Best Posts in Forum: Off-Topic Forum

well i have wanted to make my own comments on this thread but it took a while to think this through. i have enjoyed everyones posts here and thanks for those. i guess pats opener of life changing at 18 fits me too. prior to that it was a life where there was always food on the table and a dry place to sleep. i remember trot lines and .22 rifles and a little white jeep to drive and my first girlfriend. from age 18 to age 71 it was school and work. six (count em folks) ex mothers in law (ewwww), four degrees, maybe 16 or so different jobs in six different states. nothing remarkable and really nothing particularly rewarding. but honestly, my life has never been better than the last six plus years largely due to my present partner who i met six weeks after arriving here. i am fighting the same rear guard action most of you are against father time but i will be leaving at daybreak on my bicycle for the market for fresh fish and maybe some choco wacko's for my babys breakfast. one day at a time folks. i will want to enjoy it as long as it lasts and will hope the best life possible for all of you as well!!

 

The good folks At Cat's & Dogs. Dr Michele and crew were great! My Doberman (Sheba) delivered 4 pups naturally and I knew there were more inside. To make a long story short, after trying to induce labor it was clear to save Sheba's life she needed a ceasarion and spayed. The surgury went off without a hitch and 3 out of the 4 pups inside survived and are doing well. Dr. Michele and staff were fantastic! They had Sheba in an air con private room and stayed up all night with Mom and pups. Only have to remove the stitches now.
I have had bad experenses with Vet's but NOT this time...

 

Killing a snake in defense is acceptable. However, going out of your way to kill a snake while it is trying to escape seems mean and an over reaction. I am a lover of all animals and find snakes beautiful and fascinating. That doesn't mean I would be comfortable finding one in my cottage.

Actually, I am the guardian of 13 cats and 3 dogs which I all adopted after they were thrown out on the roadside or the beach. With 13 cats we have not sighted one mouse or rat, and the only snakes I have seen are the ones the cats drag up from the beach. They are the unfortunate sea snakes that come to shore to mate and lay eggs. They are very slow and vulnerable on land. They are also one of the most venomous snakes in the world. However, they have such a mild manner, very few people have been recorded to have been bitten, even fisherman who remove them from their nets by hand. If anyone is going to get bitten, it would be the fishermen, but that rarely happens.

I have a space under my entry door that is easily entered by snakes and other little creatures such as centipedes. I do now have rugs stuffed under the door to prevent entry at night. One morning before I started to block the entry, I woke up to a sea snake with it head and part of its body in my cottage. It was dead. When I opened the door, the other part of the snake had been mostly eaten by my cats.

On another occasion a fully mobile sea snake was being harassed by some of my cats. One of the cats had carried it up from the beach. Sea snakes are slow and have no coil or striking ability on land. They are almost totally helpless out of the water. I shooed my cats away and carried the snake down to the beach and threw it in the water. I feel sorry for the sea snakes, but I cannot deny that I am grateful that all of the terrestrial snakes stay away.

 

What he has done, is driven it underground. Many known drug suppliers were openly talked about in the past. It was easy to ask around and find out who was supplying what. Since Duterte, the people who were 'rumored' to be suppliers are still getting richer but they say: "Oh no, we gave up all that drug stuff and we have nothing to do with it any more". Plus, before Duterte people were quite willing to 'advertise' where you could go get some drugs but since that time people are scared to death (with good reason) to point out who is dealing the drugs. So when you see people getting killed, you have to ask yourself if its the dealers or the squealers getting shot and are they getting shot by Duterte's mob or the dealer's mob?

Bottom line: The dealers are still there. The addicts are still there. The problems are still there. But its not talked about so w'ay problema.

 

Filipinas are known for their being good housekeepers---they like having children and keeping a home. They are mostly faithful and loyal to their husband and are good mothers to their children. Of course, there are exceptions but I am talking about the majority. This is what I have noticed. Filipinas are fiercely family-oriented.

 

When a student age 15 is given homeworks which involves sticking two bits of card together, buying a plant or printing an A4 of a Korean Pop Group, I see that age 15 here is age 6 in the UK.

I also know an Honours' Student who, whilst achieving mid 90s in public school gradings could not get into private school and had a score below 60.

These poorly educated kids become teachers and so the cycle continues.

A major problem is that parents are unwilling to confront the schools and ask for something better. And many of these parents actually do their kids' homework!

 

There are medications for anxiety - a host of them from benzodiazepams (e.g. Valium) to certain anti-depressants to beta-blockers. It is a worldwide problem and suffered by BILLIONS.

There are also cognitive behavioural therapy (GBT) techniques, which many doctors prefer. It is a form of 'talking' treatment - changing how the mind thinks.

PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIEND: Panic attacks are VERY common (he/she is NOT alone) and are a 'learning' condition - they do NOT alter the brain physically. Just as the body learns to panic, it can learn NOT to panic. It is part of a natural human process in the 'fight or flight' mechanism (very useful when human predators were a big threat) and involves the body making a hormone called adrenaline. It is the adrenaline in his/her body which makes him/her feel those symptoms (sweating, breathing issues, dizziness) and the body gradually destroys the adrenaline. The condition is NOT a 'craziness'.

Having experienced this myself, the best advice I can give is:

1. See a doctor. Most of the medications are prescription only and it would be dangerous to buy them illicitly and self medicate.
2. Try to ACCEPT how you feel at the time, because every single panic attack always ends. ACCEPTANCE is the key.
3. Try to stay where you are when having a panic attack. If you leave the place (e.g. a store) then your brain will start to associate the place with the panic (will start to think 'I panicked because I was in the store but felt better when I left') and make the person become more and more reluctant to go to the store again (this can end up with the person not wanting to go into any store or any place and end up with agoraphobia and just staying at home).

From my own experience, I found reading about the subject of great use plus using medication - BUT, I used it only when necessary. I am not keen on the idea of waking up in the morning and starting to take medication 'just in case'. If the person can hold on for a short period when experiencing a panic attack then the need for the medication often disappears. If it becomes too unpleasant for the person (and every individual has their own level of toleration for panic and everything else in life) then the person can take the medication (in recommended dosage) and help 'break' the cycle (worrying about the panic can create more panic and the medication can stop that escalation).

I could do more to help if I was there but am not in Negros currently. If your friend wants to read about the subject, may I suggest you are there to help read the material as initially it can seem over-whelming and should be read in small stages. But if you don't understand the condition it is possible you can say the wrong things (like using words and phrases such as 'crazy', 'pull yourself together', 'it's only in your mind') so concentrate on helping your friend understand it is COMMON but CONTROLLABLE. It is not always the case that it is entirely removeable as it is part of our defence mechanism to protect us from danger (so why would we eliminate that???) but can be controlled. I know personally that some of the most upsetting aspects of the condition can be extinguished in time.

 

well i eagerly went back to the net to find information to support my case and did not find it! you are correct and i am incorrect. the web site for the Pew Research Center had a very good and detailed projection by country of muslim population growth in europe under three senarios of no more immigration of muslims, medium levels of immigration and high levels. i recently read the book, "eurabia" which paints a much more grim picture and my belief probably stemmed from that. act in haste, repent at leisure. thanks for the correction!