ppp 01-08-07

Quote of the day: Eve was not taken out of Adam's head to top him,

neither out of his feet to be trampled on by him,

but out of his side to be equal with him,

under his arm to be protected by him,

and near his heart to be loved by him. Mathew Henry

A man walks into an empty bar save the lone bartender. While he is seated with his drink he hears a voice say "nice tie!". No one is near him. He is puzzled but continues to nurse his drink. After 5 minutes he hears, "Nice haircut!" and is beginning to feel very strange. Once again he hears the voice "Are you working out?". He spins around to see who spoke and there is no one else in the place. He asks the barber if he heard the voice. The barber said, "Those are just the peanuts….they're complimentary".

In one of the accounts of Creation in Genesis the creation of Eve is described. While all of the animals of the world were brought before Adam, none were found to be a suitable companion. A deep sleep came over Adam and the Lord removed a rib and closed of the place with flesh. He formed Eve from that rib. Ever wonder why the rib and not a toe or his nose or hand? To quote Matthew Henry: “Eve was made not out of Adam’s head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.” Man and women are ordained to go through life together, side by side, as equals to the partnership. Not that both fulfill the same roles and perform the same functions but still as equals. They were meant, man and woman, to be complimentary.

This weekend my eldest son was married. He was a physics major and she graduated in art. He is practical and decisive. She is artistic and nurturing. Both are bright and madly in love with each other. I see that the outstanding strengths of each will serve the two of them as they begin their lives together as one. Between them they will be able to face all of the tests and tribulations that they will encounter and savor the joys of married life. My wish for them is for the Lord to bless them and keep them complimentary… and that's not just peanuts!

ps. Best answer this week to the question "How are you?" was "All of THAT and a bag of chips!" (in answer to my usual "SUPERFANTASTIC")

pps. Occasionally, some of the links require FREE registration.... I'm sure you can handle THAT slight inconvenience.

The sausages and potatoes may be real but the entire drug supply in England is questionable. As a hub of "parallel importation", Great Britain is the easy target of prescription drug counterfeiters who can move huge quantities of fake drugs instead of individual internet prescriptions. In the words of Winnie…"Oh bother!"

Presently the FDA can regulate nicotine replacement but its "hands off" of the Bureau of Alcohol, tobacco and firearms turf. Kennedy wants the FDA to take over tobacco regulation. Should the FDA take over his Cutty Sark franchise too? Just a question….

"Pharmaceutical Pipeline" only produces 17 new drugs in 2006…. that were approved by the FDA. Many were nixed or delayed. Many feel that the "pipeline" has dried up. The good news is that there are over 2000 compounds in various stages of development at this time. How many get through the process and how many will become blockbusters…. crystal ball is getting hazy….

Tug of war is being staged by Express Scripts and CVS over the PBM business Caremark. It will be interesting but My guess is that the party to bring the most money to the party will kick mud in the face of the loser.

Pfizer responds to pressure on its aging blockbusters by raising the price by 5%. I suppose milking a little more out of them before generics are available and prices fall to 20% of present levels makes sense in the short run…. then we go back to that old "supply and demand" model.

FDA just approved a diet pill for dogs; Slentrol by Pfizer. Supposed to work to suppress appetite (which is fine" and reduce fat absorption (which will lead to diarrhea and even more foul smelling stuff to pick up while on your neighborhood walks… you do pick up after your pooch, don't you?). Even though there are a large number of obese dogs, don't expect this one to be a blockbuster.

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