Fasting blood work?

I'm sure everyone has had to go to a lab such as Gamma-Dynacare to have fasting blood work done as part of your annual physical.

I'm sure you've all had to wait in a long lineup too at 7:30 in the morning before going to work without breakfast.

What bugs me, and I don't even have to go to work, is that the lab has only one person at the computer and two drawing blood when there are 45 people waiting for morning (fasting) blood work. Then when the, and I quote, "worst part of the day" is over 3 more staff come in to work.

Why do they not have a full staff on to do the bulk of the days work? People are having to stand and wait in the hallway outside since there are only 35 chairs, and some of course may eventually pass out after standing over 30-45 minutes waiting their turn with no food in their stomaches.

I don't know about you, but I'm not waiting 45 minutes to an hour for blood work to be done when I haven't even had a coffee yet. My family doctor will just have to open up earlier in the morning and draw the blood himself if this isn't going to change.

Why should I bother since I'm not going to take that statin drug he's going to offer me anyway...

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The Good Guys and The Bad Guys

When I was a boy in the 1960's you could tell the Good Guys from the Bad Guys. The good guys always wore white hats and the bad guys wore black hats. (we had a lot of Western shows on T.V. then).

When we were kids we played outdoors dressed up like Cowboys and Indians and the Cowboys were the good guys and the Indians were the bad guys. This is not politically correct today of course but it did happen. At that time The U.S.A. and Canada along with Western Europe and Great Britain were the Good Guys and the U.S.S.R. were the Bad Guys.

Today... people don't wear white or black hats, Indians are called First Nation people and are given the respect they deserve, the Cold War is over and the U.S.S.R. is no more.

We have "Peace Keeping" missions through the United Nations which I honestly don't understand since they're still at war in most places the U.N. is involved with. We have wars between the U.S.A. and anyone who threatens Homeland Security. This can be interpreted pretty liberally by the U.S.A.

Fear mongering with regard to immunization, terrorism, global warming and other scare tactics may very well lead to Warmongering.

Since the end of the Cold War the U.S.A. has not had a real or visible enemy, until 911. Although they stuck their noses in several places many believe it didn't belong. Now there is a constant threat of Terrorism within the borders of the U.S.A. for the first time in many years. Why is this happening now? Who's to blame for Terrorist attacks on the U.S.A.? Is this something brought on by the U.S.A. trying to dominate the world peacefully? What is the truth behind the Iraq war(s)? Where are the weapons of mass destruction? Was this all just about oil and power?

It has become, in my opinion, much more difficult to distinguish the Good Guys from the Bad Guys today.

Will the good guys please stand up.

BIONAIRE BU4000 ULTRASONIC HUMIDIFIER

I bought a Bionaire Ultrasonic Humidifier, shown here, several months ago. I needed a humidifier for our boy who gets frequent nose bleeds and higher humidity helps. It's also necessary for hardwood flooring so it doesn't crack in winter.

I chose this unit for it's quiet running so as not to disturb your sleep or T.V. viewing.

On the downside it blows 'white dust' that settles, no sticks to all electronic components like T.V.'s, computers, DVD players etc. It's not easy to dust off, you need to get a wet cloth and rub it off.

The first unit I took home I returned as it was heating up and corroding inside in the first few weeks. The store manager said they don't get hot so I returned it and received a new one.

I took that one home with new filters and still had a carpet of dust on my electronics that I had to wipe off daily.

I wrote an email to Bionaire requesting information as to whether this dust was harmful to my electronic components, since it was all over the outside I could only imagine what the inside looked like. I received no reply after two attempts at getting information.

What is listed on Bionaire's site is that Water Purification Cartridge Helps Eliminate White Dust. I found it reduced it very little. Not enough at any rate, but I still don't know if it's damaging my T.V. or my computers.

Does anyone out there know if this dust is harmful to your electronics? I'd like to know...

What to do about Telemarketers

Someone has given me a few good ideas of how to handle a telemarketing call and junk mail that may in the future reduce the number of calls and junk mail you get.

1. As soon as you realize you have a live telemarketer on the phone say, "Hold On, Please...", and put the phone down and go back to what it was you were doing before you were interrupted. When the phone makes several beeping noises it's time to hang up.
2. When you get "ads" enclosed with your phone or utility bill, return these "ads" with your payment. Let the sending companies throw their own junk mail away.
3. When you get a pre-approved credit card application with a postage paid return envelope, return the application not filled out in the envelope and mail it back. Hey, why not add some junk mail in there too?

Thank you, they're some great ideas.

Good Deed?

Yes, I was a cub scout at one time, I think the year was 1962? I was also Catholic at that time having been raised in a somewhat Catholic home and going to a Catholic school. Doing good deeds was something that was encouraged and expected to a great extent. I don't know if it was being Catholic or being a cub scout, but good deeds were a part of life.

Today I'm no longer scout nor Catholic. I follow my own path of Eclectic Wicca. But good deeds are still a part of life for me. Whether it's making a favourite dish, letting someone back out of their parking spot without cutting them off, cleaning up the house or buying my wife a bag a chips it's still a good deed.

I don't know if it's just me but after being around for over 50 years I sort of think that the world has become more selfish and self centred. Impatience, greed and a general lack of concern for anyone but the self is prevalent from where I stand.

My theory is that it's a parenting problem. Yes I said parenting problem! Obviously this problem didn't just happen yesterday but has been growing for one or two generations.

I am not a psychiatrist or even a psychologist, but I have spent over 20 years working in the health care field and for the most part in psychiatry watching and observing. My conclusion is that we are all born into this world as little helpless babies, who are fighting for life with every breath. So naturally we're a little selfish and self centred by nature. But as we grow and become more and more self sufficient we should become less selfish and self centred. But we don't... that's up to our parents to teach us.

If we don't teach our children to share, be polite, be courteous, be generous then they grow up to be little personality disorders that commit road rage, vandalism, swarming, bullying and the list goes on. As adults they can become serial killers, domestic violent abusers, your daughters boyfriend or your sons wife. Think about what you're doing to the next generation before you let your kids raise each other. It's not their job, it's yours. Lead by example and maybe it won't be too late.

Your challenge if you choose to accept it, is to do a good deed today. Show someone you care more than just for yourself. "Pay it forward" was a good example of what I'm talking about. Maybe you should watch this movie too.
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Telephone Spam part 2

Out of frustration I wrote to my MP in Nepean Ontario regarding Telephone Spam calls. This is an excerpt from his reply.

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As of Dec. 2007 Bell Canada Inc. has been awarded a contract to put together a national “do not call” list. The company was the only bidder that was compliant with the requirements of the Request for Proposal. Bell Canada will be responsible for registering numbers, providing telemarketers with up-to-date versions of the list, and receiving consumer complaints about telemarketing calls. I

In addition, Bell Canada will operate the “do not call list” using the fees that telemarketers will pay to subscribe to the list. The contract stipulates that the list should be launched by September 30, 2008. If you wish to be added to this list feel free to sign up at Bell Canada’s website “http://www.bell.ca/enterprise/EntPrd_Vce_DoNotCall” or by contacting BELL directly at 310-BELL (2355).

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Unfortunately the link to Bell doesn't work. Perhaps one day it will.

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Telephone Spam

I guess email spam isn’t enough, and telephone spam is becoming a nuisance too. At least with email spam we have some solutions such as spam assassin and other protocols that can be used to delete, block or identify spam email. How does one stop or even identify spam telephone calls?

I get hundreds if not a thousand spam email a month on my email software. I use Thunderbird and it’s built in spam filter that learns what is spam and what isn’t by what you teach it about your incoming mail. It’s great but it doesn’t get it all and the fact is the spammer changes their email addresses every week so it still gets by.

Telephone spam is on the rise in my house too and to tell you the truth I’ve thought about just not answering the phone unless I know the caller. I have an answering machine that will take a message if I miss a call but why the hell should I answer a call that says unknown or private number? Most likely it’s a prerecorded message telling me I’m paying too high an interest rate on my credit cards or my car is due for an oil change or I’ve won a free holiday in Florida, all I have to do is get there. (Why would I want to go to Florida?) I don’t get many phone calls so I would have to guess that 50% are spam. At least 5 spam calls a week. I had two spam calls already today and it’s only 1:15 pm.

I don’t have any other solution to telephone spam, no filters, no junk phone box and no telephone spam assassin. What do you do other than not pick up? There ought to be a law against Telephone Spam!

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