Thursday, August 13, 2009
I don't think there's much point saying anything about the whole health plan nonsense in America because it does seem that everyone against it is a dick. I'm sorry, it's not particularly incisive political commentary but I've yet to see anyone open their mouth or put key to keyboard against it who has not them proceeded to prove themselves to be an arse of the highest district. In the meantime, Stephen Hawking, ha ha ha!
Labels: Barack Obama, health, NHS, stupidity, United States, YouTube
Thursday, June 04, 2009
The use of the English libel laws to silence critical discussion of medical practice and scientific evidence discourages debate, denies the public access to the full picture and encourages use of the courts to silence critics. The British Chiropractic Association has sued Simon Singh for libel. The scientific community would have preferred that it had defended its position about chiropractic through an open discussion in the medical literature or mainstream media.
Today Simon Singh announces that he is applying to appeal the judge's recent pre-trial ruling in this case, in conjunction with the launch of this support campaign to defend the right of the pubic to read the views of scientists and writers.
Join the campaign! In a statement published today, over 100 people from the worlds of science, journalism, publishing, comedy, literature and law have joined together to express support for Simon and call for an urgent review of English law of libel. Please help us with this campaign, sign the statement and tell everyone you know to sign it.
Today Simon Singh announces that he is applying to appeal the judge's recent pre-trial ruling in this case, in conjunction with the launch of this support campaign to defend the right of the pubic to read the views of scientists and writers.
Join the campaign! In a statement published today, over 100 people from the worlds of science, journalism, publishing, comedy, literature and law have joined together to express support for Simon and call for an urgent review of English law of libel. Please help us with this campaign, sign the statement and tell everyone you know to sign it.
Labels: alternative 'medicine', chiropractic, health, law, petitions
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Maximum Bogusity, Man.
Nick Cohen: Why are they trying to gag a top British science writer?. The British Chiropractic Association and the English legal system= MONUMENTAL FAIL.
Jack of Kent is said to be the place to be for up to the minute information on this.
Chiropractic? Bogus. Utterly, utterly bogus. Do pass it on will you?
Jack of Kent is said to be the place to be for up to the minute information on this.
Chiropractic? Bogus. Utterly, utterly bogus. Do pass it on will you?
Labels: alternative 'medicine', chiropractic, health, law
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
A transsexual from Nottinghamshire has warned she will end her life if she is refused hormone treatment on the NHS.
Debbie Davies, from Rainworth, is seven days into a hunger strike, and said she cannot afford to fund her treatment. Ms Davies, who was born as Richard in 1966, has been living as a woman for the past 18 months. Nottinghamshire County PCT has urged Debbie to stop the hunger strike and is currently reviewing its policy for patients who want to change gender.
Oh, BBC? You're missing a word from that first sentence.
Debbie Davies, from Rainworth, is seven days into a hunger strike, and said she cannot afford to fund her treatment. Ms Davies, who was born as Richard in 1966, has been living as a woman for the past 18 months. Nottinghamshire County PCT has urged Debbie to stop the hunger strike and is currently reviewing its policy for patients who want to change gender.
Oh, BBC? You're missing a word from that first sentence.
Labels: health, transgenderism, transpersons, United Kingdom
Thursday, April 30, 2009
I talked on Sunday about not believing the media about the 'swine flu' epidemic because they were wrong about 'avian flu'. Ben Goldacre says that's wrong but understandable.
All people have done is raise the possibility of things really kicking off, and they are right to do so, but we don't have brilliantly accurate information... Someone has said 120 million could die. Well I suppose they could: I'm sure it was done on the back of an envelope, by guessing how many would be infected, and what proportion would die, but I don't think anyone's pretending otherwise... By Tuesday, pundit-seekers from the media were suddenly contacting me, a massive nobody, to say that swine flu is all nonsense and hype... I assumed they were adhering, robotically, to the "balance" template... [he said] "Yeah, but you know, it could be like Sars and bird flu, they didn't materialise, they were hype." Simon Jenkins suggested the same thing. It's not true, I said. They were risks, risks that didn't materialise, but they were still risks. That's what a risk is. I've never been hit by a car, but it's not idiotic to think about it. Simon Jenkins won't be right if nobody dies, he'll be lucky, like the rest of us.
New Scientist have an expert analysis which seems hopeful at the moment but also reminds us that there just hasn't been sufficient time for detailed analysing to be done yet.
All people have done is raise the possibility of things really kicking off, and they are right to do so, but we don't have brilliantly accurate information... Someone has said 120 million could die. Well I suppose they could: I'm sure it was done on the back of an envelope, by guessing how many would be infected, and what proportion would die, but I don't think anyone's pretending otherwise... By Tuesday, pundit-seekers from the media were suddenly contacting me, a massive nobody, to say that swine flu is all nonsense and hype... I assumed they were adhering, robotically, to the "balance" template... [he said] "Yeah, but you know, it could be like Sars and bird flu, they didn't materialise, they were hype." Simon Jenkins suggested the same thing. It's not true, I said. They were risks, risks that didn't materialise, but they were still risks. That's what a risk is. I've never been hit by a car, but it's not idiotic to think about it. Simon Jenkins won't be right if nobody dies, he'll be lucky, like the rest of us.
New Scientist have an expert analysis which seems hopeful at the moment but also reminds us that there just hasn't been sufficient time for detailed analysing to be done yet.
Labels: Ben Goldacre, health, media, media scares, newspapers
Monday, April 27, 2009
Following on from what I said yesterday about 'swine flu' scares, xkcd has their take.
Labels: health, humour, media scares
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
It would seem Oxfordshire PCT are being toerags.
< scrobbled from other places >
For people in the UK:
Oxfordshire PCT has decided that just having gender dysphoria and demonstrating the criteria that any other PCT would need to start treatment isn't enough. Exceptional circumstances are needed, and other illnesses have to have been caused by this condition. The bar is set very high, far higher than it is in other UK areas. There's a detailed paper on this here but in (very brief) summary:
* Oxfordshire PCT has decided to classify this illness as merely a low priority 'psychological state', which needs not have treatment funded until it has caused other severe health problems. These actually disbar surgery, so if you get a referral then you won't get the surgery.
* It is unlawful to make this kind of policy decision as it effectively bars transsexualism from treatment (as per The Parliamentary Forum on Transsexualism)
* Other PCTs in the region do not require "exceptional circumstances" to be proved before authorising treatment for this.
So this effectively amounts to instituionalised transphobia. Please take a moment to read this petition on the subject. You do need to be in the UK and give your name and address to sign it, but that is a standard part of all official UK e-petitions: Petition at number10.gov.uk (oh, and it can take a while for the signature list to be refreshed, so don't panic!)
FOR EVERYONE:
Spreading this far and wide will help the cause, so please feel free to link to this post or cut/paste bits into your own journals and blogs.
For people in the UK:
Oxfordshire PCT has decided that just having gender dysphoria and demonstrating the criteria that any other PCT would need to start treatment isn't enough. Exceptional circumstances are needed, and other illnesses have to have been caused by this condition. The bar is set very high, far higher than it is in other UK areas. There's a detailed paper on this here but in (very brief) summary:
* Oxfordshire PCT has decided to classify this illness as merely a low priority 'psychological state', which needs not have treatment funded until it has caused other severe health problems. These actually disbar surgery, so if you get a referral then you won't get the surgery.
* It is unlawful to make this kind of policy decision as it effectively bars transsexualism from treatment (as per The Parliamentary Forum on Transsexualism)
* Other PCTs in the region do not require "exceptional circumstances" to be proved before authorising treatment for this.
So this effectively amounts to instituionalised transphobia. Please take a moment to read this petition on the subject. You do need to be in the UK and give your name and address to sign it, but that is a standard part of all official UK e-petitions: Petition at number10.gov.uk (oh, and it can take a while for the signature list to be refreshed, so don't panic!)
FOR EVERYONE:
Spreading this far and wide will help the cause, so please feel free to link to this post or cut/paste bits into your own journals and blogs.
Labels: gender dysphoria, health, petitions, transgenderism, United Kingdom
Friday, May 30, 2008
What The Aluminium Coated Fuck?
The Drug and Alcohol Service for London want an advertising campaign for their services, targeting women especially. They go to TBWA-London. I can only assume that everyone in both organisations is suffering from their own massive substance abuse issues because they decided upon this, photograph a man in bad-make-up/photoshop his face on to a woman's head, and then go for the hilarious 'if you drink like a man then you may end up looking like one'
The press and poster campaign is based on the belief that women are more likely to revise their drinking habits to preserve their looks than to maintain good health.
So, women are vain creatures, alcohol causes most of the main characteristics of SRS (F-to-Ms reading, take notes then head down the offie for that special offer they're doing on Special Brew) and there are fewer funnier images than a man dressed as a woman.
And that is why creative people are scum.
The press and poster campaign is based on the belief that women are more likely to revise their drinking habits to preserve their looks than to maintain good health.
So, women are vain creatures, alcohol causes most of the main characteristics of SRS (F-to-Ms reading, take notes then head down the offie for that special offer they're doing on Special Brew) and there are fewer funnier images than a man dressed as a woman.
And that is why creative people are scum.
Labels: advertising wankers, alcohol, health, transphobia, transvestites
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Mississippi is considering banning restaurants from serving fat people.
I called lead author, Rep[resentative W.T. Mayhall Junior], and asked if this was serious legislation or tongue-in-cheek to make a point. He kindly took a moment to answer my question while the legislature was in session. He said that while, regrettably, he doesn’t believe his bill will pass, this is serious.
[via Shapely Prose]
I called lead author, Rep[resentative W.T. Mayhall Junior], and asked if this was serious legislation or tongue-in-cheek to make a point. He kindly took a moment to answer my question while the legislature was in session. He said that while, regrettably, he doesn’t believe his bill will pass, this is serious.
[via Shapely Prose]
Labels: fat, fatism, health, United States
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Deja Vu All Over Again...
Deadly new form of MRSA, currently more prevalent in the gay community in San Francisco. This news came out at the start of the week, have any Christian leaders trotted out the 'God's curse on the queers!' line yet?
Labels: gay, health, homophobia
Monday, January 14, 2008
Gordon Brown wants yer vitals! While making organ donation opt-out rather than opt-in is a good idea, last time I checked the Government supported the National Blood Service's prejudice against men who have oral or anal sex. So, either this proposal of Brown's will be quietly dropped, or the Blood Service will be made to see sense, or gay mens organs will be taken but only if they're scrubbed clean after death.
Labels: gay, Gordon Brown, Government, health, homophobia
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Obesity might not be as bad for our health as assumed.
Only this month a study, led by Katherine Flegal of the USA Centre for Disease Control, reported that those who are overweight had no higher risk dying of cancer or heart disease and overall lived longer than those of "normal" weight. You might be surprised at her finding but she was not. "There is actually a large amount of evidence that suggests that the overweight live the longest," she says... a recent study by Cancer Research UK reported that 6,000 women a year get cancer because of obesity. But look closer at the detail of the report and you find an unreported story. This research also found the overweight are no more likely to die of cancer than the slim. "Overall there is no evidence of a strong increase in risk in being overweight, but there is evidence of a significant increase for people who are obese," says Doctor Gillian Reeves, who led the study.
I'd also draw your attention to this post by Lord Stephen of Fryingtonshire. Patrick and Kevin, as my only United Statesian readers, is Stephen right when he describes the difference between British and American debate styles, at least the USian side of it? It would certainly explain half of the arguments I've had with Americans in the past. The other half were due to being drunk.
Only this month a study, led by Katherine Flegal of the USA Centre for Disease Control, reported that those who are overweight had no higher risk dying of cancer or heart disease and overall lived longer than those of "normal" weight. You might be surprised at her finding but she was not. "There is actually a large amount of evidence that suggests that the overweight live the longest," she says... a recent study by Cancer Research UK reported that 6,000 women a year get cancer because of obesity. But look closer at the detail of the report and you find an unreported story. This research also found the overweight are no more likely to die of cancer than the slim. "Overall there is no evidence of a strong increase in risk in being overweight, but there is evidence of a significant increase for people who are obese," says Doctor Gillian Reeves, who led the study.
I'd also draw your attention to this post by Lord Stephen of Fryingtonshire. Patrick and Kevin, as my only United Statesian readers, is Stephen right when he describes the difference between British and American debate styles, at least the USian side of it? It would certainly explain half of the arguments I've had with Americans in the past. The other half were due to being drunk.
Labels: fat, fatism, health, Stephen Fry, United Kingdom, United States
Sunday, August 05, 2007
New Zealand vegevores are advocating that vegans shouldn't have sex with non-veggies.
One vegan respondent from Christchurch said: "I believe we are what we consume, so I really struggle with bodily fluids, especially sexually."
...Christchurch vegan Nichola Kriek has been married to her vegan husband, Hans, for nine years.
..."When you are vegan or vegetarian, you are very aware that when people eat a meaty diet, they are kind of a graveyard for animals," she said.
When you are a meat eater you are very aware that when some people eat a non-meat diet they are kind of a real self-righteous pain in the arse. Is there any difference between a vegetarian and a carnivore at the cellular level?
One vegan respondent from Christchurch said: "I believe we are what we consume, so I really struggle with bodily fluids, especially sexually."
...Christchurch vegan Nichola Kriek has been married to her vegan husband, Hans, for nine years.
..."When you are vegan or vegetarian, you are very aware that when people eat a meaty diet, they are kind of a graveyard for animals," she said.
When you are a meat eater you are very aware that when some people eat a non-meat diet they are kind of a real self-righteous pain in the arse. Is there any difference between a vegetarian and a carnivore at the cellular level?
Labels: carnivores, health, sex, vegetarianism
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Maybe Patrick can't help being prejudiced against the overweight, it may be a malfunctioning immune response.
However, at least Patrick is not as bad as my mother, who feeds me lots of delicious food and then complains about how fat I am. Going to the wedding helped, as we met up with some of my cousins, one of whom is reaching James Galdofini proportions, while apparently having no links with the South London mafia.
However, at least Patrick is not as bad as my mother, who feeds me lots of delicious food and then complains about how fat I am. Going to the wedding helped, as we met up with some of my cousins, one of whom is reaching James Galdofini proportions, while apparently having no links with the South London mafia.
Labels: fat, fatism, health, personal history
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Big Links/ I for one welcome our chubby overlords...
From the comments to this entry (reposted here before they drop off the bottom of my Haloscan account):
Patrick: Please God, no.
Me: Body fascist!
Patrick: Look, I don't make the rules. I just enforce them.
Jon B: No: You reinforce what society preaches by giving in to what they tell you is attractive, even though through history, the larger figure has been known to be attracted and desired. It's not a rule: It's fascism.
Of course why would anyone expect a skinny fuck like myself to know such a thing?
Dylan: I'm with you JonB. I think most men would admit to wanting a softer woman with more jiggle, if their mates weren't listening. You can't tell me this photograph isn't dead sexy. http://adipositivity.my-expressions.com/archives/9478_1745602162/237191
Patrick: Actually, that picture is hideous and I do not think I'd say otherwise if I were straight. Beyond its mere unattractiveness there is the issue of health.
You reinforce what society preaches by giving in to what they tell you is attractive
Why waste so much energy on trying to distinguish yourself physically from the masses? Just eat well and exercise regularly and worry about your insides a little (the mind and the soul). You'll find that that it was really throws people off; someone who looks like they "fit in" but as soon as they express an opinion they are immediately found to be truly different than the crowd. It's like clobbering them over the head and it is great fun.
Jon B: Actually, that picture is hideous and I do not think I'd say otherwise if I were straight. Beyond its mere unattractiveness there is the issue of health.
-Giving into society once again. You fail to realize that:
A. Obesity is not synonymous with being unhealthy. It's a risk factor, and it can worsen certain conditions. It's also been proven in many studies that while the obese have a higher risk factor, they are less likely to die from certain diseaes (As in getting Diabetes, but having a lower fatality rate while getting it).
B. If you sit around eating shit, refusing to exercise, and you're still thin, you will die before someone who is large that has a better lifestyle. Science has proven that notion on many occasions. It's what you do, not how much you weigh. What a concept. I'm so glad I don't misinterpret what the data says.
-I like distingushing myself from society. Society doesn't tell me what I find attractive, and I am not going to let it. It's amazing what you can achieve when the picture of beauty on a magazine isn't something that defines what you find alluring. You, however, proudly display your prejudice ways, and insinuate that because you find it unattractive, you can speak for the human race. Thank god that's inaccurate on your part.
I'm sorry I find curves or more attractive. Most men would agree that they are attractive, and some would also agree with me that not liking curves is closer to being less straight than liking them. I don't hate thin women, but do you honestly think everyone likes a woman like... ohh...Nicole Richie?
Why waste so much energy on trying to distinguish yourself physically from the masses? Just eat well and exercise regularly and worry about your insides a little (the mind and the soul). You'll find that that it was really throws people off; someone who looks like they "fit in" but as soon as they express an opinion they are immediately found to be truly different than the crowd. It's like clobbering them over the head and it is great fun.
- The movements aligned to this aren't demanding people eat unhealthy and not exercise. They actually ADVOCATE a healthy lifestyle.
I think you tried pulling that weight card on me when I gladly said I was a skinny fuck. Are you running out of attack points Mr. Weight Bigot?
I don't know what Patrick's issues are, quite why he's so vehement that being fat is bad or why he seems determined to sit in the corner that people are fat only because they eat too much and exercise too little and that overweight equals unhealthy, I hope he doesn't expound on that in the hearing of any rugby players or Olympic hammer-throwers.
I've been meaning to link to this post I found via the Big Fat Deal blog, which talks about how a sizeable proportion of post-teen Americans think obesity is a greater threat to public health than drink or drugs. I suspect that this is really about the perception of the plump, fat kids getting bullied at school, the cool kids smoking behind the bike sheds.
Hey there, mainstream media? JOKE’S OVER. Young people believe inhaling poison causes fewer problems than being fat. THIS IS NOT OKAY.
Then there's an article from yesterday's Times, Why I love getting to grips with a fat man. It's especially nice to see a woman talking about her love of Big Handsome Men, as on the few occasions that the mainstream media go anywhere near this area it's all about weedy men and Big Beautiful Women.
Working through comics-related links I find the Fat Wonder Woman blog, dedicated to artist's renditions of a plus-sized Wonder Woman. Some are nicer than others, and the specificity of Wonder Woman over other super-heroines seems a little odd but it's all part of the wonderful tapestry of life.
Then, finally, there's an article I came across from the Village Voice about big lesbians. A study has just been released saying that lesbians are more likely to be overweight than straight women, but as yet no-one can explain why that might be.
What I do wonder about is how, if supposedly the western world is slowly getting fatter, it's taking so long for our media to catch up. Sure, there are exceptions, from what I've heard The Gossip are are a depressingly average, almost mediocre, band, but would I even know they existed if not for their plus-sized front woman Beth Ditto, having a great year after the NME threw aside their fear of girls to make her their coolest person in rock? But the faces we see on the small and large screens are mostly gamine, is Norbit bad because it relies on the idea that a woman being fat is automatically hilarious? When are we going to have a thriller where it's the fat bloke who saves the world? When are we going to see our culture reflecting our own jowly faces and jiggling bellies back at us, rather than frantically going further in the opposite direction, if size 0 is unattainable for most people when are people going to start feeling comfortable in the bodies they're in?
Patrick: Please God, no.
Me: Body fascist!
Patrick: Look, I don't make the rules. I just enforce them.
Jon B: No: You reinforce what society preaches by giving in to what they tell you is attractive, even though through history, the larger figure has been known to be attracted and desired. It's not a rule: It's fascism.
Of course why would anyone expect a skinny fuck like myself to know such a thing?
Dylan: I'm with you JonB. I think most men would admit to wanting a softer woman with more jiggle, if their mates weren't listening. You can't tell me this photograph isn't dead sexy. http://adipositivity.my-expressions.com/archives/9478_1745602162/237191
Patrick: Actually, that picture is hideous and I do not think I'd say otherwise if I were straight. Beyond its mere unattractiveness there is the issue of health.
You reinforce what society preaches by giving in to what they tell you is attractive
Why waste so much energy on trying to distinguish yourself physically from the masses? Just eat well and exercise regularly and worry about your insides a little (the mind and the soul). You'll find that that it was really throws people off; someone who looks like they "fit in" but as soon as they express an opinion they are immediately found to be truly different than the crowd. It's like clobbering them over the head and it is great fun.
Jon B: Actually, that picture is hideous and I do not think I'd say otherwise if I were straight. Beyond its mere unattractiveness there is the issue of health.
-Giving into society once again. You fail to realize that:
A. Obesity is not synonymous with being unhealthy. It's a risk factor, and it can worsen certain conditions. It's also been proven in many studies that while the obese have a higher risk factor, they are less likely to die from certain diseaes (As in getting Diabetes, but having a lower fatality rate while getting it).
B. If you sit around eating shit, refusing to exercise, and you're still thin, you will die before someone who is large that has a better lifestyle. Science has proven that notion on many occasions. It's what you do, not how much you weigh. What a concept. I'm so glad I don't misinterpret what the data says.
-I like distingushing myself from society. Society doesn't tell me what I find attractive, and I am not going to let it. It's amazing what you can achieve when the picture of beauty on a magazine isn't something that defines what you find alluring. You, however, proudly display your prejudice ways, and insinuate that because you find it unattractive, you can speak for the human race. Thank god that's inaccurate on your part.
I'm sorry I find curves or more attractive. Most men would agree that they are attractive, and some would also agree with me that not liking curves is closer to being less straight than liking them. I don't hate thin women, but do you honestly think everyone likes a woman like... ohh...Nicole Richie?
Why waste so much energy on trying to distinguish yourself physically from the masses? Just eat well and exercise regularly and worry about your insides a little (the mind and the soul). You'll find that that it was really throws people off; someone who looks like they "fit in" but as soon as they express an opinion they are immediately found to be truly different than the crowd. It's like clobbering them over the head and it is great fun.
- The movements aligned to this aren't demanding people eat unhealthy and not exercise. They actually ADVOCATE a healthy lifestyle.
I think you tried pulling that weight card on me when I gladly said I was a skinny fuck. Are you running out of attack points Mr. Weight Bigot?
I don't know what Patrick's issues are, quite why he's so vehement that being fat is bad or why he seems determined to sit in the corner that people are fat only because they eat too much and exercise too little and that overweight equals unhealthy, I hope he doesn't expound on that in the hearing of any rugby players or Olympic hammer-throwers.
I've been meaning to link to this post I found via the Big Fat Deal blog, which talks about how a sizeable proportion of post-teen Americans think obesity is a greater threat to public health than drink or drugs. I suspect that this is really about the perception of the plump, fat kids getting bullied at school, the cool kids smoking behind the bike sheds.
Hey there, mainstream media? JOKE’S OVER. Young people believe inhaling poison causes fewer problems than being fat. THIS IS NOT OKAY.
Then there's an article from yesterday's Times, Why I love getting to grips with a fat man. It's especially nice to see a woman talking about her love of Big Handsome Men, as on the few occasions that the mainstream media go anywhere near this area it's all about weedy men and Big Beautiful Women.
Working through comics-related links I find the Fat Wonder Woman blog, dedicated to artist's renditions of a plus-sized Wonder Woman. Some are nicer than others, and the specificity of Wonder Woman over other super-heroines seems a little odd but it's all part of the wonderful tapestry of life.
Then, finally, there's an article I came across from the Village Voice about big lesbians. A study has just been released saying that lesbians are more likely to be overweight than straight women, but as yet no-one can explain why that might be.
What I do wonder about is how, if supposedly the western world is slowly getting fatter, it's taking so long for our media to catch up. Sure, there are exceptions, from what I've heard The Gossip are are a depressingly average, almost mediocre, band, but would I even know they existed if not for their plus-sized front woman Beth Ditto, having a great year after the NME threw aside their fear of girls to make her their coolest person in rock? But the faces we see on the small and large screens are mostly gamine, is Norbit bad because it relies on the idea that a woman being fat is automatically hilarious? When are we going to have a thriller where it's the fat bloke who saves the world? When are we going to see our culture reflecting our own jowly faces and jiggling bellies back at us, rather than frantically going further in the opposite direction, if size 0 is unattainable for most people when are people going to start feeling comfortable in the bodies they're in?
Labels: BBW (Big Beautiful Women), BHM (Big Handsome Men), blogs, comics, fat, fatism, health, lesbian
A link that's been doing the rounds at work is to a BBC report saying being a librarian is an incredibly stressful job.
Librarians are the most unhappy with their workplace, often finding their job repetitive and unchallenging, according to psychologist Saqib Saddiq. He will tell the British Psychological Society that one in three workers suffer from poor psychological health. The study surveyed nearly 300 people drawn from five occupations. They were firefighters, police officers, train operators, teachers and librarians and were intended to cover the spectrum, with the librarians first-thought to be the least stressful occupation.
It's not been a bed of roses, I've commented here on the odd occasion about difficult and sometimes scary situations I've been in that are job-related. I am surprised that librarians are worse off than police officers or fire-fighters, I can only assume that those two careers have better medical and psychological support for their members or that they looked at librarians in the worst parts of Glasgow and police officers in somewhere like Sandford. However, libraries can end up in the middle of sink estates and staff can, without any training at all, can be sent to work in them, I've not been in the situation of me or the staff I work with being attacked but once or twice it seemed like a real possibility. Police patrolling the same area have had training on how to deal with dangerous situations.
Librarians complained about their physical environment, saying they were sick of being stuck between book shelves all day, as well as claiming their skills were not used and how little control they felt they had over their career.
There's a lot of old library buildings out there. Horrible strip-lighting that does your head in and makes your eyes ache, staff areas which are often cramped and just on this side of being unsanitary... it all adds up.
Librarians are the most unhappy with their workplace, often finding their job repetitive and unchallenging, according to psychologist Saqib Saddiq. He will tell the British Psychological Society that one in three workers suffer from poor psychological health. The study surveyed nearly 300 people drawn from five occupations. They were firefighters, police officers, train operators, teachers and librarians and were intended to cover the spectrum, with the librarians first-thought to be the least stressful occupation.
It's not been a bed of roses, I've commented here on the odd occasion about difficult and sometimes scary situations I've been in that are job-related. I am surprised that librarians are worse off than police officers or fire-fighters, I can only assume that those two careers have better medical and psychological support for their members or that they looked at librarians in the worst parts of Glasgow and police officers in somewhere like Sandford. However, libraries can end up in the middle of sink estates and staff can, without any training at all, can be sent to work in them, I've not been in the situation of me or the staff I work with being attacked but once or twice it seemed like a real possibility. Police patrolling the same area have had training on how to deal with dangerous situations.
Librarians complained about their physical environment, saying they were sick of being stuck between book shelves all day, as well as claiming their skills were not used and how little control they felt they had over their career.
There's a lot of old library buildings out there. Horrible strip-lighting that does your head in and makes your eyes ache, staff areas which are often cramped and just on this side of being unsanitary... it all adds up.
Monday, July 09, 2007
What's inside Red Bull. Not as bad for you as Coca-Cola, but the whole 'wings' stuff is seriously over-rated. Not a suprise as I've been drinking it for years and my feet have remained firmly on the ground. I can't speak for my mind but that's a different mental problem...
Sunday, December 17, 2006
What Happens To Your Body If You Drink A Coke Right Now?. Fucking crickey! And I bought a can of Coke this morning... [via Link Machine Go]
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Pills and Potions
Pills and Potions
Originally uploaded by Loz Flowers.
Yes, this is my life now. Well, almost...
For some time now, I'm not sure how long, I've been having problems with my digestive system. I've been gradually giving up various different types of fruit and veg because I assumed they were what was giving me wind. But despite giving things up any relief was short-lived. My maternal grandmother and my Mum had or have Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or thought they did, so I wondered if that was my problem too. Of course, I didn't do anything as dynamic as go to the doctors to ask about how one gets tested for IBS, if I dealt with my problems rather than worry about them what would I do when I'd sorted them out? What would I write about here?
During the summer my parents had been referred to a Natural Health Clinic over the other side of the town they live near. They'd been checked out and analysed and poked and prodded and now were on various regimen for various food allergies and gaps in their diet. Seeing as they are in their late fifties and their diets have been fairly consistent for around thirty years they did feel they were better after just three or four months on these pills. So, when they suggested it I decided to give it a try.
The Clinic uses the 'Bio Energetic Stress Test'. In lay-persons terms this basically means prodding your hand with a metal stick while you hold a metal rod in the other. This supposedly allows them to test your body for foods it is allergic or intolerent to along with the various vitamins and minerals your body is deficient in.
It was pretty painful really.
It ended up with me being told I didn't have IBS. However, I was intolerent to dairy products. Not all of them, but I was told to give up 'soft' dairy products, milk, yoghurts, ice creams. Ever since I was a child I was brought up to drink milk, even nowadays I probably drinked more milk than I did tea or water. It was also suggested that I give up any products with wheat in them, not permanently, but just for a fortnight. And what has my breakfast been for best part of this year? Weetabix, with milk. While I was sceptical about Alternative Therapies and the kind of treatments peddled by these places, the simple act of switching my milk use to non-dairy and my breakfast to a non-wheat cereal has relieved a lot of pressure in my stomach. I was told that I didn't need to give up cheese but I'm wondering whether the twinges I'm still getting are due to that. I'm thinking of giving that up for a few days as well and see if my problems go away.
I'm also on a number of supplements for dietary deficiencies. Supposedly my stomach isn't particularly good at digesting the food I eat (presumably because it can't handle the milk and yoghurts I've been consuming that buggers it up when it tries other foods) so they are there to encourage my stomach to start working more, if that works then I should feel more energetic and less tired. During the process the technician/clinician/poke-r asked me whether I had problems with depression. When I replied that I had it turned out the electrical wossname in my brain was low, which would result in me having low moods. She recommended I eat more oily fish and/or take omega 3, 6 and 9 supplements.
So, where are we now? Well, as I said above, cutting dairy and wheat (as best I can) out of my diet has made me feel better. I am intending to reintroduce wheat back into my diet after my fortnight quarentine is over, trying to go wheat-free is a pain, wheat-free bread is mainly dry and unappetising. However, looking at having less of it is a possibility and my mother and I are considering whether fresh bread from a bakery would be better for us than the pre-processed junk on the shelves in the supermarket. And I'll wait to see if the other stuff stops me feeling so tired, so low, or seeing the fairies that tell me to take a high-velocity rifle up to the roof of the town hall and let loose.
Labels: food, health, personal history
Sunday, October 01, 2006
