Brave Survivors and Loose Cannons
January 13th 2007 19:38
NEWS:
Lance Armstrong, one of cycling's all-time greats and possibly the world's best known cancer survivor, founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation with the goal of inspiring and empowering people with cancer.
He now campaigns for more government funds for cancer research and treatment.
“I'm not known for my patience. Patience is a polite quality and often appropriate, but it rarely gets things done. Impatience, however, is the hunger for results and intolerance for excuses and delays. Impatience got me over countless mountain passes, across the finish line in New York City and through four rounds of ruthless chemotherapy 10 years ago.
“Yet this election season I patiently waited to hear a candidate for office explain to constituents what he or she planned to do about one of the leading threats to the health and well-being of all Americans -- cancer. My patience was greeted with silence.
“Cancer will impact one in two men and one in three women in their lifetime. It is devastating and it is pervasive. In fact, every year 1.3 million Americans are diagnosed with cancer...Thankfully, our country has made tremendous progress in this fight and produced remarkable advances in the way we prevent, diagnose and treat cancer. Today, in many cases, we can humbly say that cancer is no longer a death sentence. The medical advances achieved by our nation's best doctors and researchers have given us reasons to hope. But in spite of this vast body of knowledge, 1,500 people will die from cancer today (In the US) and tomorrow and the day after that, often because the care they needed to prevent cancer or survive it was not available to them.
“The political ads didn't tell voters that earlier in the year funding for cancer research was cut for the first time in 30 years. Nor did they explain that a lack of funding slows the pace of scientific discovery and the development of treatments.”
VIEWS:
WAY TO GO LANCE. 1,500 deaths a day in the US alone! What an alarming piece of news, that. One wonders what it is world-wide. I think those countries with the technology owe a duty to their citizens AND the rest of the world to make this earth a better place to live - Come on, guys, get with the program; all of us, like Lance, are running out of patience.
NEWS:
Sgt. Jeff Tanswell, a policeman, swimming off Thursday Island, in the Torres Strait between northern Australia and Papua New Guinea, was attacked by a crocodile estimated to be 10 feet long.
The croc dragged him to deeper waters, and took him down. They surfaced and only the quick thinking of his wife, Jane - another police officer- saved him; she maneuvered their boat between Jeff and the croc and dragged him aboard.
It is reported that his injuries were not life-threatening.
People on Thursday Island nine months ago had voiced concern about their children’s safety after a 15 foot croc was sighted AND a second croc was seen in a bus shelter opposite a high school.
VIEWS:
What a happy ending to a story that really could have ended tragically. Good going Jane!
Crocodiles in high school - I guess he was just trying to better himself. Brrr; alligators and crocodiles have always given this writer the chilly willies - the only good ones are those that are at least a mile away.
NEWS:
More on the US airstrikes in the Afmadow area of southern Somalia against Council of Islamic Courts’’ militia (read “Muslim terrorists”) -see previous story:
Somalian officials have reported that Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, long suspected as being a key player in the 1998 East Africa US embassy bombing, was killed in a US airstrike - there has been no response regarding this from US officials.
It is reported that these new airstrikes are on-going. It has also been reported that among the dead are 64 civilians with 100 more wounded. This reported by a Afmadow elder; there has been no independent confirmation of this information
VIEWS:
Previous view as to the very existence of terrorists inserted here. Let’’s get on with life - not death!!!
NEWS:
In Brussels, Belgium, the European Union, the largest importer of oil and gas, announced a plan to deal with the rising needs for these commodities - not only to tackle the use of these limited valuables, but also in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 percent below the 1990 levels by 2020 to limit global warming in the hopes of preventing the serious damage caused by climate change.
The EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barrosa said Europe must embrace a ““low carbon economy”” by switching to renewable alternatives.
VIEWS:
YES! At last some serious political considerations and concern regarding the world-wide problem of Global Warming and rising temperatures; to say nothing of melting ice-caps (Anybody interested in some beach-front property in central Germany?)
NEWS:
Buddy, a 6-year-old German shepherd mix, wandered into the emergency room at the Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Bellflower, Calif., after having just been hit by a car, and he resisted efforts to remove him, apparently waiting until someone attended to his injured hind leg (which turned out to be broken), according to local animal control officials interviewed by the Whittier Daily News. Owner Fabian Ortega was called (by virtue of Buddy's implanted microchip), and a vet fixed him up.
VIEWS:
That’’s one smart dog; no dog days for Buddy - thought you’d enjoy this amusing article - I did
CLICHE OF THE DAY: “Loose Cannon” as in ““He is so honest that around customers, he tends to be like a 'loose cannon'.”
Origin: Cannons had to be tightly secured on sailing ships of old. A “loose cannon” would be all over the deck causing havoc and damage wherever it got to when the ship heeled and tilted. Also, if not secured, it would recoil and move, again causing damage, upon firing –– “Loose cannon”
JOKE OF THE DAY: A pick pocket was up in court for a series of petty crimes. The judge said "Mr. Jones, you are hereby fined $100." The lawyer stood up and said "Thank you, my lord, however my client only has $75 on him at this time, however, if you would allow him a few minutes in the crowd. . ."
MORE ““MURPHY-LIKE LAWS””: (Technology today)
You can never tell which way the train went by looking at the track.
1. Logic is a systematic method of coming to the wrong conclusion with confidence.
2. Whenever a system becomes completely defined, some damn fool discovers something which either abolishes the system or expands it beyond recognition.
3. Technology is dominated by those who manage what they do not understand.
4. The attention span of a computer is only as long as it electrical cord.
5. An expert is one who knows more and more about less and less until he knows absolutely everything about nothing or is that absolutely nothing about everything.
GOOD BYE; THANKS FOR READING AND SEE YOU NEXT TIME
Lance Armstrong, one of cycling's all-time greats and possibly the world's best known cancer survivor, founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation with the goal of inspiring and empowering people with cancer.
He now campaigns for more government funds for cancer research and treatment.
“I'm not known for my patience. Patience is a polite quality and often appropriate, but it rarely gets things done. Impatience, however, is the hunger for results and intolerance for excuses and delays. Impatience got me over countless mountain passes, across the finish line in New York City and through four rounds of ruthless chemotherapy 10 years ago.
“Yet this election season I patiently waited to hear a candidate for office explain to constituents what he or she planned to do about one of the leading threats to the health and well-being of all Americans -- cancer. My patience was greeted with silence.
“Cancer will impact one in two men and one in three women in their lifetime. It is devastating and it is pervasive. In fact, every year 1.3 million Americans are diagnosed with cancer...Thankfully, our country has made tremendous progress in this fight and produced remarkable advances in the way we prevent, diagnose and treat cancer. Today, in many cases, we can humbly say that cancer is no longer a death sentence. The medical advances achieved by our nation's best doctors and researchers have given us reasons to hope. But in spite of this vast body of knowledge, 1,500 people will die from cancer today (In the US) and tomorrow and the day after that, often because the care they needed to prevent cancer or survive it was not available to them.
“The political ads didn't tell voters that earlier in the year funding for cancer research was cut for the first time in 30 years. Nor did they explain that a lack of funding slows the pace of scientific discovery and the development of treatments.”
VIEWS:
WAY TO GO LANCE. 1,500 deaths a day in the US alone! What an alarming piece of news, that. One wonders what it is world-wide. I think those countries with the technology owe a duty to their citizens AND the rest of the world to make this earth a better place to live - Come on, guys, get with the program; all of us, like Lance, are running out of patience.
NEWS:
Sgt. Jeff Tanswell, a policeman, swimming off Thursday Island, in the Torres Strait between northern Australia and Papua New Guinea, was attacked by a crocodile estimated to be 10 feet long.
The croc dragged him to deeper waters, and took him down. They surfaced and only the quick thinking of his wife, Jane - another police officer- saved him; she maneuvered their boat between Jeff and the croc and dragged him aboard.
It is reported that his injuries were not life-threatening.
People on Thursday Island nine months ago had voiced concern about their children’s safety after a 15 foot croc was sighted AND a second croc was seen in a bus shelter opposite a high school.
VIEWS:
What a happy ending to a story that really could have ended tragically. Good going Jane!
Crocodiles in high school - I guess he was just trying to better himself. Brrr; alligators and crocodiles have always given this writer the chilly willies - the only good ones are those that are at least a mile away.
NEWS:
More on the US airstrikes in the Afmadow area of southern Somalia against Council of Islamic Courts’’ militia (read “Muslim terrorists”) -see previous story:
Somalian officials have reported that Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, long suspected as being a key player in the 1998 East Africa US embassy bombing, was killed in a US airstrike - there has been no response regarding this from US officials.
It is reported that these new airstrikes are on-going. It has also been reported that among the dead are 64 civilians with 100 more wounded. This reported by a Afmadow elder; there has been no independent confirmation of this information
VIEWS:
Previous view as to the very existence of terrorists inserted here. Let’’s get on with life - not death!!!
NEWS:
In Brussels, Belgium, the European Union, the largest importer of oil and gas, announced a plan to deal with the rising needs for these commodities - not only to tackle the use of these limited valuables, but also in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 percent below the 1990 levels by 2020 to limit global warming in the hopes of preventing the serious damage caused by climate change.
The EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barrosa said Europe must embrace a ““low carbon economy”” by switching to renewable alternatives.
VIEWS:
YES! At last some serious political considerations and concern regarding the world-wide problem of Global Warming and rising temperatures; to say nothing of melting ice-caps (Anybody interested in some beach-front property in central Germany?)
NEWS:
Buddy, a 6-year-old German shepherd mix, wandered into the emergency room at the Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Bellflower, Calif., after having just been hit by a car, and he resisted efforts to remove him, apparently waiting until someone attended to his injured hind leg (which turned out to be broken), according to local animal control officials interviewed by the Whittier Daily News. Owner Fabian Ortega was called (by virtue of Buddy's implanted microchip), and a vet fixed him up.
VIEWS:
That’’s one smart dog; no dog days for Buddy - thought you’d enjoy this amusing article - I did
CLICHE OF THE DAY: “Loose Cannon” as in ““He is so honest that around customers, he tends to be like a 'loose cannon'.”
Origin: Cannons had to be tightly secured on sailing ships of old. A “loose cannon” would be all over the deck causing havoc and damage wherever it got to when the ship heeled and tilted. Also, if not secured, it would recoil and move, again causing damage, upon firing –– “Loose cannon”
JOKE OF THE DAY: A pick pocket was up in court for a series of petty crimes. The judge said "Mr. Jones, you are hereby fined $100." The lawyer stood up and said "Thank you, my lord, however my client only has $75 on him at this time, however, if you would allow him a few minutes in the crowd. . ."
MORE ““MURPHY-LIKE LAWS””: (Technology today)
You can never tell which way the train went by looking at the track.
1. Logic is a systematic method of coming to the wrong conclusion with confidence.
2. Whenever a system becomes completely defined, some damn fool discovers something which either abolishes the system or expands it beyond recognition.
3. Technology is dominated by those who manage what they do not understand.
4. The attention span of a computer is only as long as it electrical cord.
5. An expert is one who knows more and more about less and less until he knows absolutely everything about nothing or is that absolutely nothing about everything.
GOOD BYE; THANKS FOR READING AND SEE YOU NEXT TIME
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Comment by David my David
Funny name Lance Armstrong ...
Lance? (St Longinus comes to mind ... A heart-piercing lance with blood and water ...
Strong Arms? ...
I'm not the biggest road racing or cycling fan in the world ... but that man?
His achievements? ...
Phenomenal ... Inspirational ... (not that I'm buying a bike ... and dressing up in tights ... Some things are for admiration only, not imitation ...
Lance Armstrong? Human machine ...
Terminator 4, move over! Lance Armstrong coming through!
All you grey rinse set out there on your motorised wheelchairs ... running me down on the footpaths like you own the bloody joint? ... I'm sicking Lance onto the lot of you, or riding my postie bike past you with the beeping blinkers and horn blasting to frighten your hair back to its natural white colour ... Get out of my way you dippy, dotty old women ... ***
David ...
Comment by Theresa
Today's World
There's a National Geographic article online (having trouble with linking, sorry)
"Armstrong clearly has some great genetic advantages.
His oversized heart can beat over 200 times a minute and thus pump an extraordinarily large volume of blood and oxygen to his legs. His VO2 max——the maximum amount of oxygen his lungs can take in, an important measurement for an endurance athlete——is extremely high.
But other elite athletes have similarly powerful hearts and lungs. Instead, Coyle says, smarter training may have contributed to giving Armstrong an edge over his competitors.
Early in his career Armstrong showed only average muscle efficiency——the percentage of chemical energy that the muscles are able to harness to produce power. Higher muscle efficiency means greater production of power.
From 1992 to 1999, the year of his first Tour de France win, Armstrong was able to increase his muscle efficiency by 8 percent through hard and dedicated training. Coyle says Armstrong is the only human who has been shown to change his muscle efficiency.
"It was believed that muscle efficiency is something you're born with, that you can't change," Coyle said. "But we've documented that Armstrong has indeed changed it while training intensely."
Thanks for stopping by and commenting, David.