green

You must pray to the Flying Spaghetti Monster and ask Him to unlock the gates of their minds in order that they are able to see the difference.....

I am looking forward to the day when I feel like a normo.

Hurrah for Mark! You have an elegant way of making a telling point. Thank you for your wit and wisdom, sez Green.

What I have always intended to emphasize is that the Christian point of view is not the only point of view and that for many folk this view may be viewed as an errant point of view. There are other areas of the globe where other belief systems carry the same weight as the Christian point of view does in your part of the world. It strikes me that when you make the argument against the right to chose and you choose to base this upon a specific set of religious beliefs you are disqualifying yourselves from being heard by all individuals who do not subscribe to the same set of beliefs. Certainly Christians have the right to express their point of view. Arguably Hindus, Shintos, Animists, and atheists then have an equal right to express their points of view. My complaint is that you folk are unwilling to recognise this plurality. That is my only complaint.

I was banded last September at the age of 57. I recovered quickly and suffered little pain apart from gas pains. I spent the first 3 days post-op in bed, enjoying the pain meds. By the 4th day I was dressed and spending time on the computer. I weighed around 200 lbs when I was banded and I am now at goal and still losing. I now weigh 147 lbs fully clothed and I have a healthy BMI. This has been my personal experience with the lapband and it has been a very positive one. I must mention that my inner and outer selves still do not match. I am accustomed to thinking of myself as a big grrl and I still find myself thinking that I am big grrl. I am under the impression that making the psychological jump from chubby to normo is one of the challenges which we face.

Ask him if he knows what colour your eyes are and if he says that he doesn't just nod and say "I thought as much!" If he is intelligent he will figure it out.

Sounds like you should start a thread and fill us in, sez Green who is cackling cynically while she types this. :heh:

Gretchen Mol was splendid, and she is a blonde in real life! This gives hope to all us blondes who have secretly or not so secretly yearned to be brunettes. I like to think of myself as a crypto-brunette. Hah hah!

Yup, you are exactly right. My comments were not directed at any one individual but at an argument which only resonates with those who share the same set of religious beliefs.

Yah, come to think of it, I had heard that Mother T was kinda hinky but I can't remember any of the details.

It is a good movie. I think that you would enjoy it. I wear my hair with bangs. It's cheaper than botox.

I never heard the term but I do remember a story which my parents told me about travelling down south by car to Florida many decades ago. They stopped at a gas station in a southern state and my dad discovered that he really had to use the toilet. At the time there were 2 sets of toilets, white and black, and the white guy one was occupied. It seemed that my dad really had to use the toilet and being a northerner he really didn't get the difference between white bums and black bums. He argued the gas station owner into getting him into the black toilet but he came back home with a vivid memory of the disgust with which this cat viewed him. As for my dad, he was astonished by this southerner's attitude for he was a guy who had the choice between using a toilet and running the risk of pooping his pants. Old man Green told this story for years.

Boo Boo, did you see the great autobiography Betty Paige flick?

lepez, I am sad to hear that your husband is closed to going to this weekend experience with you. I believe that the pair of you could profit from this experience. At the same time I must confess that I do know where your husband is coming from. I myself am an atheist and I tend to be suspicious of all programmes which have a religious foundation. In this particular case, your husband's refusal is a loss to both you and to him. Though it is difficult for people like myself and your husband to look beyond the specifically religious material, material which can be alienating for folks like us, there is much that is of value that one can learn from these workshops. The trick is that people like us are going to have to enter into these experiences with a degree of curiosity along with our natural cynicism. It seems that you ain't about to lead your horse to the water and that is kinda too bad. I am inclined to wonder whether your husband is suffering from a major and undiagnosed depression. I am also wondering about how successfully the pair of you have been talking about your marital crash. Does he know how you really feel? Does he know that you are prepared to quit the relationship? Have you been able to explain to him that you really are not feeling well in this environment? Of course the clever trick is to be able to talk about all these feelings in such a loving and concerned fashion that neither one of you is put on the defensive, that both of you feel free to paw over these problems and hunt for solutions without either one of you feeling like you are being dissed, being put on the spot, or whatever.... It is obvious that you as the initiator of these discussions must not allow any accusatory comments to enter into your talks. A good approach is to describe how you are feeling and to mention that you have been thinking that a split might be a possible solution for your marital difficulties. You might then say that you are confused and want to know what his take on your relationship is. It is important that when he talks that you listen to him and that you do not lose your temper. The two of you are, you see, negotiating with each other. You will be telling him that you are unhappy and you will be explaining to him why you are unhappy and you will be proposing to him an option by which you can deal with this - a marital split. He is then able to present his side of the story and suggest his alternatives to your option, if he has any. At this point you will learn about the nature of his unhappiness and you will also learn if he wants to work on maintaining the marriage. If this is a no go then the 2 of you must figure out how to best look after the needs of your child. I am inclined to believe that couples who are falling apart gently will be much more likely to do the right thing by their children. I dunno if my advice is okay or not but whatever..........

I find myself growing kind of uncomfortable with these arguments for these presume that there is a God and that this Supreme Being fits, moreover, the description supplied in Christian texts, that is to say, the Old and New Testaments. You are aware that there are significant numbers of the world's population who are just as certain that their God or Gods are the correct one/s. And even if you are able to successfully boil down the definition of God to the Christian story there are any number of warring sects within this group. Why, there are some Christians who do not believe that other Christians can rightfully claim themselves to be true believers. And we see similar confusion going on in that other major group of true believers, the followers of Islam. Yep, there are Sunnis and Shi'ites who are intent on slaughtering each other because each cult does not consider the other group to share in a true understanding of the nature of God. I personally do not believe that is a God but I would have to say, given the clamour of voices in this world, each one certain that his or her God is the real McCoy, that I would be inclined to be cautious about deciding whose God is the best God or, indeed, the only God. If you agree with my logic this would indicate that you should hold off on the judgemental stuff and leave all of that up to God who is Someone who arguably has a much larger overview than you or I do.

Green loves Bettie Paige.

Well, I've just come back from seeing my doctor. She took one look at me and told me that I look lousy. I said that that was because I feel lousy. :sick I told her that I still have a sore throat, that I am coughing more than ever, and that I am now hoarse. :help: She said that she could hear that I am hoarse. The upshot of this is that she wants me to stay on my present dosage of omeprazole until I see her next week and she also wants me to go back onto a pair of asthma meds which she had me on after my last cold. :phanvan She decided this after she sent me off to take a breathing test which I flunked! :tired She suspects that I am an undiagnosed asthmatic and the truth is that colds and flues do leave me ruined for 5-6 weeks with secondary lung and ear infections, a problem which I have had all my life. This is why I am positively Howard Hughsy during germy seasons. And then I prodded her about the results of my blood tests. She drew a complete blank and then after chasing these down, the nurse still had 'em, asked me if I was a vegetarian. It seems that some of my vita Bs are in the borderline range. I told her that it was true that I didn't eat meat all that often, preferring dairy and tins of tuna as a rule. But I do eat eggs and I take vita B supplements whenever I remember..... Anyhow, I did do another round of blood tests and I will find out the results of these next week. My shrink wanted me to do a pee test but I skipped out of that one. I hate giving urine; I always end up up to my elbows in the stuff. Ugh! So disgusting! On my way home I stopped off at my local pharmacy in order to pick up my latest array of prescriptions. That place is for me just like Cheers, the bar where everybody knows your name. :faint: After they got me my asthma meds I explained that I was hoarse from acid reflux and asked them if some kind of throat lozenge would help. The pharmacist suggested zinc lozenges and Tums as a back-up for the omeprazole. He said that I will be able to reduce the amount of calcium that I have been gobbling in order to deal with my osteopenia while chowing down on Tums, an added benefit. :drum: Tums are very bluddy cheap, you know. And, oh yah, I've shed another lb or so since last week. I weighed myself while at the doc's and I now weigh 147 fully clothed and shod. I dunno whether this is healthy weight loss or not.... Anyhow, these are Green's *cough, cough* latest adventures in gastric land.

In about a half hour from now. :phanvan

I've been taking omeprazole for over a week now and before that I was poaching my husband's pantoloc. My throat still feels awful and I now sound like a member of the mob when I talk. :omg: I am going to cut out the acid foods and drinks, a toughie for me as I love the taste of items which fall into this category. :help: Green is not a happy grrl. :think I guess I will discover mo' bad news when I see my doc for she wants to discuss the results of my latest blood tests with me. :sick This may call for a really big shopping spree! :phanvan

I don't think that alimony should ever be imposed for punitive reasons alone. Your sister was capable of standing up on her own two hind feeties without any financial assistance, BJean. For sure she should have received one half of the marital assets, but alimony??? That just isn't right.

I had a series of upper G.I. X-rays and what I have is definitely a hiatal hernia. The elderly doc involved with examining the pics told me so after my photo op was completed. He was quite interested in my lapband hardware, by the way. I know that I didn't have this when I was banded last September. The sore throat and hoarseness and the irritating cough are all recent developments in my life, dating back to shortly after my latest fill. Since then I have had a defill, figuring that this would put a stop to my symptoms. (Interesting to hear that my other disgusting dumping problem may have been related.) Anyhow, this morning I phoned the Lapband folks who did my band. I spoke to a nurse and she is going to talk to the doc. If I do need surgery to fix the hernia I want him to do it; I don't want my band to be damaged while the hernia is being repaired. I sure do love my band! As for meds, my doc has me taking omeprazole which isn't giving me any relief so far. I guess I really will have to cut out the spicy food, scotch, dark chocolate, etc for awhile.... *sob* :think Thanks to both of you for calming me down and giving me advice and allowing me to freak out!!! :kiss2: I will be going to my doc soon in order to learn the results of my unsatisfactory blood tests. Another ugh in store for me. :tired

I am one of those atheist childless by choice individuals and as you can see from my age, 58, I have certainly walked the walk to the point where there is now no second guessing my choice. From my reading on demographic shifts and breeding patterns it is my understanding that it is in the most educated and affluent societies where one will find that the birth rate is crashing. It is likely to be those who live in impoverished countries who are presently continuing to reproduce at a much higher rate than wealthy and well educated folks Though the whys for this birth pattern are complex they can be boiled down to a number of reasons. Certain third world economies are still agricultural and are reliant on primitive forms of farming. Families who must survive by farming will require a lot of manpower. These families will view their children as sources of manpower and thus as sources of assistance to the family economy. These families will see a large family as being fine and fruitful - both on a spiritual level as well as on a practical level. Bear in mind that poor people who live in primitive conditions are aware that many of their children will not survive to see adulthood and to have children of their own. While farming folk need big families in order to survive, well educated city folk do not. You may be interested to learn that the birth rate in western Europe was falling prior to the 2nd World War. The baby boom really was a strange demographic glitch. We are comfortable with understanding the mechanics behind the business of the population crash of other species. I have a hunch that there is something in the way of a population crash - a gradual one perhaps - with respect to us humans. Yes, there are certain families who are anxious to parent a clutch of children. So what! These folks are in the minority and the birth rates in most of the affluent western countries are in a nose dive. I really do not see the children of these folks as leaving an overly large carbon footprint. If we really want to go after carbon criminals I think that we must look to our own adult generations, da boomers and some of the people who are sliding around in the wake of our excess.

@ BJean: ugh! I have a hiatus hernia and this is what has been causing me so much grief over the past 6-7 weeks. I had an upper G.I. exam done this morning at 8 A.M. and this was the diagnosis. Of course my first reaction was jubilation because it ain't cancer - in fact I hugged the antique doc who was overseeing the tests when he gave me the news - but now I find myself eating the reality sandwhich and thinking that a hiatus hernia is seriously ugh! for Green. I went on the internet as soon as I got home and I saw the creepy little diagrams, eh. blehhh! I will be seeing my doc tomorrow in order to discuss my latest health issues. I do find myself wondering whether this hernia thing is the result of my band surgery or not. I still find myself feeling much happier about my new-found slenderness. On the other hand, I am kind of freaking out about this hernia bizness! Oh! I am in such a flap!!! And my throat continues to feel like it has been painted with acid and I cough a lot and I am hoarse when I speak. I do sound like a Goodfellow, if ya know what I mean.......:omg:

Does your mate like surprises? I don't and I sure wouldn't like the kind of surprise where I would have to go on a hunt in order to discover what my damn surprise is going to be. That would be adding insult to injury. I mention this not in order to rain on your parade but because I have mated up with a man who comes from a family of surprise-o-holics. I find the stunts which they play on each other to be unnerving and that is the best spin I can put on these activities. My husband has come to understand that I am one of those who loves advance warnings and now his approach to gift giving begins with his statement that he would like to give me ... and then he lists the category: jewellery, fountain pen, trip.... We then go hunting for my gift together and this works out much better. I will mention here that I tried to buy him those surprise gifts and they never, ever did work out. It turns out that he is as picky as I am. Maybe your sweetie would like it if you came along with him when he sees his highschool buddy. And maybe he has a special time of year that would mean the most to him. If he is like me he is going to want to be able to participate in this scheme. Knowing that you are doing the leg work and paying the dime is all the present that folks like me need or want. If, on the other hand, he is into surprises, then you go, grrl! Your idea sounds like a good one.

I admit that I had mixed feelings when I read this story. There are certain categories of comparatively vulnerable people who may go missing: Alzheimer patients are one, young children are another (presumably these chips are removable when children become older). Until recently I was inclined to feel that honest people would had nothing much to fear from the beefed up surveillance techniques mentioned in this article (and it is certain that chipping humans would only be taking this activity to the next creepy level) and might indeed have much to gain; I was dim enough to figure that we could have the benefit of being protected from those individuals or groups who are intent upon harming us. Fewer muggings, thefts, car-jackings, murders, I thought. Less street crime. Less drug dealing. And life would be much more difficult for any would-be terrorist. But having observed the erosion of civil liberties in the United States post 9/11 I realise that surveillance techniques, no matter how well-intentioned the concept of their use may be, do hold the possibility of being misused at a future time. A good democracy might run into difficulties at some future point and it is important that we citizens are able to maintain our privacy. This is because some of our activities which are currently viewed as being innocent might be viewed as seditious or criminal at a future date.