The Curious Autodidact

It was a sober reminder of how inter-connected globally we are when we stopped to think of all our personal connections to Japan and Hawaii yesterday morning. Janet, my friend in New Zealand, send me this very interesting animation from NOAA about the tsunami that was quite educational. We have many friends in Kona, Hawaii and this was an amazing YOU TUBE video of the wave coming on shore there, the coast guard has just condemned their main pier and my heart aches for the struggling local businesses that rely on cruise ship passengers every week just to keep afloat.

It’s wild to think of all the amateur videos posted from Hawaii but also from Japan and what it was like before these things could be posted in moments by whomever and distributed internationally. Here’s one from the Grassroots News about Kona’s damage bringing new meaning to the idea of local reporting, from people on site.

All this natural disaster bring up the questions; are we prepared to sustain ourselves, our family, and neighbors in case of a disaster? The recommendation is to have ample supplies for 72 hours and here’s a handy website out of San Francisco to help you to plan. I sent this link to many friends yesterday many of whom commented they were just planning to come to our house, this is not a good plan, as we may not be home. Having ample clear bottled water, and an alternative cooking source, a manual can opener and tinned foods, as well as knowing how to turn off your gas at the meter, and where you water main is essential. Being aware of elderly people and the needs of the disabled in your neighborhood is also important. Are you ready? Take a moment today, to take action, and to create a complete emergency kit. Visqueen? Duct tape, battery operated radio? My neighbor Nancy, who drives a subcompact car, has a small kit in her car–guess where she was in the last big earthquake ten years ago?

Take a moment to send a small donation to help those in Japan who have been so devastated and begin today compiling your own emergency kit and don’t get caught off guard when the natural disaster is in your front yard.

How can you not LOVE this woman and her determination and willingness to speak her mind? Okay you know I’m a big fan.

I thought I was the only one who was searching around for the now elusive blue mail boxes. When driving in the car my sister and I call out now when we see one they are so rare almost like four-leafed clovers.

They removed the drive up boxes from our neighborhood (Magnolia in Seattle) due to a construction project and we had to fight for months to get another put in another place with only one daily pick up instead of three. There are to my knowledge only four left in our entire neighborhood including the one outside the post office itself. This is not helpful for the elderly and disabled who rely on drive up boxes for ease of use.

I guess this is a trend that will only get worse, not unlike the complex package and mailing rules making it impossible to know how much postage to put on something without a trip into the post office or what most people do putting on way too much postage to avoid such a journey. Here’s an article in the Washington Post today “So Long, Snail Shells” about the diminished number of boxes and the almost certain demise of snail mail in the future.

This woman rocks my world, thank goodness she is looking out for us her the position with the government as she has also become the chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel created to oversee the U.S. banking bailout.

In May 2009, Warren was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World.

Here’s a You Tube presentation she has done to help us understand what she is fighting for. You go girl!

It seemed appropriate given Justice Ginsburg’s Recent Surgery to re-Post this article from last May lightly edited:

Raising Awareness of a Silent Killer: Pancreatic Cancer

What do Margaret Mead, Count Basie, Rex Harrison, Henry Mancini, Irving Wallace, Marvin Beli, Michael Landon, Donna Reed, Dorothy Dunnett, Joan Crawford, Jack Benny, Dizzie Gillespie, and Frank Zappa all have in common? They all died of Pancreatic Cancer, as did former President Jimmy Carter’s brother Billy, and mother “Miss Lillian.”

Pancreatic Cancer is the #4 cancer killed in the United States amongst both men and women. It is often referred to as the “silent killer” as it is rarely diagnosed in time for treatment. It has the #1 fatality rate of all cancers. Only 4% of the patients will survive beyond five years.

According to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (www.pancan.org) approximately 32,180 people will be diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer this year. Yet, “despite the especially lethal nature of pancreatic cancer, the research spending per pancreatic cancer patient is only $1145, the lowest of any leading cancer.”

Why is this? Perhaps because most people don’t even know where their pancreas is located or what role it plays on our body’s good health. It works in the production of enzymes for digestion and the production of hormones that regulate blood sugar levels. It is a gland located deep in the abdomen between the stomach and the spine.

Every 17-minutes someone in the country dies of this lesser known disease that has a 99% fatality rate.

Although it is the fourth cancer killer in the country most people do not know the risk factors or the symptoms of this type of cancer. Hence, November has been designated as Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month.

Symptoms of Pancreatic Cancer include:

Pain in abdomen or back

Jaundice (yellowing of skin and eyes)

Dark Urine

Itching

Fatigue or Weakness

Digestive Problems

Nausea and Vomiting

Significant Weight Loss

Risk factors include:

Smoking: 2-3 times increased risk for smokers vs. nonsmokers

Chronic pancreatitis

Family history: 2-3 times increased risk if first degree relative diagnosed with PC

Diabetes

Only a small percentage of people who are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer are able to have the tumor surgically removed. More often than not, by the time the diagnosis comes, the cancer has spread and there are not at this time many treatment options.

The NW is home to one of the country’s highly-respected Pancreatic Cancer researchers, the UW’s Dr. Teri Brentnall and Dr. Sunil Hingorani at Fred Hutch Cancer Center both of whom have been nationally recognized as outstanding researchers.

Thank you for reading this article and for taking a moment to be aware of some of the symptoms of these lesser-known but grave forms of cancer.

If you know someone with pancreatic cancer, or a friend who is caring for someone who has this form of cancer, I urge you to lend a hand —it is a horrible disease. This article is to raise awareness and urge you to support the quest for additional research dollars to help find a cure.

“On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.” President Barack Obama