Stop microwaving your leftovers in plastic containers!

TedX: Prenatal Origins of Endocrine Disruption - Critical Windows of Development

one wo/man
one vote

unless you don't

then my vote counts twice as much as yours

and so does the vote

of the crooked corporate executive
of the overfed oil mogul
of the abusive banker
of the power-hungry politician

we need the votes

of the unemployed
of the underemployed
of the working poor
of the struggling students
of the soldiers' families
of the injured and inured

we need you
if we are going to take this country back
and change it for the better

there are more of us
than there are of them
but
when you don't sign your ballot
YOU say you don't count as much

you sign away your future
and sign away our dignity

you may think you don't make a difference
when you [don't] vote

but you do

make it positive

Sunday
October 26, 2008
Murray, KY

Registration: 1pm @ Dairy Queen
Ride starts by 2pm

Ends: 4pm @ Murray City Park
Across from Pagliai's Restaurant

Door prizes, raffled items, homemade chili, etc.

All bikes welcome!

There will be two groups: cruisers and sportbikes

If you don't have a bike, you can still participate!
Contact Randy for details.

Civilisation is hooped together, brought
Under a rule, under the semblance of peace
By manifold illusion; but man's life is thought,
And he, despite his terror, cannot cease
Ravening through century after century,
Ravening, raging, and uprooting that he may come
Into the desolation of reality:
Egypt and Greece, good-bye, and good-bye, Rome!
Hermits upon Mount Meru or Everest,
Caverned in night under the drifted snow,
Or where that snow and winter's dreadful blast
Beat down upon their naked bodies, know
That day brings round the night, that before dawn
His glory and his monuments are gone.

-- William Butler Yeats

My heart was heavy, for its trust had been
  Abused, its kindness answered with foul wrong;
So, turning gloomily from my fellow-men,
  One summer Sabbath day I strolled among
The green mounds of the village burial-place;
  Where, pondering how all human love and hate
  Find one sad level; and how, soon or late,
Wronged and wrongdoer, each with meekened face,
  And cold hands folded over a still heart,
Pass the green threshold of our common grave,
  Whither all footsteps tend, whence none depart,
Awed for myself, and pitying my race,
Our common sorrow, like a mighty wave,
Swept all my pride away, and trembling I forgave!

-- John Greenleaf Whittier

Oh! leave the Past to bury its own dead.
The Past is naught to us, the Present all.
What need of last year's leaves to strew Love's bed?
What need of ghosts to grace a festival?
I would not, if I could, those days recall,
Those days not ours. For us the feast is spread,
The lamps are lit, and music plays withal.
Then let us love and leave the rest unsaid.
This island is our home. Around it roar
Great gulfs and oceans, channels, straits, and seas.
What matter in what wreck we reached the shore,
So we both reached it? We can mock at these.
Oh! leave the Past, if Past indeed there be.
I would not know it. I would know but thee.

-- Wilfrid Scawen Blunt

from a letter to J.H. Reynolds Esq.

   Dear Reynolds! I have a mysterious tale,
And cannot speak it: the first page I read
Upon a Lampit rock of green sea-weed
Among the breakers; 'twas a quiet eve,
The rocks were silent, the wide sea did weave
An untumultuous fringe of silver foam
Along the flat brown sand; I was at home
And should have been most happy, -- but I saw
Too far into the sea, where every maw
The greater on the less feeds evermore. --
But I saw too distinct into the core
Of an eternal fierce destruction,
And so from happiness I far was gone.
Still am I sick of it, and tho', to-day,
I've gathered young spring-leaves, and flowers gay
Of periwinkle and wild strawberry,
Still do I that fierce destruction see ...

-- John Keats

the vet wants to keep ashtor overnight again. his appetite is returning, along with more of his strength. he was able to keep down a little bit of food today.

his pancreatic enzymes have come down slightly, but they're still much too high. more bloodwork tomorrow.

initially, they thought it was possible that fatty food could have triggered the pancreatitis. at this point, they're fairly certain it was outright poisoning.

sometimes, pesticides sprayed nearby can have neurotoxic effects. organochlorines are particularly known for this. these are DDT-like pesticides still in use for everything from crop protection to ant control to lice treatments. some of the most common today include lindane, endosulfan, dicofol, methoxychlor and pentachlorophenol.

organophosphates are another group of pesticides that could be the culprit. these are more common for household use, and include chemicals like malathion.

so careful where you spray! i don't think anyone has sprayed in my area lately, but anything's possible.

the PAN Pesticide Database has a poisoning diagnostic tool that allows you to enter information about your location and symptoms, then provides you with a list of likely chemicals. you can also report poisonings. ashtor's symptoms suggested some form of arsenic poisoning as a likely cause.

arsenic! how scary. arsenic poisoning can occur from contaminated groundwater. deep wells are particularly susceptible, as the water has spent more time underground potentially exposed to natural sources of arsenic. remind me to get my wellwater tested! still, most studies of groundwater contamination have focused on arsenic as a carcinogen, not on acute toxicity.

in humans, according to the CDC, the source of arsenic poisioning is identified in less than 50% of cases. acute toxicity may result from exposure to rodenticides (eg., rat poison!), pesticides/herbicides, or pressure-treated wood (now banned).

ashtor wouldn't have had access to any of these types of things on his own. thankfully, the vet was able to flush his system soon enough to save his life. his major organ systems seem to be functioning. but some of the neurological damage, including loss of motor control, is likely permanent. looks like i've now got a 120lb. house dog. :) (just glad he's alive!)

ashtor-puppy is slowly showing signs of partial recovery. the vet said 2 other sick dogs were taken in yesterday (different GI problem: terminal constipation); of the three, they didn't expect ash to survive -- but he did.

i was able to visit him this morning for a few minutes. his eyes were much clearer, and he had regained a tiny bit of his strength. he recognized me and wanted to crawl into my lap (he's still a 120lb. lap dog!), but must remain immobilized because of his IV. it's very difficult to immobilize such a large, excitable dog -- even a sick one -- so for now he's scrunched into a crate barely as large as he is.

the VMC is taking excellent care of him. he's been able to use the bathroom on his own when they take him out. he's also now able to hold down small amounts of water. the seizures seem to have stopped, but he's still very weak and confused.

tomorrow they may try small amounts of food, if he continues to improve. it's possible that i may get to take him home this weekend, but he will need close monitoring and "nursing" for a while.

thanks for all your well-wishes and prayers! more updates forthcoming.