A.B.'s Corner, Volume 5, Come on in and take a load off..... Options

[amy]

Thank you very much for your good thoughts concerning Carolyn.

So far, she is doing O.K. alhough progress is very slow. ( The doctors said it would be )

A.B.

A.B......It's good to know that Carolyn is improving. My thoughts are with you and Carolyn, as always.

[Livyjr]

Thank you very much for your good thoughts concerning Carolyn.

So far, she is doing O.K. although progress is very slow. ( The doctors said it would be )

A.B.

It is good to hear that your wife is improving, Mr. A.B. ...

It is not the speed of the progress that is so much important as the fact of the progress and improvement ...

It's a mental and spiritual battle as much as it is a physical one ...

And so ...

[Livyjr]

And once again, it's morning up here where I am ...

Greyish skies out there this morning ...

It's in the 50's ...

A system is supposed to be making its way up the coast, might bring some rain ....

In the meantime, we are also supposed to be in the influence of some winds out of the northwest that might keep the system to the east of us ...

So ...

Maybe some rain ...

Maybe not ....

And so ...

[Snuffysmith]

This is a photo of a Carolina sunset. Can't say that it looks like this in Washington DC

today where it has been raining solidly all night. We got 5 inches last week. More this

week.

[Snuffysmith]

New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg’s advice to the visiting new mayor of London, Boris Johnson:

“You don’t have to match your answers to [reporters’] questions. If you don’t give the right answers to their questions, they asked the wrong questions.”

[Livyjr]

I hear on the radio that it is flooding down there in Washington, D.C., Snuf ...

That's a big storm, they say ...

I don't think that we are going to get any of it up here ...

It's cool out up here ...

The wind is coming in from the north-west ...

The storm is south of here where you are, along the coast ...

And so ...

Standing there in that picture with Bloomberg is "IRON DUKE OF RENSSELAER COUNTY" Joseph L. "BIG JOE" Bruno, the Republican New York State Senate Majority leader who "SHERIFF OF WALL STREET" Eliot "STEAMROLLER" Spitzer tried and failed to "take out" before Spitzer himself got taken down in connection with the prostitution ring that he was patronizing and protecting while governor of New York ...

When I was scrolling down, the first thing that I saw was the face of Joe Bruno, and I said, "My God, how on earth did Joe Bruno make it into here?"

Joe Bruno certainly would not be among the clientele that normally congregates here at Mr. A.B.'s Place, anyway ...

As it is the presidential election season, there is an interesting relationship between Republican John McCain and "IRON DUKE" Joe Bruno that is very aptly illustrated in this vignette by Elizabeth Benjamin, who now has the Daily Politics BLOG for the New York Daily News in New York City ...

To his discredit, McCain also had a relationship with disgraced ex-U.S. Congressman John "HEY, JACKIE BOY, HEY JOHNNIE" Sweeney, who was himself tight with American COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF George W. Bush, who GOD Made president of America ....

And so ...

"McCain And The NY GOP"

July 11, 2006 at 5:31 pm

by Elizabeth Benjamin, Albany, New York Times Union

Thanks to the plethora of political blogs and the assiduousness of state Democratic Party spokesman Blake Zeff, you’ve probably already seen this new Esquire piece about U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Az., which includes a vingette about his visit here in May to give U.S. Rep. John Sweeney, R-Clifton Park, a fundraising boost.

Much has been made of the fact that Sweeney, a former executive director of the state GOP, pronounced the entire state of New York to be “in play” when it comes to this fall’s midterm House elections.

Other highlights have included Sweeney’s blaming of the “checked out” Gov. George Pataki, and McCain saying he doesn’t know anyone with a 29 percent approval rating who “thinks he can run for president.”

For the record, Pataki’s approval rating is higher now - it was up to 39 in a June Quinnipiac Poll.

Sweeney, once Pataki’s Labor commissioner, has been highly critical of the governor many times before.

The two have been on the outs for a while, due to a host of things, including the fact that Sweeney is still firmly in the camp of Bill Powers, the former state GOP chairman ousted by the Pataki camp in 2001 in favor of Alexander “Sandy” Treadwell, who is widely believed to covet Sweeney’s seat in Congress.

McCain, as is noted in the Esquire piece, hasn’t forgotten that Pataki - who, at least in his own mind, is now a McCain rival for the White House in 2008 - tried mightily to keep the senator off the presidential ballot in 2000.

An interesting part of the Esquire story that hasn’t been touched on is the part about Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, (or as he’s referred to in the piece: “old-school Joe Bruno”…”perhaps New York’s most powerful grassroots Republican”) who held a picnic McCain attended while he was in town.

“Bruno—a strong-jawed, thirty-year senator—and about a thousand of his supporters have been waiting in a steady rain to shake McCain’s hand or touch him on the elbow."

"These folks will do whatever Bruno asks of them, and given the 'graciousness of today’s visit,' he is exactly the sort of man who will one day ask them to vote early and often for John McCain.”

It seems the senator really buys in to the idea of Bruno-as-top-dog-Republican in New York.

“Yeah, that was great,” McCain says.

“We won’t have to sue to get on the ballot this time around.”

[Livyjr]

Well, Mr. A.B. ..

It's nice and quiet in here ....

Which is nice ....

Leave the turmoil at the door ....

There's plenty of it out there, alright ....

But not in here ...

And so ....

Going to be warm up here today ...

Heading up for the 70's ....

No rain ....

No rain made it up to here yesterday, either ....

Down south, in George W. Bush's Texas, the word is that they might get hammered yet again ....

Something biblical in all of that, perhaps ....

Be careful of what you sow, for that you must reap ...

And so ....

[Livyjr]

And another day dawns up here where I am in America ....

A clear day is on tap for us up here today, with the temperature supposed to be heading up into the 70's ....

A bit coolish out there this morning yet, down in the 40's ....

But with the sun getting higher in the sky each day, the chill of the morning comes off fairly quickly now ....

And so ...

[Snuffysmith]

Thought I would check in and say hi to all. The news cycle has been busy. And I
am headed up to Pawling on Friday for a week. My son gets finished with college exams on Monday
whereupon I will head up to Williams and help gather up his things. In the meantime, I'm learning an
awful lot about deer ticks. Two weeks ago, I was walking through some brush/trees on my property trying
to figure out what to clean out eg. poison ivy, vines etc. and likely brushed by head against some branches. Discovered a tick in my hair firmly implanted about four days later which I removed. And then spent the next three days trying to figure out what to do about it given all the horror stories people were sharing with me about lime disease and Rocky Mountain spotted whatever. So now I'm on a two week course of antibiotics to deal with the bite - seems I may have had more than one. I guess this is my baptism into the woods of the northeast. Its tough to find them in one's hair. You can see them if they are on your clothes etc - but when they are on the back of your head, not so easy even if you do wash your hair everyday. My dogs have been immunized and I have learned about the advantages of K9 Avantix. So.
Been getting a lot of rain here. More tomorrow. 5 inches last week. The plants, shrubs and trees are loving it. Best to all.
,

[Livyjr]

Discovered a tick in my hair firmly implanted about four days later which I removed.

And then spent the next three days trying to figure out what to do about it given all the horror stories people were sharing with me about lime disease and Rocky Mountain spotted whatever.

So now I'm on a two week course of antibiotics to deal with the bite - seems I may have had more than one.

I guess this is my baptism into the woods of the northeast.

Good to hear from you, Snuf ...

And your real baptism into the woods up here is when the blackflies bite you and make you bleed and make your ears swell up like cupcakes ...

And ticks are a fact of life up here, Snuf ...

Always have been ....

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is not ....

That is way out west of here in places like Wyoming ...

Lyme disease is Lyme disease ....

NOBODY KNOWS WHAT IT REALLY DOES MEAN TO HAVE IT ...

I got bit by a tick a few years back and tested positive for it ....

I didn't get any shots or antibiotics ....

I told the doctor "NO" ...

I didn't die ....

I'm still here ....

If you listen to enough "horror stories" about ticks and black flies and mosquitos, you'll dig a bunker in your basement and never come back out ...

And if you check around with people, you'll find the doctors up here are doing a "land rush" bid-ness selling those antibiotic treatments to people all over the place, without even trying to find out if someone tested positive for Lyme ....

"OH, MY GOD, YOU'VE BEEN EXPOSED TO A TICK, LET'S GET YOU ON THE ANTIBIOTICS RIGHT NOW ..."

If you hear about a rattlesnake being seen somewhere a thousand miles away ...

They'll have you on anti-venom treatments as well ...

And don't tell them that you heard there was a rabid skunk seen around your place ten years before you got there ....

They'll have you on rabies treatments, as well ....

It's all good for the bottom line ....

They love the gullible who believe that you will die from Lyme disease if it is left untreated ....

The way I left mine untreated ...

(Ah, say, could someone check my pulse for me? Maybe I really am dead from Lyme disease and just don't know it ...)

And so ...

[Snuffysmith]

You know Liv - other than for my accident last summer resulting in a broken collar bone and four fractured ribs, the only time I've had to deal with the ER or a doctor in the past five years is due to some sort of insect bite - I am horribly allergic to sand fleas, mosquitoes, spiders, black flies, etc. I swell up; get cellulitis - all necessitating antibiotics. Almost got deported from Italy at the age of 14 from sand flea bites. I looked like I had elephantits of the foot. I know the studies indicate less than a 3% chance of contracting lyme disease from a deer tick bite. Except I had at least two of them and huge welts on my scalp that were getting larger. It was antibiotic time. I didn't want to screw around with it - less so for the lyme possibility, and moreso for the allergic reaction and subsequent infection from all of the scratching. Now having been on them for two days, they are less sore, swollen, and my scalp is feeling a little more normal. But thanks for the warning. I grew up in the country and know about the rabies hazards even though I'm constructing two bat houses on my property to deal with the mosquitoes and ticks. My dogs are fully immunized - I worried more about them.
I am going to take a jackeet with me this trip. Last time up I didn't thinking it would be in the 60s, and sunny. I was wrong. Froze my butt off doing outdoor landscaping work. This trip I will be better prepared for cooler climes and rain.

[Snuffysmith]

Through my search for news, I found this interesting:

We May Not Be Alone, Says Vatican
The pope’s chief astronomer has written an article in the Vatican newspaper that argues that intelligent beings “created by God could exist in outer space.” The article, “Aliens Are My Brother,” is likely a move by the Vatican to strengthen its scientific credentials, bringing science and religion closer while maintaining papal control over the entire universe.

[Livyjr]

Bats are good to have around, Snuf ...

They eat a lot of flying insects ....

So too phoebes ...

Phoebes like to nest right around the house and I let them ...

And one of the naturally occurring B vitamins makes for a good natural insect repellent ...

Some years ago, during blackfly season, I put on some insect repellent and then went outside, where I was working and picked up a screwdriver with a plastic handle on it ....

The bug repellent on my hand actually melted the plastic ....

It ruined the screwdriver handle ....

I have never used bug repellent again ....

The other day, I heard a "radio doctor" on the news giving out all kinds of warnings about bugs up here, and his advice to people was to use this same kind of insect repellent that melts plastic ...

What is that stuff doing to your body if it melts plastic?

That's what I'm curious about ....

And so ...

[Livyjr]

Here's an informational site on insect repellents, Snuf, including a warning on DEET, which is what melts plastic ...

Insect Repellent

Picaridin and natural insect repellents

Clinical tests all conclude that insect repellents using DEET (N, N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide) as their active ingredient are effective.

However, DEET has an off-putting smell and doesn't feel good on the skin.

DEET is also a solvent for which improper use is risky, and in higher concentrations, it can ruin clothing, plastic and paint finishes.

Therefore, many question whether DEET is the safest thing to put on your skin.

Some researchers and pediatricians warn that even using DEET according to the label instructions may pose health risks.

Noting an association with seizure incidents among children, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) categorizes DEET as "slightly risky."

Continued at:

http://www.consumersearch.com/www/family/i...ent/review.html

[Snuffysmith]

Here's an informational site on insect repellents, Snuf, including a warning on DEET, which is what melts plastic ...

Insect Repellent

Picaridin and natural insect repellents

Clinical tests all conclude that insect repellents using DEET (N, N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide) as their active ingredient are effective.

However, DEET has an off-putting smell and doesn't feel good on the skin.

DEET is also a solvent for which improper use is risky, and in higher concentrations, it can ruin clothing, plastic and paint finishes.

Therefore, many question whether DEET is the safest thing to put on your skin.

Some researchers and pediatricians warn that even using DEET according to the label instructions may pose health risks.

Noting an association with seizure incidents among children, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) categorizes DEET as "slightly risky."

Continued at:

http://www.consumersearch.com/www/family/i...ent/review.html

I must tell you my Deet story. I was at the beach in Delaware and had used a bug spray that specifically included Deet. As soon as I hit the sand, I was mobbed by biting black horse flies. The Deet was useless. it was as though the Deet drew them to me. I had only used the Deet on my feet and ankles. They were just covered. It was awful. Ruined the day completely. No melting plastic though. I find that OFF works Ok for mosquitoes.

[Snuffysmith]

CDC Recommends Shingles Vaccine for Those Over 60
U.S. News & World Report - 57 minutes ago
US recommends shingles vaccine for age 60 and up Reuters
Merck shingles vaccine gets CDC recommendation

[Snuffysmith]

Myanmar Cylone

Just today I received a message from our Emergency Response Team in Myanmar and I wanted to share some information with you about the crisis.

Our emergency response colleagues are working closely with two international partners already established in country, CESVI and GAA. With water sources contaminated, food supplies scarce and a great risk of disease outbreaks, future critical needs are clear. Today 2,000 households will be supplied with a two week food ration of rice, pulses, oil and salt. One thousand other households will receive non-food items like soap, plastic buckets, containers and plastic sheeting. Plastic sheeting is especially important as it can be used for rainwater collection.

Our appeal is simple. We need to raise funds quickly to help our team alleviate the suffering of the people whose lives have been devastated by this cyclone. If any of your friends, family or work colleagues are interested in supporting Concern's appeal, please forward this email today, or they can always visit our website at www.concernusa.org. Our update is right there on the front page.

Be assured we will keep you updated as soon as we hear more information from the field.

Thank you for caring.

Best wishes,
Siobhan Walsh
Concern Worldwide US
www.concernusa.org

[Livyjr]

Life is an adventure, alright, Snuf ...

Especially when there are biting or stinging insects around ...

And so ...

[Snuffysmith]

[Snuffysmith]

The above was today. Tonight and tomorrow: RAIN and a lot of it.