Tired_Old_Man

You go, Girl!!:clap2:

Thank you for your compassion. Last year the big news story was Katrina knocking down the levies in New Orleans. This year the big news story may be Ernesto knocking down the levies of Lake Okeechobee. To those members that are not familiar with Lake Okeechobee. It is that diamond shaped hole on a map in South Florida. Many lives can be saved if they evacuate, but many homes will be destroyed and the people, by and large, do not have flood insurance, so many will be ruined financially for life.

Today, in church, an announcement was made to alert all in the congregation about the change in the course of Ernesto. Two women ran from the church in tears, followed by their husbands. The minister was so taken aback, that he excused himself to go to the parking lot in order to find out what the problem was. One of the couples drove off and one came back. One of the women who had left explained after the service, that many of the people in this area, including herself are being treated for PTSD and many others though not being treated, are suffering from it. After three hurricanes in less than 14 months, many here are shell-shocked. Yes, we should all be brave enough to deal with life, just like we should all be able to control our eating. The minister met with our small discussion group while we were discussing this issue and tried to console the women who had run and returned. Some members who knew the other women explained that her family had been hit very hard during the last three storms and she had just sent her daughter off to college in Tampa, which at the time of the announcement in church was ground zero for Ernesto's landfall. Personally I am not worried that much for myself, but it was I who talked my wife into moving to Florida. She suffered immensely during the storms which reminded her of NYC subway trains coming through our home continually for 4 to 5 hours, then the eerie silence of the eye followed by a repeat of the trains coming though. The biggest difference between Wilma and the 2004 pair of Frances and Jeanne was that because Wilma came from the other direction the before and after the eye durations were different. During the eye of Frances, I went up on my roof to cut the wires on my DirecTV satellite dish. Half of the bolts on the mounting foot had been ripped out and the other bolts were loose, so I realized that when the storm changed direction, it would rip the dish off the roof and the wires would wrap around the Florida Power and Light electrical feed and probably rip that out of my roof. My wife was screaming and crying as she begged me to come down off the ladder, no matter how much I assured her that the eye would last about an hour. We found the dish a block away after the storm was over. During the eye of Jeanne, I tried to make re-enforcement repairs to my screen-room main beam support. I obviously failed because we heard a terrible bang two hours later and 6 hours later, after the storm had passed, we found the screen-room collapsed into our swimming pool. Wilma found little left to break, because we had not gotten all our repairs done from the previous storms, so it just ripped our roof to shreds. My home was less than 5 years old when Wilma ripped my 30 year (guarantee) roof to shreds. We placed as many buckets around home as possible to catch the rain. I guess the only good thing was that we could not see well by the battery operated flash-lights and lanterns that we were using. We didn't get the full effect until after the storm had passed and we could fire up the generator. Those generators are great. Too bad no gas stations have them. To keep food from spoiling, you need to run the generator about 10 hours or more each day, depending on the temperature. However, even though I had 4 five gallon cans of gas, I was down to my last few hours of power when I finally found a 3 hour line at a Mobil station. My son who lives about 2 miles from me had spent 4 hours on line the day earlier, only to have the station run out of gas when he was three cars away. People started doing crazy things, like carrying 4, 5 or 6 five gallon gas cans on the roof rack of their SUV. I was on Interstate 95 and saw a SUV with Broward County plates carrying gas on his roof. It is very dangerous to carry gas cans either full or empty inside of a vehicle, so they carried them on top. Because my area started getting power back about a week before Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, they were driving the hour to two hour drive here to get gas. I witness fights on the gas lines. I had waited one time for only an hour and was about to turn onto the station when a car jumped in front of somebody else. The drivers started screaming and before you knew it there was a fist fight in the middle of the street. The police came quickly, but they shut the place down while they investigated. From then on, there a police car at every gasoline station that had gas to sell. Civilization had broken down. So, it is not only the wind and the rain that has many people on the edge of their seats. It is also the fear of the unknown. Months later, after the 2004 storms and again after Wilma, we were all joking about the storms, but when the maps start showing the approach of another storm, be it category 3 or 2 or even a 1, the nerves start to get on edge.

You are assuming incorrectly.:faint: The eyes of Frances, Jeanne and Wilma all passed over my home. My roof was repaired twice times in 2 years and totaly replaced this year. The roof inspection has not even taken place. And my screen-room has been replaced. I worked in the Home Depot that was within 1 mile of dead center of the tracks of both Frances and Jeanne when they made landfall, and spent countless hours helping people with advice on emergency generator wiring (do's and don'ts). Some people had no power from the time Frances hit until 3 weeks after Jeanne hit. During Wilma, which was only supposed to be a catagory one, more damage was done to my property than in the higher rated Frances or Jeanne. If you and your husband were lucky enough to be able to drive around in those hurricanes, May God bless you, but I do not think you should make light of what may be a coming tragedy for many people.

New Orleans will be spared, BUT It Looks like the people who suffered through Charlie are in for it again.

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy, Shane, were all very much attached to Belker and they were hoping for a miracle. I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family there were no miracles left for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home. As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for the four-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience. The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why." Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned everyone. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation. He said, "People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life, like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?" The four-year-old continued, "Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long." Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply, Speak kindly. Leave the rest to a higher power.

Maybe if they see the pain that you have to go through, it might help them make the right eating choices in the future. But if you decide not to tell them, when they find out about the Lap-Band, and I guarrantee you that they will, they will be hurt and feel you were dishonest with them. And children learn more by actions than by words. Set a good example and be honest with your daughters.

I had the words Lap-Band branded onto my far-head.:faint: Actually, while I am not ashamed of my Lap-Band, the information is given out on a need to know basis.

I wouldn't tell a doctor like that, that I was a nurse either. I would mention after the 3rd miss, that I am a hitman for the Mafia.

And yes, I forgot to mention: "Glad to see you here at LPT."

I don't know if this is popular with many other members here, but I always ask, in cases like yours, "are you are avoiding all fat?" Fat in excess, is not good for us, but if you limit fat intake too strictly, the body tries to protect itself from starvation and it can actually impede weight-loss. I am not saying to slop fat down your throat, but a part of your diet should, IMO, be fat intake. No, my name in a previous life was not Atkins.

I knew the movie was going to be bad, when a snake shorted some wires and the pilot said to the co-pilot, "we just lost all avionics. Call the ground and tell them" which the co-pilot then did. Avionics consists of all the Aviantion Electronics an airplane. I guess they used a radio that sent smoke signals, though I though most aircraft radios were electronic. They also used most of the other avionics equipment later during the movie including the auto-pilot. If a pilot were to go down a hatch in the cockpit floor of most types of commercial aircraft, he would wind up in the lower (belly) part of the airplane, usually the avionics compartment. But on a 747, the cockpit is on an upper deck, above the main level passenger seats. Not this 747. When the pilot goes through the hatch he winds up in the avionics bay skipping totally the passenger compartment. Let me not bore you with any more details. Everything is none for effect. My wife wanted to see it after it got two thumbs up. I think the thumbs were up, but I can't say where.

Has anyone ever wondered if Terrorists get any ideas from the movies about how to hijack commercial airliners? Well, when it comes to "Snakes on a Plane" you needn't worry, because the writer, producer and director did not bother to hire anyone for technical information. As an aircraft mechanic who worked on 747's for over 25 years, I can tell you that any terrorist who makes his plans based on what he sees in this movie will be spending the rest of his life in prison. I suspect, that not much money was spent on technical research on snakes either, but I am not scholarly enough on that topic to state a firm case. They only did two things right in the movie. One: when the 747's landing gear came down just prior to landing, it was the right type landing gear for the type aircraft. Two: the movie ended!!!

When are we going to leave nature alone? In our zeal to enjoy nature, we are dispoiling it. I checked with snopes.com, and regrettably it is true.

I would hope that it was understood before I mention it: but my thread opening post was not written by me. I write most of what I post, but sometimes I just share a joke or in this case a wonderful story. I changed one line in the story so as to make the story meet with more people's needs (IMHO). I am glad that most people enjoyed it, but I did not want to take the credit for more than I actually did. The hardest things I have ever done in my life were making the decision to pull the plug on two relatives and holding 3 dogs as they were put to sleep by veternarians. This piece made me cry, as I suspect some of you may have, but it also filled me with the joy of life, as I had hoped it did to many of you. That was why I posted it.

A firefighter was working on the engine outside the station when he noticed a little girl next door in a little red wagon with little ladders hung off the sides and a garden hose tightly coiled in the middle. The girl was wearing a firefighter's helmet. The wagon was being pulled by her dog and her cat, so the fire fighter walked over to take a closer look. "That sure is a nice fire truck," the firefighter said with admiration. "Thanks", the girl replied. The firefighter looked a little closer and noticed the girl had tied the wagon to her dog's collar and to the cat's testicles. "Little Partner", the firefighter said, "I don't want to tell you how to run your rig, but if you were to tie that rope around the cat's collar too, I think you could go faster." The little girl replied thoughtfully, "You're probably right, but then I wouldn't have a siren."

I suggest that "God Bless America" be replaced with "God, could you please Bless America?" The first is a command and the second a request. We should not go around giving orders to God.

The Qur'an justifies killing to defend Muslims from Pagan attack. Christians and Jews are not Pagans as per the Qur'an. In 1978, Osama Bin Laden was studying under a fanatic Muslim cleric who proclamated an extension of the Qur'an's "killing of Pagans in self-defence" doctrine to include pre-emptive killing of someone (anyone) you expect to attack you. It is the same basic idea that George W. BuSh used to attack Iraq. So now we have the same idiotic policy on both sides. The theory is not in the Qur'an. The Qur'an is by and large a retelling of the "Old Testament" with some "New Testament" thrown in and some laws to live by, including Window's rights, poor people's rights, obligations to give to charity, etc. If they are not citizens and they advocate violent overthrow of the government, they should be deported. If they are citizens and they set the advocation of the violent overthrow of the government into motion, they should be jailed. If they are not citizens and they set the violent overthrow of the government into motion, they should be jailed and then deported when their jail-term ends.

Friends? I don't want any friends here either and yes, I expect support. Friends? What are friends? Are friends people that you must support when they get into a cat-fight over religion and/or politics? Are friends people that PM you with gossip about other members? Are friends people that PM you with instructions on how to get back at other members? No thanks. I don't want friends. But, I will give support to any member who has a Lap-Band problem. I would hope that when I have a Lap-Band problem that people of all political and religious persuasions will try to help me. WHY??? Because it is the Christian thing to do. Because it is the humane thing to do. Because it the right thing to do. I will not sink low enough to leave a member in time of need just because we just had a fight over US foreign policy or abortion or Muslim/Christian pro's and con's. To do so would violate the "Golden Rule". To decide who to help would mean that I am judging them in order to catagorize them into people who deserve help versus people who don't deserve help. Judge not, lest you shall be judged.

Is this what you were looking for??

The thread opens by saying that the e-mail was varified by snopes.com But if you read the e-mail printed in this thread and compare it to what snopes.com has, you have two very different things. About the only thing in common between the two is that the Austrailian government said that the Australian law is the law of the land and will thrump religious law. And if you don't want to follow the law, you can leave. I AGREE WITH THAT 100% BOTH THERE AND IN THE USA.

Does it help get the anger out into the open or out of your system?

Nobody should feel that they need to impose their god on anyone else. Not being able to impose one's god on others is not a rejection of that god nor a limitation on the rights of the believer to believe in his/her god. I have a right to pray to my god, but do not have a right to make sure you hear my prayer. This thread has not turned into a thread about God, but was about the use of God right from it's opening post.

Tell that to the doctor and I suspect he will put in his normal 3 cc's. The first thing that I did after I decided on getting a Lap-Band was to buy a digital scale. I weight myself everyday at the same time each day (upon rising) and with the same clothing (undershirt, briefs and socks). Weighing yourself at varying times brings in too many variables. Weighing yourself later in the day also brings in too many variables. food and liquid consumption can throw your actual weight off. Two glasses of Water weighs a pound. One .5 liter bottle of water weights (slightly) more than a pound. Two cups of coffee weight about a pound.

My doctor keeps me on almost the same eating regiment as post-op. I do not get back to normal eating until about the 10th day after each fill. I was operated on in Brooklyn and now live in Florida and both doctors have followed the same post-fill eating guide-lines.