Society MD

Archive for the ‘General’ Category

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Life has become simpler, with car insurance quotes, shopping, and the online world making “instant access” a global truth. However, some complex areas remain.  With prescriptions, for example, one must navigate more laws and answer bigger ethical questions. But most people don’t see their drugs as being anything that has to be governed or regulated. For the most part, your medication is pretty simple, and is managed by most pharmacists without requiring special rules. If your medication is a schedule two narcotic, however, then there are many rules that need to be followed.

Presentation is first on the list. A schedule two narcotic must be handed in to a pharmacy. Doctors are allowed to phone in, fax in, or email a script for just about any drug, but for these top of the line pain killers and focus drugs legally require a hard copy being delivered in person.

There must also be a DEA number somewhere on the script. There can be no drug filled for a schedule two without having the doctor’s DEA number on it.  A pharmacist can call and ask for it and put it on the hard copy themselves, but they cannot go without it.

There is no partial filling of this medication. With your heart pills, if a pharmacy only has half the correct amount, they will gladly fill the prescription in two parts.  With a schedule two, the pharmacists are unwilling to fill the item unless it can be completed  within a couple of days.

These are just a few of the rules for schedule two narcotics.  Whether these rules are beneficial to consumers can be a challenging question, but the complex laws were certainly intended to protect people from these potent drugs.

If you have ever tasted blood before… you might be some kind of freak, and you should not be surprised if parents keep their children far away from you. But if it was just something you were curious about (“Hmm, I wonder what this tastes like…”), you may have noticed that blood is fairly salty in nature. And this leads to the question of why blood would be that way. After all, salt is something that should only be used in small measure on most things – it is very potent stuff, you know. So the notion that there is salt coursing through our veins can be a bizarre revelation.

Interestingly enough, it all began with sea water. As most any child who paid attention could tell you, the ocean is 3.5% salinities, which makes the aggregate total of the water 2.5% ordinary salt. It is no coincidence that our blood has the same level of salinity in it. The very first life forms evolved in the sea, because it is the perfect breeding ground for life. And the fact that the first of these life forms to become replicators (which meant that they could replicate themselves) built increasingly more sophisticated protein sheaths means that they essentially became our DNA.

In a sense, our bodies are nothing more than giant robots, designed to carry around and propagate these replicating life forms. And since they thrive in salt water, we carry around salt water inside of our veins. Therefore, the reason why we have salt in our blood is because of the way our bodies (and indeed, pretty much all bodies) evolved. Though we live on the land, we carry the sea around inside of us, in order to facilitate these life forms – which is a pretty good trade off, considering that they essentially created us.

The people who say things say that most of the modern world’s population will live to be about 80 years old. However, the average age for symphony conductors is approximately 94 years old. While this could simply be a coincidence (or the people who say things telling more lies, as their propaganda machine churns and bubbles in the background like an industrial strength Mr. Coffee), it could also mean that conductors tend to have longer life spans than the rest of us. While that is the obvious answer, it boggles the mind that one particular profession would live longer than most others would.

After all, it is not as if conductors do not have their share of stressors to contend with. After all, if a show goes poorly, the audience has one person (who is literally “up on a pedestal”) to blame and to throw rotten vegetables at. The conductor may brow beat the players, but they are ultimately wielding the instruments. If they make a sour note, or hold too long (or perhaps not long enough), the conductor is ultimately considered to be accountable. But perhaps, and this is only a vague theory, the concept of control is the most important part of living a longer life span.

If you plan out what you do, and keep it organized (while you cast yourself as the divinely appointed dictator of the whole mess), you might just have more than “a shot” of living to be exceptionally mature. It may very well be that the act of taking responsibility for things that are under your influence but not your direct control, and planning for future occurrences, can be a deciding factor in living a longer life span. And while there is no guarantee that a longer life is a more satisfying one, you may end up being more satisfied if you plan things and they actually work out.

We all know how it goes. People continue to ignore your requests that they not make you angry, because they will not like you when you are angry. Unfortunately, we all know that it is only a matter of time before you simply can not take it anymore. And once your eyes turn bright green, it is way too late to try and placate you. Because once the beast has been awakened, his massive green muscles will smash everything in his path until his rage is satiated. And that usually takes a really long time, and causes a whole lot of collateral damage. If only it were simply a matter of ventilating your rage against everything in your path (which, in some cases, might be some kind of machine).

But you have to remember that what Yoda said was true. Anger leads to hatred, and hatred leads to suffering. In the end, no matter how much you smash, and no matter how many of the rotting, shattered corpses of your foes you leave to draws fly in the noon time Sun, you will ultimately have to face the inner results of your rage. Rage releases cortisol, which causes your muscles to weaken. And since your heart is a muscle, your life can actually be shortened by the effects of your rage.

As your anger grows, consider that we become angry because we feel threatened. When the fact of the matter is that your own anger can cause you more pain and suffering than any person’s words can, and that your own rage can ultimately be your destroyer, it might actually be best if you stop raging against those who would anger you despite your warnings. After all, all of the anger in the world does nothing more than hurt people – and hurting yourself just does not make any sense.

While the phrase “for the love of grape juice” never quite caught on in the popular vernacular, it is a very good reminder of the health benefits of the humble grape. While it takes the tortuous process through which vineyards put their grapes to produce the high levels of resveratrol that give grapes their most modern shot of fame, grapes are not going anywhere. They have been popular since the first wines over 2,000 years ago, and they will continue to be popular, even in their non fermented form. After all, anything that is so purple and so sweet simply can not be denied its place of glory.

If you are a juice drinker, you are no doubt familiar with how much vitamin C so many fruit juices contain. And if you are not, you ought to be tied down and forced to do shots of juice until you turn the color of the fruit it is made out of. And grape juice is as good as any of the rest (and far better than that urine looking apple nonsense). The fact is, grape juice is about as maddeningly healthy as anything you will ever be able to drink, acai and goji notwithstanding.

If you are a fan of grape juice, you are part of an elite group of individuals who associate purple with royalty instead of homosexuality. And as well, the grape lovers of the world are the people who keep the noble tradition of wine from turning into a tiny niche of elitists. After all else is said and done, grapes are for everyone, wealthy plutocrat and common pauper alike. The love of grape juice is the kind of affliction that should strike everyone at some point in their lives, as grapes are simply the best fruit that ever grew on a vine.

Have you ever beaten the living hell out of somebody? If the answer to that question is no, then you are seriously missing out on one of life’s great experiences. And if someone has beaten you into a bloody, double vision having pulp, it should come as no surprise if they spend the entire time smiling like a curly toothed maniac. After all, they are indulging in one of life’s great under appreciated joys. While it is most definitely not an enjoyable experience from the point of view of the beatee (unless, of course, you are a masochist, in which case it can be extremely enjoyable), there are two sides to every beating.

But of course, we can not simply go around in civilized society pummeling people left and right. Well, we could, but it would be very difficult to get anything done. And after awhile, we would all sound like Mike Tyson and move like Muhammad Ali (as he does today). Even if you win a fight, the likelihood is you will still get hit – and the punches you sustain will add up cumulatively, in a secret score card that will be revealed to you as you slowly and gradually find it harder and harder to finish a coherent sentence.

So what can you do, when all of your instincts are telling you to fight and kill? For one thing, you might want to consider some kind of counseling, as such impulses really should not be that intense in your daily life. But even if you are a generally peaceful individual, you might still derive a benefit (and some satisfaction) from hitting an inanimate object. If you can find a space in your ceiling with a decent amount of space around it, you could hang a heavy bag there. And you could have a great time punching this bag.

Investors and developers have recently created and marketed an electronic cigarette. The cigarette gives smokers a dose of nicotine and manages to avoid the smoking ban because of its design. The electronic cigarette is a small white stick, and looks a lot like a real cigarette. It has a chamber inside that vaporizes liquid nicotine into steam. The chamber uses small cartridges that are filled with the liquid substance. It is powered by batteries, and has a red tip that glows like a real cigarette.

A chamber inside the small stick heats up the cartridge when the smoker takes a drag. In addition, the smoker can feel the nicotine “hit” almost immediately. It contains a small battery and a chamber where you can plug in a nicotine cartridge. When you suck on the cigarette, the chamber heats up and reduces the nicotine to a vapor which you can inhale.

Smokers can inhale the vapor without the risk of inhaling harmful substances. Researchers are also saying that since the cigarette contains only nicotine, it doesn’t cause cancer. Despite the national smoking ban, the creators of the cigarette are saying that it can be used inside of pubs. The electronic cigarette is available only for those who are 18 and over, and is not suitable for pregnant or breastfeeding women.

The cigarette is rechargeable, so you can use it over and over again. It doesn’t have a flame, and it doesn’t produce any smoke, making it ideal for indoors.

The following are some additional features of the electronic cigarette:

• The cigarette is warm to the touch, but the vapor cools as it reaches the mouth.

• The cigarette is rechargeable, and it will last all day long for heavy smokers.

• The purchase price usually includes two cigarettes, so you can have one on charge at home while you take the other one to work.

• A pack of five electronic cigarettes (the equivalent of 100 regular cigarettes) costs around $7.00.

An interesting conundrum begins to appear when one considers the ramifications of evolution. While it is entirely possible that a part of ourselves has evolved which can be jettisoned out of our bodies (ie, the soul), this possibility is of a slightly dubious nature. While every evolution would logically either serve to offer a survival benefit or a reproductive one, a soul seems a little out there as far as granting either one of those potential advantages. So it stands to reason that we may not have souls, despite what all of the religious gurus would love for us to believe (and donate to on a regular basis).

If that were the case, then all of what we have been taught to believe (and all of the spiritual feelings we tend to feel) might simply be nothing more than illusions. But what of these illusions? Perhaps they are evolutions in themselves, designed to allow us to garner social status through the expression of a “spiritual” concept. Or perhaps they are designed to allow us to generate energy for a battle or a hunt, so that we can eat (or perhaps simply survive) better and survive more effectively. These are both possibilities. But what if we do not have souls, but have simply convinced ourselves that we do?

If a man believes he has a kingdom when he does not, he is often seen as insane. A great many deposed monarchs live in such places as subway tunnels and in padded rooms, where their reigns of terror may not harm the innocent over whom they wish to rule with iron fists. But if a person were to believe that they had a soul, but actually did not possess such a thing, would there be any sort of disadvantage to them? Other than not having another life beyond this one, it is hard to think there would be a problem.

Everybody knows that water is great for your body. But not everybody knows why this is the case. In fact, a lot of people in gyms and health clubs all over the world have never really taken the time to read up on why water is so great for you in every possible way. While it is possible for you to get “drunk” in a way, if you drink too much water in too short of a time frame, the likelihood is that you would simply throw up if you did that. Which is kind of a waste of the water in the first place. But provided you take in just enough water, your high level of hydration can do wonderful things for you.

For one thing, a high level of hydration can keep you awake and alert for longer. Some statistics estimate that up to half of all instances of daytime fatigue (when you have only been up for a few hours, and yet feel as tired as if you are most of the way through pulling an all nighter) are as a direct result of dehydration. The reason for this is that the nutrients which allow your body to produce energy are transported through your system. When you are low on water, your blood flows less effectively, since a significant component of your blood is nothing more than the water you take in. And when your blood flows less effectively, less nutrients reach your cells, which results in a feeling of fatigue.

Also, less water in your system allows for less efficient removal of waste products. This can lead to lactic acid build up and cramps in your muscles, and can also be a contributing factor in that feeling of lethargy we talked about just a moment ago.