Why is cancer on the rise globally, especially in developed countries? Try to find the cause in these:

Chemicals and preservatives in food, pesticides used on our agricultural fields, atmospheric pollution, smoke and gases emitted from factories and cars, high tension cables passing thrugh populated areas, industrial wastes discharged into our rivers, air freshners, dish detergents, laundry detergents, fabric softners, bleaches, anti-freeze, coal tar, deodorants, oven cleaners, stain and odor removers, bathroom tile and kitchen cleaners, drain openers, birth control pills, low level radiation and electro-magnetic waves prduced by computer monitors and TV's, microwave ovens, excessive use of cell phones, chemicals used in sewage treatment plants, nuclear waste dumps in our backyards . . . the list goes on.

Cancer was not so common in old days, and it is still not so common in backward countries. Do you see a direct relationship between cancer and modern conveniences? I do. Thanks to scientific and technical advancements of today. The food we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink, the things we use everyday, all can cause cancer, admit it or not.

Legal English

Some people think lawyers are very dry, boring, and they have no sense of humor. I, on the other hand, think exactly the opposite about them. I think, they are very humorous. If this trait is not their in-born quality, their legal training makes them humorous. They are taught in the law school to be very humorous when darfting a legal document. The more humor they can put in the document, the more powerful the document would be. I am sure they have to attend special language classes so that they can draft powerful legal documents. And unlike regular English language, where simplicty often makes it more enjoyable to read and easier to understand, the key to good legal English is extremely complex sentences, unusual formatting, and choice of words and phrases incomprehensible to common men. And that is what makes a legal document so hilariously funny. Read more.

Medical Consent Form

You did not eat or drink anything after 10 o'clock last night. You are still fasting. You are already wearing the hospital gown. Parts of your body have been shaved so that the surgeon can begin his work on a clean skin. The attending nurse(s) may have already applied some anti-septic lotion on the part of your body where the surgeon will work. You are kind of nervous. You perhaps left your eye glasses in your hospital room or have given them to your relatives who are anxiously waiting outside. Suddenly somebody presents you with a bunch of papers, puts X marks at various places, and tells you: "Sign here, and here...and on this page here and here and here. Lastly, on this page here." Without your eye glasses on, you are seeing everything fuzzy. You can hardly read anything. Flabbergasted, you look up and ask the person giving you the papers to sign: "What are these?" He or she replies: "Oh nothing. Just the consent papers. The routine things... you know."

By signing the consent papers, you are essentially saying, "I understand the risks of this procedure, and I am willingly taking the risk. If anything goes wrong, by signing these papers I am giving up my right to sue the doctor or the hospital or anybody else connected with my treatment. I have read this document and I have understood what it says. I am signing this while I am sane and conscious. Furthermore, I myself have made the decision to take the risk. Nobody has forced me to sign these documents." Read more.

No Sweat Senator

In America, if your last name is Sen, then you are all set. You will be made a senator automatically. You don't have to be a politician. You don't have to run for office. You don't have to campaign. It takes only about six months after arriving in this country to become a senator.

It is true. I have checked with all the Sens I know in America. (And I know quite a few of them). They all have become senators. It happens this way:

You arrive in America and apply for a credit card. In the credit card application form, you write your name very clearly in BLOCK CAPITALS:

Remember how the US Government went all out against the cigarette manufacturers and made them solely responsible for the smoking related illnesses of so many Americans, a few years ago?  Many State Governments independently sued the tobacco companies and collected damages from them as did many individuals. I think many individuals and some State Governments are still carrying on the litigation against industry giants like Philip Morris.

I remember how the members of the Senate Hearing Committe grilled the CEOs and Presidents of the tobacco manufacturers during the hearings. The buzzwords were: "What did you know, and when did you know" in reference to the fact that smoking can cause serious health problems including lung cancer and heart disease.

I am appalled that our government is not taking any steps against the food industry, which in my opinion, is causing a much greater and direct damage to the health of virtually each and every individual who live in the United States. I am talking about hydrogenated vegetable oil and corn syrup manufacturers AND the food manufacturers who use these products to manufacture prepared foods and beverages. It is known for quite some time that hydrogenated vegetable oils have trans fats (or trans fatty acids) in them, and trans fats can cause blockage to blood vessels and thus produce cardio-vascular diseases (heart diseases). Similarly, it is known that corn syrup (a much cheaper substitute for sugar), contained in many sweet food products and beverages, does not break down in the body as easily as sugar. Corn syrup gets stored in the liver and eventually gets transformed into fat causing obesity, which even a layman knows increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and many other ailments. Read more.

Music And Relaxation

Every normal person loves music. The taste of music may vary from person to person. But every normal person loves some kind of music.

It is true that music helps us to relax. But when the brain is busy doing something else, if you ask the brain to absorb and appreciate music on top of what it is already doing, you are essentially asking the brain to do multitasking. And that causes strain on the brain, and eventually instead of the desired relaxation effect, you start getting symptoms of stress.

The tendency to use devices like the Walkman all the time, when you are working, writing, reading, eating, or exercising, is the case in point. In today's society, it is a tendency for most of us to have some kind of background music all the time. If your ears are not wearing a headphone, possibly a radio is playing in the background where you are working or doing anything, including just having a conversation with a friend.

You sure know that meditation is a relaxing technique. Do you know its underlying principle? Read more.

Recalled Merchandise

Those of us who live in the United States are all too familiar with the practice of manufacturers recalling their merchandise, usually because of some kind of defect in them that is detected after the merchandise was released in the market.

American car manufacturers are probably the worst offenders. It is very common for the owner of a car to get a notice from the manufacturer in the mail saying some part of the car (it could be the brake, the igniter, the seat belt, the fuel tank cap or anything) may have defect in it and it may malfunction. The owner is usually advised to take the car to the nearest dealer to have the part checked out and replaced for free, if necessary.

Another major group of products that we often hear of as being recalled are baby products. They could be toys (usually a part is identified that could come loose and cause choking hazard to the baby), or baby strollers, car seats, baby carriers, cribs, baby chairs, even baby clothing (a button or a tie-string could cause choking or strangulation hazard, or the material itself could be a fire hazard). Usually the buyers in these cases are advised to take the merchandise back to the store from where they bought it for a full refund or replacement. Read more.

Same Old ... Same Old ... Same Old

Friday, November 26, 2004

Last Wednesday (day before Thanksgiving) was the second busiest travel day in the whole year in United States. This Sunday (Sunday after Thanksgiving) will be the busiest travel day in USA in the whole year.

Today (day after Thanksgiving) will be the busiest day (record sale day) for the retailers of the country in the whole year. Bargain hunters are already "storming" the stores from dawn. Many stores (those which close their doors at night) opened at 6 a.m. or earlier today.

Most people in United States will also eat the left-over turkey for the next 7 days. Many will also bring home made sandwiches to work made with the left-over turkey for the next several days.

The countdown for the number of shopping days left before Christmas has already begun. But from now on you will hear it everywhere, all the time. ("X number of shopping days left before Christmas").

The day after Christmas (December 26) will be the biggest mercahandise returning day in the country!

On New Year's Eve and in the early morning hours of the New Year's Day record number of people will get killed in car crashes because of drunken driving.

I don't know about you, but variety is the spice of my life.

You can find more food for your thought at Shoban Sen's Diary.