Archive for 'Life In General' Category

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Zeitgeist Addendum

The sequel to the hit internet documentary Zeitgeist, this second film explores further the present day situation of society, all the deceptions manipulations, and offers some solutions to safeguard oneself from becoming a victim. 

The End of the American Dream?

How much can your money buy?

June inflation up 11%… 11% ONLY???  I went shopping for groceries last night and was quite shocked at how much my total bill was.  It amounted to P4,500.  All I bought fit inside only four plastic bags!!! Unbelievable!!!  And this is not a full grocery load.  Just bought stuff mainly for my daughter's baon and snacks for the family.  I did not buy any cooking ingredients, toiletries, canned goods, ice cream, imported chips, canned drinks, wet market items, detergents, etc.  The most expensive item I bought was my daughter's milk (which was P474/can x 2 cans).  I also indulged myself by buying four small packs of Maltesers and four Yanyan.  The rest were local products like biscuits, instant noodles, tetra-packed milk and cereals.  I didn't even buy pasalubong for my dog.  I usually buy some doggie treats for her.  She was so excited to see us come home and I felt guilty for not buying her treats.   That's our Haps in the photo.  

Chinese (Lunar) Ghost month - Aug 1, 2008

Global Warming Is A Bubble

Like the latest buzz on commodities, people are overreacting to the concept of global warming. Meet Bjorn Lomborg, founder of the Copenhagen Consensus and a skeptical environmentalist, whose realistic approach to prioritizing global problems is a breath of fresh air after being bombarded by the near suffocating rhetoric on climate change.

Climate change should not be treated like a religion, but as one of many factors that we should attend to–and objectively address it.

Be Prepared: DIY Survival Kits

The PAGASA has been getting a lot of flack for not making a timely and accurate forecast for Typhoon Frank.  But I've been monitoring the typhoon through www.maybagyo.com and the site has a compilation of the forecasted tracks made by the different weather agencies in Japan, USA, Hongkong, Taiwan, Beijing, etc.  At first the majority of forecasts showed Frank would hit Metro Manila, then the next forecast showed it missing Metro Manila.  I think only one agency made the correct forecast for Frank by sticking with the Metro Manila route.  (I had forgotten which agency it was, sorry). 

Indiana Jones and search for the Fountain of Youth

My greatest fear, and I think more than fearing death, is getting old.  I'm not vain or something, but I just feel sad that one day I will be a senior citizen with sagging skin, with a hundred and one illnesses and has to get someone to wipe my ass.  If you guys are wondering what brought me to thinking about aging… go watch Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and you will know what I mean. ( Maybe seeing Harrison Ford in his 60's in a movie set in the 50's gave me the feeling that he is super old.  To George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, maybe you should consider using the title of this blog for the next Indi movie). 

Lipitor (atorvastatin) and Grapefruit

I learned very recently that anyone taking cholesterol lowering drugs from the atorvastatin family (Lipitor, Zocor) should refrain from eating grapefruit or drinking grapefruit juice.

Here is a link from the NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information) website, which is a service of the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health:  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10460065

In layman's terms, grapefruit has properties which increase the concentration of Lipitor and the other atorvastatin drugs in the bloodstream, and consequently, magnifies side effects as well.  The most common and debilitating side effect of statins is muscle pain and I assume that eating grapefruit will worsen this condition.  To further highlight the danger, imagine that eating grapefruit with atorvastatins is akin to overdosing.  Now who would want that?  The fact that these drugs by themselves usually stay in the system for days only multiplies the risk when there is interaction with grapefruit.  Locally, the pomelo or suha is more common than the grapefruit but I believe they belong to the same family, so please avoid that as well. 

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