Drugs

[Paul R]

Okay, I have been trying to puzzle this out, but I give up... WTF is with Bath Salts? Is this some new designer drug or?

 

Anyway, anything more expensive than beer is just wasted, don't ya know! Has anyone done DBTs to prove that anyone can tell the difference between Glenfiddich and Guiness? People who say theY can are just imagining a differece, and fooling themselves. Or they are just trying to trick you!

 

No bottle of whiskey is worth that much money! It's a conspiracy I tell you! Dang those rich distillers!

 

Paul

[Paul R]

I'm not sure either (even though I am a chemist), but it has been in the news lately (face-eating zombie, etc). Google it.

 

Well - dang....

 

You do realize Guiness is beer, right? (Murphy's is better. It is actually the only alcoholic thing I will drink.)

 

Yep. Those distillers trying to sell us those expensive "distilled" stuff!

 

And then you try to tell me beers taste different? A conspiracy I tell ya!

 

(Sam Adams does some really fine brews, especially around Christmas time. Murphy's is owned by Germans isn't it? Something wrong with a fine Irish Stout made by Germans... )

 

Paul

[Paul R]

As long as we are discussing the distilled stuff, there is a definitive study (a quadruple triple double blind study) that shows that the Irish Red Breast whiskey, when compared to Jamesons or Bushmills, reduces jitter, increases vertical and horizontal soundstage, and tends to make the imbiber ignore cable spats.

 

I cannot find the link to the academic paper right now, but I will post the link as soon as possible.

 

There is without a doubt, something wrong with that testing method! I demand that someone fund a true double blind test, and to be absolutely sure it is done right, I should be one of the testers. I have a finely trained and highly experienced taste for beer, which quallifies me to prove all whiskey tastes alike, even if you must spend a lot of time drinking it.

 

And I am willing to prove you scotch drinkers are being misled and fooled by those capitalistic distillers!

 

Hah! I may have to take the test twice. Maybe three times. Maybe that would qualify as a triple blind test even....

 

 

Paul

[Paul R]

Paul is making some excellent points. I wonder why objectivists don't feel the need test/question everything as fanatically as they do audio phenomenon?

 

That's an easy one- they don't drink enough...! ( hic... )

[Paul R]

OT: Just curious about this...

 

Chronic pain seems to be an area that could really benefit from new and different drugs. What we need is something with the efficacy of opiates without the addictive properties.

 

I have been injected with morphine twice, both times for really intense pain related to kidney stones. What I remember the most about the stuff is that it smelled really bad, which on the face of it sounds funny. At least it amused the nurse who stuck the stuff into the IV and injected it.

 

I was wondering, did I really smell something injected into my vein? And how on earth could someone get addicted to something that smells so bad it makes you want to stop breathing? Truly, the awful smell distressed me as much as the pain in the first place.

 

Totally off topic I suppose, but I figured Bill or one of you other medical type guys might really know.

-Paul

[Paul R]

At 15, he is just coming out of the 13-15 year old hell that most kids go through. I don't know many kids that have fond memories of 8th grade. Certainly, not any of mine.

 

We were unbelievably lucky that our boys only got addicted to cigarettes, and have even managed to break that addiction. (I think...)

 

Part of it though, believe it or not, is we did our best to addict them to other things during those trying years. Physical activities, movies, books, science fiction, astronomy, flying, music, music and more music, road trips, cooking, you name it. We did everything we could to addict them to the things that are least harmful to kids, and even provide some benefit down the road.

 

Of course, at that age, imposing discipline from outside is quite difficult, and often does more harm than good. So they had numerous failures at things they tried, until they learned how to apply enough self discipline to achieve the outcomes they wanted.

 

Drugs of any kind can be insidious I think; perhaps they look like a shortcut to getting where you really want to go. Maybe for some, they are. I wish I could offer better or more sage advice. Like I said, we tried hard, but I still think we were just very very lucky, in a lot of ways.

 

-Paul

[Paul R]

This only serves to increase my fear of other drugs. All drugs scare me. I just weaned my puppy off of anti-seizure meds. The improvement in her disposition is remarkable, and, fortunately, no seizures.

 

We rescued our dog from the pound, where she had been turned in "because of allergies." It wasn't long before she started having the most ferocious seizures you could imagine. Had to get the vet out of bed on a Thanksgiving morning because she was having bad and very violent seizure episodes. We thought she was going to die from them that day.

 

Well, this is going to sound strange, but it turned out the poor girl was allergic to near on everything - grass, dust, pollen, chicken, potatoes, beets, carrots, beef! The allergies were causing the seizures!

 

Once we got the allergies under control, with a strict diet of special food, she stopped having the siezures, stopped vomiting, gained weight and started looking sleek and normal. Only seizures she has had in the past 11 years was caused by spider and ant bites. Both of which were easily controlled with a half tablet of bendryl. And she can have small amounts of snacks these days, which pleases both her and us, though not the cats who often have to wrestle with the dog for their snacks.

 

Might check with your vet and see if they can run an allergy screen. Might not have anything to do with it at all, but then, if it is a factor, it is a pretty easy fix.

 

-Paul

[Paul R]

That truly sucks Jay - all our sympathy, blessings, and prayers go to you and the boy's parents.

 

-Paul

 

 

 

Earlier I had written about my God-son and the concern with his increasing drug use. He did have a few issues (nothing that couldn't be worked on), but he did use weed for escapism and/or fun at a high rate (several times a week). He had threatened several times and tried in the past to "get really wasted and kill himself". As much as the massive support group around him tried the help him see the light, he couldn't, we all just didn't get there, and very sadly he passed away early last week. May he Rest In Peace. He had just turned 16 a few days earlier.

 

By getting to know him so well this year since returning to NZ late last year, I know that his high usage wasn't letting him make any progress on his issues - if he didn't start, or didn't start when so young, then perhaps it might have been different.