MAYHEM MONDAY
Back To Normal

From weather.com

The picture above is a satellite image of the Philippines taken by a GMS5 and METEOSAT weather satellite located 22,300 miles above the Earth at around 3:56pm EDT. It shows tropical depression Frank intensifying into a storm with "maximum sustained winds of 65 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 80 kph, threatening the western portion of northern Luzon with stormy weather," as reported by the PDI. Signal Number One (winds of 30-60 kph) has been declared in Metro Manila and neigboring provinces as of 5am today.

Today also marks the first day of school for some 12 million pupils nationwide. Whereas before traffic was bad, today marks the first day it will become worse...again. Here in my place (I live near the oldest university in Asia), I've noticed diggings and more potholes among most of the main streets and side streets since last week. Do you know what that means?

potholes + traffic + opening of classes = mayhem

But "mayhem" will soon become "normal" as the days go by. "Normal," not because some gallant local authority will soon solve the problems I mentioned, but "normal" because "we will get used to it," in a matter of time. Maybe days, maybe weeks, but we will get used to it. Back to mayhem. Back to normal.

Sounds sarcastic to you? Well, this is the best I can do. I pay my taxes. Everyone else pays their taxes, but what happens? We are always treated to "normal" situations.

God bless the day when "normal" will really mean normal.

THE LONG GOODBYE
Alzheimer's Disease, The Memory Eraser



Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the US, is dead at 93. God bless his soul. He expired in his California home after taking a turn for the worse in his ten-year battle with Alzheimer's disease. At age 93, he was the longest-surviving former president in U.S. history. His loving wife, Nancy, was at his bedside. According to a BBC report:

"When he announced his Alzheimer's in a letter to the American people, Ronald Reagan's first thought was for his beloved wife. His statement read: "I have recently been told that I am one of the millions of Americans who will be afflicted with Alzheimer's disease... I only wish there was some way I could spare Nancy from this painful experience." Nancy, who had centred her life on Ronald Reagan for the past 40 years, was to become his rock more than ever. His death has ended what Charlton Heston once described as "the greatest love affair in the history of the American presidency".

In a speech Nancy Reagan delivered sometime in August 1996, she described how Alzheimer's Disease ruins the lives of both patient and family relatives:

"We have learned as too many other families have learned of the terrible pain and loneliness that must be endured as each day brings another reminder of this very long goodbye." The full text of her speech can be seen here.

Alzheimer's Disease is indeed a killjoy and a party pooper of this planet's most enduring love stories. It is also a tormenting and painful illness, for the patient gradually suffers from memory loss, which at its ultimate makes one forget who he is, and who his relatives are.

The picture above shows a gross description of what an Alzheimer's brain looks like post-mortem. Note the widened spaces in the brain structures in the front-to-center aspect (frontoparietal area). There is also marked shrinking of the front part of the brain (atrophy). Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of presenile dementia. It s a chronic, progressive organic, mental disease that results in a failure of memory for recent events and emotional changes, depression, anxiety, and unpredictable behaviors. There is progressive apathy, space perception disorders, a shuffling gait, slow and awkward movements, and jerky muscle contractions (myoclonus), and irreversible loss of speech and memory eventually leading to the late vegetative phase consisting of complete inability to think, move, or speak. The patient usually dies of pneumonia, heart attack, or stroke.

It most commonly appears during midlife, between the 50th and 60th year. Patients younger than 45 years are very rare. Over 32% of the population over 85 years are affected and the incidence increases rapidly after that.

If you ask me, it is a cruel way to die with this ailment. The patient expires like a candle burning out, and his relatives are devastated as well, especially if they know little about the disease.

Pray hard to God that you don't get this.

PHYSICIAN JOKES
Humor Me, Please

After a tiring week, it is good to have a peaceful weekend. I enjoy moments when I can sit in my favorite chair, read my book (I'm reading this fascinating book right now) and eat strawberries. Opening my email early this morning, I found the following doctor jokes from my inbox:

A man needing a heart transplant is told by his doctor that the only heart available is that of a sheep. The man finally agrees and the doctor transplants the sheep heart into the man. A few days after the operation, the man comes in for a checkup. The doctor asks him "How are you feeling?" The man replies "Not BAAAAAAD!"

If it is dry, add moist; if it is moist, add dryness. Congratulations, you are now a dermatologist.

A pipe burst in a doctor's house. He called a plumber. The plumber arrived, unpacked his tools, did mysterious plumber-type things for a while, and handed the doctor a bill for $800. The doctor exclaimed, "This is ridiculous!!! I don't even make that much as a doctor!." The plumber quietly answered, "Neither did I when I was a doctor."

At a medical convention, a male doctor and a female doctor start eyeing each other. The male doctor asks her to dinner and she accepts. As they sit down at the restaurant, she excuses herself to go and wash her hands. After dinner, one thing leads to another and they end up in her hotel bedroom. Just as things get hot, the female doctor interrupts and says she has to go and wash her hands. Once she comes back they go for it. After the sex session, she gets up and says she is going to wash her hands. As she comes back the male doctor says, "I bet you are a surgeon". She confirms and asks how he knew. "Easy, you're always washing your hands." She then says, "I bet you're an anesthesiologist." Male doctor: "Wow!!! How did you guess?" Female doctor: "I didn't feel a thing.""

This old lady walks into the Doctor's office and says, "Doctor, please help me. I have a terrible problem with farting. It's not really a social problem, because you can't smell it or hear it, but I must have farted 20 times since talking to you." The Doctor nods his head and says, "Take this bottle of pills and use them all. When they are all gone in about 2 weeks, come back to see me." The old lady comes back 2 weeks later and is angry. She says "What was in those pills? I fart just as much. You still can't hear them, but now they smell horrible!" The Doctor again nods his head and says, "Great, that takes care of your sinus problem, now let's work on your hearing."

Enjoy your weekend, folks!