bignumber5

riiiight... Are you rather fat and unhealthy? Or recently been dumped by an aerobics instructor? minor case of OCD in the matter of other people's sweat? Don't be shy, talk to us. This is a safe space.

Jah - sorry to hear the state of things at your end. i know it's a bit off topic, but on the subject of online persona meeting reality, it is a bit confusing at times, just because when a user has an established persona and then steps out of it for a given topic, enough of their natural writing style is preserved that it is not always immediately obvious if the remarks are in character or serious. To use the example of DM, since that's where this has started (and for the record, DM on good form is fine material IMO), it takes me a while to spot the genuine opinions sometimes as i'm not the speediest reader, and i have to occasionally spend a wee while re-reading to establish whether i am reading DM the character (in which case the ventured opinion is mockery) or DM the writer, in which case the opinion is more likely to be intended for face-value interpretation: that has a pretty significant implication for how to respond. Sometimes I even have to rely on the responses of others to direct me. Satire can walk a fine line with poor taste, and my favourite variety of satire should. But if you are primed to expect satire 24/7 and then you get a serious opinion in disguise, it's not always easy. And back onto addressing the topic of the thread: I reiterate my previous post that I don't care about Jade per se, but nor do I resent the dying acts of anyone if they don't harm anyone else. Might seem a bit non-committal... I prefer to think of it as balanced.

At ?175 to put a prescription into wrap-around, polarised snow-boarding bins, that'll be keeping the old frames, then: The inevitable fate of the short of sight, cash and contact-lense tolerance.

Most pointless and inflammatory user on this thread? In the blue corner, daizie. Agressively jabbing with her poorly masked agenda carried over from a previous username. In the red corner, WMTD. Wearing down with his complete lack of substance but continued presence, like a fart in a sealed room. Sean to referee. Seconds out...

I don't tend towards public grief responses to the death of strangers, but a 27 year old mother of 2 died on mother's day at the end of an extremely unpleasant, and probably painful, illness. You don't have to be emotionally invested in the Heat magazine celeb circus to objectively find that sad. As for the very public portrayal of Jade's illness and demise in the spotlight, she had a last chance to make a few quid for her kids. I think most people, and almost certainly most parents, can understand such a parting gesture. I've no idea who's reading it, and it doesn't really matter whether or not anyone is. For those who are invested, art imitating life has a proud history, outlined above by others, based around people wanting to experience emotion and the more tangiable the trigger, the more genuine the sensation feels. Reality TV and crap celeb culture are simply an extension of that, verging on life imitating art imitating life. Not my cup of tea, but we're all different. BB's point about sports teams is a very astute one - it's about experiencing emotion, and what does that for the individual. But the emotions are no more or less genuine for the wider opinion of the trigger. I have no doubt that there are some people out there who feel genuine grief for a woman that they never met. I don't really get it and I certainly don't share it in the subjective sense, but I don't have to: it's their grief.

I've not sampled EDD sos-rolls, but I feel the need to wade in and defend greggs - the greggs meal deal, as i recall, 2 sos rolls, iced doughnut and bottle of pop for a couple of quid, provided all the sugary relief that even the meanest hangover could ask for: like the kebab the night before, a guilty pleasure but an absolute necessity at times :-S

would love to take the credit but i think it's one of Stephen Fry's ;-)

"beelzebub has a devil for a sideboard" ?

Psychological factors, if you read my posts properly, I have agreed on in the context of psycholgical components of illness and the wider concept of hollistic care - but a calming chat and a mullein plant will do dick all for status asthmaticus. a time and a place. And the BNF remark - seriously? Now I remember why I can't have a sensible discussion on this topic - those in the other corner aren't up to it. BN5 out.

the doctor will see you now ;-)

Whilst I'm sure Jeremy can speak for himself, there's a point to be made here because that remark epitomises what is wrong with the alternative therapy club: I've never met Jeremy but I could predict a likely stepwise approach of B2-adrenergic receptor agonists of varying half-lives, perhaps M3-acetyl-choline receptor antagonists, and possibly a synthetic glucocorticoid, inhaled in order to localise the effects but minimise systemic side effects. And how do I know that? Is it because I had a friend who saw a man in a smock in a room full of plants and wall charts who felt better after taking them? Or because that's the evidence based stepwise management of asthma, standardised throughout the country and indeed the world? How do your "herbs" work, antijen?

Gosh, hasn't this moved on a bit since my last contribution?! Apologies for not getting back into the whole business a bit sooner - i don't have much time for posting these days. To clarify my last post and it's intended message, since this appears to have been debated in my absence, homepathy is an absolute sham: There is no decent evidence (and by decent, I mean SIGN grading system for the hierachy of evidence applicable to heathcare) to support the underlying practice. Someone pro-homeopathy on this thread has actually used the phrase "entitled to their beliefs" to support their adherence to it, and I think if you admit that homeopathy is to be believed in or not then you are almost by definition agreeing with the lack of evidence - you believe (or not) in superstition, religion or hocum. The point that I was trying to make was that something positive may well come out of the process of an individual psychologically exploring their concerns. All the more easily done with an individual who is being paid to sit there, listen and ask probing questions. So no, I was not being positive about homeopathy. I was saying that the positive outcome from homeopathy that cannot be attributed to the placebo effect can instead be attributed to a part of the process that has dick-all to do with homeopathy per se. As for the "what if you go for homeopathy over conventional western medicine" question, the answer is fairly simple. A homeopath will only get rid of homeopath-diagnosed problems, which are in themselves utter nonsense. Offer herbal teas and flower remedies to people with end-stage renal failure as an alternative to dialysis and see how many take you up on the offer. And how many live til the end of the week. And, my passing shot, since homeopathy is such 1st class arse gravy, a good portion of its totally unquantifiable "success" is that the muppets that sought it had a whole lot of nothing wrong with them in the first place, or something with such a significant (maybe entirely) psychological component that having a chat with someone who listens is enough to banish it from daily life. Modern medicine recognises that latter, and liaison psychiatrists spend a lot of time dealing with somatoform and conversion disorders. But the only people that get to see them are people who are willing to see a psychiatrist, which requires a level of self-awareness and insight that the electromagnetic-pseudoscience brigade are unlikely to ever achieve. People want a diagnosis that absolves them of blame and responsibility, and in the minds of many, somatoform disorder does not provide this. Such is the stigma around mental illness. For a final time, just to be clear and to make sure I am not misrepresented in the inevitable 2 or 3 days until I return to the thread, HOMEOPATHY IS COMPLETE SHITE FROM START TO FINISH.

i can't be arsed to read all of this thread so forgive me if this point has already been made. the physiology behind homeopathy is bollocks. fact. the majority of illnesses have a psychological component, even if it's "i feel shitty since my heart attack". fact. Psychological/psychiatric research has demostrated positive outcomes in a number of areas from an increased level of positive human interaction focussing on the subject of the illness, regardless of the direction or intended function of the interaction, or the skill or understanding of the interviewer (this is why psychiatry inpatient wards love medical students). fact. homeopaths spend more face-time with their clients per session than most doctors, even if they are taking a history of utterly meaningless information in order to concoct a meaningless diagnosis. gp = 6 minutes, homeopath = however much time you pay for. fact. many people who use homeopaths genuinely report feeling better. fact. make of these facts what you will. the theory of Homeopathy may be utter shite from start to finish, but the nature of the interaction between the practitioner (not, you notice, professional ;-)) and their client mirrors one that psychiatry recognises and values. this does not require insight from the client, so is equally valid in kids etc. Add in placebo for those that believe in the made up principles and there's a positive outcome to be had... ...even in the presence of scientific nonsense being practiced by morons.

Loving your work, Jamma. I hear this prat fairly frequently revving his little hairdryer in the small hours. What a dick. A complaint seems unlikely to do any good, though. Buy some earplugs and sleep through it, or set overnight piano wire between 2 lamposts at a height of about 5"... (although if i can ever afford another bike then i'd appreciate it if the wire idea could be revoked when i'm working late ;-))

cheers again - sounding more and more like something i need to get a man in for, rather than do myself...

Cheers woof, but I still don't really understand what I do with one of these driver things - does it need wiring into the light fittings? the ceiling? the fuse box? I'm an electrical numpty, so please can someone walk me through this?!

Not so, mike. One person's decision to rape or otherwise abuse another, our currrently piss-poor awareness as a society and subsequently poor support services are not, and never should be, "a fact of life". That's the whole point of the campaign. Please can you consider, if only for a second, the possibility that your not believing in something which there is an awareness campaign for is, in itself, evidence that the campaign is necessary?

Mikecg Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Look BN5 I don't like the idea of violence full > stop or violating women, I agree with people > raising awareness I just think the numbers quoted > are too high otherwise there'd be more women with > black eyes walking about wouldn't there, unless > they don't go out until the injuries have healed. Oh, I see - if you can't see external evidence of it then it's not happening. Right. Where do you stand on global warming, and do you believe in gravity?

Now victim blaming... just when I thought you couldn't have sunk lower. And absolving yourself of any responsibility for your disgusting views because "the older generation" gave them to you - nice touch.

...in that it's sexist, ignorant rubbish. this thread is supposed to be about raising awareness for victims of abuse - how is touting your ignorant, pathetic and biggoted views helping? I yet again find myself hoping that you are deliberately trying to get a rise out of those of us in this corner, because surely nobody is enough of a muppet to genuinely mean what you are saying. When female colleagues have told me about how rife sexism is in the workplace, I am one of the first to object and say that in previous times perhaps but we now live in a much more enlightened society. Clearly I have too much faith in the general population. Where exactly do you like your line drawn? Are women in short skirts "asking for it"? how about if she says no but you think that deep down she means yes? Is it ok to slap your wife around because she knew you had a temper when you got married and if she doesn't like it she can leave? FFS, what's wrong with you people?!

ELECTRICAL TYPES PLEASE HELP replacing halogen down-lighter bulbs with LED's. Bulbs flicker but then go out, think I might need something called an LED driver - what is an LED driver, how does it work and where do i put it?

Missing the demographic point a little there H. I'd say the same about my female acquaintancees, but the strong confident women that are friends with a guardian reading nancy such as myself are not perhaps the most likely demographic. I'm sure that if your female facebook friends were all teenage crack-whores then the incidence would be a tad more than 10%. Anyway, the whole point is that people don't speak out, so you wouldn't know if they had. Behind closed doors and all that... I've been working in south london A&E departments for about 6 years, and on anecdotal experience I believe the statistic. I also think that reference to skewing of stats because male victims don't come forward fails to appreciate how many female victims don't come forward. More services means more support, and hopefully a greater feeling of safety in having the courage to come forward. I say again, a great campaign.

RosieH, I think some of the responses above are misunderstanding you or trying to be controversial (at least I hope they are - the alternative, that they mean what they're posting, is too worrying to comprehend) but at least every time someone ignorantly compares rape or domestic abuse to a perceived divorce court imbalance, it bumps this thread back to the top of page one. Well done for raising awareness to an important campaign. And muppets, I don't think RosieH is suggesting that male victims of abuse are any less entitled to support, but you don't walk into a support group for ovarian cancer and say that they're disregarding the needs of those with testicular tumours, do you?

Glad to help! monmouth is usually under a tenner for 500g. slightly more per kg if you buy less, as it's on weight so something like 20 quid/kg if 499g or less, 16 per kg if 500g or more. Like I said, not the cheapest but not a ridiculous amount either, and well worth it IMO. (the sainsbury's own brand coffee grounds are about 8-9 per kg, as a frame of reference) (realise I'm waxing rather lyrical about monmouth, but no I don't work there and i'm not on the take, I just spend a lot of time there! ;-))

I seem to remember a brief phase of lynx in early teens as adolescent-boy smell needed nullifying and I thought of lynx as dead-grown-up: one of those "marketed as the grown-up option so that teens trying to be grown-up will buy it"... ...kind-of like FHM/maxim/nuts/zoo: accessible intro to soft porn for teenagers... (well, they're certainly not selling for the standard of their features-writing, are they?)