Friend For Life

An Inconvenient Truth

2006-10-10T20:39:00.000+10:00

Watch this movie.
Take your family and friends to watch this movie.
Tell everyone you know to watch this movie.

"An Inconvenient Truth" is not a fun movie. It is not an entertaining movie. It is a serious documentary examining the reality of the greatest environmental disaster ever to affect the human race.

"An Inconvenient Truth" may well be the single most important movie you'll ever watch. It'll open your eyes to the reality of global warming. It shows that it is not just some theory about something predicted to happen in the future. It is something that is already happening now - and certain to get worse if the world does not change its ways now.

Watch the photos of the major glaciers of the world just twenty (20) years ago, compared to today and see how they are already rapidly melting and disappearing.

Watch the photos of world famous snow covered mountain ranges, with photos from twenty years ago compared to the rapidly receding snowlines of today. (Although not mentioned in the movie, Malaysian readers have first hand experience of this. Mount Kinabalu a generation ago was regularly covered in snow. Today, even any minor snowfall is a very rare event.)

Watch as inland Iceland melts before your eyes.

Watch as Polar Bears of the Arctic are, for the first time ever seen, drowning. Why? Because their ice is melting and they are trying to swim up to 100km (60 miles) to try to find solid ground as it continues to melt from all around them.

See how science has measured global average temperatures going back millions of years, and how this planet's hottest ten (10) years ever have all happened during just the past fourteen (14) years.

If you are a sceptic (or 'skeptic' if you are one of the many sceptics who can't spell correctly), watch this movie. Watch the basis of your scepticism disappear as the facts are laid before your eyes.

Yes, global weather is cyclical. The movie does not deny that. The earth has seen massive changes in temperatures over the millenia. If you think that the current crisis of global warming is just a naturally occuring cyclical pattern, think again. Antarctic ice cores that have been accumulating for over 650 million years have been scientifically examined and graphed. You'll see the charts of the various ice ages and hot periods... Then you'll see how what is happening now is massively out of tune with 650 million years of natural cycles.

If there is to be a criticism of this movie, the criticism is likely to be of a political nature. Frankly, I don't care if you like Al Gore or not - watch and listen to what he has to say. I don't care if you are still holding a grudge (or thinking he's a hero) about his offending Malaysia's former Prime Minister back in 1999 with his strongly implied sympathy of the Reformasi Movement. I don't care if you like or dislike Democrat or Republican politics - or even if you dislike all things American anyway. Watch and learn.

(By the way - while the message of the movie is that the entire world must act to reverse the damage and prevent a growing human catastrophe that will otherwise either kill or make refugees out of 1 billion people within the next 50 years, Al Gore makes clear that the single biggest contributor to the greehouse gasses that are causing the global warming disaster is also doing the least about addressing the problem - the United States of America. If you dislike America, you'll have yet another reason to appreciate the message of this movie.)

Watch this movie today.
Take your family and friends to watch this movie.
Tell everyone you know to watch this movie.

"An Inconvenient Truth" may well be the single most important movie you'll ever watch.

Theatre

2006-09-09T21:32:00.000+10:00

They don't call it a "theatre" for nothing.

There I was yesterday in hospital robes. On a hospital bed. In a hospital. In the operating theatre. On one side of me was the anaesthetist. On the other was the surgeon.

Only one thing was missing - a logical explanation as to why I was here at all. The referring Urologist with whom I'd had an appointment several months ago didn't tell me he was referring me for this procedure (a cystoscopy). He didn't tell me what he wanted to examine. He most certainly did not explain what it entailed, nor the risk factors. Nothing. Absolutely nothing at all.

After that appointment with the Urologist several months ago (the waiting lists are long), when paying the account his receptionist passed me some papers and told me to take them home, fill them in and return them to the hospital. I did so, with some confusion. They were admission papers for a cystoscopy. I figured, though, that on the day of admission I would be able to ask that Urologist all my questions.

Meanwhile, I searched the internet for "cystoscopy" and also discussed it with my General Practitioner. Given that he referred me to the Urologist in the first place because a renal ultrasound showed prostate abnormalities, and I have in recent years had a growing number of other genitourinary abnormalities, we figured that the Urologist must have wanted to take a closer look at my kidneys. If so, fair enough (other than for his lack of discussion or explanation - a total failure of legal and professional 'duty of care' requirements).

My General Practitioner has been concerned about cancer for most of this year. My bloodwork shows an abnormally high level of ESR, a non-specific inflammation indicator which could indicate a malignancy somewhere. Other logical inflammation causes have been ruled out due to lack of other symptoms.

I've spent much of this year having tests of all description. Pathologists, Urologists, Radiologists, multiple times. We've looked for almost everything, but so far finding no answers - other than the possible prostate matter.

At that Urologist appointment several months ago, he totally dismissed any thought of prostate cancer. "You can't trust ultrasounds", he said. "They are too unreliable." He then pointed out that my PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) level, a blood marker that indicates any of a number of prostate abnormalities, was very low, indicating that it was very healthy. I pointed out to him that I had done my own reading of the latest research on prostate health and that PSA tests themselves are unreliable. 20% of prostate cancers show no elevation in PSA levels. This is particularly so in obese people - such as myself. Additionally, I have multiple other risk factors for prostate cancer, such as high serum insulin levels and 'insulin resistance syndrome', and abnormally low male hormone profiles. (Some of the ladies reading this blog item will have higher testosterone and DHEA levels than me.)

No, he wouldn't hear of it. Prostate cancer is "very rare" in men under the age of 50, he said, and repeated his faith in PSA tests and his caution that ultrasounds are unreliable. He wasn't very polite about it, either, I must say. It seems he prefers his patients to know nothing beforehand and simply believe everything he says, without question.

Well, that's just not me. I've had too many bad experiences with incompetent medicos before. Like the (other) Urologist ten years ago who misdiagnosed a kidney stone - then in wrything agony less than 24 hours later I passed one. Or the colonoscopy where the hospital failed to sedate me for the procedure. (Imagine being fully conscious and wide awake through THAT! Or, better still, don't try to imagine it.) Or, the 'butcher' who scarred my lower lip for life with a 4 cm excision of a 'skin cancer' that the pathology test afterwards showed to be nothing but a flaky piece of skin. Fifteen years later, all it takes is a hot drink, or some hot kissing, and that surgical scar breaks open and bleeds still.

Nope. I won't ever again just go along unquestioningly with whatever any doctor says. I'm going to read, study, ask questions and be satisfied before I go along with anything a doctor says. Is that unreasonable? Isn't that what the whole concept of "informed consent" is meant to be about?

OK - back to yesterday's operating theatre. On the bed, in the hospital robes, anaesthetist at the ready, surgeon ready too, but still I've been told nothing about why I am here.

"Where's Dr. xxxxxxxxx?" I asked.
He's not here, they answered.

"I have questions for him before we get started" I replied. The surgeon said that the Urologist wasn't coming, but he could contact him by phone. He did so, then came back and said that the Urologist authorised him to answer any questions.

He wasn't prepared for what I was about to hit him with. I pulled out a piece of paper from under my robes. It was the results of another recent ultrasound.

Back at that original appointment several months ago, I told him (and also included it in a written genito-urinary medical history, for which that Urologist called me "obsessive") of recurring nasty testicular cramps. He ignored it. He said they didn't matter. Just forget about that - it's normal, he said.... I disagreed, as did my General Practitioner who then referred me for a scrotal ultrasound. The results of that came back indicating epidymitis and a hydocoele.

I produced the copy of that ultrasound report and passed it to the surgeon yesterday. I expressed my displeasure that the Urologist had been so grossly incompetent and negligent in missing this - an unmissable problem right in his area of specialty.

I then asked why I was even here at all. I expected that I'd be able to ask the Urologist in person what he was looking for and so forth. After all, he has a LEGAL OBLIGATION to fully disclose such matters to the satisfaction of the patient. So far, all I'd had was his receptionist giving me some paperwork and what I'd read for myself on the internet.

The surgeon replied that his instructions were that, given that I had hematuria (blood in the urine), he was to search for possible bladder cancer.

"What???" I exclaimed. "I've had blood in my urine for at least twenty years (possibly up to 40 years) and I already know what is causing it. At my prior appointment I tried to show him the renal dye-based X-ray results that showed my undersized, shrivelled and scarred left kidney, but he wouldn't look at them. He said that twenty years ago makes it out of date and he wasn't interested."

Pardon me for starting to lose my temper at this point. Before, repeat BEFORE being wheeled into the operating theatre, my blood pressure was already measured at a sky high 179/93. I could now feel it rising even moreso, and rapidly.

"Look", I said, "I've had THREE urine cytology tests this year already that ALL came back NEGATIVE for bladder, kidney or urethral cancers. Besides that, if the hematuria that I've had for at least twenty years is caused by bladder cancer, by this stage my main symptoms would be severe rigor mortis and an advanced state of decomposition."

I continued: "My General Practitioner and I thought that maybe you'd be taking a close look at my kidneys to find out why my uric acid levels have become so elevated in recent years, and why I also have developed proteinurea and albuminurea".

The surgeon said "Your G.P. was mistaken. We aren't doing that today. Maybe you should discuss those issues with Dr. xxxxxxxx (the Urologist) at your next appointment with him."

I responded, admittedly and I think understandably heatedly, "There won't be a next appointment with that unprofessional, incompetant fool. I'll find another Urologist instead. I hereby WITHDRAW my consent to you performing any procedure on me today."

With that, a wardsman was called and I was wheeled out of the operating theatre and discharged.

Now you know why they are called operating THEATRES.

Ten Days As A Deity

2006-09-05T14:31:00.000+10:00

It has been many months since I last posted.

My recent holiday in Phuket provided me a most unusual experience to share with you. First, though, I need to give you a little bit of background about myself to put this story into context.

Those of you who have read my profile know that I am a recluse. I live a near-hermit-like existence with very little direct human contact compared to most 'normal' people. There are many reasons for me living this way, one of the main ones being that I am disgracefully unsightly. I don't have the desirable 'male six-pack' physique. I'm shaped more like a keg or a beer barrel (even though for well over two decades I've been a dedicated non-drinker). For those of you who are familiar with the commonly used Body Mass Index (BMI), a person of normal body weight measures in with a BMI of between 19 and 25. Over 25 is the definition of being overweight. Obesity is defined as a BMI great than 30.

I measure in with a BMI of 50. Yes. FIVE OH. 50.

Can you imagine the self-esteem issues a man can suffer from having the physique of a large sized bean bag? Are you beginning to understand why I am a recluse and am grossly embarrassed with direct human contact? (Not to mention the insults I get, and the well-meaning 'encouragement' by people giving me weight loss advice that rarely works for anyone, much less for someone with medical conditions that cause the obesity and defy all attempts to overcome it.)

OK, that's enough background. You get the picture. I'm probably the most grotesquely and hideously obese freak you have ever met. (Thank you, PrincEss PrimrosE, for being one of the very few people on this planet who genuinely likes the REAL ME inside and isn't deterred from friendship by my admittedly disgraceful appearence. You're a mighty special lady.)

One of my few pleasures in life is the occasional (too occasional) offshore holiday. It is a bit easier for me to feel comfortable in public where nobody knows me and where the people I meet I'll probably never meet again. It is much easier for me to accept how I'm treated/accepted under those conditions.

Today, I am one week back home after ten (10) days in Phuket. Patong beach was very beautiful. It is probably the nicest, most scenic, pretty, clean beach I've ever seen. It was "off season" for tourism, so there weren't crowds of people. The locals were very friendly - far less intense and intimidating than the Balinese from my previous major offshore holiday.

Still, for the first couple of days in Phuket I was feeling like I was being teased. People, both men and women, kept coming up to me and poking me in my undeniably substantial belly while grinning. Some would rub it while grinning, then wander away.

This isn't really the therapy a self-conscious man needs, you know.

On the second day, one young Thai lady who had a better grip of English not only looked excited when she saw me in the shops came up to me full of smiles and enthusiasm and with both hands began rubbing my belly. She said gleefully: "You're like a big Buddha - I want to rub you for good luck!"

At first I couldn't see past what to my self-conscious mind appeared a terrible insult. It was bad enough to say that I look like a Buddha, but did she really have to rub it in with the extra emphasis of saying I looked like a BIG Buddha?

It dawned on me after a while that the local Thai people were not being rude to me at all. They were, in fact, paying me an enormous compliment. My physique was actually something they ADMIRED.

A trip to the Phuket Town night markets was also enlightening. I lost count of the number of smiling strangers who ran up to me to poke or rub my belly, all smiling and getting great pleasure from the occasion. One young boy, maybe about eight or nine years old, proudly raised his tee-shirt to show me his (very flat) belly and indicating that he wanted to look like me.

It got sillier. One very petite & sparkly-eyed woman who apparently couldn't speak a word of English ran up to me, rubbed, then placed a piece of paper in my hand. Would you believe it? She gave me her phone number! (I thought that only happened in movies. I can't recall any total stranger slipping me her phone number ever before.)

All this changed my outlook on life for the remainder of my ten (10) days in Phuket. People viewed me as a god and thought I'd bring them good luck, so rather than self-consciously avoiding people, I felt I had a responsibility to get out there, meet the locals and put smiles on their faces and hope for good luck in their hearts.

After all, being a (temporary) Deity comes with responsibilities, you know.

Or maybe you don't know. How many people reading this blog post have ever had the experience of being a Deity before?

Often, it got very amusing. On one organised tour, I visited a few Temples. Buddhist, Chinese and Tao. (I don't really understand the difference. OK, I 'get' the difference between Buddhist and Tao, I think, but what, then, is a Chinese temple if it is neither Buddhist not Tao? Is being Chinese simultaneously both a race AND a religion sort of in the manner that being Jewish can refer to either race or religion? Maybe some of PrincEss's Chinese friends can explain this for me, please.)

Because of my gross obesity, it is difficult for me to keep taking off and putting back on my shoes. That big belly-bubble in the middle makes it awkward to bend down that far, At the Tao temple, the tour guide went into the temple first, said a few words and hand gestures towards the statue of the Goddess inside, then told me that it was ok for me to enter with my shoes still on. During the tour, a Chinese lady, maybe a caretaker or something of the temple, came in and looked aghast. She pointed at my feet and started shouting "SHOES! SHOES!" The tour guide then settled her down quickly by saying to her: "It's ok, the Goddess gave him her permission to wear shoes in here." She nodded apologetically and all was well.

As you can see, there are benefits to being a Deity. How many of YOU have ever received permission from the Goddess of the universe to wear your shoes in a temple?

More confusing still was a visit to James Bond Island in Phang Nga Bay. This small island (famous for two James Bond movies having been filmed there) with no permanent residents but a couple of dozen market stalls operated by a Muslim community from a nearby island treated me just the same as the Thai Buddhists did. The Muslim men AND women both kept coming up to me to rub my belly.

I'm still confused about that. I didn't think a BIG Buddha would hold any significance to them. I didn't think they'd have "good luck" superstitions. And most of all, I didn't think Muslim women were allowed to touch any man other than their wn husband.... yet here I was being poked and rubbed and smiled at by the Muslim men and women.

Whatever it was, I knew by now that they weren't teasing me. It was a compliment.

Today, here I sit back in my home country, no longer a Deity but just a mere mortal again. Once again, I'm the unsightly reclusive ogre whose "type" in unaccepted in public company.

It is nice to know, though, that there is at least ONE place on earth where someone of my "type" is not only accepted, but actually admired and desired.

4 flowers for this post
geez, that must be some kind of an experience. it's really weird though to be touched and rubbed on ur body parts by strangers esp on the tummy, ackward. but at least they're smiling and when u know the reason it all makes sense.

so i guess u would be going to Thailand again ;p
kruy | Homepage | 06.09.06 - 11:20 am | #

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Kruy, there are so many countries left in this world for me to visit. Even confining myself to the Asia / Pacific regions, there's a new country every year to be explored for the rest of my life. Still, your guess may well be right. A return trip to Phuket for another dose of such acceptance and affirmation would no doubt give my flagging self-esteem the boost it needs every once in a while.
Friend For Life | 07.09.06 - 9:24 am | #

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Cum, let me rub rub you for some good luck blessings. *wink wink*
titoki | Homepage | 08.09.06 - 5:19 am | #

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OK Titoki. Just give me your address and a plane ticket, and let's see how lucky you can get. *cheeky grin*
Friend For Life | 08.09.06 - 5:34 pm | #

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Dealing with Aliens

2006-01-21T08:35:00.000+11:00

From the very highly reputable "Popular Mechanics" comes this advice on what to do next time you encounter an alien.

This information could prove very useful to you someday...

Have you already had an encounter? Maybe you could share with us a few tips of your own.

The Grace of Uki

2005-12-30T14:43:00.000+11:00

Oh, this partial deafness can cause all sorts of confusion. Over the years, when I hear something odd, I've learnt to ask twice, or three times, just to be sure I heard it right.

For example, before I learnt this lesson (and before I realised that I had partial deafness, since measured at around 30% hearing loss in both ears from nerve damage, on top of constant tinnitus), about 20 years ago a good lady friend & I really had a big blow-up. I really took heavy offence when I thought she had called me a petty swine.

How would YOU like to be called a petty swine? Gee, not just any sort of a swine, but a petty one at that! To say that I took offence would be an understatement.

As it turned out, she didn't call me a petty swine at all. Au contrare - she couldn't understand my very heated reaction to her having called me 'sweety pie'!

On Tuesday this week, I was reminiscing with a friend about a car accident I had almost ten years ago. It wasn't major, but could/should have been. I was driving (alone, thankfully) down a major freeway in rainy conditions. OK - I must be honest, foolish me was speeding in wet conditions. The car got into a high speed spinout. I was sliding sideways down the freeway - then was spearing towards the underbelly of a semi-trailer. Not a pretty sight when you are out of control at around 120 kph.

With nerves of steel and quick thinking I remembered the defensive driving teachings about always steering INTO the direction of the skid, not away from it. (Now, if I tried to steer away from the direction of the skid, I'd most likely roll the car and have been killed. Steering INTO the skid, though, looked for all the world like I would end up under the 16 wheels of that semi-trailer.)

Somehow, the car gripped the road just enough to miss going underneath that truck, but the passenger side of the car still clipped the rear bumper of the truck. That sent the car richocheting in yet another direction. Thankfully, it was to the right because on the left was a rockface into which this freeway had been carved through a hill. (Another way to die.) I finally brought the car to a halt in the middle of a grassy medium strip.

There was damage to the passenger side of the car. It wasn't just a dent - a large hole was ripped into the front passenger door. Overall, though, compared to what could/should have been, it was miraculously minor.

As for me, I was very shaken. Have you ever suffered shock? I developed a facial twitch that lasted several weeks.

Well, recalling all this the other day with a friend, particularly how close I was to getting killed, I thought my friend said:

"It was the grace of Uki"

Uki? I thought to myself. Who is this Uki whose grace saved me? What is this new, strange religion this up-until-now devout Christian friend of mine has found???

I thought I'd better ask her to repeat herself, to which she replied, a bit louder and slower this time:

"It was the grey Suzuki?"

I breathed a sigh of relief, then told her what I thought I heard her say the first time.

She didn't stop laughing for about 15 minutes.

(For the record, yes, it was in a grey Suzuki way back then.)

2 flowers for this post
Better be careful. Thanx goodness u r ok. I had a similar one back in 2001. Nearly died......now i drive defensively.
foodcrazee | Homepage | 30.12.05 - 8:12 pm | #

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Believe me, Foodcrazee, I drive well below the speed limit even in the best of conditions these days. I give way when I don't have to. I rarely overtake. I drive to arrive safely, not quickly. I can think of many better ways to die than in a car crash.
Friend For Life | 01.01.06 - 9:12 pm | #

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Lovely legs

2005-12-24T12:50:00.000+11:00

Oh, how I wish I had lovely legs.

Most of us are fortunate enough to have two legs and two feet. (Except Amy's latest heart-throb, who apparently has six feet.) How many of us realise how important our legs really are?

I am here today to encourage one and all to take good care of your feet and legs.
How should you take care of your feet and legs? Let me give you a few pointers:

Don't carry excess body weight. A lean and trim figure will keep your feet and legs in good working order far better than if they have to carry the burden of an overweight or obese body.
Exercise them every day. Walk. Run. Jog. Cycle. Stairs. Skip. Combination. Whatever - just give your legs lots of daily exercise.
Do not wear high heels or platform shoes. Whatever you may think you gain in the fashion stakes, you will eventually lose in pain and suffering from misplaced biomechanics. (Ladies, do you know the #1 cause for hysterectomies? It's those high heel & platform shoes pushing your bone structure out of shape all the way up your legs, hips, pelvis, spine.)
If you begin to suffer heel or sole pain, don't see a doctor. Don't reach for pain killers. Go straight to a podiatrist. The earlier a podiatrist treats you, the better your chance of successful treatment. Podiatrists are experts in understanding the biomechanics of the human foot. They can recommend specific exercises for specific foot problems. They can custom make orthotic devices to place in your shoes to correct biomechanical faults such as sunken arches (usually caused by shoes, and the main cause of sole, heel and many other feet pains.) Did you realise that, in the developed world, only 30% of adults have "normal" feet? Shoes are the problem. Ancient & tribal cultures where barefeet is the norm have much healthier feet and biomechanics.
A healthy diet will promote healthy legs. Look to improve your blood circulation by eating or supplementing with plenty fish oil every day. It goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway) that you should quit smoking.

I've had intermittent feet & leg problems for the past twenty or so years. Ten years ago, doctors told me I'd be in a wheelchair within three years. Thus far, with the help of a good podiatrist, I've proven them wrong. However, the ongoing obesity problems I face (please, spare me all your quick fix solutions - they don't work for everyone, and most don't work for anyone) has resulted in ongoing feet & leg problems.

The year 2005 has been a particular horror. I've spent at least four months of it at various times on crutches. Most of the rest of the year I've been limping. Painfully.

Neither the Plantar Fasciitis nor the shin soreness of years past have recurred in any significant form this year, thankfully, but everything else has gone very wrong.

In March, I tore ligaments in my left knee.
I followed that with Sciatica in my left hip & lower back.
I followed that with a gout attack in my right foot.
Then came a return and much longer bout of the left-side Sciatica.

What do you think happens when a grossly obese person spends so much time on crutches to take the weight off the left leg?

Two things:

i) Lack of ability to exercise hampers the weight loss efforts; &
ii) The right foot/leg bears all the extra burden. And that means one more point to be added to the above list:

Torn Achilles Tendon out of the right heel bone

You don't know what pain is until you've torn the Achilles Tendon out of the bone. I thought Sciatica was bad (and it was). In years past, I've had kidney stones, theoretically supposed to be triple the pain of childbirth. They don't even begin to compare to the excruciating pain of tearing that tendon out of the heel bone. And not even the strongest prescription pain killers helped in the slightest.

I have spent most of the past three months in a horizontal position. No exercise. Reduced computing capacity (try using a desktop computer while lying down). Fitness level declining.

As I finish 2005, I am off the crutches and again down to just a limp with very short distance capacity only. Only time will tell if I will ever walk properly and normally again - a torn achilles out of the bone is a nasty affliction they may or may not ever properly heal.

I'd exhort you, dear reader, to do as I say and NOT as I do. If you have feet problems, see a podiatrist EARLY. If you have weight problems, conquer them EARLY - or better yet, don't allow weight to become a problem in the first place.

Paying attention to these advices may well keep YOU out of a wheelchair in years to come. As for me, I'm still fighting against what appears to be the inevitable.

3 flowers for this post
hope you are well now, FFL.....and welcome back!
amy chen | 24.12.05 - 6:18 pm | #

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Welcome back FFL! Err, I wear heels everyday and I walk up and down the stairs. So how?
Primrose | Homepage | 24.12.05 - 6:58 pm | #

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Amy - Thank you for your welcome. I'm not fully recovered - but I have improved. Only time (and probably several months or more of it) will tell if I will ever make a full recovery and walk properly again. As for now, limping for short distances only is a big improvement from the crutches and being horizontally housebound.

PrincEss - Thank you, too, for your warm welcome at my return. PrincEss, would you like to have children? (No, I'm not propositioning you. Well, maybe... but you know I'm too shy to do that.) If you keep on wearing those high heels, you are risking infertility, amongst other problems. If you wear high heels to look taller, I respectfuly suggest that you wear flatties and try a tall wig instead. (The Marge Simpson look is really HOT, you know!)
Friend For Life | 27.12.05 - 8:23 pm | #

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Personality or Good Looks

2005-08-16T18:09:00.000+10:00

What really matters in a person? In a friendship? In a relationship? In life in general? Let the debate begin - is it good looks, or personality?

Before everyone jumps up to take the moral high ground and say "of course, it's personality", think it through. I am not asking what should matter most. I'm asking what does matter most.

Being one of the ugliest specimens of quasi-human beings on this planet, having a poor self image because of it and of generally low self esteem, I am so often "consoled" or "counselled" or "corrected" by others, telling me not to be so hard on myself because looks don't matter - it's personality that counts.

I am reminded of this when an acquaintance (getting close to qualifying as a friend) asked me a few days ago when was the last time I went for a swim at an ocean beach. I replied that it had been many years - I swim, but in private pools for the sake of privacy because I am ashamed of my grotesque appearance.

(At this point, no-one ever jumps in and disagrees that I have a grotesque appearance. They just try to tell me that looks don't matter because it's personality that's important.)

That was the response from my acquaintance a few days ago, too.

My response: When there are 5,000 people at the beach on a hot & sunny day either staring at me or obviously trying their hardest not to stare at me, how many do you think are really thinking to themselves... "Wow! I bet HE'S got a great personality!"?

My acquaintance was left speechless. The answer to my question was all too horrifyingly obvious.

Knowing that she was a modern music lover, I threw another curly question at her.

"How many Top 40 songs during the past twenty years have been about singing the praises of someone's good looks, their visual appeal, the way they dress, dance, wiggle, sexiness in all ways physical?"

She replied: "Oh, millions! That what just about every song is about."

Nodding in agreement, I added a supplementary question:

"Can you name me a single chart song in the past twenty years that was singing the praises about someone's personality?"

Once again, my acquaintance was left speechless. The answer to this question, too, was also all too horrifyingly obvious.

I now issue the following challenges to you, dear blog visitor:

a) Can you name a single chart song from the past twenty years that was extolling the praises of someone's personality and not their physical characteristics?

b) When was the last time you came face to face with a decidedly physically grotesque human and your first thought was "Wow! I bet he/she has a wonderful personality!" ?

6 flowers for this post
Err...kinda difficult. Pass. So what is/are the answer/s?
Primrose | Homepage | 18.08.05 - 9:29 pm | #

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Baha Men - Who Let The Dogs Out.
michaelooi | Homepage | 18.08.05 - 9:31 pm | #

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*laughing*

Oh, Michaelooi, you are so funny!
But no, sorry. A song by pretend macho-type he-men satirically sending up their own (lack of) personality, including 'ungentlemanly attitudes' towards women, is hardly what I was seeking.

Please feel free to try again -

(Don't even THINK about Right Said Fred.)

- for something a bit more romantic extolling the praises of someone ELSE'S personality rather than their physical characteristics.
Friend For Life | 19.08.05 - 6:29 pm | #

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LOBO - "HOW CAN I TELL HER."

cheer up dude.
michaelooi | Homepage | 19.08.05 - 7:35 pm | #

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Close, but not close enough, Michaelooi.

I've just read the lyrics. Yes, it's about a woman's personality and nothing about her physical appearance.... but he wants to end it, dump her, because he doesn't love her despite her good personality.

Ah, not all that much encouragement in that theme, after all.
Friend For Life | 20.08.05 - 6:12 am | #

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Ah - found one! And, co-incidentally, it's in the charts right now.

"Beautiful Soul" by Jessie McCartney.

No wonder it's topping the carts around the world right now. It's so rare and so refreshing to find a song expressing such pure attitude to *inner* beauty, and not be amongs th millions of other songs over recent decades that can't see or think beyond external *physical* beauty.

My second question has gone without answer, without comment:

b) "When was the last time you came face to face with a decidedly physically grotesque human and your first thought was "Wow! I bet he/she has a wonderful personality!"?

Is the answer to be found in the unmistakable silence?
Friend For Life | 22.08.05 - 5:25 pm | #

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Revenge

2005-08-11T19:55:00.000+10:00

About ten years ago, my life was in crisis. An ongoing workplace vendetta from "inferior superiors" pushed me to a nervous breakdown. It's a long story involving my refusal to co-operate with internal corruption and under-qualified "superiors" jealous of my extrensive high level private sector background and top-notch post grad qualifications. They considered me a threat to their jobs & career ambitions.

I was taken from the office one day by ambulance, unconscious. The vendetta didn't stop there. A promotion was denied me. I fought that through tribunals - even while still in the midst of my breakdown and major depressive state - and won. (Imagine what I could have done in good health.) That didn't stop the vengeful fools. I was ordered to repay almost two years of income for a falsely concocted debt - allegedly an "overpayment". That got harder to fight - I had no "fight" left within me.

Eventually, I was sacked and my accumulated leave, superannuation & other entitlements were denied me. They were confiscated to offset the very much phoney debt I was alleged to have owed.

With a psychiatric report declaring me to be suffering "Major Recurring Depressive Disorder" and an imminent suicide risk, I sued for Wrongful Termination - unrepresented. Have you ever tried to fight a government department with your hands tied behind your back, your health out the window, and the Commissioner in the Court appointed by the very government Minister who ordered my dismissal? By this time, I was financially ruined, of course, and unable to afford legal representation.

I had a minor victory. It felt more like a loss. It certainly wasn't justice. The #@%">#@%^*&+! settled out of court and agreed to write-off the remainder of the fraudulently concocted debt.

During this period of major turmoil in my life, a good friend gave me some solid advice.

"The best revenge is success."

What he was saying was to leave the petty idiots behind. Go on and rebuild my life. Rise to greater heights, greater success out of there than I would have reached - and that those petty, sick vengeful fools could ever possibly reach. Just go, make a success of life and give them something to envy.

I don't know where they are today or what they are doing. All I know is that my life is better without them. In my now chosen field, my health restored, my success grows, my influence grows, my income grows, my impact on society grows.

Who were those fools that had me so worked up and worried back then, anyway?

They were nobodies.

4 flowers for this post
Yes, FFL. I remember those years, those moments. And a good friend gave me solid advice today too: You can't soar with the eagles when you've to fight/work with a bunch of turkeys. How true!
Primrose | Homepage | 11.08.05 - 10:06 pm | #

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I so totally agree.. with both you and the princess..! i've had my fair share of unfair treatments.. and office politics.. and what not.. but yes.. i'm in a way better place now.. but i guess in everyone's life.. we have to deal with some "chao" turtles..!
Big BoK | Homepage | 12.08.05 - 1:54 am | #

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Woah... That's terrible! Glad to hear you're doing so well now, in comparison to those jerks who tried to ruin you...
Yuen Li | Homepage | 12.08.05 - 6:24 am | #

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PrimrosE - Yes, you stood by me and stayed a friend and encouraged me throughout that long and dreadful time. Almost everyone else in the world abandoned me in those hard times, but you remained as true and solid a friend as anyone could be. Now, here in better health and better days, your friendship still remains. That's why you are a PrincEss in my eyes. You're an eagle, with turkeys unworthy of your true graciousness.

Big Bok - I'm glad that you've come through tough times (not glad that you *went* through, just that you've *come* through) and gone on to better and higher things in life. Let's hope our experiences can inspire all those who are going through the tough times right now.

Yuen Li - They didn't just *try* to ruin me. They succeeded. Do you know, though, the old legend about the phoenix that rose from the ashes? (Oh well, a phoenix is close to an eagle.)
Friend For Life | 12.08.05 - 9:46 am | #

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Paradise

2005-08-08T16:06:00.000+10:00

In my dreams.....

A quiet tropical destination.
A lagoon frontage cottage with a private beach.
The lagoon is full of good sized, good eating fish.
A canoe and a windsurfer.
Small population with low crime rate and friendly people.
A natural wonderland of unspoilt tropical jungle.
Close proximity by air to major cities in other countries.
No dangerous animals, snakes, spiders, etc.
Plentiful wildflowers & organic tropical fruits & vegetables.
No income tax.
No hurricanes, tornados, cyclones, tsumanis, earthquakes or other such natural terrors about which to worry.
Low cost telecommunications including broadband internet.
Plentiful colourful birdlife cheerfully singing.
Close proximity to ocean beaches, bush walks, waterfalls, coral reefs.
Low cost of living, high quality of life (as distinct from standard of living)
Friends from around the world to come and stay with me for a week or so from time to time...
... and the financial capacity to move there, buy there and live there happily ever after.

Does this place exist anywhere on earth? Probably not.

The South Pacific haven of Vanuatu meets most of these criteria, but misses a few of them. If you know of anywhere on this planet that meets all my wishes, please let me know.

What is your idea of paradise? Share with us your dream.

2 flowers for this post
Hey..FFL,
My perfect paradise.. ???
Has to be by the sea ..!! a very private beach. No neighbours..!!! Lots of local food .. from home.. at reasonable prices.. within a 10mins drive.
Lots of sun.. !! and breeze..!!
Very small population.
No business to run.
Low taxes. Low crime rate.
No natural disaster.
Cost of living gotta be relatively cheap. But must have internet..!! must have movies to watch..!
Not knowing anyone.. where we stay.
That's my paradise..!!
Big Bok | Homepage | 09.08.05 - 10:10 pm | #

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Ah, Big Bok, it sounds like we have very similar desires...
Friend For Life | 10.08.05 - 7:56 am | #

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New Baby

2005-08-01T17:40:00.000+10:00

There was a death in my family on Saturday evening.

My 10+ year old 15" tube monitor finally died.

It's been a long, slow & painful death. Most days, it had taken about 30 minutes for it to warm up enough to be readable first thing in the morning... Even then, the screen was darkish, burning out darker on one side, the images were very blurry. It involved a lot of squinting and eye
strain....

The end had to come, and it did. It lost all signs of life. The inevitable time came.

Yesterday, I did the rounds of eleven (11) different computer shops and bargained, haggled, compared, and found a wonderful replacement at a heavily discounted price. (So easy.... just say "I'm buying today, but I'm going to all your competitors before deciding" and without even actually asking a $100 discount would be offered. Push harder for greater discounts.)

My new baby:
BenQ FP91G

Ah, the joy! You couldn't begin to understand the relief this is!
Colours I've never seen before. Large, clean, clear highly focused text & images. Wonderful !

And, with built-in DVI making it ready for the coming era of digital video display, rather than the current VGA analogue standards, too. This monitor will keep me happy for many years to come.

Did I mention that it is a 19" model?

4 flowers for this post
Hmm.......I love big screens.....
lambdaori | 01.08.05 - 8:01 pm | #

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Ahhh.. very nice..!! i love it..!
Big BoK | Homepage | 01.08.05 - 10:25 pm | #

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Subject: New Baby
Start of sentence: There was death...
Hmm, clever one! :P
Primrose | Homepage | 03.08.05 - 12:02 am | #

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Lambdaori & BigBoK - drop around sometime and I'll show it off to you.

PrincEss PrimrosE - The joy of the new arrival was many times greater than the loss the necessitated it.
Friend For Life | 04.08.05 - 8:50 pm | #

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Converted

2005-07-19T15:39:00.000+10:00

In a rare case of motivation, this past week had been the time for me to finally reorganise and clean up my humble little spare room / office. I spend many hours every day in this little room, but have neglected it. Books, boxes, papers, dust everywhere.... shameful.

Shameful doesn't even begin to describe it. I've almost had to climb over the mounds of accumulated stuff in recent times to make it to my best friend, this here computer. (Oh, what a pathetic excuse for a life I have been living.)

The transformation in only a week has been miraculous. (Yes, you read that right. It has taken a full week to clean out just one little room - and it's still not completely done yet.) I can even find the carpet on the floor now. Ah - THAT'S what colour it was!

I've ploughed through piles of paperwork. You know - all those things of lesser importance at the time that you put into the intray to read or do later... Shameful? Shame is too mild a word when it strikes you that you are finding unopened correspondence from 1999. The reality suddenly dawns on me. Oh, how embarrassing. My last clean-up was seven years ago!.

The memories this cleanup has invoked have been plentiful. Reminders of all the things I've been involved in, all the things I've tried, the small number that have been successful, the large number of things I've tried and failed. Buried business cards of people I'd forgotten. Discovering things that, even now, I can't explain why they were there. (Where did that stuffed Snoopy dog come from?).

Then, there were the delighful reminders of the things that have made life worthwhile and helped to give me a reason to live. Photos. Some of places I've been and people I've known that I've taken myself. Others, sent to me from friends from around the world, brought into my life courtesy of the internet.

There were the letters, cards and precious little gifts from a PrincEss. They are so special. They didn't get tossed like about three industrial waste bin loads of other stuff. I've done what I should have done with those in the first place. My now organised filing cabinet has a special folder for those cards and letters and my desktop and draw contain the presents. Some people can mean so much to a man, and that PrincEss brings warmth to my soul as I read her words from over the years.

The recycling industry will benefit from this cleanout. All that paper donated to the recycling bins. I must have removed a couple of hectares of forest from my room and sent them for recycling. (The seven years of hard copy phone books was just the tip of the iceberg.)

The local charities benefited from my contributions to their clothing collection points. (Frankly, I don't even know who owned half of those clothes. They weren't mine. Wrong size. Wrong gender. Have I forgotten someone asking me to mind them for a while, or have I been living s secret double life?)

It's been a busy but rewarding week. I'd estimate that about 2/3rds of the contents of this room have now gone and only 1/3 remain. Plenty of memories returned. Lots of old ideas reignited to inspire me again.... and finally, some clean space here in my office to get on with building and changing the future of this world.

Seven years a hoarder - and my sudden conversion to chucker (except for the things that really matter.)

Now, I can get on with getting on again.

Hopefully, this motivation to have a clean, organised and functional office won't disappear and take another seven years to return. I shouldn't let it deteriorate for more than about five years this time.

2 flowers for this post
Poor Spring. Came and went for the past 6 years without you noticing her. Hmm, how many cards are there?
Primrose | Homepage | 21.07.05 - 3:16 pm | #

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Oh, I noticed Spring each and every time. I chose to let her grow freely, grow wild and natural rather than pluck and harvest her in her best season. I allowed her liberty and freedom of expression.....

....but after seven years, she over-ran my life. The time came when I had to prune and pluck her overgrowth for the survival of both of us.

Five cards, one letter and four lovely, heart-warming & thoughtful gifts are now being accorded the respect they rightful deserve.
Friend For Life | 22.07.05 - 7:50 pm | #

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Pierced Ears

2005-07-01T13:34:00.000+10:00

I spotted a sign out the front of a chemist shop in the city the other day:

"Ears pierced while you wait"

That sure had my mind wondering.... Is there any other way ?

2 flowers for this post
I guess the other way would be for the ear-piercer to attempt to do his/her work whilst following you around?
Yuen Li | Homepage | 02.07.05 - 12:51 am | #

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Hmm... Yuen Li, that's good thinking. I thought you might have to leave your ears behind and pick them up, pierced, next week.
Friend For Life | 02.07.05 - 7:17 am | #

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Sugar Addiction

2005-05-31T12:22:00.000+10:00

Sugar addiciton something about which people often joke. Little do most people understand just how real and powerful an addiction sugar can be. It affects the same pathways and receptors in the brain as hard drugs such as heroin, morphine and codeine.

In comments on this blog recently in relation to the breakfast menus, and also a blog entry entitled "Sugar - Not so sweet at all", we've briefly mentioned sugar addiction. Accordingly, when I came across an article on the topic today from a very qualified and knowledgeable source for whom I have high regard, I thought it was worth sharing here for all to read and learn.

The following article is reproduced with the kind permission of the author, Shane Ellison, M.Sc.

Sugar addiction is a real and present danger. Addiction to sucrose may be considered the number one cause of obesity. Obesity is a well-established risk factor for heart disease. The addiction is best illustrated by our natural tendency to refer to our little girls as "Sugar."

The voluntary act of relating our loved ones to sugar is due to the fact that like sugar, love for our children feels good. Said another way, love blocks pain.

Scientists have discovered this similarity between sugars and love to be their ability to trigger opioid receptors. When these receptors are triggered, a complex cascade of reactions is ignited. This cascade culminates in the inability to feel pain. The end result is happiness.

In addition to sugar and love, drugs can also trigger opioid receptors. These drugs include opium, codeine, morphine and oxycodone. Accordingly, they are known as opiates. Beyond just plain ol' happiness, opiates can elicit unequivocal feelings of euphoria.

This in part explains why they can be so addictive – this euphoria is hard to come by naturally, but not impossible. It also might explain why those people who lack the feeling of being loved reach to either sugar (i.e. your wife eats chocolate when upset) or drugs.

Most anything that triggers opioid receptors may become addictive for some people. Some addictions are healthy. Some are not, as in sugar addiction.

Happiness is the most sought after feeling in the world. Sugar is among the most abundant chemicals around. Herein lies the problem. Because sugar makes people happy and because it is so readily available, it can be addictive. This is unhealthy due to the many side effects of sugar, specifically obesity.

A sugar addiction is rationalized by a myriad of excuses. They typically go like this: Everyone drinks soda, If it was bad for me they would not sell it, Kids eat it, it must be O.K., It said "sugar free" on the label, I'll quit tomorrow, I don't mind being fat, it's in my genetics, Everyone is fat, Fat is healthy, I read somewhere that sugar is not addictive.

Knowing how the sugar addiction develops provides great insight into how to treat it. When consumed, sugar increases serotonin levels within the brain. This increases the production of endorphins. Like drugs, these brain chemicals trigger opioid receptors, thereby eliciting happiness, or blocking pain. If opiod receptors are repeatedly triggered by sugar, thereby artificially increasing serotonin levels, the human body down regulates its natural production and release of serotonin.

Serotonin is responsible for controlling mood and appetite. Without serotonin a person is depressed and craves more sugar. This forges an emotional bond between happiness and sugar. Sugar addicts become dependent on it to increase serotonin and therefore make them happy. This phenomenon has been referred to as "emotional eating."

Over time, emotional eating results in fat gain because it revolves around eating sugar, which blocks thermogenesis. To overcome this, sugar addicts need to develop a healthy addiction that increases serotonin levels without eliciting negative side effects like sugar. Two habits fit these criteria, exercise and the use of the essential amino acid L tryptophan (not 5-HTP).

The well-known "runners high" is the result of endorphins triggering opioid receptors. This feeling of happiness can be attained with even moderate exercise. It is a superb replacement to sugar. Admittedly, this replacement requires substantially more effort than eating Dairy Queen and can result in an unhealthy addiction – as seen by those who exercise daily. Balance is required.

L-tryptophan is an easy replacement to sugar and supplementing with it periodically should be combined with exercise. It increases the body's own supply of serotonin by serving as a "building block" of it. Resultantly, L-tryptophan users eliminate their biological craving to sugar. This essential amino acid also increases melatonin. This is a welcome benefit to those who enjoy a good night's sleep.

There are only a few acceptable dietary alternatives to sugar. The only suitable ones are stevia, xylitol or agave. High fructose corn syrup, aspartame, acesulfame-K, sucralose or Splenda, mono-sodium glutamate, and hydrolyzed vegetable proteins do not count as alternatives. Read the labels and discard products with these ingredients.

Once the sugar addiction is ended, thermogenesis will be activated – allowing anyone the ability to live thin and slim. This also greatly decreases your chances of suffering from the pandemic killer known as heart disease.

About the Author
Shane holds a Master's degree in organic chemistry and has first-hand industry experience with drug research, design and synthesis. He understands that Americans want and deserve education rather than prescriptions. His shocking ebook surrounding cholesterol lowering drugs can be downloaded for FREE as a pdf file at http:www.health-fx.net.

2 flowers for this post
sugar..na na na na na...oh honey honey =P

Just had to sing this with accordance to your post heh heh..
cyber-red | Homepage | 31.05.05 - 3:18 pm | #

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Oh, what a lovely singing voice you have, Cyber-red!
Friend For Life | 31.05.05 - 3:39 pm | #

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Passion

2005-05-26T19:23:00.000+10:00

I am not talking about the fruit.
Nor am I talking about the adult 'recreational activity'.

I'd like to know what stirs you up inside. What are the things that you believe in so passionately, that you be prepared to die for them at a moment of notice?

I'm sure we all have family members, children, spouses and the likes for whom we'd willingly die to save their lives. You'd jump in front of a bus to push them out of harm's way without a second thought, for example. but would you be prepared to die for a stranger, or for a cause in which you truly believe?

How strong are your passions about issues such as the environment, animal welfare, human rights, political oppression, and such like.

We all have views on these issues - but how passionately do you hold your views?

Personally, having been the victim in years past of gross injustice at the hands of corrupt government & bureacracy, I feel the pain of others in a very intense way when I see them facing injustice and have an inability to adequately defend themselves.

I've fought "behind the scenes" on some of the gravest and most public matters of injustice in several countries in recent years - sometimes successfully, usually not - for both men and women in blatantly unjust predicaments.

There is one such situation occuring right now that is receiving international media attention that I've devoted much of the past few months fighting, lobbying, and even offering to take the penalty of the (wrongly) accused in order to gain the freedom of the innocent victim of a gross injustice. (Thus far, my offer to the authorities has been ignored, but I'll continue until the innocent victim is free, even at the cost of my life if need be.)

I'm passionate about many things - but not many to the point that I'd be prepared to lay down my life. I'm not prepared to die to save a forest or a whale, for example.

Give me a clear-cut case of government/bureaucratic/institutional injustice against a wrongly accused innocent victim - and I'd die for the cause of justice and righteousness without a second thought.

How about you?
What matters are you so passionate about that you'd willingly lay down your life for the cause? What inflames you into taking radical action, rather than mere mental accent to a cause?

5 flowers for this post
well i also have passion about many things...but of the top priority is to find true love
Patrick | Homepage | 27.05.05 - 10:58 am | #

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Ironic Patrick because I was about to write that too.
Primrose | Homepage | 27.05.05 - 5:37 pm | #

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You are both prepared to die in the course of finding true love? Wouldn't that become a bit self-defeating? I hope neither of you ever have to take it quite that far. (Life in this blog would quieten down way too much.)
Friend For Life | 27.05.05 - 8:09 pm | #

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We work like a horse.
We eat like a pig.
We like to play chicken.
You can get someone's goat.
We can be as slippery as a snake.
We get dog tired.
We can be as quiet as a mouse.
We can be as quick as a cat.
Some of us are as strong as an ox.
People try to buffalo others.
Some are as ugly as a toad.
We can be as gentle as a lamb.
Sometimes we are as happy as a lark.
Some of us drink like a fish.
We can be as proud as a peacock.
A few of us are as hairy as a gorilla.
You can get a frog in your throat.
We can be a lone wolf.
But I'm having a whale of a time!

You have a riveting web log and undoubtedly must have atypical & quiescent potential for your intended readership. May I suggest that you do everything in your power to honor your encyclopedic/omniscient Designer/Architect as well as your revering audience.

Please remember to never restrict anyone's opportunities for ascertaining uninterrupted existence for their quintessence.

There is a time for everything,
a season for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to rebuild.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
A time to search and a time to lose.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak up.
A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.

Best wishes for continued ascendancy,
Howdy
Editor

P.S. One thing of which I am sure is that the common culture of my youth is gone for good. It was hollowed out by the rise of ethnic "identity politics," then splintered beyond hope of repair by the emergence of the web-based technologies that so maximized and facilitated cultural choice as to make the broad-based offerings of the old mass media look bland and unchallenging by comparison."

Howdy Yourfriend | Homepage | 27.05.05 - 11:26 pm | #

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Well FFL, I hope I won't have to reach nirvana to find love... *giggle*... I'm quite passionate about life itself.

Hi Howdy, profound indeed. I appreciate your comments/constructive feedback. Thanks for dropping by and I hope for your frequent patronage.
ps: I like the animal stanza

Best wishes,
princEss-of-blog
Primrose | Homepage | 28.05.05 - 12:29 am | #

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Looking for Einsteins

2005-05-19T13:53:00.000+10:00

The following test kept my mind and scribble pad busy for almost 50 minutes this morning before I finally conquered it. Do you enjoy a good brain workout? Give this a try....

Einstein wrote this puzzle early last century and believed that 98% of the world could not solve it.

Are you one of the 98%, or, (like me) one of the remaining 2%?

There are 5 houses in 5 different colors.
In each house lives a person with a different nationality.
The 5 owners drink a certain type of beverage, smoke a certain brand of cigar, and keep a certain pet.
No owners have the same pet, smoke the same brand of cigar, or drink the same beverage.

The question is: Who owns the fish?

Hints:

The Brit lives in the red house.

The Swede keeps dogs as pets.

The Dane drinks tea.

The green house is on the left of the white house.

The green home owner drinks coffee.

The person who smokes Pall Mall rears birds.

The owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhill.

The man living in the center house drinks milk.

The Norwegian lives in the first house.

The man who smokes Blend lives next to the one who keeps cats.

The man who keeps the horse lives next to the man who smokes Dunhill.

The owner who smokes Bluemaster drinks beer.

The German smokes prince.

The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.

The man who smokes Blend has a neighbor who drinks water.

8 flowers for this post
well i will take the challenge. give me 30 mins. so do i write the answer in the comment box and spoil the fun ?
Patrick | Homepage | 19.05.05 - 4:15 pm | #

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well. the bloody german owns the fish.
Patrick | Homepage | 19.05.05 - 4:56 pm | #

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I'll hold off from marking your homework for the moment, Patrick. Let's see what anyone else concludes first.
Friend For Life | 19.05.05 - 5:07 pm | #

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eehhh....please send to my mail ? too eager to know. e-mail : patlcm@lycos.com wonder if i am in that 2% or not.
Patrick | Homepage | 19.05.05 - 5:26 pm | #

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Perhaps early last century, 98% of the world couldn't solve it but now.. hahaha.. i don't think it's anything to shout about being that so-called 2%....
duh | 19.05.05 - 11:22 pm | #

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Duh: 98% of the world wouldn't even want to be in that other 2%. It's very lonely being in such a small minority group. The truth be known, I'd estimate that 98% of people wouldn't even be bothered trying to solve such puzzles, anyway.

That said, Einstein and I would like to grant a warm and hearty welcome to our small and lonely club to Patrick.

Good work, Patrick. You got it right. The German owns the fish.

The tabulation of the calculations follows:

1st House
Norwegian
Yellow
Dunhill
Cats
Water

2nd House
Dane
Blue
Blend
Horse
Tea

3rd House
Brit
Red
Pall Mall
Birds
Milk

4th House
German
Green
Prince
Fish
Coffee

5th House
Swede
White
Bluemaster
Dogs
Beer
Friend For Life | 20.05.05 - 2:20 pm | #

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......and all that leads to another question (one of my own, for which I have no answer):

Why was Einstein fantasising of a street full of men with pets, with not a wife, woman or child in sight?
Friend For Life | 20.05.05 - 2:24 pm | #

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Enstein's gay! muahahaha
lala | 22.05.05 - 8:21 am | #

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Sugar - Not so sweet at all

2005-05-14T08:09:00.000+10:00

Sugar is both highly addictive and toxic to humans when it occurs in it's unnatural state.

What is the NATURAL state of sugar?
Fruits (eaten whole, not juiced), milk, and other whole foods provided by nature often contain sugars, but these sugars are found in limited quantities and in combination with other factors (fibres in fruit, protein combinations in milk) that minimise the otherwise harmful effects of sugar.

For those of you who believe in evolution (I don't, but I do find it a handy 'model' for describing some aspects of health and humanity), it may come as a surprise to you to know that sugar AS WE KNOW IT TODAY is an extremely recent addition to the human food chain.

For all the (supposed) hundreds of millions of years of human evolution, sugar (as from sugar cane) has only been known to the majority of the human race for a few hundred years.

Sugar Cane is native to Papua New Guinea, and there it stayed until about 5,000 years ago. The melanesian diaspora into the pacific islands saw it begin it's travels abroad - though not very far and not into the major population centres of the world.

It began limited appearances into parts of Asia about 1,000 years ago, but was still not a standard commodity for the people. The European explorers and traders discovered sugar only about 500 years ago and introduced it to the western world.

(Admittedly, the Middle East and Europe have had honey, which is 80% sugar, from time immemorial. However, it could only ever have been a rare treat and not a standard part of the diet. The availablity of wild honey was obviously very limited.)

Still, it has only been during the past 100 years that the use of sugar has become widespread, readily available and all pervasive.

Think about it. Sugar is so recent to the food chain of humans, the human body has not evolved to cope with it in our cellular biology.

Given that background, I'd like to recommend the following link that identifies 76 different known diseases and ailments caused or complicated by sugar. Please note that this list is NOT comprehensive - many, many more diseases and ailments are suspected, but this list is confined to those that have been well proven be scientific research published in peer-reviewed medical journals:

Counting the Many Ways Sugar Harms Your Health

http://www.mercola.com/2005/may/4/sugar_dangers.htm

Please read this article thoroughly and thoughtfully. It'll change the way you look at food - and it'll be a change for the better.

I recommend eating more natural whole foods and fewer processed foods. Almost every processed food imaginable contains added sugar. Start reading food labels. You will be amazed.

Why do tinned vegetables contain sugar? Why do meat cold cuts contain sugar? The answer is simple. Sugar is highly addictive, and food manufacturers want your money.

5 flowers for this post
wonder where is primrose ? on vacation ?
Patrick | Homepage | 16.05.05 - 11:17 am | #

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I've kidnapped her.
I'm holding her hostage and auctioning off the ransom rights.

Would you like to make the first bid, Patrick?
Friend For Life | 16.05.05 - 1:51 pm | #

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i pass
Patrick | Homepage | 16.05.05 - 4:39 pm | #

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*giggle*

Aww Patrick, must bid lar. Hehe! Yes, just home from vacation. Check here again for updates soon.

Hmm FFL, would I be fed healthy salmon for breakfast?
Primrose | Homepage | 17.05.05 - 7:59 pm | #

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My PrincEss, I'll always treat you the way you deserve to be treated - like the PrincEss that you are. And that means plenty of healthy salmon & spinach, washed down with Green Tea!
Friend For Life | 17.05.05 - 9:31 pm | #

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Green Tea

2005-05-13T05:09:00.000+10:00

To those not accustomed, Green Tea may taste a bit bitter. Don't let that worry you. You'll quickly acquire the taste for this wonderful, health promoting drink. Throw away your coffee mugs and start using tea cups instead - without the milk or sugar - for benefits your body will really appreciate.

Almost every week, new research is published in major peer-reviewed medical journals announcing new health benefits discovered from Green Tea.

I came across an article yesterday, reproduced below, that does a pretty good job of promoting the most well known of these health benefits. Bear in mind while reading this article (reproduced here with permission of the author and full credit given at the end of the article), that it only scratches the surface. There are far more benefits now known and understood than this short article can contain.

In fact, the most recent research I have read on Green Tea showed that (in lab mice, and thus similar results expected results in humans) the equivalent of four cups per day over a period of weeks significantly enhances physical endurance abilities. The Green Tea drinking mice could last far longer on a treadmill than the non-tea-drinking mice.

Enough about marathon mice..... onto this article:

The Health Benefits of Green Tea

Substances in green tea known as catechins have been proven to be effective against many serious diseases.

In experiments with rats green tea catechin restricts the excessive buildup of blood cholesterol.

In Japan, where tea is drank several times a day cancer mortality statistics on Japanese people indicate that the death rate from cancer is significantly lower, for both menand women. Only 254 mg. of catechin begin to show effective results in the bloodstream. One cup of green tea contains 100 to 150 mg of catechin. In 1998, Chinese scientists presented details of a six-month study suggesting that drinking green tea improved pre-cancerous oral lesions in patients.

A study by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that consumption of green tea may trigger weight loss by stimulating the body to burn calories and decreasing body fat.

Dutch researchers found that women drinking more than 5 cups daily had a lower risk of severe arteriosclerosis.

In April 1999, researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland published a study claiming that drinking four or more cups of green tea a day may prevent rheumatoid arthritis amongst sufferers.

Green tea can help control diabetes. Experiments show that an extract of green tea to mice had the ability to lower blood sugar.

Japanese researchers have determined that catechin inactivates the influenza virus. Gargling with green tea is very effective in preventing influenza.

Doctors at the Aichi Cancer Institute have verified the factthat green tea catechin can inhibit the activity of the AIDS virus.

Green tea catechin suppresses the process of plaque formation and destroys the bacteria that forms plaque. Studies showed a reduction in cavities among grade schoolchildren who drank green tea after lunch.

Green tea also kills the bacteria which causes bad breath.

Green tea has been demonstrated to kill seven strains of food poisoning bacteria including staphylococcus, clostridium and botulus.

It is a good treatment for diarrhea.

Green tea can reduce and prevent high blood pressure by preventing angiotensin II, a substance in the blood, which causes constriction of the blood vessels causing high blood pressure.

By stimulating fat metabolism studies suggest that green tea extract may be useful for improving endurance capacity.

The best way to get the disease-fighting nutrients in tea is to drink it freshly brewed after allowing it to steep for three to five minutes. Decaffeinated, bottled ready-to-drink, and instant teas have less of the healthful compounds. Researchers caution that tea can't be seen as a cure, but it could be viewed as a "vitamin" for the immune system.

For more information on green tea and many other teas: http://www.apluswriting.net/health/teahealth.htm

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Author: Marilyn Pokorney - Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and the environment. Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading. Website: http://www.apluswriting.net
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7 flowers for this post
yes. i am aware of a few benefits of green tea. will make myself one cup a day. thanks.
Patrick | Homepage | 13.05.05 - 1:53 pm | #

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A little known "trick", Patrick, with Green Tea - you can effectively get it for half price.

Don't use tea bags - the chlorination processes in papermaking is carcinogenic - use loose leaf. Then SAVE the leaves for a second cup!

That's right - one serving of leaves makes two equally strong cups of Green Tea.

(Some might think my strange, but I go one step further to ensure I gain full benefit from the leaves. After finishing the second cup, the leaves are very, very soft. I then eat them.)
Friend For Life | 13.05.05 - 2:57 pm | #

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eh i'm just wondering... what about the difference between the chinese green tea (which is, unfermented tea) and the japanese o'cha (which has a slight smell of sea weeds)... what's the difference?
minishorts | 17.05.05 - 9:37 am | #

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Though I don't drink much tea, I like green tea. I normally use tea bagged ones. How much less (or more) caffeine does it contain compared to normal tea?
Primrose | Homepage | 17.05.05 - 8:02 pm | #

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Minishorts: Thank you for your question. I think it would be best answered by a botanist - something I do not claim to be. However, as I understand it, both the Chinese and Japanese varieties come from the same plant, though that plant may come in a number of near-identical varieties.

The Japanese have many different "types" of Green Tea, including th oçha that you mentioned, along with Sen-Cha, Shizuoka, Uji, Kyoto, Gyokuro, Matcha, Kabusecha and others...

These are not, in fact, different "types" at all. Just like many wines, they are named after the location in which they are grown.

I think the Japanese are also a bit more "sophisticated" in getting their brewing techniques down to a fine art, much like modern day coffee shops brew and make 'recipes' of coffee. Water quality, ratio of leaves to water, water quality & temperature, brewing time, and other factors make the difference in taste.

At the end of the day, though, Green Tea is still Green Tea.
Friend For Life | 17.05.05 - 9:49 pm | #

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Primrose: Welcome home. You've been greatly missed by all - especially by myself.

Your question is impossible to answer accurately. Different soils in which they are grown, different aging and picking cycles, and other variables influence the level of caffeine in teas. As a rough guideline, however, black and green teas have similar caffeine levels, and these are less than half that of a cup of coffee.

Of course, that also depends on how strong or weak you like your coffee...

PrincEss, try to make the change to loose leaf instead tea bags, please. Although green tea is famous for it's anti-cancer properties, don't push your luck by mixing it with cancer-causing chlorine bleach used in the paper making process.
Friend For Life | 17.05.05 - 10:03 pm | #

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Hmm, you've got a point there, FFL, about the chlorine bleach in the paper bag. Didn't occur to me for a while. Heh! Now I've got to go shop for a cute little strainer.
Primrose | Homepage | 18.05.05 - 9:08 am | #

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Nutritious Breakfast Recipe #2

2005-05-12T09:34:00.000+10:00

Once again, as it should be with every meal we eat and everything we put into our mouths, there is a positive nutritional reason for every ingredient in this breakfast recipe.

This is the breakfast I eat every second day - the alternate days from Nutritional Breakfast Recipe #1

Friend For Life's Nutritious Omega 3 Breakfast

Ingredients:

Smoked salmon - 100 gm thinly sliced

Granulated kelp - 1 teaspoon

Baby Spinach - five or six leaves

Pepitas (de-husked pumpkin seeds) - a couple dozen

Brazil Nuts - two.

Simply spread the slices of smoked salmon out in rows on a dinner plate, then sprinkle on the granulated kelp and pepitas. Lay the Baby Spinach leaves on top.

With a fork and maybe a finger, you can roll a slice of smoked salmon at a time, rolling into it the kelp, seeds & spinach. Eat, savouring the delghtful taste and knowing that every nibble is strengthening your heart and brain health and much more.

Eat the two Brazil nuts separately.

For hydration, as with all meals, stick to either just water, or unsweetened Green Tea.

The reason for these ingredients:

Smoked Salmon

Ahhh.... the most wonderful, delicious food God ever created!OK - not everyone has the same taste buds, but salmon has long been considered not only one of the handful of 'superfoods' nature provides to humanity, but a delicacy as well.

Smoked salmon is a very mild form of cooking that does not destroy or denature the delicate proteins in the way other cooking methods can do. In fact, other than raw egg yolks, salmon meat is the next highest quality source of protein provided by nature.

The range of B group vitamins found in fish meat, and particularly salmon, provides a wide range of heart, brain, neurological and other health benefits.

Then, above all else is the high content of Omega 3 fatty acids.Although most fish contains Omega 3, some have small quantities and some are abundant. Salmon is one of the most abundant sources, and also one of the safest.

Safest? Yes. One of the problems with eating fish these days (a man-made problem of environmental pollution caused by coal-fired power station emissions) is mercury content. Mercury is toxic to the human body and even moreso to young children and pregnant women. Significant brain and other birth defects can occur to a baby lucky enough to even survive to birth. The miscarriage rate and still-born rate is high when pregnant mothers consume even small quantities of mercury unknowingly.

The biggest risk is with long-life fish. For example, tuna, marlin, shark and the like live for 50 years or more and accumulate very high levels of mercury. Short-life fish pose a much smaller problem as they have not been accumulating mercury for very long.

Still, take precautions. It is believed that Northern European salmon is by far the worst and most heavily polluted. American salmon is similarly polluted as is some Canadian stock. Alaskan salmon is one of the cleanest sources, along with the introduced southern ocean stocks farmed in New Zealand or Tasmania (Australia).

Still, if you are planning on pregnancy, I'd advice you play it extra safe and avoid fish altogether. You will still need the Omega 3 oils, but you'll be safer seeking capsules from your health food store. Be sure that you find a brand that is labelled as "mercury free" or "purified" or similar. You'll pay alot more, but your baby will benefit.

We discussed Omega 3 fatty Acids (oils) in Part One, in relation to walnuts and spinach. You may be wondering why you should eat fish or fish oil supplements at all when you can have the vegetable sources instead. Good question - now for a good answer.

Omega 3 oils are not a "single" type of oil. They are a group of oils. There are three different oils contained within the group. These are ALA (vegetable source) and DHA & EPA (meat source, particularly fish).

Not all Omega oils have the same health benefits, although they do overlap. ALA (found in walnuts and spinach) does not provide the same level of anti-inflammatory action that is obtained from DHA & EPA. Fish oil serves as a much better treatment for chronic pain than ALA.

DHA also has mental health benefits not provided by ALA. Conditions from childhood Attention Deficit & Hyperactivity Disorder can be prevented or treated successfully with the DHA from fish oil, but not with the ALA from vegetable sources. The same goes for depression, dementia, and other brain & neurolical conditions.

For these reasons, the two different "Friend For Life Nutritious Breakfasts" on alternate days are designed to rovide you with a balance of both vegetable and fish sources of Omega 3 oils.

Granulated kelp

Kelp is a seaweed found in most parts of the world. You can buy it from health food shops as a tablet, or you can buy it in the "health foods" section of supermarkets in granulated form. In granulated form, you sprinkle it on your foods as you would with pepper or other condiments.

Seaweeds are a common part of the diet in some parts of Asia, but not the western world. The western world is missing out on an important source of nutrition in this regard because the oceans are rich in many minerals often lacking on the land. One of these, abundantly found in kelp, is iodine.

Iodine is essential for proper thyroid hormone production.For women considering pregnancy, iodine is essential for the health of your baby. A lack of iodine in the mother during pregnancy can result in serious and permanent defects in your baby, including cretinism, mental retardation and motor impairment.

In adults, low iodine intake (or very high intakes) can cause hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism can manifest as low energy levels, dry or scaly or yellowish skin, tingling and numbness in extremities, weight gain, forgetfulness, personality changes, depression, anaemia, and prolonged and heavy periods in women. Goiter, an enlarged thyroid gland visible between the Adam's apple and the collar bone, is often present. Hypothyroidism can also cause carpal tunnel syndrome and Raynaud's phenomenon.

Just a word of warning - if you suffer from hyperthyroidism (an OVER-active thyroid, determined by a simple blood test), it is wise to leave the kelp out of your breakfast.

Pepitas (de-husked pumpkin seeds)

A source of dietary fibre and Omega 6 oils the only way the body was designed to consume them (in plant products, not as processed liquid vegetable cooking oils). Still, these features are not the primary reason why I have included them into my breakfast program. These seeds are a rich source or dietary of the essential mineral, Zinc.

Zinc boosts your immune system. Don't wait until you have a cold or flu to think about your immune function. (ie sucking on zinc lozenges after the problem has started). Prevention is better than cure. Get your zinc supply from your nutritious breakfast diet.

Zinc also improves brain function. Studies show that regular zinc intakes improves attention, perception, memory and reasoning.

Zinc also regulates cell growth and improves the speed of wound healing.

Zinc assists in the development of both male and female sexual organs and helps to improve fertility. In men, zinc boosts the sperm count.

Take a look at your fingernails. Do you see any white spots? If you do, you have a zinc deficiency. Improve your nails (and hair), immune and sexual function by eating pepitas regularly to boost your zinc intake. If you don't have white spots in your nails, eat your pepitas anyway. Prevention is better than cure.

Baby Spinach

You read about the benefits of spinach in the first recipe in this series. The Baby Spinach in this breakfast provides the same nutritional benefits as those in the frozen spinach in that recipe. If there is one vegetable that I recommend that everyone includes in their diet every day, it would have to be spinach - and breakfast is great place to start.

Brazil Nuts

It might sound strange that I'd recommend Brazil Nuts, when it contains the lowest level of Omega 3 fatty acids of all the nuts in the world. (They do, however, contain Omega 6 and other fatty acids, plus Vitamin E and fibre, just like all other nuts.) The story of the Brazil Nut is as fascinating as it is nutritionally valuable.

Brazil Nuts have never, anywhere in the world, been successfully grown in plantations. They just will not grow anywhere, except in their natural environment in a very limited part of the world - the jungles of the Amazon.

That's right - the Brazil Nuts you buy at your supermarket or grocery store are all genuine "jungle food", organically and naturally grown - usually from Brazil (surprise, surprise), Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru or Venezuela that are part of the Amazon region.

One mineral the human body needs yet sadly lacks in most modern diets is selenium. The Amazon jungle soils are rich in selenium and the Brazil Nuts are the single most potent food source of this essential mineral.

Like most minerals, however, a little bit of a good thing is beneficial but too much of a good thing can be dangerous. In high doses, selenium is toxic to the human body. In regular small doses, however, it is a powerful antioxidant, cancer fighter and preventer, and a symbiotic mineral enhancing the function of a number of other minerals in the human body, such as iodine.
While it is most unlikely that you could poison yourself with selenium overload in a single guts-out session on Brazil Nuts, some studies have shown that low level nausea symptoms may occur if you consume as few as six Brazil Nuts per day over the long term. For that reason, I recommed gaining the benefits and avoiding the risks by limiting yourself to two Brazil Nuts per day.

So, for a healthy heart, healthy brain and nervous system, healthy hormonal balance and all round general good health, I encourage you to stock your kitchen with the ingredients for both of these healthy and delicious breakfasts.

12 flowers for this post
Ohhhhhhhhh.. !! i love smoked salmon.. i can eat them everyday..
And yes.. they told us to stay away from raw fishes.. and cold cuts.. during my pregnancy..
MrsT | 11.05.05 - 10:55 pm | #

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The world's most delicious food, tight MrsT?

Are you planning on having more children? Feed your hubby lots of pepitas!
Friend For Life | 12.05.05 - 9:59 am | #

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wah. you really eat that ? my breakfast is always the same. donut covered with sugar, plus maybe a slice of pizza from the bakery. and coffee.
Patrick | Homepage | 12.05.05 - 10:30 am | #

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hahahaha
Oh, Patrick, you make me laugh !

Not that it'll be such a laughing matter when obesity, diabetes, mineral deprivation malnutrition, colon polyps, cancers, cardiovascular diseases, strokes, dental cavities, osteoporosis and dementia catch up with you, though.
Friend For Life | 12.05.05 - 12:21 pm | #

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are you serious ? !!!
Patrick | Homepage | 12.05.05 - 12:51 pm | #

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Oh yes, Patrick. That's the inevitability of a diet of refined flour & sugar (donuts & pizza).

There might be one bit of saving grace there for you, though. If your pizza is topped with plenty of tomato paste, you're probably getting a good daily supply of lycopene - a powerful antioxidant that is beneficial in helping to prevent prostate and a number of other cancers, and reduces heart disease risk.
Friend For Life | 12.05.05 - 1:02 pm | #

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oh no ! not much tomato sauce cos i hate tomato sauce. i usually pick the ones with lots lots of cheese. but i do eat yogurt like once a week. does it help ? how about haagen daaz ice cream ? i take those like 3 times a week.
Patrick | Homepage | 12.05.05 - 2:10 pm | #

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Your yoghurt, cheese & Haagen Daaz will supply you with some calcium, but, despite all the hype about calcium, it will be of only marginal benefit to you.

Don't get me wrong - calcium is wonderful stuff and very essential to human nutrition - but beyond puberty very little of it is absorbed by your body. It is the childhood intake of calcium that really sets you up for life.

Other than that, it sounds like you have a sugar/carbo addiction there, Patrick.
Friend For Life | 12.05.05 - 2:18 pm | #

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yes. i think you are right about the sugar/carbo addiction. i am not flattering. because for the past half a year, i have been skipping lunch with just eating bread (pastry). sometimes i just take heavy breakfast, which is usually bread. as for pastry, i usually take those with lots of sugar. and i drink coffee 3 - 4 times a day, adding 2 teaspoon full of sugar each time. i have been sick on and off. like i can feel my body immune system is getting worse. i am allergic to pollens. but... the cafeteria food really sucks. i never ever thought coming to japan (such high tech country) and being indulged in my research made me eating junk everyday. i really have to consider seriously now on my diet. oh god...
Patrick | Homepage | 12.05.05 - 3:10 pm | #

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Patrick, with your career background and studies, I'm sure you must also already be aware of the major health dangers of artificially hydrogenated oils (trans fats) that you are consuming in all those pastries, pizza bases, and so forth.... as if the carbo addiction alone isn't poised to eventually produce enough health problems for you.

Major, wholesale dietary change is always hard, Patrick. Very few people can manage that overnight. I didn't. (More accurately, I haven't. I slip up periodically.)

Take one step at a time. May I suggest that your first step should be to dump the coffee. (Your blood pressure and cholesterol levels will show improvement within a week.) Instead, substitute the predominant meal time drink of Japan - Green Tea.

I'll post some information about the health benefits of green tea (Chinese or Japanese varieties) in my next blog post.
Friend For Life | 12.05.05 - 8:31 pm | #

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Salmon for me ANYTIME. Smoked or plain raw. Yum!
Primrose | Homepage | 17.05.05 - 8:03 pm | #

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Then salmon it will be, PrincEss, next time we dine together - though that probably won't be for breakfast.
Friend For Life | 17.05.05 - 11:07 pm | #

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Ready for Mothers' Day

2005-05-08T06:14:00.000+10:00

Why God made moms
- answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions.

Why did God make mothers?

She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.

Mostly to clean the house.

To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?

He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.

Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.

God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He Just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of?

God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.

They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other Mom?

We're related.

God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.

What kind of little girl was your Mom?

My Mom has always been my Mom and none of that other stuff.

I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.

They say she used to be nice.

What did Mom need to know about dad before she married him?

His last name.

She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?

Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your Mom marry your dad?

My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mom eats a lot.

She got too old to do anything else with him.

My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?

Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goofball.

Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.

I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

What's the difference between moms and dads?

Moms work at work and work at home, and dads just go to work at work.

Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.

Dads are taller and stronger, but moms have all the real power cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your Mom do in her spare time?

Mothers don't do spare time.

To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your Mom perfect?

On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.

Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your Mom, what would it be?

She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.

I'd make my Mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.

I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on her back of her head.

3 flowers for this post
Isn't that cute now..!!
MrsT | 07.05.05 - 9:30 pm | #

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hehehe, MrsT. Yes, kids come out with some very funny things at times, don't they?
Friend For Life | 08.05.05 - 4:33 pm | #

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mummy is now traveling in china. oh, i miss home.
Patrick | Homepage | 09.05.05 - 12:58 pm | #

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Nutritious Breakfast Recipe #1

2005-04-29T10:02:00.000+10:00

Every ingredient of today's breakfast has a nutritional purpose.
It's a great way for us all to think to ensure maximised health and longevity. Explain to yourself the nutritional value of everything that goes into your mouth.

This is a breakfast I consume every second day. The breakfast on the alternate days will be the subject of my next post.

Friend For Life's Nutritious Breakfast Smoothie:

Ingredients:

Two raw eggs

One cube of fresh-frozen spinach (approx. 42g)

Three tablespoons of coconut cream

One heaped dessertspoon of natural yoghurt

Six walnut halves

Six-to-eight frozen blueberries

Just enough skim milk to keep it all fluid when blended (maybe 1/3 to 1/2 cup)

Add all these ingredients into a blender until they are all thoroughly cruched, munched and liquid without lumps. Depending on your blender speed, this may be between 30 seconds and one minute.

It makes two large glasses of the healthiest, most nutritious breakfast you've ever had in your life, cool and delicious.

The reasons for these ingredients:

Raw Eggs:

The best choice are eggs from organically raised, free range chickens. The natural diet of chickens is grasses and dark green weeds, plus insects and worms from the ground. Avoid barn-laid or non-organically raised grain-fed chicken eggs. The yolks will be higher in saturated fats, higher in cholesterol and dramatically lower in healthy omega 3 oils. (Some studies show free range organic eggs have 20 times more omega 3 content than barn/grain-fed eggs.)

Egg whites contain 22 amino acids, including all eight essential amino acids. This makes them the highest quality form of protein found in nature - if eaten raw. Cooking egg white changes the molecular structure of the proteins and destroys some of the amino acids.

Egg yolks (from organic eggs) are full of vitamins, minerals and healthy fats. Some people worry about the cholesterol found in the yolks. The truth is that dietary cholesterol is not readily absorbed into the human body - unless it has been cooked. Cooking oxidises the cholesterol, making it the 'poisonous' form of cholesterol. Many studies have shown that eating raw eggs has no effect on your blood cholesterol levels.

Raw egg yolks contain lutein and zeaxanthin in good measure. These are significantly reduced if cooked. Lutein and zeaxanthin are nutrients essential for good eyesight and help to prevent age-related macular degeneration. Lutein is also an antioxidant that prevents the hardening and narrowing of arteries that could otherwise lead to heart attacks and strokes.

Eggs are also a rich source of B group vitamins, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, B6, Folate, Biotin, and B12, plus vitamins A,D & E.

Nutritional minerals found within egg yolks include Iron, Magnesium, Copper, Iodine, Zinc, Sodium, Manganese and Boron.

In fact, you'll find far more vitamins and minerals in a raw egg than you will in almost multi-vitamin & mineral supplement on the market today.

Frozen Spinach:

Freshly picked spinach is the obvious best choice, but how many of us grow it in our gardens or live close enough to a gardener to ensure that it truly is fresh? Many of the natural plant chemical nutrients (particularly folate) in vegetables such as spinach will halve in quantity within five days after picking. By the time you buy it at the supermarket or greengrocer store it will already be a few days old. By the time you eat it, it could be a few more.

Frozen spinach, particularly if packaged and frozen within a few hours of being picked, retains almost all of the benefit of the fresh product. It is readily available at most supermarkets in 250 gram boxes cntaining six cubes of frozen spinach.

Spinach is one of God's superfoods. Barely a month goes by without more scientific researching discovering the benefits of the nutrients contained in this dark green, leafy vegetable. Some of the nutrients include:

Fibre - without the antinutrient phytates found in grain and legume fibre. Fibre is a wonderful internal cleanser for your digestive tracts and helps maintain bowel regularity.

Folate - A B group vitamin essential for proper neurological function, and for fetal and early childhood brain development including the prevention of spina bifida, preventing low birth weight and premature births. Deficiency of folate in adults can result in elevated homocysteine levels (a blood inflammation marker and precursor to heart disease), headaches, digestive disorders, depression, forgetfulness and behavioural problems.

Omega 3 fatty acids - the vegetable oil found within spinach belongs to the same class of essential fatty acids as does fish oil. It has anti-inflammatory properties, is heart healthy, assists neurological function and mental health, and more.

Vitamin C and beta-carotene (which your body synthesises into Vitamin A)

Vitamin E (though in low concentration - see comments on walnuts.)

Vitamin K - oft ignored and little known by the general public, deficiencies in Vitamin K can result in: Heavy menstrual bleeding, Gastrointestinal bleeding, Hematuria (blood in the urine), Nosebleeds, Eye hemorrhages, Anemia, Gum bleeding, Prolonged clotting times, Hemorrhaging, Easy bruising, Purpura, Osteopenia, Osteoporosis, Fractures, Hypercalciuria, Calcification of soft tissue, especially heart valves. Also, birth defects. Vitamin K is far more important than most people realise, and most "modern" diets of processed foods are deficient in this essential vitamin.

Lutein - the antioxidant also found in eggs and is great for your eyes.

Quercetin - an antioxidant flavanoid also found in green tea and apple skins, and known to significant reduce the risks of contracting many forms of cancers, cardiovascular diseases and even cataracts in the eyes. Improves bone density in women, and also helps in the control of asthma.

Proteins and Amino Acids - Spinach is one of the best sources of plant-based proteins, though is not full spectrum. It lacks one of the eight essential aminos.

Minerals - including Iron, magnesium and manganese.

Popeye the Sailorman knew what he was doing when he ate spinach for his strength and vitality! (Pity he was also a pipe smoker.)

Coconut Cream:

If you can find virgin coconut oil, use it instead. I use coconut cream as a substitute because virgin coconut oil is extremely difficult to find in my area. Hopefully it is easier to find in your area.

Coconut oil has been wrongly maligned over recent decades by poor scientific research falsely concluding that "all saturated fats are bad for you", and particularly blaming saturated fats for high cholesterol levels. More recent research has debunked those myths. (Much of the old research debunking palm and coconut oil was funded by the multi-billion dollar grain & seed oil industry, and tested hydrogenated coconut oil, not fresh or virgin oil.)

Coconut oil contains lauric acid (also found as one of the nine different saturated fats in human breast milk) and is a knowm anti bacterial, anti fungal and anti viral agent. It is also a thyroid stimulant that can boost your metabolic rate and assist in weight loss. Good thyroid function also manifests itself in good skin, hair and nails. Some consider coconut oil an "anti aging" product because of how it maintains youthful looking skin. Research also proves that it assists human immune function responses, too.

Natural Yoghurt:

If you can find raw yoghurt (ie not pasteurised), please use it. Sadly, it is hard to find unless you own your own cow and make your own dairy products. Check the labels before you buy. Natural yoghurt should not have any added sugars, colours or preservatives.

There are two main health benefits associated with yoghurt:

Good bacteria. Sadly, pasteurisation kills not only bad bacteria in dairy products, but also the good and beneficial bacteria your stomach and intestines need for proper digestive function. Ironically, yoghurts these days are made by, first of all pasterisation that kills the good bacteria, followed by growing the very same lact0-bacteria separately then adding it back into the pasteurised dairy during the yoghurt fermentation process. We all need to regularly line our digestive tracts with healthy bacteria (for the technically minded, they are oxygen-breathing bacteria, as distinct from the bad nitrogen-breathing bacteria that can cause ailments) and fermented foods such as yoghurt are a good source.

Calcium. Yoghurt is high in the mineral calcium - higher than straight milk. We all know that calcium is good for healthy bones and teeth, but that is just the start. There are noe well over one hundred (100) known human health benefits from calcium, covering everything from muscle tone, cardiovascular strength, reduced risk of many cancers, prevention of polyps, and much more. For the weight conscious, calcium even assists weight loss by preventing muscle atrophy that commonly occurs during weight loss that then slows your metabolic rate.

Walnuts:

What is a nut? (Some people think that I am a nut.) We all know that nuts are healthy, but also often hear that they are high in fat. What is the truth?

There are different types of nuts and different types of fats. Accordingly, some nuts have better nutritional properties than others.

Just to add to the confusion (or clarification), not all things we think are nuts are, in fact, nuts. Peanuts, for example, are not nuts at all. (Peanuts are legumes, closely related to soy beans.)

Most nuts are high in oils. The ideal nutritious diet needs more Omega 3 oils and lower levels of Omega 6 oils than most people today consume. Most nuts contain both. (Most also contain the non-essential Omega 9 oils, such as is also found in Olive Oil.)

Walnuts contain the highest ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 of all the nuts on this planet. They have the healthiest level of the essential oils of them all.

Another benefit of nuts is that they are a great source of Vitamin E.
Vitamin E is often misunderstood. There is more than just one form of Vitamin E. There are at least eight different forms - including synthetic as found in most vitamin supplements - and each have different health properties. By consuming your Vitamin E from a natural source such as walnuts, you are getting a balance of all the natural forms of Vitamin E.

Natural Vitamin E is an antioxidant vitamin, preventing oxidation and free radical damage in the human body. As such, it is a powerful cancer preventative. (Synthetic Vit.E as found in supplements has been shown to have the opposite effect, promoting some cancers.)

It also prevents the breakdown of tissue, and thus helps maintain muscle and heart strength.

Furthermore, Vitamin E plays a role in immune function, thus assisting your body's natural defences against colds, flu, and many other viruses and diseases.

Walnuts, like other nuts, are also a source of proteins and fibre.

Blueberries (Known in some parts of the world as Bilberries):

Another of God's true superfoods.

More Vitamin C than any citrus fruit, a source of Vitamin E, dietary fibre (pectin) of the form that reduce cholesterol levels, these are not even the most famous health features of the blueberry.

It is the antioxidant phytonutrients, known as anthocyanidins, for which blueberries are so rightly famed. The protection of the capilliaries in the eyes and thus the benefit of enhanced eyesight and prevention of blindness makes the blueberry an almost essential fruit in everyone's diet.

Blueberries also contain ellagic acid, which has been shown to have powerful anti-cancer properties.

On the negative side, like most fruits they are high in sugars that has obvious health impediments including the effects on your insulin and blood glucose levels. The key to benefiting from blueberries lies not in consuming high doses, but in consuming low doses, regularly.

For that reason, I recommended frozen blueberries rather than fresh. If you buy a punnet of fresh blueberries but eat only a small quantity each day, they will not be fresh and will lose much of their phytonutrient content before you finish the punnet. Frozen blueberries preserves the benefits for the maximum time.

Skim Milk:

Use as little of this as is necessary just to keep your smoothie liquid enough to drink. Unless you can find raw (unpasteurised) milk, milk has very few health benefits other than calcium. The dairy industry grossly exaggerates the vitamin content of pasteurised milk, and many people have mild allergy symptoms from using it. In most cases, those allergy symptoms do not happen when you use raw unpasteurised milk - but unless you own a cow or live close enough to a dairy farm to buy it direct, dairy should generally be avoided.

In this smoothie, you could use water for your extra liquid, but the finished smoothie may not appeal to your taste buds. Skim milk makes it much more palatable.

A vegan would probably suggest using fruit juice. I'd disagree. Fruit is wonderful if eaten whole because the fibre helps to regulate the absorption of the fruit sugars into your blood stream. Fruit juice, however, should never be consumed. It is terribly high in sugar and causes sudden rushes of insulin production and wide fluctuations in your blood sugar levels during the day, causing 'highs and lows'. Other than for the vitamin content, fruit juice is just as high in sugars and unhealthy for you as soft drinks (soda, for our American readers).

Some may suggest soy milk. Never, ever use soy milk for anything. There is nothing at all 'natural' about soy milk. (Read the list of ingredients some day - it's mostly a concoction of articial chemicals.) We'll talk more about the dangers of soy products another day.

Other than water or raw milk, skim milk is the most practical liquid to add to your smoothie for liquification. Without it, your smoothie will be too thick and the taste a bit strong. You need the dilution effect to make your smoothie palatable.

While the ingredients are blending, I also chew on two Brazil Nuts. I'll explain why in the next part of this series, being the nutritious breakfast recipe I eat on the other days alternating with this smoothie.

Until then, I encourage you to stock your kitchen with the ingredients for this breakfast smoothie, and to begin enjoying the healthiest and most nutritious breakfast you have ever had in your life.

9 flowers for this post
Hey..FFL,
The raw eggs is a wee bit hard to stomach leh..?? no..??
MrsT | 28.04.05 - 10:48 pm | #

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MrsT, you really won't even notice them when blended into the smoothie, I promise.

Even so, raw eggs are easier on the stomach than cooked eggs, because cooked eggs are much harder to properly digest. Boiled eggs even give some people constipation.

Try it. You'll enjoy it !
Friend For Life | 28.04.05 - 11:00 pm | #

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Well, I'm not a big fan of smoothies (unless it's bananas or mixed fruits) but looking at the ingredients...hmmm...

Eggs, spinach and coconut milk/cream: I get this from nasi lemak for breakfast.

Bilberries: I take it as a supplement on an empty stomach in the morning.

And I drink skim milk in the morning.

Nutritional enough? *giggle*
Primrose | Homepage | 29.04.05 - 11:38 am | #

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If you're not comfortable with the idea of a smoothie(other than mixed fruits), think of it as a "vegetable & berries smoothie", or forget word smoothie altogether and just think of it as a liquid breakfast.

Good that you already know the of bilberries/blueberries, but the supplements are much more expensive and likely to have less synergistic benefit than you'd get in the whole fruit.

Leave the nasi (grain) out of your lemak, then eat the eggs raw - and go very easy on the skim milk (try green tea for an antioxidant/polyphenol rich beverage) and you'll be well on your well to life-long health, vitality and longevity.

Give my recipe a try, PrincEss. I know you'll love it !
Friend For Life | 29.04.05 - 12:30 pm | #

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Point of clarification:

To avoid any confusion, do not use whole raw eggs. Break open the eggs and just put the contents of the eggs into the blender. Please do not put the eggs in with the shells still on!

(Save the egg shells and compost them for garden fertiliser.)
Friend For Life | 30.04.05 - 12:32 pm | #

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Suggestion:
Perhaps we could have smoothie with cheesecake for breakfast??
Random Reader | 30.04.05 - 2:49 pm | #

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FFL: Haha! Whole eggs! We are no boa.

Random Reader: Hmm, a good idea indeed but not quite a good combination. Healthy vs Not-so-healthy. Heh, heh!
Primrose | Homepage | 30.04.05 - 4:42 pm | #

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Random Reader, you've given me an idea...

PrincEss, why don't you and I get together and work on creating a spinach cheescake, made with spinach (obviously), raw (unpasteurised) dairy, and a ground walnut & flaxmeal plus coconut oil base (instead of crushed biscuits and butter)?

We'll leave out the sugar and use the stevia herb for sweetening.

I'm sure that together, PrincEss, we can invent the world's first true health-food cheesecake.

The hardest part will be finding a cow (or a goat, or sheep) to give us the raw milk.

Then, our Random Reader can have his cake and eat it too !
Friend For Life | 30.04.05 - 9:00 pm | #

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Err...spinach cheesecake, FFL?
Ee-yucks! *LOL*
Primrose | Homepage | 02.05.05 - 4:09 pm | #

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Breakfast - A primer

2005-04-23T03:51:00.000+10:00

We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Do we, however, all know what is best to consume for breakfast? Don't believe the sales pitches of the mega-billion dollar multinational food corporations who want to pump easily mass produced, relatively low nutrition, high profit margin grain cereals down your throat every meal of the day.

One brand has recently been proudly (or should I say shamefully) advertising: "contains eight vitamins and minerals".

Is that supposed to sound healthy and appealing or something? Golly, the cardboard box it comes in would contain twice as many minerals, triple the fibre, and only a fraction of the undesirable starchy high GI (glycemic index) carbohydrates found in the product inside the box. There's a thought. Throw away the contents and just eat the box.

Sadly, most dieticians and nutritionists gained their degrees in colleges that are sponsored by the grain merchants. We see these "experts" on television being paid to endorse breads, grains and cereal products, telling us how healthy they are meant to be. In recent years, due to adverse publicity about refined carbohydrates, they now peddle "whole grain" breads and cereals, as if consuming something indigestible is somehow a wonderful thing.

Sure, grains contain some minerals and are a source of Vitamin E, but the truth is that:

Compared to other (non-starchy) vegetable crops or fruits and nuts, grains contain a relatively low level of vitamins and minerals;
Even the minerals they do contain are poorly absorbed by the human body;
Grains contain Phytic Acid - a known anti-nutrient. That means it binds to several essential minerals and prevents their absorption into your bloodstream.
Worse still, Phytic Acid actively seeks out various essential minerals that are already in your body cells and leaches them out of your body.

Many people consider Corn to be a vegetable, not recognising it as a grain. Not only is Corn a grain, it is potentially one of the most unhealthy and dangerous grains of them all - and is used in some of the world's most popular breakfast cereals.

Corn depletes the human body of Vitamin A, leading to diseases such as pellagra, poor eye sight (even blindness), weakened immune systems leading to increased infection risks, and indirectly potentially even to cancers because VItamin A is an antioxidant vitamin that protects the human body from free radical damage.

If you are interested in maintaining a healthy body weight, or losing a few excess kilograms, don't even think of grains (or sugars, but I'm sure we all know about sugars as a weight hazard).

Ask any farmer:

Meat producers these days love to fatten their cows for sale by the kilogram of live bodyweight at the auction yards. How do you fatten a cow? You take it away from the grassy pastures and put it into feedlots and stuff them with grains & legumes. (Corn & soy in particular, though many other grains are used in the mixes for variety.)

Pork producers these days take a different tack. Due to centuries of aspersions about pig meat being "unclean" and unhealthy, the pork industry in modern times strives to produce lean pork to market as being "heart healthy" ie, low in fat and low in cholesterol. They want fat-free, lean, athletic pigs so that their meat on your plate is much lower in fats than most other table meats.

How does a farmer raise lean pigs? Removing all grains from the diet is step one. Odd as it sounds to most people, step two is to feed them high quantities of certain fats & oils.

Grains in the human body (and other mammals) cause your pancreas to produce and secrete high levels of insulin. This is a hormone whose main job is as a "fat hormone". It rapidly takes blood sugars sourced from the sugars and starches we eat and stuffs them into your fats cells for future energy supplies.

Certain fats, on the other hand, can actually induce weight loss. Some of them, such as the saturated fats found in coconuts and avocados, stimulate thyroid function, thus raising your metabolic rate and inducing weight loss or maintenance.

(There's an interesting series of articles about the health benefits of fats & oils at the "Weight Loss, Dieting & Obesity" website.)

Perverse, isn't it, that we fatten animals with grains and make them lean with fats, yet the mega-billion dollar multinational grain and food industry "educates" as to eat more grains and reduce fat from our diets. No wonder the world is in the grips of an overweight & obesity epidemic.

It's all about their bottom line.
Not to mention yours.

Over the next couple of installments in this series about breakfast, I'll provide you with sample breakfasts I eat myself, planned for maximum health and nutrition.

I know our resident PrincEss PrimrosE loves recipes, so she's probably salivating in anticipation even just reading that these recipes are coming this way shortly.....

16 flowers for this post
Promise me a salmon pate recipe - with picture?? *slurp, slurp* It's true about losing weight only when you start eating. Not when you are NOT eating!!
Primrose | Homepage | 22.04.05 - 2:16 pm | #

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Pate for breakfast, PrincEss?
I think you might have to wait until I do a series on lunches or dinners for that. *laugh*

The website I mentioned makes a valuable point that you should NEVER diet for weight loss. Everyone, whether they have weight issues or not, should plan their diet primarily to enhance nutrition and health. Theoretically, your weight should eventually come into balance if your emphasis is on nutrition and health.

I fully agree with that view. Most 'weight loss' diets are not nutritionally sound at all.
Friend For Life | 22.04.05 - 9:58 pm | #

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wow. interesting article. i didnt know that grains can be so much hazard to health despite having a degree in food science and technology. errr...should i mention that i have a master degree in food genetics. modifying genetics of plants, including grains like corn and soy. i am doing a phd on it now. oppss... and about fats feed to the pigs. yes it is true. i have worked in an oils and fats company. we do make fats of different composition of the so-called good fats for the pigs. ohhh...looks like i am the bad guy here. but look forward to your healthy recipe for a good breakfast.
Patrick | Homepage | 23.04.05 - 11:32 am | #

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Dear *bad guy* Patrick
You made me laugh! The good grace in which you wrote your comment was commendable. Thanks for verifying & reaffirming the "dietary fats makes lean pigs" story.

I'm not surprised that after degrees in food science & technology and a Masters in food genetics, there was information about grains you had not heard before. It is a sad fact that the multi-billion dollar international grain cartels will do ANYTHING to protect their industry. Their concern is shareholder wealth, not consumer health.

Why else, for example do many countries fortify bread flour with folic acid? (For the prevention of neural tube birth defects, and other conditions.)Why are scientists (maybe yourself?) working on genetically altering grains to produce more folic acid?

There's absolutely no need. Just tell consumers to switch away from grains and eat more green leafy vegetables.

Oh, of course. That simple, natural truth would cut the revenues of the grain industry.

Thanks for your comment, Patrick. I don't really think you're such a bad guy at all.
Friend For Life | 23.04.05 - 1:26 pm | #

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Hi Patrick, thank you for stopping by. We learn something new everyday, don't we?
Primrose | Homepage | 23.04.05 - 10:42 pm | #

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Hey.. FFL,
So corn is not good for baby.. i supposed..??? Die lah..!!! i give chloe corn everyday..!!!!
MrsT | 24.04.05 - 10:10 pm | #

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Hi MrsT,

Mexican & North American Indians have grown & eaten corn for thousands of years - but not straight off the cob. They processed it using lime to counter-act the anti-nutrient effects found within the corn. I doubt that your baby's corn has been soaked in lime.

Here's a quote:

"Perhaps as important as the corn type to nutrition was the way it was processed. Corn is low in protein and many of the other nutrients in corn, such as niacin, are locked up in a form that does not make them easily digestible. The Indians found a way that overcame these deficiencies in the way they processed corn. In most of North America corn was usually processed with lye or wood ashes and in Mexico and the American Southwest lime was used. Either method had the effect of increasing the amount of available protein, niacin and calcium in the final product. Couple this fact with the fact that Indians usually preferred flint corn, which has high protein content, and seems obvious to me that the Native Americans had a very sophisticated knowledge of how to get the most nutritional value out of corn. Contrast this with the Southern Euro-Americas, who adopted corn as a staple, especially for the poor, but failed to adopt for the most part processing corn with wood ash. The result of this was the widespread occurrence of pellagra, a potentially fatal disease, caused by niacin deficiency among the poor in the South. In the mid-20th Century the addition of niacin to flour led to the disappearance of pellagra, but if the Indian example had been followed from the beginning, there would not have been a problem to begin with."

The main reason people eat corn-off-the-cob today is for the taste, not the nutrition. It is 72% starch and also high in fructose (sugar), making it very sweet.

Also read this very informative article that originally appeared in "Scientific American"
(At the bottom of that page, you will find links to a few "Related Articles". Read them, too.)

Babies require high fat diets, good proteins and low sugar/starches. Corn is the exact opposite of that. Breast milk is nature's first choice, of course.
Friend For Life | 25.04.05 - 12:06 pm | #

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Wow FFL, that's really thorough for an answer. So MrsT, less corn for Chloe?
Primrose | Homepage | 25.04.05 - 12:28 pm | #

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are you a food scientist ? hmmm...no.. you are a doctor ?
Patrick | Homepage | 25.04.05 - 1:26 pm | #

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My profile tells my story...
Though I guess I should add "repentant cheesecake lover" to it.
Friend For Life | 25.04.05 - 2:54 pm | #

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Patrick: *giggle* Stay tuned to this blog and you shall discover the food expert in FFL real soon.

FFL: Awww, just one piece of cheesecake? I'll use reduced-fat philadelphia cheese and reduce the amount of sugar the next time round.
ps: No regrets of inviting you as guest blogger - but will mean more recipes and more food blogs.
Primrose | Homepage | 25.04.05 - 4:12 pm | #

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Ah PrincEss... if you also make sure the philly and other dairy products are made from *raw* dairy (ie not pasteurised, as pasteurisation destroys beneficial lacto-bacteria, destroys enzymes, destroys/reduces vitamins and changes the structure of the proteins), then I'll succumb and join you for a slice - or two.
Friend For Life | 25.04.05 - 4:35 pm | #

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FFL: *gasp* Wah, tall order!
Primrose | Homepage | 25.04.05 - 4:55 pm | #

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did anyone know that i was a cheese flavour expert when i was working with Kerry Ingredients some years ago before i decided to pursue my studies in Japan ? cheese everyday. i put on some 10 kg in 2 years. now i have lost much of the weight gained last time but still maintain a round face
Patrick | Homepage | 25.04.05 - 4:56 pm | #

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friend for life : your profile is complicated
Patrick | Homepage | 25.04.05 - 5:01 pm | #

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Patrick : If you think my profile is complicated, you should see my psych evaluation!

*laughing*
Friend For Life | 25.04.05 - 10:01 pm | #

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