Tuesday, 1 August 2006
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| Germs-Antibiotics Califchief 07:12:00 |
| | Task Force Urges More Prudent Use of Antibiotics
in New Jersey
07-31-2006 5:52 PM
By LINDA A. JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer
TRENTON, N.J. -- A task force examining the
expensive, sometimes deadly problem of bacteria
increasingly becoming resistant to antibiotics
says New Jersey hospitals must increase
surveillance of these microbes and improve
infection control practices.
A strategic plan from the task force, released
Monday, also recommends better educating the
public about the danger and standardizing
testing to determine which antibiotics best kill
specific microbes prevalent in a hospital or
region, information that can guide doctors'
choice of medication.
The 30-member task force of health experts,
established in February 2005 by the state
Department of Health & Senior Services, sets
those four steps as goals, along with a fifth:
calculating the economic impact of antimicrobial
resistance in New Jersey and demonstrating the
financial benefits of reducing the problem.
"It's all the right stuff that has to be done,"
said Aline Holmes, the New Jersey Hospital
Association's head of clinical affairs.
Health Commissioner Dr. Fred M. Jacobs said
despite current antibiotics losing their
effectiveness, pharmaceutical companies are
developing few new ones as they focus on
more-lucrative drugs for chronic conditions.
"We are charged with preserving the
effectiveness of the antibiotics we have because
of the limited prospect of new antibiotics,"
Jacobs said. "The worst-case scenario is where
you go back to a situation of limited antibiotic
use," leading to amputations and deaths.
As a start, the state will use a $95,000 grant
from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention to fund programs to fight microbial
resistance and to promote appropriate use of
antibiotics.
The strategic plan calls for informing the
public, particularly minority groups, about the
high cost of infections by resistant bacteria.
That could include distributing informational
materials in English and Spanish through health
care providers, airing radio and TV public
service ads, and posting information for the
public and media on the health department's Web
site.
Dr. Eddy Bresnitz, the state epidemiologist,
noted a survey this year found nearly half of
New Jersey residents said they expect to get an
antibiotic prescription if they are sick enough
with a cold or respiratory problem to call or
see a doctor.
"The doctors actually to give it to them because
they feel a lot of pressure," Jacobs said _ even
though antibiotics have no effect on the viruses
that cause most coughs, colds and childhood ear
infections.
While antibiotics have cured and prevented
countless infections since the 1940s, improper
use has helped microbes develop resistance to
standard and even intravenous antibiotics,
making it harder to treat everything from
routine infections and gonorrhea to tuberculosis
and malaria. The CDC estimates about 90,000
patients die each year from infections acquired
in hospitals. Some of the more virulent bugs,
including a type of Staph infection known by the
acronym MRSA, have been infecting athletes in
contact sports and even quickly killing young,
healthy children.
One U.S. study found that if a bloodstream
infection by the bacterium Enterococcus is
resistant to the super-antibiotic vancomycin,
rather than susceptible to it, patient hospital
stays were prolonged by 18 days, $27,190 was
added to hospital costs and risk of death rose
29 percent.
Under the strategic plan, hospitals will focus
on tracking antibiotic-resistant strains of
several bacteria that are common and very
dangerous, and reports will be submitted to the
state electronically, allowing better analysis.
Prisons and long-term acute-care facilities are
interested in doing that as well, and the
tracking could be expanded to nursing homes,
private doctor's offices and home care agencies,
if funding is available, Bresnitz said.
Meanwhile, a second grant _ $181,900 from the
Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey _ will
support a joint project of the health department
and the hospital association to reduce the
urinary tract infections often triggered by use
of catheters in hospitals, nursing homes and
home health care.
Holmes said New Jersey's 81 acute care hospitals
have all been working on infection control. She
hopes the statewide effort, by sharing
hospitals' best infection-control strategies and
other information, helps hospital workers
realize how their daily actions, such as whether
they wear sterile gloves, can affect the scope
of antibiotic resistance.
___
On the Net:
Task Force report:
<http://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/mrsa/documents/mrsa_strategic_plan.pdf>
... Desk: A very large wastebasket with drawers.
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| Remicade and Enbrel General Johnson Jameson Retired Superhero of the Free World 06:04:25 |
| | Is anybody taking both Remicade and Enbrel? Since both are TNF blocker can
they be used together?
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| |  11 answers | Add comment |
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| OTP: Oregon, other fires Califchief 04:46:00 |
| | Wildfires Prompt Oregon, South Dakota Evacuation Orders
Updated: 07-31-2006 10:15:31
Firefighters continued to battle a wildfire Friday that
forced authorities to order the evacuation of about 500
residents near a tourist town.
"What the winds do this afternoon determines what the
fire does today," David Seesholtz, spokesman for the
firefighters, said Friday morning.
Another 1,000 residents near the central Oregon town of
Sisters were warned Thursday that they might have to
flee quickly as the wildfire burned about three miles
away.
Among those who left was 11-year-old Jordyn Johnson, who
packed teddy bears, food for her cats and the first
pages of a book she's writing and illustrating.
"I was getting really scared because I knew the fire
evacuation was going to happen," she told The Bulletin
of Bend.
Her grandmother, Charlotte Hunt, helped her prepare.
"This is my home out there," she said. "It's in God's
hands, that's all I can say. ... I just have to have
faith that it's going to be OK."
The 200 homes were threatened by a fire that was
started by lightning Sunday and burned more than 4
square miles, said David Seesholtz of the Incident
Command Team. The timber fire was about 6 miles from
Sisters.
Gov. Ted Kulongoski ordered that all necessary state
resources, including air tankers, be made available to
fight the fire. Two Oregon National Guard helicopters
were dispatched.
In South Dakota, a fire destroyed at least one home and
authorities advised people to evacuate about 300 homes
eight miles northwest of Rapid City, fire officials said
Friday.
The fire has burned about 3 square miles, or 2,000
acres, and is 10 percent contained, said Beth Hermanson
of the Great Plains Fire Dispatch Center in Rapid City.
It broke out Thursday east of Interstate 90.
A Red Cross shelter was set up at a Rapid City high
school.
Hermanson said she did not know how many people actually
left their homes but that many heeded the advice.
In California, parts of the vast Los Padres National
Forest were closed because of at least 12 lightning-
sparked wildfires that officials feared could spread
rapidly, making evacuation difficult.
The 375 square miles in Kern and Santa Barbara counties
include at least six campgrounds, an off-road vehicle
trail and deer hunting territory.
No evacuations were needed, the U.S. Forest Service
said.
The forest's largest blaze, which burned 4,500 acres or
nine square miles on Sierra Madre Ridge in Santa Barbara
County, was 30 percent contained.
"It's real steep, nasty country, old, thick brush," said
Maeton Freel of the Forest Service. "It's going to be a
slow operation, at best."
In southwestern Utah, firefighters warned residents of
more than 70 homes north of St. George to remove
anything that could add fuel to wildfires burning a few
miles away. A lightning-sparked fire has burned at least
7.8 square miles in hazardous terrain between St. George
and Veyo, said Anne Stanworth, spokeswoman for the Color
Country Fire Management Area.
A nearly 8-square-mile fire erupted in eastern Nevada,
adding to more than a dozen wildland blazes dotting the
state, including a blaze near the virtual ghost town of
Hiko that burned nearly 75 square miles.
___
On the Net:
National Interagency Fire Center: http://www.nifc.gov
... Firemen still make house calls.
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| OTP: Nebraska fires Califchief 04:45:00 |
| | National Guard to Fight Nebraska Wildfires
Updated: 07-31-2006 13:23:19
About 30 soldiers and two helicopters from the Nebraska
Army National Guard headed to the state's Panhandle
today to help fight a new round of wildfires. Four
fires were burning, fueled partly by soaring
temperatures in western Nebraska.
The fires likely started sometime Wednesday afternoon
and grew when temperatures peaked around 100 degrees
Thursday, said U.S. Forest Service officials.
One fire is burning in Chadron State Park, another in
timber and
grasslands north of Harrison, a third south of Harrison
along ridges and grasslands, and the fourth outside of
Whitney.
Local firefighters and Forest Service teams have been
fighting the wildfires, and the Nebraska Emergency
Management Agency has dispatched command and
communications teams to the area.
The State Fire Marshal's Office, Forest Service and
State Patrol also are assisting, and the National Guard
deployed a refueling tanker truck from North Platte
to the fires.
Last week, a wildfire near Valentine caused an estimated
$1.3 million in damage and burned more than 3,000 acres.
Many of the troops called to duty today also helped
fight the Valentine fire, said Capt. Kevin Hynes, a
Guard spokesman.
The soldiers are from the Scottsbluff and Chadron-based
1057th Transportation Company and have been trained to
fight wildfires, Hynes said.
They will have Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters to
help with observation and water drops.
... Firemen still use reverse lays.
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| OTP: California fires Califchief 04:44:00 |
| | Thursday, July 27, 2006
CDF Home <http://www.fire.ca.gov/php/index.php>
Current Major Incidents
Horse Fire:
Name: Horse Fire <incidents_details_info?incident_id=108>
County: San Diego
Administrative Unit: CDF San Diego Unit / Cleveland National Forest
Cleveland National Forest <http://inciweb.org/incident/336/>
Status/Notes: 50% , Full containment expected July 30, 2006 at 6:00 pm.
Date Started: July 23, 2006 6:04 am
Last update: July 27, 2006 7:00 pm
Phone Numbers 1 (619) 590-3160 (Horse Fire Information)
Shasta Fire:
Name: Shasta Fire <incidents_details_info?incident_id=119>
County: Shasta
Administrative Unit: CDF Shasta-Trinity Unit
Status/Notes: 80%, Full containment expected July 28, 2006 at 8 pm.
Date Started: July 25, 2006 3:52 pm
Last update: July 27, 2006 7:00 pm
Phone Numbers 1 (530) 225-2510 (Shasta Fire Information Center)
Lakin Fire:
Name: Lakin Fire
County: Siskiyou County
Administrative Unit: Shasta National Forest
<http://inciweb.org/incident/358/>
Status/Notes: 10% - 340 acres
Date Started: July 25, 2006 2:00 pm
Last update: July 27, 2006 7:00 pm
Heart-Millard Complex:
Name: Heart-Millard Complex
County: San Bernardino
Administrative Unit: San Bernardino National Forest
<http://www.inciweb.org/incident/276/>
Status/Notes: 75% - 23,917 acres
Date Started: July 14, 2006 7:22 am
Last update: July 27, 2006 7:00 pm
Phone Numbers (909) 383-5688 (Millard Fire)
San Rafael Lightning Complex:
Name: San Rafael Lightning Complex
County: Santa Barbara County
Administrative Unit: Los Padres National Forest
<http://inciweb.org/incident/347/>
Status/Notes: 30% - 4,500 acres
This complex consists of the Bald, Mormon, Abel, and Horse fires.
Date Started: July 23, 2006 1:00 pm
Last update: July 27, 2006 7:00 pm
Mt. Pinos Lightning Complex:
Name: Mt. Pinos Lightning Complex
County: Kern County
Administrative Unit: Los Padres National Forest
<http://www.inciweb.org/incident/343/>
Status/Notes: 98% - 3,179 acres
The following fires are now being managed under the Mt. Pinos Lightning
Complex; Scott Fire, Ridge Fire, Boy Fire and Wood Fire.
Date Started: July 23, 2006 1:30 pm
Last update: July 27, 2006 7:00 pm
SHF Lightning Complex:
Name: SHF Lightning Complex
County: Siskiyou County
Administrative Unit: Klamath National Forest
<http://inciweb.org/incident/356/>
Status/Notes: Fires total 34 acres with 85% containment.
Date Started: July 23, 2006 6:01 pm
Last update: July 27, 2006 7:00 pm
Uncles Complex:
Name: Uncles Complex
County: Siskiyou
Administrative Unit: Klamath National Forest
The Uncles fire is now a Complex.
Several new fires have been discovered and in addition to
the Uncles fire the new ones consist of the: Rock Fire,
unstaffed at this time, no smoke showing. Ethel Fire, small
spot, not showing smoke. Katherine Fire, small spot, 1/10
acre. Snoozer Fire, single snag in a remote steep area,
held in check with bucket drops.>
Status/Notes: 0% - 400 acres
Date Started: July 23, 2006 1:01 pm
Last update: July 27, 2006 7:00 pm
Coyote Complex:
Name: Coyote Complex
County: Riverside
Administrative Unit: CDF/Riverside County Fire
<http://ww2.rvcfire.org/firepio/process?action=viewIncidents>
Status/Notes: 100% - 460 acres
Date Started: July 23, 2006 2:11 am
Last update: July 26, 2006 7:00 pm
Phone Numbers 1 (951) 940-6366 (Coyote Fire Information)
Auberry Complex:
Name: Auberry Complex
County: Fresno
Administrative Unit: CDF Fresno-Kings Unit
Status/Notes: 100% - 300 acres
Date Started: July 23, 2006 7:30 pm
Last update: July 27, 2006 7:00 am
Whispering Pines Fire:
Name: Whispering Pines Fire
County: San Bernardino
Administrative Unit: Joshua Tree National Park
<http://www.nps.gov/jotr/pphtml/newsdetail24533.html>
Status/Notes: 100% - 993 acres
Date Started: July 23, 2006 1:15 am
Last update: July 26, 2006 7:00 am
Empire Fire:
Name: Empire Fire <incidents_details_info?incident_id=115>
County: Los Angeles
Administrative Unit: Los Angeles County
Status/Notes: 100% - 1,094
Date Started: July 22, 2006 8:12 am
Last update: July 26, 2006 7:00 am
Phone Numbers 1 (323) 881-2411 (Los Angeles County News Line)
Oak Fire:
Name: Oak Fire
County: Riverside
Administrative Unit: San Bernardino National Forest
<http://inciweb.org/incident/328/>
Status/Notes: 100% - 225 acres
Date Started: July 23, 2006 1:00 am
Last update: July 26, 2006 7:00 am
Three Rocks Fire:
Name: Three Rocks Fire
County: Fresno County
Administrative Unit: CDF Fresno-Kings Unit
Status/Notes: 100% - 6,500 acres
Date Started: July 22, 2006 8:00 pm
Last update: July 24, 2006 7:00 am
Ramp Fire:
Name: Ramp Fire
County: San Bernardino
Administrative Unit: San Bernardino National Forest
<http://inciweb.org/incident/323/>
Status/Notes: 100% - 447 acres
Date Started: July 22, 2006 11:29 am
Last update: July 24, 2006 7:00 am
Covington Fire:
Name: Covington Fire
County: San Bernardino
Administrative Unit: CDF San Bernardino Unit
Status/Notes: 100% contained - 280 acres
Date Started: July 20, 2006 12:00 pm
Last update: July 22, 2006 7:00 am
Creek Fire:
Name: Creek Fire <incidents_details_info?incident_id=101>
County: Lassen
Administrative Unit: CDF Lassen-Modoc Unit
Status/Notes: 100% contained - 1,611 acres
Date Started: July 18, 2006 4:26 pm
Last update: July 23, 2006 7:00 am
Phone Numbers 1 (530) 257-9553 (Creek Fire Information)
Hub Fire:
Name: Hub Fire
County: Calaveras
Administrative Unit: CDF Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit
Status/Notes: 100% contained-130 acres
Date Started: July 19, 2006 3:00 pm
Last update: July 22, 2006 7:00 am
Phone Numbers 1 (209) 754-5527 (Hub Fire Information)
29 Fire:
Name: 29 Fire <incidents_details_info?incident_id=100>
County: Lake
Administrative Unit: CDF Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit
Status/Notes: 100% - 550 acres
Date Started: July 17, 2006 8:55 pm
Last update: July 22, 2006 7:00 am
Phone Numbers (707) 967-4207 (29 Fire Information)
Sawtooth Complex:
Name: Sawtooth Complex <incidents_details_info?incident_id=94>
County: San Bernardino
Administrative Unit: CDF San Bernardino Unit
Status/Notes: 100% - 61,700 acres
Date Started: July 9, 2006 8:30 am
Last update: July 19, 2006 6:30 pm
Phone Numbers 1 (909) 383-5688 (Sawtooth Fire Information)
Phone Numbers 1 (800) 472-5609 (Animal Evacuation Information, So. CA
Only)
Canyon Fire:
Name: Canyon Fire <incidents_details_info?incident_id=91>
County: Stanislaus
Administrative Unit: CDF Santa Clara Unit
Status/Notes: 100% contained - 34,217 acres
Date Started: July 9, 2006 3:55 pm
Last update: July 19, 2006 7:00 am
Phone Numbers (408) 779-0930 (Canyon Fire Information)
Geysers Fire:
Name: Geysers Fire
County: Mendocino
Administrative Unit: CDF Mendocino Unit
Status/Notes: 100% contained - 321 acres
Date Started: July 17, 2006 4:40 pm
Last update: July 19, 2006 7:00 pm
Ore Fire:
Name: Ore Fire
County: El Dorado
Administrative Unit: CDF Amador-El Dorado Unit
Status/Notes: 100% contained - 40 acres
Date Started: July 16, 2006 5:30 pm
Last update: July 16, 2006 7:00 pm
Cary Fire:
Name: Cary Fire
County: Riverside
Administrative Unit: CDF / Riverside County Fire
<http://ww2.rvcfire.org/firepio/process?action=viewIncidents>
Status/Notes: 100% contained - 81 acres
Date Started: July 12, 2006 12:39 pm
Last update: July 12, 2006 7:00 pm
Midway Fire:
Name: Midway Fire <incidents_details_info?incident_id=95>
County: Alameda
Administrative Unit: CDF Santa Clara Unit
Status/Notes: 100% contained - 6,400 acres
Date Started: July 11, 2006 3:20 pm
Last update: July 12, 2006 7:00 am
Arco Fire:
Name: Arco Fire
County: Kern
Administrative Unit: Kern County Fire
Status/Notes: 100% contained - 698 acres
Date Started: July 9, 2006 4:38 pm
Last update: July 12, 2006 7:00 am
Pedro Fire:
Name: Pedro Fire <incidents_details_info?incident_id=90>
County: Tuolumne
Administrative Unit: CDF Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit
Status/Notes: 100% contained - 1,998 acres
Date Started: July 3, 2006 12:39 pm
Last update: July 7, 2006 7:00 am
Del Puerto Fire:
Name: Del Puerto Fire <incidents_details_info?incident_id=89>
County: Stanislaus
Administrative Unit: CDF Santa Clara Unit
Status/Notes: 100% contained - 2,593 acres
Date Started: June 30, 2006 11:48 am
Last update: July 4, 2006 6:00 am
Goodale Fire:
Name: Goodale Fire
County: Inyo
Administrative Unit: CDF San Bernardino Unit
Status/Notes: 100% contained - 3,750 acres
Date Started: June 26, 2006 2:34 pm
Last update: June 29, 2006 6:00 pm
Lassen/Modoc Lightning Fires:
Name: Lassen/Modoc Lightning Fires <incidents_details_info?incident_id=87>
County: Lassen & Modoc
Administrative Unit: CDF Lassen-Modoc Unit / Plumas & Modoc National
Forests
Status/Notes: Boulder Complex (Plumas National Forest) <
http://www.inciweb.org/incident/261/>
Date Started: June 25, 2006 5:00 pm
Last update: July 12, 2006 7:00 am
Perkins Fire:
Name: Perkins Fire
County: Santa Barbara
Administrative Unit: Los Padres National Forest
<http://www.inciweb.org/incident/263/>
Status/Notes: 100% contained - 15,043 acres
Date Started: June 19, 2006 3:18 pm
Last update: June 25, 2006 7:00 pm
Arrastre Fire:
Name: Arrastre Fire <incidents_details_info?incident_id=52>
County: San Bernardino
Administrative Unit: San Bernardino National Forest
<http://www.inciweb.org/incident/241/>
Status/Notes: 100% contained - 361 acres
Date Started: June 9, 2006 12:51 pm
Last update: June 9, 2006 3:33 pm
State Fire Training <http://osfm.fire.ca.gov/StateFireTraining.html>
CDF Academy <http://www.fire.ca.gov/php/fire_er_cdfacademy.php>
Air Program <http://www.fire.ca.gov/php/fire_er_airprgm.php>
Mobile Equipment <http://www.fire.ca.gov/php/fire_er_mobileequip.php>
Law Enforcement <http://www.fire.ca.gov/php/fire_er_lawenf.php>
Cooperative Efforts <http://www.fire.ca.gov/php/fire_er_coopefforts.php>
Conservation Camps <http://www.fire.ca.gov/php/fire_er_consrvncamp.php>
CDF Firefighter Memorial <http://www.fire.ca.gov/php/fire_er_memorial.php>
CDF Medal of Valor Honorees <http://www.fire.ca.gov/php/fire_er_valor.php>
Be Prepared For Any Emergency
<http://www.fire.ca.gov/php/fire_er_beprepared.php>
Emergency Dial 911
CDF Arson Hotline 1-800-468-4408
... My family tree was used for firewood.
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| | 1 answer | Add comment |
|
| Psoriatic arthritis Q & A Califchief 04:43:00 |
| | UNDERSTANDING PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS -- CENTOCOR 03/05
When it comes to psoriatic (sor-ee-AAH-tic) arthritis,
it's important to know as much as you can because this
condition can effect you in many ways.
Q. What is psoriatic arthritis?
A. Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic inflammatory
condition that affects your joints and skin. The
inflammation in the membrane lining the joint can
also result in scaly patches of skin and pitting
in your toenails and fingernails. If left
unattended, for some people psoriatic arthritis can
be a progressively disabling disease as joint and
skin symptoms worsen.
Q. How can psoriatic arthritis affect my life?
A. Psoriatic arthritis can be a life-altering disease,
affecting you in the following ways: > Physically - developing in varous joints
throughout your body, as well as scally patches
of skin and pitting in your toe- and fingernails. > In your daily activities - Joint pain may make
reaching and grabbing, personal hygiene, or
walking difficult. You may not be abele to
work as productively as in the past. > Emotionally - You may feel sad or frustrated
that you can't do the thing you used to do. You
may feel embarrassed or develop a lack of self-
confidence at the visible scaly skin patches.
It may even affect your personal relationships.
Q. What are the signs and symptoms?
A. Joint symptoms/arthritis - Joint pain, stiffness,
and swelling can limit your movements. Psoriatic
arthritis usually affects joints in the knees,
feet, and lower back.
Skin symptoms - The sometimes painful, itchy skin
patches usually occur on elbows, knees, scalp, or
the lower end of the backbone. You might see
pitted, thickened, or deformed toe- and fingernails.
Q. Who is affected by psoriatic arthritis?
A. About 1 million people are living with psoriatic
arthritis. This disease affects both men and women
of all ethnic groups, usually between the ages of
35 and 55. In most people, the symptoms appear
before arthrits develops. However, joint symptoms
develop first in about 15% of people with psoriatic
arthritis.
Q. What causes psoriatic arthrits?
A. The exact cause is not yet known, although genetics
and the environment seem to be associated. Your
immune system plays a large role. When you immune
system isn't working properly it can trigger an
underlying inflammation response.
Q. What do my joint pain, swollen fingers and toes,
and skin have in common?
A. The symptoms of psoriatic arthritis all share a
common link - an underlying inflammation process.
The increased inflammation results in painful joint
symptoms and faster reproduction of skin cells.
Q. How is psoriatic arthritis diagnosed?
A. Psoriatic arthritis is tradionally diagnosed based
on the presence of arthritc symptoms, associated
with joint disease and psoriatic lesion on the
skin. Various test, including blood test and
imaging studies (X-rays or Magnetic Resonance
Imaging (MRI) can help confirm the diagnosis and
rule out other joint diseases, such as ostero-
arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Your doctor
also may examine a small sample of skin under a
microscope, looking for cell abnormalities to
aid in making a correct diagnosis.
Q. How do you cope with the physical and emotional
impact of psoriatic arthritis?
A. Ask for help - Sometimes, asking for physical help
or understanding from other people, such as family,
friends, employers, or healthcare professionals, is
the first step in taking control of the emotional
and physical impact of psoriatic arthritis.
Make daily activities happen - If you have joint
pain from athritis, you may find activities
difficult. Or, you may have to allow extra time
to complete a specific task. Make a list of things
that might help you and talk them over with your
friends, family, doctor, employer, or co-workers.
Emotional effects - Psoriatic arthritis can flare
independently of emotional stress. However, the
anxiety of dealing with the may symptoms of
psoriatic arthritis can place stres on the mind and
body, which can aggravate the condition. A person
may beel frustrated with increasingly limited
movement. Skin lesions may grow to become
embarrassingly visible. If the disease worsens,
a person's sense of self-esteem can be affected and
in some cases leads to depression, which can result
in stress again. Relaxation techniques and
counseling can help relieve the emotional impact
of psoriatic arthritis.
... Despair ДД An extra tire in de trunk.
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| | Add comment |
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| osteoporosis Tin Lizzie 01:34:00 |
| | Hi all
I lurk constantly and post occasionally. I've recently been having problems
with my left wrist. Xray showed severe
osteo-arthritis-arthritis,osteoporosis, a previously fractured wrist and
some bone growth at the base of the thumb bone. I have osteo-arthritis-
arthritis so that was no surprise, I don't know when I had a fractured
wrist, knew there was a bony lump at the base of the thumb. I did not even
think about osteoporosis because when I had my hips and knees replaced the
surgeon told me I had good bones. O kay after this long tale of woe, I want
to know if it is possible to have osteoporosis in just one area? I always
thought it was a systemic problem. Thanks in advance.
Lorrie F
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| | 7 answers | Add comment |
|
| anybody with RA in bay area, california? Victor Zhang 00:38:42 |
| | Is there anybody with RA in bay area, california?
|
| | 2 answer | Add comment |
|
| Re: MBT Shoes - they really work Spodosaurus 00:11:55 |
| | I think you know where you can stick your shoes, spammer.
|
| | 1 answer | Add comment |
|
| Swollen fingers and hands Chebet 00:01:56 |
| | The past few weeks, the arthritis has gotten into my hands and fingers , and
they have become swollen, especially in the morning.
As the day progresses they are not as swollen but they have not come back to
normalcy.
I am not able to wear my rings and I want to have them enlarged.
Has anyone had this minor (rings not arthritis) problem? And did you have
your rings enlarged?
Thanks for any input.
Betty
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| | 11 answers | Add comment |
Monday, 31 July 2006
|
| Re: Sorry Heat is getting Califchief 21:51:34 |
| | Squirrely Jo wrote:
the lights dimming when using more than two things > at a time in the house.
The wiring is OLD and undersized to handle all the
current demands of modern households. You can draw
only so many amps through a pair of wires. After
that limit, there is a loss of voltage (an I*R drop)
due to the resistance of the wires. That's when
wires begin to heat, and in many situations cause
fires.
One solution is to add more circuits to equalize the
loads/demands.
Another solution is to replace all existing wiring
with larger wires that have a larger current rating.
... Do Sexy electrons have Current Affairs?
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| | 8 answers | Add comment |
|
| Is This Normal With a Gou Califchief 17:37:39 |
| | Alvinstraight38@hotmail.com wrote:
I have been dealing with my first gout attack since > last Tuesday, and there are no signs of improvement. > Although I have not been officially diagnosed through > testing, my doctor was certain that it was gout, and > I have all the classic signs. The frustrating thing is my foot seems to be improving > one part of the day, then starts swelling up bad again. (editted) > Is it normal to have this up and down effect with an > attack, or should I be progressively getting better?
Here are a few remarks from the Arthritis Foundation:
Visit http://arthritis.org and search for "gout".
Is It RA or Gout?
If you haven't already had a joint fluid sample
examined for urate crystals, I would recommend
that you speak to your doctor about having one
at your next visit.
If, in fact, you have gout, the sooner you know
and begin proper treatment, the sooner you will
experience relief.
Doyt Conn, MD, Rheumatologist
High uric acid levels -- due either to excess
production of uric acid or to abnormally low
excretion of this waste product in the urine --
are the cause of gout.
Pseudogout Defined
Q: I hear and read a lot about gout, but I have been
diagnosed with pseudogout. Can you please tell me what
this is and how it is treated?
A: Pseudogout often resembles gout and, like gout, is
caused by the formation of crystals in the joints, thus
the name. But instead of being composed of uric acid,
as true gout crystals are, the crystals in pseudogout
are composed of a salt called calcium pyrophosophate
dihydrate (CPPD). The condition is also called CPPD
disease. Pseudogout is the most frequent cause of
acute arthritis in one joint among older people.
Although any joint may be involved, the knee is most
commonly affected. A typical attack begins rapidly with
severe pain, redness and swelling of the affected joint
or joints. The attacks often resolve within a few weeks
whether treated or not.
Unfortunately, recurrent attacks of pseudogout are not
uncommon. Chronic attacks are likely to affect several
joints at once, most commonly the wrists, fingers and
knees. Like gout, pseudogout primarily involves the
body's metabolism (for instance, a problem with iron
or calcium metabolism) rather than the immune system.
However, there is no specific therapy for the
underlying metabolic disorder.
Bernard Rubin, DO, Rheumatologist
Can Fasting Cause Gout
Q: I have read that fasting can lead to gout. Is this
true? If so, why?
A: Yes, fasting can cause gout - if fasting causes you
to become dehydrated, which raises the level of uric
acid in your blood. In fact, high blood levels of uric
acid are the single most important factor in
determining the risk of a gout attack. A form of
arthritis that primarily affects middle aged men, gout
is associated with obesity, heavy alcohol intake,
hypertension, decreased kidney function and diuretic
use. Acute gout is caused by uric acid crystals in the
joint, which trigger inflammation and cause severe pain
and swelling of the joint. If this condition is not
treated effectively, inflammation can smolder in a
number of joints and eventually cause joint damage.
Bernard Rubin, DO, Rheumatologist
... Can bald people get a hairline fracture?
___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12
|
| | 1 answer | Add comment |
|
| OTP: Instument for women Califchief 06:34:00 |
| | "Borrowed" from alt.support.cancer.prostate
A distinguished young woman on a flight from
Switzerland asked the priest beside her, "Father,
may I ask a favor?"
"Of course. What may I do for you?"
"Well, I bought an expensive hair dryer that is well
over the Customs limits, and I'm afraid they'll
confiscate it. Is there any way you could carry it
through Customs for me? Under your robes, perhaps?"
"I would love to help you, dear, but I must warn you,
I will not lie."
"With your honest face, Father, no one will question
you."
When they got to Customs, she let the priest go ahead
of her. The official asked, "Father, do you have
anything to declare?"
"From the top of my head down to my waist, I have
nothing to declare."
The official thought this answer strange, so he asked,
"And what do you have to declare from your waist to
the floor?"
"I have a marvelous little instrument designed to be
used on a woman, but which is, to date, unused."
Roaring with laughter, the official said, "Go ahead,
Father. Next!"
... Photons have mass? I didn't even know they were Catholic.
|
| | Add comment |
|
| OTP: Sunday humor Califchief 06:33:00 |
| | alt.support.cancer.prostate
OT - sunday humor....quotes
Inside every older person is a younger person
-- wondering what the hell happened.
-Cora Harvey Armstrong-
A male gynecologist is like an auto mechanic
who never owned a car.
-Carrie Snow-
My second favorite household chore is ironing.
My first being, hitting my head on the top bunk
bed until I faint.
-Erma Bombeck-
The phrase "working mother" is redundant.
-Jane Sellman-
Thirty-five is when you finally get your head
together and your body starts falling apart.
-Caryn Leschen-
When I was young, I was put in a school for
retarded kids for two years before they realized
I actually had a hearing loss. And they called ME
slow!
-Kathy Buckley-
I'm not going to vacuum 'til Sears makes one you
can ride on.
-Roseanne Barr-
I am a marvelous housekeeper. Every time I leave
a man I keep his house.
-Zsa Zsa Gabor-
"Many more men die with prostate cancer than of it.
Growing old is invariably fatal. Prostate cancer is
only sometimes so."
... Growing old is mandatory - growing up is optional.
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| | Add comment |
|
| Appointment with hip surgeon Guest 06:09:10 |
| | I posted here about a month ago regarding potential hip surgery. Thank
you for the support I was given through e-mails. I have an appointment
with the hip surgeon next friday. I was given the OK to have the hip
surgery from my cardiologist and heart surgeon. The plan is to do the
surgery the 1st week after high school football season, probably the 1st
week in December. Tried to play 18 holes of golf today, I walk the
course, but only got in 11....hip just starts to really take over after
about 8 holes.
Thanks again,
Mark
|
| | Add comment |
|
| Recycle single-use parts Califchief 06:05:00 |
| | Recycling Single-Use Medical Devices Saves Money
but Raises Concerns
( PHOTO )
Graphic shows some surgical devices that can
legally be reprocessed for repeated uses.
07-30-2006 20:00
By LINDA A. JOHNSON
TRENTON, N.J. -- For eight months during his
infancy, Sean Van Duyn gagged, retched and
vomited daily. Now 6, the Winter Haven, Fla.,
boy still can't eat or drink by mouth, instead
being fed by a permanent tube in his belly.
Beset by multiple medical problems in his first
months, the boy had to have a breathing tube
inserted through a hole cut in his neck. The
gagging began and continued until his mother,
Susan, discovered the tube was misshaped at the
end and had been poking the back of his throat
the whole time. The tube was replaced, but by
then Sean's developing brain was programmed not
to swallow; he still cannot.
The family alleged the injury occurred because
the plastic breathing tube's tip had been bent
during "reprocessing" _ cleaning and heat
sterilization _ done at an Orlando hospital even
though the tube was labeled for single use only.
They won a confidential settlement from the
hospital.
The case has fueled the debate over the safety
of reusing surgical blades, forceps and other
medical devices. The practice was routine until
a couple decades ago, when stronger plastics
enabled manufacturers to start making devices
designed for single use to cut costs and prevent
infection spread in the era of AIDS.
Then hospitals, and eventually specialized
companies, started "reprocessing" single-use
devices, cutting device costs by about half _
without patients' knowledge.
Federal regulators say reprocessing is safe, but
original device manufacturers say they can't
guarantee recycled products will work correctly
_ and that they are wrongly blamed for
malfunctions and patient harm caused by
reprocessing.
A federal law taking effect Tuesday, requiring
reprocessors to put their company name on
recycled devices as well as the packaging, could
help determine who's at fault when problems
occur. For devices too small to mark, detachable
stickers could be transferred to the patient's
chart.
"That's like a 'Sue Me!' sticker," and may not
be used much, said Josephine Torrente, a lawyer
and biomedical engineer who consults for device
manufacturers.
Dan Vukelich, executive director of the
Association of Medical Device Reprocessors,
argues reprocessed products are totally safe
because each item is inspected before being
shipped.
The device makers and their trade group have
been lobbying legislators in several states for
bills that protect their interests _ and
patients. The battle has a big _ and
fast-growing _ financial stake for both sides.
Device makers saw combined revenues jump from
$48 billion in 2001 to $71 billion last year;
reprocessors went from a combined $20 million in
2000 to $87 million in 2004.
Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ethicon
Endo-Surgery is suing the biggest reprocessor,
Ascent Healthcare Solutions, for trademark
infringement over reprocessing its single-use
devices.
"It is impossible to reuse them," said Robert
O'Holla, J&J's head of regulatory affairs for
medical devices, because they are not designed
to be taken apart for cleaning. Yet J&J gets
complaints from customers about problems with
devices showing excessive wear or bleach on them
_ signs of reprocessing.
Ascent Healthcare's regulatory chief, Don
Selvey, said only about 2 percent of medical
devices _ a category that ranges from MRI
machines to reading glasses _ are now
reprocessed. He said his company's processes
reduce chances of "viable organisms" surviving
on devices to one in one million.
Reprocessed devices are soaked in sterilizing
solutions, disassembled, blasted clean with a
fine powder, reassembled and inspected, then
packaged, sterilized and resealed. On average,
they're reused three to six times.
"It is as safe and effective as a new device if
they meet our requirements," said Larry Spears,
compliance chief for medical devices at the Food
and Drug Administration.
Since early 2004, when reports of problems with
medical devices were first required to note if
they had been reprocessed, the FDA has received
13 reports of patient deaths and 421 other
trouble reports, including 130 involving serious
patient harm, although some may be duplicate
reports.
Reprocessors say they must meet stringent FDA
standards after first proving they can safely
clean and sterilize each type of device. But the
manufacturers main trade group, the Advanced
Medical Technology Association, notes about half
of the reprocessors' applications for
reprocessing of individual devices were rejected
by FDA, a sign of the difficulty of properly
cleaning complex devices.
Rep. Tom Davis, a Virginia Republican who chairs
the House Government Reform Committee, said
Friday he plans a fall committee hearing to
examine the issue.
"It is unclear to us at this time whether FDA is
able to accurately track how often something
goes wrong because a device meant to be used
once was instead reused," Davis wrote in a
statement.
Congress also has asked its investigative arm,
the Government Accountability Office, to update
a June 2000 report which concluded more
oversight is needed. GAO is unsure when it will
begin investigating.
Ken Hanover, CEO of the seven-hospital Health
Alliance of Greater Cincinnati, said his
hospitals have used reprocessed devices for
about eight years without a problem.
"There's far more risk of medication errors in a
hospital than of a problem arising with a
reprocessed device," he said, adding that his
hospitals "probably" would honor patient
requests to have only new devices used on them.
Children's National Medical Center in
Washington, on the other hand, doesn't use
reprocessed devices, said surgeon in chief Dr.
Kurt Newman.
"We want to use the safest and most sterile
equipment," he said.
University of Pennsylvania bioethicist Arthur
Caplan has "qualms" about the practice,
particularly because patients don't give
informed consent _ required when deviating from
the standard of care raises safety or efficacy
concerns.
"I just think people ought to know what's going
on," Caplan said.
Susan Van Duyn, Sean's mother, agreed.
"If anybody can learn from the tragedies with
Sean, it's worth telling" his story, she said.
___
On the Net:
Advanced Medical Technology Association:
http://www.advamed.org
Association of Medical Device Reprocessors:
http://www.amdr.org
... That guy Ibid, he thinks he knows everything.
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| | Add comment |
|
| Diet news Califchief 06:04:00 |
| | How Much to Eat? People Take Cues From Their
Surroundings, Study Says
07-30-2006 14:57
By MALCOLM RITTER
NEW YORK -- How many M&MS are enough? It
depends on how big the candy scoop is. At least
that's a key factor, says a study that offers
new evidence that people take cues from their
surroundings in deciding how much to eat.
It explains why, for example, people who used to
be satisfied by a 12-ounce can of soda may now
feel that a 20-ounce bottle is just right.
It's "unit bias," the tendency to think that a
single unit of food _ a bottle, a can, a
plateful, or some more subtle measure _ is the
right amount to eat or drink, researchers
propose.
"Whatever size a banana is, that's what you eat,
a small banana or a big banana," says Andrew
Geier of the University of Pennsylvania. And
"whatever's served on your plate, it just seems
locked in our heads: that's a meal."
The overall idea is hardly new to diet experts.
They point to the supersizing of fast food and
restaurant portions as one reason for the surge
of obesity in recent decades. They sometimes
suggest that dieters use smaller plates to
reduce the amount of food that looks like a meal.
But in the June issue of the journal
Psychological Science, Geier and colleagues dig
into why people are so swayed by this unit idea
when they decide how much to eat.
Geier, a Ph.D. candidate who works with people
who are overweight or who have eating disorders,
figures people learn how big an appropriate food
unit is from their cultures. For example, yogurt
containers in French supermarkets are a bit more
than half the size of their American
counterparts. Yet French shoppers don't make up
the difference by eating more containers of the
stuff, he noted.
He and the other researchers tried a series of
experiments using environmental cues to
manipulate people's ideas of how big a food unit
is.
In one, they put a large bowl with a pound of
M&Ms in the lobby of an upscale apartment
building with a sign: "Eat Your Fill ... please
use the spoon to serve yourself." The candy was
left out through the day for 10 days, sometimes
with a spoon that held a quarter-cup, and other
times with a tablespoon.
Sure enough, people consistently took more M&Ms
on days when the bigger scoop was provided,
about two-thirds more on average than when the
spoon was present.
In another experiment, a snacking area in an
apartment building contained a bowl with either
80 small Tootsie Rolls or 20 big ones, four
times as large. Over 10 working days, the bowl
was filled with the same overall weight of candy
each day. But people consistently removed more,
by weight, when it was offered in the larger
packages.
In those experiments, as well as a similar one
with pretzels, "unit bias" wasn't the only thing
that produced the differences in consumption
levels, but it had an influence, Geier and
colleagues concluded.
Brian Wansink, director of Cornell University's
Food and Brand Lab and author of the forthcoming
book "Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We
Think," called the new paper an impressive
demonstration of the effect in a real-world
setting. He has done similar work but didn't
participate in Geier's research.
So can all this help dieters?
Some food companies are introducing products in
100-calorie packages, and Geier thinks that
could help hold down a person's consumption. He
also suspects companies could help by displaying
the number of servings per container more
prominently on their packaging.
As for what dieters can do on their own, Geier
said one of his overweight patients offered a
suggestion for restaurant visits: Request that
the meal be split in two in the kitchen, with
half on the plate and the other half packaged to
take home.
In any case, an earlier experiment of Geier's
shows that the unit bias effect has its limits.
He had one dining hall at his university provide
10-ounce glasses for soda, and a second provide
16-ounce glasses. He predicted that students at
the first hall would drink less soda. In fact,
they drank more.
Only later did he find out what went wrong.
"They were taking two glasses at a time," he
said. "I guess I went below what is culturally
construed as a unit of soda."
... Cyber-Dog food: Kibbles and Bytes, and Bytes and Bytes.
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| | Add comment |
|
| OTP: $3 bill Califchief 06:03:00 |
| | Sometime back while I was out of servive because of
the computer crash, someone posted about an incident
at Toco Bell over the $2 bill. Here's a new one....
Early Printing Plates for $3 Bills, Other Odd
Currencies Expected to Bring Big Bucks at Auction
07-30-2006 11:24
By DAVID TIRRELL-WYSOCKI
WOLFEBORO, N.H. -- Ornate currency produced by
banks around the country became obsolete
virtually overnight when the federal government
started printing money in quantity in the 1860s.
So did the intricate printing plates used to
make it. Now, hundreds of the hand-engraved
metal plates, many hidden in storage for more
than 150 years, are going on the auction block.
"For historical significance, it's hard to
overstate it," said Douglas Mudd, curator of
exhibitions at the American Numismatic
Association Money Museum in Colorado Springs,
Colo. "These are unique items. These are the
plates that were used to produce notes and paper
documents that built this country."
Before they go up for auction, the plates are
being examined and catalogued by a New Hampshire
firm that specializes in rare currency and
coins, American Numismatic Rarities.
It sometimes needs to do detective work.
"When they come to us, it doesn't say `Hey, this
was used in 1841 to print this.' We have to
figure it out ourselves ... and when we can,
sometimes we have a eureka moment," said Q.
David Bowers of American Numismatic Rarities.
The 200 tons of plates are from the archives of
the American Bank Note Co., formed in New York
in 1858 by the consolidation of seven major
engraving and printing firms.
The collection comprises about 900 plates used
for printing money plus 10,000 to 20,000 of
various sizes that were used for other printing
jobs.
"These were hand-engraved by highly skilled
artists," Bowers said. "It would not be unusual
for someone to spend weeks doing a whole scene.
They wore eyepieces and had very fine tools and
magnifiers and did it one line at a time."
American Bank Note inherited plates its
predecessors had been accumulating for decades,
including ones used to print advertisements,
letterhead stationery and stock certificates
that helped fuel the country's economic and
westward expansion during the early 1800s.
The company, now based at Trevose, Pa., near
Philadelphia, printed money for banks around the
country until the federal government imposed a
10 percent tax on transactions involving such
currency in 1866, Bowers said.
"People brought their state bank notes back to
the bank and said `Give me federal money
instead.' So almost overnight, they all left
circulation," he said.
The plates were packed up and left in storage
until 2004, when the collection was purchased
for an undisclosed price by John Albanese of
Archival Collectibles of Far Hills, N.J. He has
been sending the plates to New Hampshire to be
researched before selling them at a series of
auctions.
The first, scheduled for Aug. 11 in Denver, will
have 158 plates used to print currency and stock
certificates for everything from early railroads
to mining companies. They include "vignette"
plates, which portray scenes of Americana or
landmarks that banks and other companies used to
embellish their currency, letterhead, checks or
advertising.
The Denver auction also includes an engraved
cylinder used to print tickets to the
Pan-American Exposition of 1901 in Buffalo,
N.Y., where President William McKinley was
assassinated.
Future auctions will include iconic plates such
as the RCA Victor dog, early ads for Campbell's
soup and invitations to events such as the 1884
dedication of the Statue of Liberty's pedestal.
Bowers suspects the centerpiece of the auction
in Denver will be a series of plates, including
one for then-popular $3 bills, from the
Commercial and Agricultural Bank of Galveston,
Texas.
"By the time they stopped issuing state bank
notes in 1866 there were only three banks _
count them, three _ in the whole state of Texas,
whereas in New York there might have been 300,"
he said.
___
On the Net:
Numismatic Rarities: http://www.anrcoins.com/
Archival Collectibles:
http://www.archivalcollectibles.com/
... But what if I'm a figment of MY imagination?
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| | Add comment |
|
| OTP: The Wise Teacher Califchief 04:56:00 |
| | FIDONEWS 19-31 5 Aug 2002
A WISE TEACHER
One day a teacher asked her students to list the names of the other
students in the room on sheets of paper, leaving a space between each
name.
Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about
each of their classmates and write it down under the persons name.
It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment
and, as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.
That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a
separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about
that individual.
On Monday, she gave each student his or her list.
Before long, the entire class was smiling.
"Really?" she heard whispered. "I never knew that I meant anything to
anyone!" and, "I didn't know others liked me so much" were some of the
comments.
No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if
they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't
matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose.
The students were happy with themselves and one another. That group of
students moved on.
Several years later, one of the students was killed in Vietnam and his
teacher attended the funeral of that special student.
She had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. He looked
so handsome, so mature. The church was packed with his friends. One by
one, those who loved him took a last walk by the coffin.
The teacher was the last one to bless the coffin. As she stood there,
one of the soldiers, who acted as pallbearer, came up to her.
"Were you Mark's math teacher?" he asked.
She nodded: "Yes."
Then he said: "Mark talked about you a lot."
After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates went together to a
luncheon. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting to
speak with his teacher.
"We want to show you something," his father said, taking a wallet out
of his pocket. "They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought
you might recognize it."
Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of
notepaper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many
times. The teacher knew, without looking, that the papers were the
ones on which she had listed all the good things each of Mark's
classmates had said about him.
"Thank you so much for doing that," Mark's mother said. "As you can
see, Mark treasured it."
All of Mark's former classmates started to gather around.
Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, "I still have my list. It's
in the top drawer of my desk at home."
Chuck's wife said, "Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album."
"I have mine too," Marilyn said. "It's in my diary."
Then Vickie, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out
her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. "I
carry this with me at all times," Vickie said, and without batting an
eyelash, she continued: "I think we all saved our lists."
That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Mark
and for all his friends who would never see him again.
The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life
will end one day, and we don't know when that one day will be.
So please, tell the people you love and care for, that they are
special and important. Tell them, before it is too late...
GOD BLESS,
Ol'wdb
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THE SWING
The proud father brought home a backyard swing set for his children
and immediately started to assemble it with all the neighborhood
children anxiously waiting to play on it. After several hours of
reading the directions, attempting to fit bolt A into slot B, etc.,
finally gave up and called upon an old handyman working in a
he neighboring yard.
The old-timer came over, threw the directions away, and in a short
while had the set completely assembled.
It's beyond me," said the father, "how you got it together without
even reading instructions."
"To tell the truth," replied the old-timer, "I can't read, and when
you can't read, you've got to think."
Ol'wdb
... Cat (n): An unprogrammable animal.
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| | Add comment |
|
| otp: advice for new flyer Vickie B. 03:04:26 |
| | Dear Folks,
I come here for advice of all types. My son will be flying in about
two weeks to visit his brother. This will be his first time since a
very young child. No one else in my family has flown since then. I
know that a lot of things have changed and would appreciate any and all
advice.
He does plan on just an over night case which he'll keep with him.
There'll be no checked luggage. And I have told him to carry stuff to
do on the plane.
Thanks in Advance,
Vickie B.
|
| | 2 answer | Add comment |
|
| OTP: BYE, BYE friend Califchief 02:44:47 |
| | A farewell to Farrell's
County's last parlor closes Monday
*By Frank Green *
Saturday, July 29, 2006
The last old-school Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour in San Diego County is
about to draw its final scoop, a victim of rising costs and a changing
marketplace dominated by upscale competitors.
SEAN M. HAFFEY / Union-Tribune
As the days counted down to the closing, Bill Worley, a 27-year veteran
of Farrell's, put the final touches on the pig's trough and prepared to
deliver it to a table - with a song.
The Mira Mesa Farrell's will close Monday after hosting its last
birthday party and serving one last Zoo Sundae ($42.99; serves 10).
No more late-19th century decor of flocked wallpaper, Tiffany-style
lamps, brass ceiling tiles and player piano.
And no more loud drum beats and sirens to signal the start of a bracing
birthday song warbled by waiters in skimmer hats and black vests.
?Our customers are people who liked the nostalgic feel of the place ...
and the noise,? said John Ortman, who opened his first Farrell's
franchise in La Mesa in 1968 and has owned eight in the area over the
years.
The business - which had its heyday in the 1970s and 1980s when the
Farrell's chain grew to 130 stores across the U.S. - has been marginally
profitable in recent years as lease rates and labor costs soared. One
Farrell's store remains, a location in Santa Clarita.
Ortman said he no longer can compete in an industry in which customers
can order a $3.10 sundae and take up a table or booth for half an hour
or more, pushing down average checks compared to other ice cream stores
and restaurants.
Analysts said regional, old-fashioned stores such as Farrell's are
having a tough time keeping cool under the competitive heat from
up-and-comers such as Cold Stone Creamery, Marble Slab Creamery and the
revitalized Baskin-Robbins.
About 70 percent of the $22 billion in ice cream and frozen desserts
eaten each year is now consumed at scoop shops and other retail outlets
instead of at home, according to industry statistics.
Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Cold Stone has become the Starbucks of the ice
cream business, rivaling top brands Dairy Queen of Minneapolis and
Baskin-Robbins of Canton, Mass. The company, which operates 41 outlets
in San Diego County and 1,350 elsewhere, sells premium-priced,
customized cones that are elaborately assembled by theatrical scoopers
who mix ingredients on marble slabs.
"People in Mercedes cars go to Costco to get bargains, but the same
people will pay tons of money for what they view as an experience," said
Phil Sugar, chief executive at the Smart Button consulting company in
Newark, Del.
Cold Stone expects 2006 sales to rise 22.5 percent to $500 million.
"Ice cream is something people have an emotional connection with," said
company spokesman Kevin Donnellan, adding that virtually no one leaves
the company's stores "without a smile on their face."
To counteract the competition, some older chains such as Baskin-Robbins
and Carvel are fighting back with remodeling plans and expansion programs.
Baskin-Robbins, which has 31 stores in San Diego County and about 2,500
stores elsewhere in the U.S., said it plans to open 170 new shops this
year and another 170 in 2007. Sales at the chain increased 0.9 percent
in 2005.
A systemwide remodeling, begun this year, features a new company logo
and an interior done up in pink fluorescent hues and deep blue tints,
with brushed-aluminum front display cabinets.
Four stores in the area will be remodeled by the end of next month, said
Baskin-Robbins spokesman John Carlson.
"We serve a broader audience (than Cold Stone)," said Carlson, noting
that Baskin-Robbins also has fruit drinks and cappuccino on its menu.
Despite the newer ice cream competitors, Farrell's Ortman said he
believes his concept still has mass appeal, judging from the recent jump
in business as people visit the store at 10606 Camino Ruiz one last time.
"I still get a lot of calls from across the country from old customers,"
he said.
Carol Larsen said she will miss celebrating her birthday party at
Farrell's with her family, a tradition which dates to the 1970s when she
would take her son and daughter to the chain's now-defunct Fashion
Valley mall store.
"This is a special place. . . . It has a nostalgic atmosphere which
brings back a time when we were kids," said Larsen, who was eating ice
cream at the store the other afternoon with her granddaughter, Brianna
Davis.
The Farrell's chain opened in Portland, Ore., on a Friday the 13th in
1963 by Bob Farrell, who styled his restaurant interiors and servers'
uniforms after historic photographs of parlors from the late 19th century.
In 1972, Farrell sold the chain for $120 million to the Marriott Corp.
But by 1975, an economic downturn had contributed to Farrell's losing
$4 million.
(Don't you believe that - Marriott drove Farrell's
and Bob's Big Boy into the ground all by itself.)
Marriott, which unsuccessfully tried to remold the chain to attract a
wider audience, sold Farrell's in 1982 for $20 million to investors led
by Richard Blum. By 1985, the chain was sold back to Marriott, which
closed or sold many stores.
As more parlors vanished, Ortman refused to abandon Farrell's, keeping
its old-timey decor in place even during the years of corporate
makeovers. Ortman opened and closed six Farrell's stores from 1968 to
the mid-1980s.
The Fashion Valley parlor, which opened in 1970, survived until 1996,
when it was forced to close because of the shopping center's expansion.
Ortman opened the Mira Mesa outlet six weeks later.
"With high labor costs these days, it's tough to maintain the
elaborate, labor-intensive Farrell's format, replete with singing
waiters," said Ortman, whose staff has diminished from 50 employees per
store to about 30 workers at the Mira Mesa site. "I'll miss this."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
... Dancing is a perpendicular expression of a horizontal desire.
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| | 3 answer | Add comment |
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| Re: advice for new flyer Kelly C. 01:23:23 |
| |
"vickie b." <sonatabv@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:1154292939.692547.26520@m79g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...> Dear Folks,>
I come here for advice of all types. My son will be flying in about> two weeks to visit his brother. This will be his first time since a> very young child. No one else in my family has flown since then. I> know that a lot of things have changed and would appreciate any and all> advice.> He does plan on just an over night case which he'll keep with him.> There'll be no checked luggage. And I have told him to carry stuff to> do on the plane.> Thanks in Advance,> Vickie B.> A light jacket, shoes that can be easily slipped off for security check (and
for comfort during the flight), no belt, no keys, no metal anything. The
sightest ping of the metal detector and he'll be pulled out of line to be
more thoroughly inspected.
Depending on the length of the flight, a favorite paperback or big magazine,
light snacks like granola bars. Gum to chew during take-off so the ears
don't pop so bad. Take sudafed and hour or so before take-off if prone to
sinus congestion. It helps a lot! A little bit of cash in small bills, for
drinks on the plane. Some charge for soda now, too, I think.
Don't know how old your son is, but little handheld video games are fun for
everyone, as long as the sound is turned all the way down. Hope these tips
help, I haven't flown in a few years now, but these are the basics for me.
Kelly C.
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Sunday, 30 July 2006
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| Boron for OsteoArthritis - Any meaningful information Lee Babcock 23:14:15 |
| | Hello folks..... I've popped in and out of here for a few years. I have
several forms of arthritis and have been having good results on both
osteo and muscular versions from taking Glucosamine Sulphate.
A friend of mine, male 65, is diabetic and has just been diagnosed with
bone density loss which could explain his recent arthritic symptoms.
He has been told my a family member that boran can be used to treat bone
density loss and the resulting arthritis. I've searched the net and
find all kinds of information, both pro and con, with most of the pro
coming from those who earn money promoting/selling the boron products.
Does anyone here know of any meaningful information on boron?
BTW, I'm asking for him as he has lost most of his sight from the diabetes.
TIA
Regards
Lee in Toronto
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| | 2 answer | Add comment |
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