that have caused the script error message that won't stay gone when I click it closed when trying to read my subscription email, but I really think it is something someone posted in a specific blog posting.

         Blessings to all! Know that in this person, there is at least one who empathizes with you when things aren't looking the best. I've often been where you are myself.

    ~.~.~.~.~Welcome back, Tina!~.~.~.~.~

May 17, 2003

  • Today is Armed Forces Day. On this day, we honor our Nation's military.



    While on active duty, stationed on Oahu at Navcams Eastpac, Wahiawa (also known as Hele Manu), it was a big thing for my division to honor this day. Every year for the 3 I was stationed there, we would participate in the Armed Forces Day celebration, held at Barber's Point Naval Air Station (which was later closed down, due to former President Clinton's downsizing of the military). We had our own booth, but most of us were really there to enjoy the show put on by our Navy's Top Guns of the Blue Angels.


    Currently, there are still activities continuing in support of our troops. As an example of such is a military website, called Defend America. This site has links to many things we can participate in to offer assistance & donations to our active duty members. I know how alone I felt during my 7 years of service to this Nation. I know my feelings were shared by many others, so far from family, long-time friends & all that was familiar. That is still true today. So take some time to check into these to see what you can do to help support our people, giving so much of themselves to this Nation.

May 16, 2003

  • In my research, I have found that the facts in the research findings are written up to appear to work, when in fact, they don't. That's a major reason I have refused such conventional therapy for my cancer, as in tamoxifen specifically. I learned from the research report of the pharmaceutical company that manufactures tamoxifen that it can cause endometrial cancer in as little as 2 years & almost always after 5 years! It also indicates that the recurrence rate is no better when taking it, versus not taking the drug. It's in the way the data is presented that it appears to work, when in fact, it's more detrimental to the women taking it.

     

    What most don't realize is that if the research was written up in a way that presents the facts accurately, these companies would lose their research grants & all money they themselves have invested in the research. They also wouldn't have a drug which they can soak the public with to make big profits. Look at it this way... the pharmaceutical & chemical companies have been primarily the only businesses keeping the stock markets afloat for the last 20 years. What do they care that the products they create cause people to get sick? They profit even more with drugs to counteract the illnesses their drugs & chemicals cause.

     

    God gave us healing herbs. The knowledge of these herbs is not secret, but the pharmaceutical companies wish to make them that way, as in hiding their own findings of herbs that they cannot synthesize & patent. A prime example of one of these herbs is soursop (graviola: scientific name annona muricata). which the National Cancer Institute funded research on back in 1976. They found that it does work, but as of yet, no pharmaceutical company has been able to synthesize its effects, so they sit on the data. Here's some information on that:  http://www.rain-tree.com/graviola.htm

     


    Note: I am using this copyrighted pic without permission, which was requested months ago, for which I never got a reply. I am conforming to their stated requirements for its use by linking it back to their site (& I did give them this blog address in the request, as they required).

     

    Personally, I used a noni/aloe vera/tumeric mixture (recommended by a local Hawaiian Kahuna [healer]), along with eating other herbs known for their anti-carcinogenic properties, such as chickweed, gotu-kola & passion flower. I also ate shiitake mushrooms, known for their healing benefits. Most any doctor will tell you that diet has alot to do with a person's health. Or as the colloquialism goes, "You are what you eat."

     

    It is difficult in these times to avoid man-made chemicals in our foods. There have been scientists saying for years that these chemicals are known to have detrimental effects on individuals' health, yet they still keep using them. The FDA guidelines aren't necessarily in the best interests of the population anymore. For example, they allow up to 3 rat turds per candy bar! They also permit the use of strychnine as an anti-cholora treatment, fed to baby chicks in their feed. Strychnine is an additive poison, meaning that it is fat-soluble & sits in the organs & fatty tissues, never leaving the body. The more chicken & eggs people consume that are raised with this feeds, the sicker they become. But it means profit to the poultry & chemical industries in the short-term & pharmaceutical/medical industries in the long-term
    (many corporations have entities on both sides).

     

    But herbs are almost no cost. Most of them can be grown in an individual's home & what can't are fairly easy to get at a relatively low cost in health food stores, general grocery stores & plant nurseries. There are many alternative medicine specialists all over this country with access to remedies who can generate a personal regimen to treat the whole person. Many of them are even licensed & can be covered by most insurance plans (including Medicaid). A person no longer is stuck with getting only conventional medical treatment for catastrophic illnesses. Those who aren't covered by insurance will find that most of these specialists will work with the patient to find a way that the treatment will be affordable. If they won't... they aren't true healers, since healing is meant to be a gift, not a business for profit!

     

    Another thing that happens connected with non-pharmaceutical treatments for catastrophic illnesses is that when the news gets out about them, such as with kava-kava fairly recently, 'experts' pop up, claiming these herbs don't work. They also spread rumors that these herbs have detrimental 'side-effects' that can cause more serious problems. Why would they do this when these herbs have been used for hundreds, if not thousands, of years with great success? For the same reason those same 'experts' have hidden the truth of their own research findings on these herbs, as well as the disastrous effects of their patented drugs... m-o-n-e-y! What's so really stupid connected with their thinking is that they can actually make a higher profit by utilizing these herbs, since there is so little technology involved with taking them from seed to consumer product. No, they can't patent it, but then, why would they need to? Doesn't the patenting process cost lots of money?

     

    A few drug manufacturers are actually taking advantage of marketing herbal remedies. These include phytoestrogens to relieve symptoms of menopause. This same remedy can also be used to prevent breast cancer recurrence in women with hormone-receptive cancers, since they block the receptors in much the same way as tamoxifen, without causing endometrial cancer as a 'side-effect.'

     

    The main ingredient in this phytoestrogen remedy is black cohosh, used by Native Americans for hundreds of years to relieve hot-flashes & prevent bone loss, etc. It has also been widely used in Germany for the last 40 years for the same things. One brand-name source is Remifemin, which can be found in Wal-Mart for under $10 for a month's supply. The advantages of taking this versus tamoxifen, besides its lower cost, is that tamoxifen causes hot-flashes, bone loss & endometrial cancers, whereas Remifemin prevents this. Which thing would you prefer to put into your body, knowing these facts?


    NEW RESEARCH CONFIRMS SAFETY AND EFFICACY OF REMIFEMIN
    FOR MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS
    Report in The Journal of Women’s Health and Gender-Based Medicine Shows
    Standardized Herbal Supplement Works without Affecting Hormone Levels
    PITTSBURGH, March 25 – A study published in the current issue of The Journal of Women’s Health and Gender-Based Medicine heralds good news for women who are looking for natural, estrogen-free options to relieve menopausal symptoms.


    The study, conducted by Eckehard Liske, PhD and colleagues, shows that the
    commercially available dose of RemiFemin® Menopause, an exclusive extract of black cohosh available over-the-counter, works differently from estrogens and plant estrogens to relieve menopausal symptoms.

     

    “This data confirms that RemiFemin provides a safe and effective option for women who want to relieve menopause symptoms naturally,” said Eckehard Liske, PhD, lead author of the study. “The product reduces menopause symptoms such as hot flashes, mood swings, night sweats and occasional sleeplessness without affecting hormone levels or specific cell lines associated with some female cancers.”

    The advantages many have today is being able to research the information for themselves, rather than just going by what one individual tells them or what's printed in pamphlets put out by the very biased pharmaceutical companies. Don't just take my word either. Go find out for yourselves. Here is the warning plastered on the entry page for the Nolvadex (tamoxifen) website:



    WARNING - For Women with Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS) and Women at High Risk for Breast Cancer: Serious and life-threatening events associated with NOLVADEX in the risk reduction setting (women at high risk for cancer and women with DCIS) include uterine malignancies, stroke, and pulmonary embolism. Incidence rates for these events were estimated from the NSABP P-1 trial (see CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY-Clinical Studies-Reduction in Breast Cancer Incidence in High-Risk Women). Uterine malignancies consist of both endometrial adenocarcinoma (incidence rate per 1,000 women-years of 2.20 for NOLVADEX vs. 0.71 for placebo) and uterine sarcoma (incidence rate per 1,000 women-years of 0.17 for NOLVADEX vs. 0.0 for placebo*). For stroke, the incidence rate per 1,000 women-years was 1.43 for NOLVADEX vs. 1.00 for placebo**. For pulmonary embolism, the incidence rate per 1,000 women-years was 0.75 for NOLVADEX vs. 0.25 for placebo**.


    Some of the strokes, pulmonary emboli, and uterine malignancies were fatal.


    Health care providers should discuss the potential benefits versus the potential risks of these serious events with women at high risk of breast cancer and women with DCIS considering NOLVADEX to reduce their risk of developing breast cancer.


    The benefits of NOLVADEX outweigh its risks in women already diagnosed with breast cancer.


    *Updated long-term follow-up data (median length of follow-up is 6.9 years) from NSABP P-1 study. See WARNINGS: Effects on the Uterus-Endometrial Cancer and Uterine Sarcoma.


    **See Table 3 under CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY- Clinical Studies.


    Now you can see for yourselves why I refused this drug! However, the benefits, per their research findings do NOT outweigh the risks when you understand what exactly they're stating! Here's the link to the Adobe download that is the documentation on this drug, as the physicians get, but consumers do not:  http://www.astrazeneca-us.com/cgi-bin/az_pi.cgi?product=nolvadex&country=US  Read it for yourself, if you are considering using this drug to prevent a recurrence of breast cancer. It will probably make you change your mind. It certainly did mine!


    Note: the above linked site is intended for physicians, not consumers! Doesn't it make you wonder why?

May 13, 2003

  •      I watched the final episode of "Survivor: Amazon" Sunday night. I was glad to see that Matthew made it to the final 2, with Rob FINALLY being voted out (YAY!). One thing I can NEVER understand is how the winning people can be the LEAST deserving, as human beings. I don't understand how those who actually do their best for the tribe as a whole end up getting voted out very early on. I was sorry that Matt, the most deserving of ANY Survivor finalists, didn't win the game. It seems like it goes to the most dishonest, whiny, back-stabbing asshole that CBS could possibly dredge up from American society. The winners ALL did close to the least amount of work to keep the tribe eating & sheltered, often resulting in near starvation, lack of shelter, injuries, etc. To me, these are the least desirable members of any community, or in this case, 'tribe.'

         Watching Jeff jetski into New York Harbor made me think of something. He pivotted the jetski at the end, posing in front of the Statue of Liberty. This statue has been one of America's icons for many years, as a symbol of freedom & welcome to the 'weary... masses' of other nations.

         This is the first paragraph of the above linked page, the OFFICIAL US Government site for the Statue of Liberty, under the US National Park System:


    IN BRIEF
    Located in New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty was a gift of international friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States and is one of the most universal symbols of political freedom and democracy. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886 and was designated a National Monument on October 15, 1924. The Statue was extensively restored in time for her spectacular centennial on July 4, 1986.

    I've emboldened the pertinent phrase that emphasizes what I am stating in this blog.



          This symbol is honored even in other countries, recognized as solely AMERICAN... 'land of the free, home of the brave.' Right? Well...

         WAKE UP AMERICA! The Statue of Liberty was a gift from... GASP!!! ...


    FRANCE!!!!

         And you dare to dishonor the French because they only wanted the inspectors to have more time in Iraq? THAT was their reason for going against us, because they don't believe that war was the answer.

         Look how long it's taking them to find the 'smoking guns' NOW, with complete control over Iraq in US hands! Didn't they deserve more time? The authorites WON'T find any 'smoking guns.' And it won't be because the stuff was moved. If they were moved, our 'spy satellites' that our government used to identify the possible WMD sites would have caught the movement of the stuff. They are so accurate, they can catch the color of a specific person's eyes. So... no more BULLSHIT Shrub! That was an excuse for you to send our young men & women in, running heavy equipment & planes, burning THOUSANDS of gallons of fuel each day, shoving more $$$$ into your personal pocket & that of your cronies' at the cost of many lives.

         Hey... here's a thought... if the Iraqi oil belongs to the Iraqi people, how about giving up YOUR shares of AMERICAN oil to the American people, in the same manner you're perporting to do for the Iraqis? You WON'T do that, right?! It was wrong for Saddam to personally profit off his country's oil, but NOT YOU? What makes you so special?

         Another thing to think about is the fact that this is the wealthiest country in the world, yet our statistics show that we also have the worst diversity of that wealth. 5% of the US population possesses 95% of the US dollars. I don't think Iraq's numbers were as bad.

         So back to my reason for this particular blog... if you want to continue to diss the French people with your 'freedom fries' & 'freedom toast,' etc, how about removing the most nortoriously French made thing in America... the Statue of Liberty? Personally, I think the whole anti-French thing is stupid, belittling, denegrating & as UN-American as people can be. As Jesus said, in the Book of John, 8:7...  , "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone..." You can ALL drop your rocks now, & go about your own lives, hopefully with more charity in your hearts in any further endeavors.

         Final question... is it goodbye Made in France Statue of Liberty, or do we REALLY honor what she stands for?

         Note: Years ago, I 'bought' a piece of the Grand Lady, helping to refurbish her (& Ellis Island). My name (though misspelled) appears as a contributor on the large plaque at her feet. So I don't want to hear the crap I have in the past that I'm unpatriotic. I'm very patriotic (I served in the US Navy for over 7 years, more than double what most Veterans have). I just don't believe in slaughtering others because of differences in beliefs & customs (or in reality... GREED!).

May 11, 2003

  • It seems that Windsong87 lost her battle with breast cancer


    10 April 2003.




  • One of my recent orchid purchases. This is a phaleanopsis that I bought last week Sunday. I paid $5 for it at the Pahoa Village Farmers Market. It has five lovely blooms.



    This is a mini catalaya, bought weeks ago with only 3 buds showing. I got it at the other local farmers market, where a representative of Kalapana Tropicals sells the plants that aren't quite export quality, for $4.50 each. This is one I've bought previously, that the grower says has a leaf spot virus. His whole flask of seedlings was contaminated. The virus doesn't hurt the plant, only causing the odd spotting in the leaves you can see in the photo. But it can be spread to other orchids if the implement used to separate for multi-propagation is used on another plant. If I can come up with a section of this plant with 4 uprights that shows no evidence of the virus, I may be able to propagate healthy cuttings. Since I have 4 original plants, I'm hoping to get a few disease-free clones. Incidentally, the color that the blooms opened up with are not what they will end up looking like over time. The grower himself told me today that they will turn yellow-orange (as the others were that I bought in bloom). I will add a new pic of these then (if they really DO change color!).

Pikake

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