Date updated: October 25, 2007
Content provided by Revolution Health Group
You've more than likely heard the recent news that potentially deadly, drug-resistant staph infections are on the rise, according to a study published in JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association). The study reports that methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections are more common — both in and out of hospitals — than experts once thought.

More than 90,000 Americans get potentially deadly infections each year from this drug-resistant staph "superbug," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, which reported the findings in the Oct. 17 issue of JAMA. However, the study found that the majority of MRSA outbreaks are in health care settings such as hospitals and nursing homes.

About 85% of all invasive MRSA infections were associated with health care settings — two–thirds of which surfaced in the community among people who were hospitalized, underwent a medical procedure or resided in a long–term care facility within the previous year, according to the study.

In contrast, the other 15% of reported infections were considered to be community-associated — which means that the infection occurred in people without documented health care risk factors.

Spread of MRSA infections preventable
Schools nationwide are reporting outbreaks of Staphylococcus aureus skin infections. Some of them are MRSA infections, which has recently caused two student deaths. But the spread of these infections is preventable "through rigorous hygiene and cleanliness," says Betsy McCaughey, Ph.D., chairman of the New York City-based Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths (RID).

Since most of these infections are being spread in school gyms and locker rooms as athletes with minor cuts and abrasions share equipment, there are steps you, your family and the schools can take to reduce the risk.

RID offers the following 10 steps to protect students from MSRA infections:

1. Encourage students to clean their hands frequently.

2. Parents, tuck a small container of hand sanitizer in your child's book bag — if your child is mature enough to use it properly.

3. Educators, install dispensers of hand sanitizer inside each classroom. Students should not have to get a hall pass and leave the classroom to clean their hands.

4. Warn students not to share gym clothes, towels and other personal items. MRSA bacteria can live on fabrics and hard surfaces for up to 90 days.

5. Warn students against sharing bars of soap. Use pump dispensers only.

6. Educators, ensure that all shared sports equipment (wrestling mats, baseball gloves, gymnastics equipment, etc.) and locker room facilities such as benches are cleaned with detergents — which must remain on the surfaces for at least three minutes. Quick spraying and wiping is not effective.

7. Educators, make sure that when a student gets a cut or abrasion on the playground or in class, it is cleaned immediately by someone whose hands are also clean! Classrooms should have a first-aid kit or ready access to a school nurse.

8. School authorities should consider antimicrobial coatings for sports equipment and other high-touch surfaces as well as washable keyboards for computers.

9. School authorities should periodically have surfaces in the gym and classrooms tested in order to know the extent of MRSA contamination.

10. Athletes, gym teachers and coaches should be given extra awareness tools to reduce their heightened risk of MSRA exposure.

http://www.liferesearchuniversal.com/introduction.html#intro

George Orwell's life

George Orwell was born Eric Blair in 1903 into an upper middle-class English family which had a tradition of government administration in the British Empire. He was in fact born in India, where his father was then working. He was sent to Eton, one of the most expensive boys' schools in Britain and one of those with most prestige, but instead of going on to university he followed the family tradition by joining the Indian Police Service and was sent to Burma. His five years there led him to reject every aspect of imperialism and the brutality it could create in those in authority, and to feel closer to those who were oppressed than to those who oppressed them.

A similar sympathy and identification with those at the bottom of a social system led him, on his return to Europe, to travel around Britain and France, living on the road among the poorest groups of society and entering as completely as he could into their way of life. It is true, of course, that he knew that because of his family background he, unlike them, could return to a different way of life when he wanted. He wrote about these experiences under the name of George Orwell, partly to protect his family from embarrassment and partly because he had never liked his own name very much.

In the next few years he worked briefly as a teacher in private schools and in a bookshop, but his most important activity at this time was his writing: novels, descriptions of his time in Burma and among the poor of London and Paris, and book reviews. In 1937 he went to Spain to fight in the Spanish Civil War on the side of the Republic, with the force from the United Marxist Workers' Party (POUM), until he was badly wounded in the neck and returned to England. By this time his writing had made him well-known in left-wing circles; he wrote as a socialist who was aware of some of the shortcomings of socialism and of the way that ordinary people, who should have been drawn towards socialism, were being turned away from it by the arguments and actions of some of the intellectual socialists.

During World War II Orwell worked for the BBC producing programmes for India and South East Asia, and as manager of a bookshop, as well as producing a lot of journalism. This was mainly on political subjects, but he also wrote articles about everyday wartime life in London and a considerable amount of literary criticism. During this time he began to plan Nineteen Eighty-Four, before he started to work on Animal Farm, which was published in 1945.

Orwell's wife died while in hospital for a relatively minor operation before Nineteen Eighty-Four was published, so that she never saw the success and scandal it created. There is a strong suggestion that earlier medical attention could have given her a chance of a longer life, but that concern over money meant that she did not consult a doctor in good time. Orwell equally neglected his own health, working on articles and reviews through attacks of illness and refusing to see a doctor. He had written an outline of the plot of Nineteen Eighty-Four in 1943. By the time he came to write the first version of the novel, in 1947, neither world history nor the events of his personal life had made him any more hopeful about the future. He collapsed into bed for a month after writing this first version until, after finally consulting a doctor, he was sent to a sanatorium where his tuberculosis could be treated. As soon as he started to feel well, he began to write again, with a pen because the doctors had taken away his typewriter.

He worked on alterations to Nineteen Eighty-Four in the sanatorium, and as soon as he was able to leave, he got to work on the second version of the novel, although he was still so weak that he had to spend half the day in bed. This final version was produced in 1948, and the year in which he set the novel was obtained by reversing the last two digits. The effort of typing the final version brought him near to physical collapse, and he had to enter a sanatorium again.

Orwell hoped that if he was willing to lead the life of an invalid there was some hope for him, and he planned to marry again and to go to Switzerland for his health. He did get married (in a hospital bed, too ill to go to a registry office), but Switzerland remained a dream ; on 21st January 1949 his lung collapsed and he died, at once and alone.



The background to Nineteen Eighty-Four

To describe writing as " Orwellian " means that it expresses a pessimistic view of a dull, uniform world where every aspect of life is controlled and organized by the State. As Nineteen Eighty-Four was written when Orwell was already suffering from tuberculosis, the disease that killed him, it has often been regarded as the work of a dying man, written in disillusion with the present and despair for the future. This is misleading : the outline of Nineteen Eighty-Four (which was originally to be called The Last Man in Europe) had been planned five years earlier in 1943, before he wrote Animal Farm, the book for which he is probably best known.

Orwell had been reading Zamyatin's novel We, whose vision of an anti-Utopia was of special interest when he was planning his own, but many of the themes of Nineteen Eighty-Four were drawn from his own concerns and experiences. During the Spanish Civil War he had seen for himself evidence of the falsification of news and the invention of false news, and he later described in an essay how " I saw history being written not in terms of what happened but of what ought to have happened, according to the party ; this kind of thing is frightening to me. If a leader says of such-and-such an event that it never happened - well, it never happened. If he says that two and two are five -well, two and two are five. "

Correction- 2 and 2 are five. Fascinating person. Sorry got off on a tangent.

Have lots of friends. That works for me. I am not saying that self torture can't be fun but if only you can enjoy it then what good is it. Eventually even self torture can lose its appeal. I am sure you can find another sadist who can give you good tips. Who knows they might even have a rack or a nice iron maiden that they would be willing to share with you. You might even find one who will take turns on the rack with you. Damn it its my turn to be tortured you got to be tortured the last time.

"There are things known and things unknown and between them are the doors." Jim Morrison

I liked the movie 1984 and some of the movies and songs with some of the same ideas of the book. I think the song sung by Tennessee Ernie Ford, "Sixteen Tons" that was originally wrote and sung in 1955 by Merle Travis brings out the corruption of greed and how one can be bought out by the store. In the movie when the person was taught that five was six and agreed then later punished for it brings out many of the problems associated with today's society especially when the tormenter tormented him anyways and then said, "No, five is five." The book can help one to see the futility of siding with others and in the end one needs to make up one's own mind whether it agrees or disagrees with others is beside the point. I think the song, "Garden Party" by Ricky Nelson in its chorus brings about this point as well. But it's all right now, I learned my lesson well. "You see, ya can't please everyone, so ya got to please yourself."

Ozzy Osbourne wants an apology from the Cass County sheriff for staging a sting operation in the rocker's name without his permission.

Osbourne claims his reputation was tarnished when Sheriff Paul Laney invited 500 people with outstanding warrants to a phony party at a Fargo nightclub before the rocker's concert with Rob Zombie at a nearby arena. More than 30 showed up and were arrested.

"Instead of holding a press conference to pat himself on the back, Sheriff Laney should be apologizing to me for using my name in connection with these arrests," Osbourne said in a statement.

"It is insulting to me and to my audience and Other Entertainment Photos

Ozzy Angered by ND Sheriff's Sting
9

it shows how lazy this particular sheriff is when it comes to doing his job," Osbourne said.

Laney said Friday that it's his job to arrest people with outstanding warrants.

"We meant no disrespect toward Mr. Osbourne or his show," Laney said. "What we did was a very creative law enforcement technique to lure individuals who had active criminal warrants to come to us."

He said mentioning Osbourne's name in the invitations was no different than a bar advertising a Super Bowl party by mentioning the teams playing in the game.

Laney said Monday's sting was done to let the community know his office was doing its best to serve about 3,000 outstanding warrants it must deal with.

"They get very creative in how they abscond from the law," the sheriff said of the wanted individuals. "We just got real creative in how we reeled them in," Laney said.

Not everyone is taking the sting personally, Laney said.

"Three people called to say, 'I got one of those letters. Since you're being so creative, I'm turning myself in. Give me a court date,'" Laney said.


Isn't entrapment wonderful now that it has become legal?

I am thinking if I change my name to Jack Handy I could help a potential mate in case she had a flat. If the potential mate was a nurse I could nickname her Sedative that way she could help me. She could be called Sedative Handy.

After being married three times and divorced twice; Working with dementia; Going through dementia and working at a long term care facility I have been able to modify William Shakepeare's quote of, " A rose by any other name would be just as sweet" to "Insanity by any other name would be just as insane."

Ack. Who put this thread here. I just got off work.

Way back for sure, Jess. Getting in the way back machine.

Well, ain't that special you got your own thread? Must be nice. (In my best churchlady voice)

Well, if they would let me have a day off. I used to be afraid about asking ladies phone numbers. I just got a new cell phone. Now they are asking mine. I thought wow that is cool. Then I found out why they wanted mine.

1. They're car ran out of gas and they want somebody to come get them.
2. They want a day off and guess who they come and get.
3. It saves them gas so they don't have to come and get me because somebody called in again.

I thought last night, wow, I get to enjoy the night off. Wrong. I have never felt so popular in my life.

Try to be nice to some people and what do you get. Yup. Some people it takes a while to learn somethings that a baby is born with. Sorry that happened to you.

That is such a sad poem but beautiful, too.

I am finding that little dogs are like little kids. They will eat just about anything if you don't watch them. I am saving on magic markers and helping my pets at the same time.

Again With Father

I am again with father and his hard sad eyes.
His shadow is moving as I stare at the ground.
I try to keep pace lost in thought and alibis.
His look is serious and his neck turns brown.
Weathered features and determination I see.
He sets the chainsaw down and files again.
I can see the blue bruised grain in the tree.
I try to flick the sweat bees from my tan.
The briers, vines and little limbs I set free.
The chainsaw gas can leaks on me as I leave.
Back to back we set on the new oak stump.
He wipes his brow on his shirt sleeve.
Silent but I can hear my heart thump.
Turns to me and tells me he is worried.
We get up in a little bit and start again.
Tells me so much of his life is hurried.
Someday you'll grow up to be a man.
I think of him in those golden days.
Trees falling and smells of oak timber.
The sounds of splinter through hazes.
Again I am with father when I remember.

Hell's Rainbow

Their words got you so twisted inside.
You try to be honest and regain pride.
Regurgitated guilt you keep puking up.
Tastes so bitter; Here have another sup.
Trying so hard to make your amends.
Who can understand it but friends?
Been there; Done that so many times.
Wonder if you will ever pay your crimes.
Jails, institutions and death you hear.
One more heart break; One more fear;
One more deep valley; One more hill;
One more trial; Not close to done still.
Take a chair; Grim reapers are we all.
Relax and get comfy; We can all fall.
Whenever the pain gets too much
Try to do your best to get in touch
So that you can forgive your soul
And look above for Hell's Rainbow.

I was brought up believing that if you can't say something nice then don't say nothing at all. Lately I have discovered that way of looking at things kept me silent for many years until I just blew up, of course. Then I was anything but silent until I got it out of my system. Have been discovering that saying not nice can be kind of nice, too. Just left a restaurant where one of our midgets work. She was saying that she was so wired and exhausted that it would take a sledge hammer to knock her out. I offered to knock her out for free. She said thanks and what did she ever do to me. I am glad some people can understand double entendres.

Dog Care: The Dangers of Chocolate
by the American Animal Hospital Association


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Give chocolate to loved ones, and you could end up poisoning them. That is, if the loved ones are your pets.

Even small amounts of theobromine, an ingredient in chocolate, can cause vomiting and restlessness in pets. Larger doses can be fatal. While most pet owners expect a dog to develop an upset stomach after eating a large amount of chocolate, few realize its toxic potential.

The lethal dose of theobromine depends on the size of the dog and the type of chocolate. Ounce for ounce, baking chocolate has six to nine times as much of the substance as milk chocolate does.

Estimates of the smallest amounts that can be fatal are:

4 to 10 ounces of milk chocolate or 1/2 to 1 ounce of baking chocolate for small dogs, such as Chihuahuas and toy poodles.

1 to 1 1/2 pounds of milk chocolate or 2 to 3 ounces of baking chocolate for medium-sized dogs, like cocker spaniels and dachshunds.

2 to 4 1/2 pounds of milk chocolate or 4 to 8 ounces of baking chocolate for large dogs, including collies and Labrador retrievers.
Cats have much different eating habits and seldom are poisoned by chocolate.
While a very small amount of chocolate may not harm some dogs, it's safest to avoid giving it to them at all. If an accident occurs, a veterinarian should be consulted. Treatment may require inducing vomiting, stabilizing the animal's heartbeat and respiration, controlling seizures and slowing the absorption of theobromine. If the animal already is comatose, its stomach may need to be pumped.


Content provided by the American Animal Hospital Association

Wonder why chocolate doesn't bother cats and what the heck is theobromine?