I’ve just had an horrific few days. It stated on Wednesday when all of a sudden I started really craving cigarettes even if I was smoking one at the time. It didn’t take long for me to cop on that this was “my sign.”

For some odd reason just as I’m about to come down with a cold, I smoke like there is going to be no tomorrow. I reckon it must be my body telling me to “store some nicotine buddy ’cause they way you will be feeling in a few hours you won’t be able for much.”

About 12 hours later I was feeling rather hot and clammy, I couldn’t concentrate and my head was spinning and that has been pretty much they way I have been since Thursday morning. I’m feeling much better now though. Or at least I was until Sylwia’s cousin drove over my right foot.

Actually that is a bit of a misnomer. The car wasn’t actually running at the time and her cousin and I were pushing it out of the garage with his wife steering. Actually now that I think about it I better try to explain this properly.

Andrew’s car has a dodgy starter motor. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t and obviously this time around it didn’t. So as it was parked in an underground garage it had to be pushed out backwards out onto the street so I could hook it up to my car for towing. Anyway there was wind, rain and more rain and more wind howling at us from the quay side and next thing I knew my right foot was stuck on something. I looked down and it was underneath the bloody tyre. So we pushed the car (Ford Mondeo) backwards some more to release my foot.

I couldn’t feel much as I was soaking wet (outside at this stage obviously!) hooking up the tow rope. After getting his car started I pulled over and then the life (and pain) started coming into my foot. I now have a lovely tyre print on my shoe!

I’ve just checked my foot and it is a little red. Doesn’t appear that anything is broken so it isn’t all that bad although I did end up soaking wet so a relapse of  man-flu will probably rear its head over the next couple of days. And this is increasingly likely as I’m starting to smoke lots again

After about a month I was also referred to a cardiovascular risk assesment clinic that does the rounds here in town every couple of months. This clinic also happens to be paid for by a certain large pharmaceutical company (the nurse is on their payroll). My first test with this roaming clinic was done with a little portable machine which after chugging away for a while announced that my cholesterol level was 5.5. Within 30 minutes of that little machine spewing out its results I had another blood sample taken by my G.P. which was sent off to be analysed properly in a lab. A few days later I was told that my cholesterol level was 8.6!

Hmm. Who do I trust? I leaned towards the actual laboratory analysis and not that little machine.

I like to consider myself fairly well informed and I certainly wasn’t going to panic at the results. But everyone else did. I was told I had to start taking cholesterol reducing drugs straight away. I begged to differ. I hate taking medication. Even something as supposedly simple as paracetemol I would take only if I had no other option. But nonetheless I took the medication as I was told and suffered rather horrific side effects. Grannymar left a comment on my old blog with a similar story. Within a few days I had incredibly painful cramps all over my body and I couldn’t sleep for any more than 20 minutes in every 24 hours.

After two months and another blood test the result was a cholesterol level of 8.1. Then the roaming clinic a few weeks later reported 8.6 and another blood test a few months later 8.6 and again at 8.1 and constantly between those two metrics for the last three years.

During that time I was prescribed three different types of cholesterol controlling medicine. All with varying levels of horrific side effects. So I just stopped taking them altogether.

At first I was given an anti-hyperlipidemic (Ezetrol) and then a statin and finally a combined anti-hyperlipidemic and statin called Inegy. One works on the liver to limit the production of cholesterol and the other on the intestine to block the absorption of fat. Ironically neither Inegy nor Ezetrol are produced by the company that sponsors the cardiovascular risk assessment clinic. No matter what way they were supposed to work I decided that the side effects were causing me such serious trouble that I had to stop taking them.

And I was glad that I did. Within a few days I was returning to normal. Then all of a sudden the cardiovascular risk assessment clinic disappeared. Last I heard from them was in January.

I tend to be cynical by nature and I am well aware the cholesterol medication is the profit leader for just about every major pharmaceutical company on the planet. But I often wondered if any of the pharmaceutical companies claims were to be believed. Especially having suffered the side effects first hand.

And then over the past few months stories start to appear.

It seems that the manufacturers of the very medicine I was prescribed supressed their trial results. So much so that the NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence – who decide what drugs are available on the NHS in the U.K.) think that they may be worthless!

Another study on the same medicine that I was prescribed showed that although they reduced the level of LDL (bad cholesterol), they do nothing about reducing the risk of stroke or heart attack caused by the build up of plaque in the arteries which is typically caused by LDL cholesterol (usually by a fatty diet and cigarette smoking).

There is more here in the New York Times and in Business Week.

Call me suspicious but would any of the links above be reponsible for the clinic keeping a low profile?

If you are curious as to who sponsors the clinic then here is a hint: Their recently introduced anti-smoking drug is being investigated into a link between taking it and suicide.

I think I’ve just about thawed out now. But just a quick reminder that it is for a good cause so if you haven’t already yet made a contribution then there is plenty of time left to do so.

The letter was a notification of a laptop belonging to the IBTS had been stolen in New York recently and that records of some of my family members were stored on it.

The letter states that the data stored on the laptop comprises of name, address, date of birth and donation record. They further state that the laptop was in New York for a “software upgrade to provide better service to donors, patients and the public service.”

Then it goes on to mention security:

We are always aware of the potential for data loss, and took all measures to ensure that state-of-the-art data encryption was used. The records were on a CD that was encrypted with a 256 bit encryption key. Those records were transferred to a laptop and re-encrypted with a 256 bit encryption key. This represents the highest level of security available.

I would like to assure you that the possibility of anyone breaking this encryption/ security system is extremely remote. When you consider that the normal PIN we all use to access bank machines etc is a four character code the code on this laptop is thirth five characters. To our knowledge there has never been a report of a successful attack against a 256 bit encryption key.

Interesting stuff but is it believable? I have visions of a Microsoft Access database being copied onto a CD and then on to the laptop in question. Or maybe even an Excel spreadsheet but that is highly unlikely as it seems that the highest encryption level for Microsoft Office is 128 bit and almost as easy to crack as an egg.

In the letter it is the mention of re-encryption that has me a little confused. If the data on the CD had already been encrypted then why do so again on the laptop? I presume they mean that they decrypted the data on the CD, transferred (transfused?) it to the laptop and encrypted it using a different key.

Anyway, given that the person that had the laptop was mugged, chances are that it was done by someone looking to sell it on quickly and they were not specifically targeted. Still there is a small potential for identity theft but most of the information that the IBTS claim was on it is easily accessible through other means.

Now I wonder what software they were using?

Some genius here in Ireland has decided that the Polish are smoking too much.

If you are wondering who that genius was, then I’m pleased to tell you that it was none other than Conor ‘Kebab‘ Lenihan himself, who, being our Minister for Integration no less, came up with this astounding nugget:

“A huge difference in price was partially to blame for Polish migrants smoking more than Irish people.”

Of course Luke Clancy of ASH Ireland (Anti-smoking body of Ireland) had to weigh in with his 2c. I suppose he had to since his organisation is government funded. His outstanding piece of obviousness is thus:

“They are very cheap in Poland and, of course, the Polish people who come here get Irish salaries and pay Polish prices for cigarettes. This encourages them to smoke more,”

No mention of the 1 million+ Irish who travel abroad on their holidays for similar reasons! Here is me thinking that they were cheapskates for spending €600 for two weeks in the Canaries rather than spending a similar amount for a weekend break here in Ireland. Imagine: Things are cheaper abroad!! Who knew?

Speaking of the Canaries, my own mother is over there on a well deserved holiday after her operation not so long ago. Mind you, she always goes to the Canary Islands because the cigarettes there are duty free. As too is the booze.

I for one am looking forward to my 200 pack of John Player Blue. €22 for the 200 if you are curious. As opposed to €74 here.

Given the rate that he has been growing, the moses basket had become a bit too small for him but once again Ryan and Sharon came to the rescue. Now Lucas has a rather nice swinging cot downstairs to sleep in during the day. Guys, I cannot thank you enough and I hope Libby’s cold is much better.

Back when Lucas was born my mother decided to embarrass me by dragging out my old baby album. While everyone was making comparisons and poking through it she noted that I was actually two weeks old before my first baby photo was taken. Back then my father was big into photography and actually developed the photos himself.

Skip forward 31 years and I can say safely that we have at least one picture of Lucas from every day since he was born! Be they on either my mobile phone or camera or Sylwias. By the time he will be ready to start his own family I reckon there will be tens of thousands of pictures to sift through. Provided of course that I remember to back them up again and again and again.

Naturally I have to finish off with a couple of pictures of the little man himself so here he is looking rather serious in the first photo and quite happy after a spin in the car in the second.

December in Ireland is when the Minister for Finance announces the countries budget for the forthcoming calender year. Like any other democratic country this consists of tax cuts/increases, increased/decreased social welfare payments and on and on. This year for Ireland could be considered our first ever “Green Budget.” Our Environment minister ended up having some say into incorporating environmental matters into our everyday lives. Namely by way of our wallets (or purses!)

Many of the “Green” aspects of the budget for 2008 are both admirable and noble and also something that few of us can disagree with. You have a car that pollutes more? Then you pay more for motor tax. It makes sense. But there was one aspect to our latest annual budget that really had me thinking and that was the ban on the plain and ordinary incandescent light bulb.

Announced in our countries annual budget was a directive that in 2009 all houses and businesses in Ireland will have to use energy saving lightbulbs. As a result the average household in Ireland will make considerable savings in their energy bills. But that’s not the full story.

CFL energy saving lightbulbs are a largely unknown entity. In the U.K. there have been two separate studies that seem to link them with health risks. (The U.K. are planning to adopt a similar policy in 2011.) But are there any risks?

The first was a study that claims that the flickering of CFL bulbs could cause migraine attacks. How far that claim goes, I’m not so sure but it does have some plausability. However the second studies results announced yesterday seem more plausible.

Either way we are going to find out soon.

Whatever about studies into possible risks, there is one major risk in using CFL bulbs to begin with. CFL bulbs (as well as fluorescent tubes) contain small amounts of mercury which as you probably know is a controlled hazardous substance. At the risk of sounding sensationalist, mercury is quite toxic and poisonous and can find its way into our food chain quite often through seafood.

The consumption of fish is by far the most significant source of ingestion-related mercury exposure in humans, although plants and livestock also contain mercury due to bioaccumulation of mercury from soil, water and atmosphere, and due to biomagnification by ingesting other mercury-containing organisms. - Wikipedia

While I’m being sensationalist I may as well be cynical because the new directive requests that expired CFL bulbs be returned to a vendor when purchasing a replacement. I wonder how many of them will end up in landfills? Our local landfill, which is also being used by vast swathes of Cork County, happens to be right beside the Blackwater River! Regardless, the Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S. has specific details on what to do if a CFL or fluorescent tube happens to break. Information on the Irish EPAs site is sadly lacking although it is a rather attractive site.

I’m all in favour of being environmentally friendly and anthing that will save us money in the long run can’t be a bad thing.

Can it?

Adopting green policies and radical changes just for the sake of it and without considering long term effects to me is folly. Options should be explored, tested and decided upon. Not chosen because it happens to be the latest trend and will boost the countries image in a knee jerk reaction to a potential energy crisis. After all, they are supposed to be trying to reduce the enormous amounts of money that the health service is consuming and not adding to the waiting lists as a result of policies that were hastily introduced for the sake of it.

Keep this in mind. The U.K. are planning to introduce similar measures but they are actually funding research into any possible effects. They have a tentative date not one that is set in stone. But then again embarassing governmental u-turns seem to be the rules de jour for this countries incumbant leadership.

Update – As if on cue, the BBC have published an article this morning warning of the dangers of disposing of CFLs.

As for myself?

To call it a mixed year would be an understatement and it was very definitely a year with very marked highs and lows. There were two prominent life changing highs. First back in April when Sylwia thought that she might be pregnant and of course back in November when Lucas was born.

However there are always going to be highs and lows and with the biggest high being the birth of Lucas, my biggest low was being made redundant. Again back in April, with only a handful of people left in the factory, I was given a choice of keeping my job and moving full time to Vienna or I could accept redundancy. This really put me in a quandry.

If I was in my mid 20′s then I would have been off like a shot. It is hard to explain but it was like it was on my mind that it was time to settle down and think about starting a family. As it happened it was the same week that Sylwia confirmed that she was pregnant so that was my mind made up. I was finally going to become a dad which is what I wanted. Redundancy it was to be. I figured that I wouldn’t be out of work too long so I finished up on the 4th of May and joined the dole queue for what I hoped would only be for a few weeks.

April to November was a time of unbelievable excitement. Trips to the maternity hospital, looking in amazement at the baby scans, preparing for baby. I was due to go on a trip of a lifetime in August which was scuppered by An Post taking three weeks to deliver a registered letter from Dublin with my tickets. But the disappointment of canceling the holiday was offset by the rapidly approaching big day.

Preparing for fatherhood and wondering how we were going to cope financially was a major strain on both of us. By September I had applied for well over two dozen jobs and heard absolutely nothing back from any of them. If I got a rejection letter from any of them then I would have been happy enough, as at least I would have had some acknowledgment. As I’m writing this now, I have applied for 50 jobs and only recieved one rejection letter and sat one interview.

After 7 months on the dole and my redundancy money gone it is easy to start feeling despair but this is offset by watching our little man growing up and the hope that in 2008 a new job will be forthcoming.

Although it is just another day, I wish you and yours the best for the new year.

It is her family that I feel sorry for but not just her family but those of the two lads in Waterford that died from cocaine and also the families of the other two muppets in the midlands over the weekend. For anyone who hasn’t got the message yet, taking cocaine is neither smart nor fashionable and with demand running so high here in Ireland the quality evidently isn’t up to much either.

With cocaine so much in demand, mixing it with other ingredients to maximise yield becomes normal practise and a very dangerous practise too. You will never know what substances your cocaine has been mixed with. Unless of course you have a full blown lab at home and a degree in chemistry. What you should know is that it could be mixed with anything. And I really do mean anything. Would you eat talcum powder? I didn’t think so. Another thing you should also know is that it will be mixed with the cheapest thing that the dealer or their supplier has to hand. No matter how well you know your dealer, he or she really doesn’t have your best interests at heart. They only want to make money.

But of course everyone knows that already don’t they? Of course they do. But we are living for the moment aren’t we? We need something to help with the pressures of our fast paced lives don’t we? All the lads are taking it and you don’t want to be left out do you? You want to stay out all weekend don’t you? Live for the moment? One of that lads said it was brilliant so that’s a good enough reason to try it isn’t it?

The point is that moment could be all over too soon. You will be collapsed in a brain damaged heap where at best you will die or at worst be a vegetable requiring round the clock assistance for the rest of your life that really wouldn’t be worth living. That’s a fine reward for your loved ones isn’t it? There are really no reasons, excuses or justifications.

We aren’t a nation of imbeciles but at times I wonder. Interestingly I was reading an article in the Irish Examiner in which Andrea Roche mentioned the two Waterford lads:

“Kevin and John’s families and the families of all drugs victims deserve the sympathy and understanding of the nation just as much as does Katy’s family.”

While very true, the sympathy and understanding that they need is why those who died were stupid enough to take cocaine in the first place. It can only end in tears.

I have never been so excited at the thought of going to the dentist before. While in the waiting room all I could think of was the lovely numbness that the injection was going to provide. Sweet, sweet relief from pain. Oh it was so nice. So nice in fact that I fell asleep and he had to wake me up for the extraction.

Anyway, must go and check my list of do’s and don’ts for the next few days. Hopefully christmas shopping is on the don’t list