Wednesday

~~~Free Ramblings
I saw my PCP today. I needed some Malaria pills for my trip. I made the appointment more for my rash/pain three weeks ago, but knew I needed to get my meds before I left for Africa. He gave me several scripts including one for Montezuma’s Revenge, one antibiotic in case I got sick, and the malaria pills.

I also had a chat with my PCP about why it took three weeks to see him when I was sick. He had a good answer, saying that he would rather have me go to a walk-in and then let him know what was wrong. His reasoning is that he takes a look at the whole patient and the whole picture of the patient’s well being. If he also did ‘emergency’ stuff, he wouldn’t have time to meet with his patients. I must say it made sense, was good information, and as usual I spent an hour with him. He checked the CDC site to be sure I was getting the script that would treat Malaria in that country. Hmmm. Everyone I have talked to had just said get Malaria meds. Little did I know there were various strains around the world, and that some meds are better than others for certain strains. Adding an ‘in case’ antibiotic for the possible problems in the area I was going makes a lot of sense.

I must say I wish I had talked to him earlier about his role in my overall health. As a kid we had a family doctor who dealt with just about everything. While I knew the health care in our country had changed a lot, I still thought of my PCP as my family doctor. Now I understand the difference. I’m better off, and am glad I have a PCP who takes the time to answer all my questions. I also know that in the future, when I get an illness, I need to notify my PCP, go to the walk-in who deal with ‘emergency’ care, and then just inform my PCP what I am taking. It’s a small price to pay for someone who oversees my overall health.

Fall weather is here. We only made it to 61° today, and last night here in East Flag was 35° but at the airport it was 25°. Johannesburg was 85° and Victoria Falls was 93°. Both had a low around 65°. Hmmm, seems like a hot spring to me. In a month we were told to expect 80’s during the day and 60’s at night.
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~~~Random Facts
A&W Root Beer is named after Roy Allen and Frank Wright, the founders of the company.

The English word “girl” was initially used to describe a young person of either sex. It was not until the beginning of the sixteenth century that the term was used specifically to describe a female child.

~~~Crazy News from AOL
Edgar Allan Poe's cousin, Neilson Poe, never announced his death publicly. Fewer than 10 people attended the hasty funeral for one of the 19th century's greatest writers. And the injustices piled on. Poe's tombstone was destroyed before it could be installed, when a train derailed and crashed into a stonecutter's yard. Rufus Griswold, a Poe enemy, published a libelous obituary that damaged Poe's reputation for decades.
But on Sunday, Poe's funeral will get an elaborate do-over, with two services expected to draw about 350 people each — the most a former church next to his grave can hold. Actors portraying Poe's contemporaries and other long-dead writers and artists will pay their respects, reading eulogies adapted from their writings about Poe.
"We are following the proper etiquette for funerals. We want to make it as realistic as possible," said Jeff Jerome, curator of the Poe House and Museum.
Advance tickets are sold out, although Jerome will make some seats available at the door to ensure packed houses. Fans are traveling from as far away as Vietnam.
The funeral is arguably the splashiest of a year's worth of events honoring the 200th anniversary of Poe's birth. Along with Baltimore — where he spent some of his leanest years in the mid-1830s — Poe lived in or has strong connections to Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Richmond.
Eulogies will follow from actors portraying, among others, Sarah Helen Whitman, a minor poet whom Poe courted after his wife's death, and Walt Whitman, who attended the dedication of Poe's new gravestone in 1875 but didn't feel well enough to speak. Writers and artists influenced by Poe, including Arthur Conan Doyle and Alfred Hitchcock, will also be represented.

~~~Before They Were Famous
Jake Gyllenhaal's first role was in 1991 as Billy Crystal's son in "City Slickers."

In 1985, a 9-year old Seth Green appeared as a detective in a Duncan Hines chocolate chip cookie commercial (alongside 8-year old Sarah Michelle Gellar). Seth can also be seen in a 1992 commercial for a NERF toy.

Hugh Grant once considered a career as an art historian. He intended to pursue PhD studies in Art History at the Courtauld Institute in London.

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~~~October Month Long Observances

Birthstone: Opal Birth flower: calendula
Adopt A Shelter Animal Month ~ Apple Month ~ Celebrate the Bilingual Child Month ~ Domestic Violence Awareness Month ~ Emotional Intelligence Month ~ Gay & Lesbian History Month ~ Halloween Safety Month ~ Month of Free Thought ~ Nat’l Arts and Humanities Month ~ Nat’l Book Month ~ Nat’l Cyber Safety Awareness Month ~ Nat’l Popcorn Poppin’ Month ~ Nat’l Sarcastic Awareness Month ~ Photographer Appreciation Month ~ Squirrel Awareness Month ~ Vegetarian Month

~~~Week of 6 Oct
Physicians Assistance’s Week

~~~7 OCT Observances
280 days so far this year…85 days remain in 2009

Balloons Around the World
Walk to School Day—celebrated around the world
^Brazil: Composers Day
^Fiji : Deed of Cession (1874)
^Libya : Evacuation Day


~~~Births on this day
~ The ARTS
1917__ June Allyson Bronx, actress
1951__ John Cougar Mellencamp Seymour Indiana, rocker
1955__ Yo-Yo Ma Paris France, world famous Chinese cellist

~ATHLETICS
1926__Alex Groza basketball
1950__Bo (David) Rather football: Miami Dolphins

~POLITICS/BUSINESS/EDUCATION
1879__Joe Hill Sweden, organizer (IWW)/songwriter (Union Scab)/martyr
1879__Leon Trotsky Russian revolutionary leader/writer
1888__Henry Wallace 33rd Vice President of U.S.

1943__Oliver North military

~SCIENCE/RELIGION
1885__Niels Bohr Denmark, physicist
1896__Elijah Muhammad founder of Nation of Islam

1931__Desmond Tutu Anglican Archbishop of S Africa (Nobel Peace Prize 1982)

~~~In Remembrance
1894__Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., American writer @ 85
1849__Edgar Allen Poe poet, @ 40

1959__Mario Lanza American tenor @38—heart attack
1991__Leo Durocher baseball coach/manager (Dodgers, Giants), @ 86

~~~Historical Events on this day
1672__White Mountain APACHEs raid the ZUNI pueblo of Hawikum, and kill a priest named Pedro de Abila y Ayala today

1765__The Stamp Act Congress convenes in NY

1826__Granite Railway (1st chartered railway in US) begins operations
1886__Spain abolishes slavery in Cuba

1919__KLM Royal Dutch Airlines of the Netherlands is founded
1931__1st infra-red photograph, Rochester, NY
1950__US forces invade Korea by crossing the 38th parallel
1957__ "American Bandstand" premieres
1959__A U.S. House subcommittee began investigations of allegedly rigged TV quiz shows.
1960__"Route 66" premieres
1968__Motion Picture Association of America adopts film rating system

~ Holy Mackerel
1905__Andy Devine [Jeremiah Schwartz], Flagstaff Az, actor, raised in Kingman, AZ
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Countries by population
Place these countries in order by estimated 2009 population—largest to smallest.
1. Iceland
2. India
3. Indonesia
4. Iran
5. Iraq
6. Ireland
7. Israel
8. Italy
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Scroll down for answers
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Answers:
1. India 1,166,079,217 (growth rate: 1.5%)
2. Indonesia 240,271,522 (growth rate: 1.1%)
3. Iran 66,429,284 (growth rate: 0.8%)
4. Italy 58,126,212 (growth rate: 0.0%)
5. Iraq 28,945,657 (growth rate: 2.5%)
6. Israel 7,233,701 (growth rate: 1.6%)
7. Ireland 4,203,200 (growth rate: 1.1%)
8. Iceland 306,694 (growth rate: 0.7%)
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