ppp 07-16-07

Quote of the day: Shallow men believe in luck.

Strong men believe in cause and effect.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)

The number 13 was thought to be unlucky because one could count to 10 on the fingers, the left hand for the number 11, and the right hand for number twelve but after that early man was on his own. If we all were born with 12 fingers I believe that we would be on a “base 12” counting system which would change all of life’s milestones. Age 30 (base 12) would be 36 the way we recon things now. 13 (base 12) would still be the “unlucky” number but we would see 15 though our base 10 eyes.

In Japan the number 4 is considered very bad because the word for 4 is also the word for death. Ever notice how Japanese baseball players in the US major leagues do not use the number 4 on their jerseys? Ichiro is number 55. Hideki Okajima is #18.

Couples felt that it would be “good luck” to tie the knot on the hottest date for weddings this year 07/07/07. Friday the 13^th… not so popular. Two friends of mine were married on 9/1/01 which was sort of funny until the events 10 days later. Catastrophes were predicted for the year 2000. The end of the world has been predicted for the year 2012 according to the ancient Mayan calendar. All of the predictions of the end of the world have had two things in common: 1) some people believe the date to be true and change their lives 2) all of the predictions have been wrong (so far).

The fact is that there will come an “end of the world” for each of us; the day when we cease living. We can’t predict when that day will arrive so living each day as if it were your last is a good idea. What is your “cause”? What do you stand for? What are you doing to realize your dreams? Treat others well, be happy, watch less TV, share your wealth with those less fortunate, and don’t worry about a few weeds in the garden. Put everything in the perspective that it will all end someday and do the most with your remaining time.

ps. Best answer this week to the question "How are you?" was "Good and gettin' better!"

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

Gorman group funded the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) study showing how much money could be saved through e-prescribing. Study urges Congressional funding. You don’t think that one of the top Medicare consulting groups in the country would benefit from that.

Abiraterone blocks testosterone production anywhere in the body. If this works well against prostate cancer you can expect it to be tried in sex offenders for chemical castration.

Newly approved Exelon Patch (rivastigmine transdermal) was just approved for use in Alzheimer’s disease. Mechanism is similar to that of the effective oral agents.

The Epilepsy Foundation is backed by pharmaceutical companies. FDA has already certified bioequivalence of generics but brand name manufacturers of anticonvulsants ALWAYS drag out seizure control when they want to protect profits. The FDA will not cave in so they go after Congress.

Workers want better health benefits but most don’t even know what a copay is or anything about coinsurance. Most do not read their explanation of benefit documents from their employers. Read your next EOB and maybe you will understand why non health professionals don’t even try.

Why does this news not make me feel any safer? Fake drugs from China are entering the US every day. Former head of Chinese FDA was executed for corruption last week. I wouldn’t think THAT message would be easy to ignore.

Some evidence coming in that Chantix, a new drug used for smoking cessation, blocks the pleasure center stimulated by heavy drinking too. May end up as a safer alternative to Antabuse.

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