03.31.07
Posted in Anything goes, Historical Trivia, History, Uncategorized at 11:50 pm by Administrator
My cousins left tonight. Their vacation has ended after two months here in the U.S. I will miss them, and hopefully they’ll be able to visit again in another couple years. We wanted to take them to the Griffith Park Observatory, but I didn’t know that things have changed since re-openning after remodelling. It used to be that anyone could just drive up there and visit the observatory. Now, reservations have to be made 24 hours in advance. Apparently, that requirement was made last November, cripes. That spoiled our trip up there. So instead of going inside the observatory, we took a walk on one of the trails along the park. 
I was able to take a picture of the observatory from the trail. It’s hard to see the observatory in the thumbnail, so click onto the picture for a larger view. The observatory is off to the right with the dark domes over the white buildings. Far behind the observatory in the haze are the buildings of Downtown, Los Angeles. 
The next picture is of my youngest son, Aaron, and me at the beginning of the trail we took. Since I didn’t orginally plan on taking a hike, I wore the wrong type of shoes, ack! But all went well anyway because the particular trail we took was moderate and not difficult at all, yet gave us a nice view of the city. Afterwards we ate lunch at Real Food Daily in Los Angeles, then took them shopping along Melrose and Little Tokyo in Downtown. I got to pick up a well-illustrated book on Chinese Knotting, which is something I had been wanting to learn.
The following day my sister took our cousins to Amoeba Records in Hollywood, then we met up at the Peterson Automotive Museum on the Miracle Mile. I like the Peterson Automotive Museum, so took a lot of pictures from there. Unfortunately, we got there a day too early because the new exhibit openned the next day called, “Going Topless in Style.” As you might guess, those exhibit cars will be of convertibles. Oh, well, we got to see some other nice cars, so we had fun anyway. 
The beginning of the museum starts off with the early model cars like this 1903 Cadillac. Who would have thunk this was a Caddy? The next picture is of one of the first cars made in Los Angeles by Earle C. Anthony. He was 17-years-old. 
This car (cart, heheh) was powered by a 1.5 -horsepower motor. Hold on to yer hats! Ha! One fun thing about this museum is that it has exhibits which reflect not only the history of automobiles, but also that of Los Angeles. 
My sister and I got a kick out of the “Helms Bakery Truck” because we remember so well when we were kids and that Helms truck used to come by selling donuts and candies. Boy did we love climbing into the truck while the driver pulled out the drawers of donuts and candies for us to choose! Here we are now about 35 years later. We no longer see them rolling down the street. 
Here’s what the drawers that held the goodies looked like. Once my sister was lucky enough to get a whole dollar, ha! When the Helm’s man drove down our street, we stopped him and bought “100″ pieces of bubble gum, ha ha ha! At that time they used to cost 1 cent each. Eh, if that didn’t date me, then maybe the name of the bubblegum will. Can you say, “Bazooka?” LOL
Another part of Los Angeles history are the Indy racing cars. Here are some that were made in the Southland. And of course, since Hollywood is such a part of Los Angeles, Hollywood movie cars as well as cars own by some of the movie stars are also on display at the Peterson. 
Here’s one of the Bat mobile. Apparently, it was made from a 1967 Chevy Impala found in a London junk yard. Rolls-Royce jet engine components were used to form the hood-mounted intake, and the turbine blades in the nose piece were scavenged from a British Harrier figher jet, ha! Don’t you just love it? No, that’s not Michael Keaton behind me, it’s batman!
Now lemme see what else they had. Here on the right is a proto-type of the Mach 5, eh, I’m dating myself again, but boy did I love Speed Racer! 
And here on the left is another car that was purchased by Ali Khan for Rita Hayworth. Must be nice to be rich and beautiful, huh? Ha! Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top frequently has some of his cars on display at the Peterson like his “Cadzilla,” and “Hogzilla.” And next to that was the Kisscat. I only got a picture of the back end with the guitars or “axes.” 
Moving along we come to a 2006 Ford GT pictured on the right. Oh la la, this baby can reach 60mph in about 3 minutes and hit a top speed of about 205mph. 
And displayed right next to her (and pictured to the left) is a Bugatti. . . top speed about 235mph (that is if memory serves me correctly. It could be a top speed of 255mph). Hold on ta yer wigs, babies! Make sure those dentures are secure, ha!
Well, we weren’t quite ready to fly out of there just yet. Instead we headed upstairs and discovered the “discovery station” where we got to climb into some of the cars and a police motorcycle. As you can see, things slowed down a lot over here. What were the top speed of these cars? 35 mph? Eek! And the museum provided some props like the hat and coat I’m wearing. I couldn’t convince my cousin to use the props for the men, shucks. 
We also climbed aboard an old street car downstairs. 
Then I bumped into Laurel and Hardy. Oop! I can assure you that there were a lot more cars that I would have loved to include here, but time and space cuts me short, awww. 
But I do want to squeeze in one last shot of a custom built armored White House limousine. It was built in 1942 for Franklin D. Roosevelt, and also later used by Harry S. Truman. This was Lincoln’s first armored car built for the protection of the U.S. President. Too bad Kennedy wasn’t riding in this thing. . .
Well, it’s late, so toodles for now.
Marlakins 
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03.25.07
Posted in Anything goes, Historical Trivia, Uncategorized at 3:33 pm by Administrator
One thing nice about having relatives visit from out of town is that we get to play tourist with them, heh. My parents were planning on taking my cousins up north to San Simeon last week, but with the ER event, that has now been canceled. Instead, we decided that there are a few local spots that might be of some interest to my cousins. Yesterday we visited the Grauman’s Chinese Theater on Hollywood and Highland. I thought it might be nice to share some pictures because I know that some of my blog friends are not from Southern California. So, this gives me an opportunity to give a tiny tour. Not much unspoilt nature here like some of you are able to enjoy daily, who are lucky enough to live father away from large cities. Here we have mostly man-made edifices, lots of paved roads. But this is where I live, so what can I say? 
Here’s a picture of my sister and me in front of the theater. Just click onto the images to see a larger version. I also got a couple more shots inside the theater. 
Here’s one inside the theater, but just outside the seating area. It’s old-style with a large seating capacity including a balcony. The ladies restroom still has a large outer lounge that you don’t see much anymore in modern buildings (except “some” upscale hotels). 
The next picture is one in the women’s lounge area. That’s one feature that I liked in older buildings. From memory, I think there were about six or eight vanity stations with it’s own mirror and cushioned chair from where women could “freshen up.” Since I’ve lived here in Los Angeles for most of my life, I always thought that everyone knew about the hand and footprints at the Chinese Theater. 
But not everyone is star struck and couldn’t care less about the goings on here in LA, ha, but just i
n case you haven’t seen these prints, here are a few of them. There are many, many more all around the courtyard of the Chinese Theater. All along the sidewalks in the area are embedded stars with various people’s names on them. 
Here’s a picture of one of those stars. I shot one of Louis Armstrong’s star. I’m sure you Saints fans are familiar with Armstrong. While we were there, we decided to watch the movie “300,” and boy what a story that is! I’m sure the directors embellished a lot and got a little more artsy fartsy than I like, but regardless, if there is any truth to that story, what a story! Never have I seen so many capes busting out in testosterone all in one place, ha! Oh, and not the kind of movie for the young-uns to see. One of the several things that struck me was the strength and endurance those men had. We hear that life expectancy is longer now, yet we also hear so much of “chronic fatigue” and rising incidences of disease and new diseases. Today so many people just sit in front of a desk pushing a pencil, then come home exhausted, while those Spartan warriors marched for miles carrying heavy sheilds and swords with enough energy to spare and fight the whole day long against hundreds and hundreds of men. 
Here are a couple pictures I took from the Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul, Turkey. These are likely not those from Sparta, but other ancient swords. One of the first things that impressed upon me was the “size” of these swords. Not light-weight, I’m sure. I imagine I would be pooped out just picking it up once or twice, much less having to haul it around for miles and then afterwards weld it around while fighting hour after hour with it. No need for an enemy to kill me, just bearing the weight of those swords for a few days would kill me of exhaustion, ha! Where did they get their strength? I know that pound for pound men are stronger than women. But I’m not so confident that we have lots of men today who could weld these swords. The potential strength of men is something that has always impressed me about how God created men (not to mention all the talent in arts, music, and sports man is capable of). The human body is truly magnificent. And those men of old. . . boy, would they be something to see. Was King David like one of these?
Well, that’s enough for today. My cousins still have one more week here, so I might be able to post some more touring pictures of Los Angeles. If not, I may just add some that I’ve taken in the past for other email friends, hehe. Digital cameras are addicting sometimes!
Marlakins
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03.23.07
Posted in Anything goes, Health-related--Natural Alternative Treatments, Uncategorized at 9:54 am by Administrator
In order for a discussion on norepinephrine (aka noradrenaline) and receptors in relation to depression to be more easily understood, it would help to first discuss receptors.
Our bodies are made up of millions of cells, each of which have a wall or membrane around it. This membrane is made up of complicated molecules among them being what is known as receptors. They are known as receptors because they detect or “receive” the molecules of hormones in the bloodstream. So, when a molecule of the hormone epinephrine touches an epinephrine receptor (there are different receptors for every hormone in the body, sometimes there is only one type of receptor for a particular hormone, while other times there are a whole group of similar receptors involved in a cascade) in a cell membrane, it triggers a series of changes in the cell known as the “response.”
Nerves are also closely involved with the actions of hormones and receptors. Almost every organ is connected to nerves. There are two known function of nerves–a). sensory, in that they detect or sense changes in the organ’s blood supply, chemical environment, position, and temperature and signal that information to the brain, and b). motor, in that some nerves carry information from the brain to the organs causing muscles to contract or glands to secrete hormones.
Different organs in the body communicate with each other using hormones, nerve cells aka neurons, which are believed to communicate with each other and the organs by releasing hormone-”like” chemicals known as “transmitters” or “neurotransmitters.” Transmitters are secreted by neurons very quickly and their effects may be felt within a few thousandths of a second.
Then there are different types of receptors–sympathetic and parasympathetic. Norepinephrine is a neurotransmitter which is released by the sympathic nerves which control organs by using alpha and beta receptors.
A list of the reactions involved with they sympathetic nerves and norepinephrine according to Pills, Potions, and Poisons are as follows:
~contraction of muscles in the iris, which opens the pupil
~Relaxation of muscles cells in the tacha (windpipe), allowing more air into the lungs
~release of glucose from the liver (to provide energy)
~reduce movements of the intestine
~contraction of the tubes from the testes (the vasa deferentia) producing ejaculation
~contraction of the blood vessels, raising the blood pressure. . . Now this is the action I mentioned in my previous post on Reserpine, the blood pressure med, which gave the clues of a possible link with norepinephrine levels and depression. As one can see from this list above, altering the presence of norephinephrine can affect quite a few other parts of the body, not only depression. And I feel sure that this list above is only a very short list since there is always a cascade effect in the body.
Below is another list for the transmitter norephinephrine (noradrenaline) and ephinephrine (adrenalin) and which tissues and receptors they are known to affect:
Tissue~ Effect~ Receptor
~stomach~relaxation~alpha and beta
~intestine~relaxation~alpha and beta
~bladder~relaxation~alpha and beta
~salivary glands~secretion~alpha
~eye~dilation of pupil~alpha
~heart~increased rate and force~beta
~blood vessels~contraction/relaxation~alpha and beta respectively
~kidney~renin secretion~beta
~airways~relaxation~beta
~male sex organ~contraction of muscles (ejaculation)~alpha (this one reminds me of one guy who described the feeling that he didn’t know if he was coming or going, ha ha ha)
~liver~release of glucose~alpha and beta
Okay, so we can see how many more things are involved in the body when messing around with neurotransmitters like norepinephrine. I’m sure it’s more complicated than that since I believe other amines are involved as well, but I think one can get the gist of why I think that using anti-depressants can wreck havoc on the body and cause many imbalances. Tricyclic anti-depressants alter the amount of transmitters at the receptors by preventing their uptake into the nerve endings. There are several tricyclic drugs which act in a similar way, but they effect cells which release a different amine: 5HT. The group of anti-depressants which work on serotonin are known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). But the idea is the same in that they alter the environment of the nerves and transmitters. For these reasons, I feel that it is worthwhile to dilligently seek a more natural way to treat depression.
Marlakins
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03.21.07
Posted in Anything goes, Health-related--Natural Alternative Treatments, Uncategorized at 6:43 pm by Administrator
Although I’ve had some topics that I’ve wanted to blog about, I haven’t been quite up to it partly because my parents seem to be in competition with who can visit ER the most, oye. Saturday night we stayed in ER for six hours, and I didn’t get home until almost 3AM. My parents have been having lots of health problems, yet, thank God we’ve been able to dodge the bullet several times. My sisters and I know it’s only a matter of time before we have to face the music (which I am absolutely no where near ready to do!), so with these recent ER runs, the three of us have come up with a plan that we will split up guard duty if and when the time comes. My oldest sister will do three days, my second older sister will do two days, and I will do two days each week. That way they’ll get coverage every day of the week for however long they need it. I know my mom has expressed in the past her worry of no one taking care of her when she gets old, but we don’t ever want her to feel that we won’t be there for them. We have every intention to be! My dad has his MRI today, so I’m hoping that comes out okay. Yesterday was pretty depressing for me, but today is much brighter! Even the sun came out to help me out! Ha! 
I have two cousins visiting from the Philippines, so we were able to have a fun lunch at the Fairfax Farmer’s Market. My sister had just taken them to the Promenade in Santa Monica then brought them closer to home, so we could hook up. I took two of my boys along. I’m just learning about these “thumbnail” pictures, so if you want to see a bigger picture, just click onto the picture. I’m sure you’ll be able to pick out who’s who, eh, I’m the only female in the picture in the back middle. My two sons are sitting at the red top table, and my two cousins are opposite each other just behind my sons. I had my usual sushi from there as did my boys. My sister and my cousins had Brazilian food. That’s one of the things I really like about that place–so many different food choices available, so that we don’t all have to eat from the same menu, yet we can still share a table.
The topper for the day for me was the results of a bone scan I took. I had been somewhat concerned that all my years of poor eating habits and steriod meds had done a number on my bones. But it appears that this past seven years of good eating may be paying off in ways I didn’t realize (too busy working on my blood and skin!) Today’s results show that my bone density is 91% of young adult women (that’s between the ages 30-35), and for women my age (42), I scored 93%. Yeah! Not even close to osteopenia, which I had often wondered if I were teetering there due to all my years of soda guzzling, daily sugar fixes, and daily steriod use. After seven years of organic food, and “free” of sodas, sugar fixes, and steriods, my bones may be able to take good care of me for many more years yet! The gal who was scanned just before me was only 18-years-old and scored less than I did at 85% of the young adult women between the ages of 30-35. And she was ecstatic with her score. The good news is, I haven’t even seriously focused on strengthening my bones, so hopefully if I do pay more attention to helping me bones out, I hope to increase my bone density even more. I want to focus on that because once I hit that menopausal age, I know that bone density is likely gonna take a dive. Better start working on getting a lot of bone laid down before that happens!
Well, better get dinner on, so toodles for now!
Marlakins
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03.18.07
Posted in Anything goes, Health-related--Natural Alternative Treatments, Historical Trivia, Uncategorized at 9:55 pm by Administrator
There is still a lot that is not understood about depression. It was only in 1952 that the first drug to affect depression was discovered accidentally by Henri Laborit, Jean Delay, and Pierre Deniker. They had noticed that an antihistamine, chlorpromazine, would calm schizophrenic patients. Because of this, Geigy Pharmaceuticals, the makers of chlorpromazine, modified the structure of the chlorpromazine molecule to try and eliminate its antihistamine activity and other side effects. The result was later tested in schizophrenic patients. Here’s a quote taken from Pills, Potions, and Poison regarding the result of that first experiment:
“The whole team of medical and nursing staff waited with bated breath. At first, very little happened. Then, within a period ranging from a few days to several weeks, certain very definite results bagan to appear. These were not only fascinating. They were, in some patients, quite alarming. Several previously quiet patients began to deteriorate with increasing agitation. One man, in such a state, managed to get hold of a bicycle and rode in his nightshirt to a nearby village singing lustily, much to the alarm of the local inhabitants. Our disappointment was intense. The trial was abandoned.”
The results gathered from the test above revealed that the patients who showed the greatest development of agitation and excitement where those who had been “depressed” as well as schizophrenic. That spurred the idea to try the drug on patients who were “only depressed.” Here is another excerpt by Alan Broadhurst of the Geigy team from the book describing the results of the modified drug tested on “depressed” patients in 1955:
“After forty patients had been treated, it was clear that G22355 [the company's code name for the drug] was producing a dramatic, and this time beneficial, response. I had seen some seriously depressed patients, and I was all too aware of what a merciless and devastating illness severe and unremitting depression could be. The fact that we might now, for the first time ever, have an effective treatment seemed incredible. If this therapeutic effect could be repeated in larger groups of patients, then G22355 represented a major advance in medicine.”
G22355 later became known as Imipramine, and later followed by other drugs called “tricyclic antidepressants” because the molecules all contain three rings of atoms. A second drug that was also accidentally discovered was Iproniazid, which was used to treat tuberculosis, but found to make the patients feel “happier.”
At this point, it was still not known what caused depression, only that there were some drugs which seemed to reverse it. One of the first clues of what might be linked to depression was found by observing patients who used Reserpine, a drug given to lower blood pressure in hypertensive patients. In addition to lowering blood pressure, these patients got severly depressed, some even suicidal. From understanding the action of Reserpine, it was deduced that depression might be linked to reduced release of norepinephrine from nerve cells. It was known that Reserpine lowered blood pressure by causing the sympathetic nerves to lose their stores of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine (noradrenaline). Normally, the nerve stores norepinephrine in small packets known as vesicles which are secreted onto receptors on blood vessels when the nerves are active. Reserpine disrupts the vesicles so that norepinephrine can no longer be stored or released, the sympathetic stimulation of the heart and blood vessels decreases and the blood pressure falls.
Stone and Darlington, authors of Pills, Potions, and Poisons, wrote that the drugs which had been found accidentally to benefit depressed patients also affected norepinephrine neurons in the brain.
Next post on “depression” and “anti-depressants” will touch on the amines and receptors in relation to depression.
Marlakins
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03.16.07
Posted in Anything goes, Health-related--Natural Alternative Treatments, Uncategorized at 10:18 pm by Administrator
The article below was written by my oldest son for his college newspaper. I thought it appropriate to post on my blog because it is a follow-up to a post I made not long after I started to get into this blogging thing.
Cellular Hoax and Hazard, by Andrew Brown
It was in May of 2006 that a story circulated on the web telling how it was possible to thoroughly cook an egg using two closely placed cell phones. The article was a shocker for many who read it, but the whole thing was quickly exposed as a fraud when people actually began testing it for themselves. The incident was another little chapter in the ongoing dispute between cell phone companies and health activists. However, speedy brain fryers aren’t all cell phones have been accused of being, as many will know.
Johnnie Cochran is amongst those used as an example of correlations between the phones and brain cancer. The lawyer, who died in 2005, was rarely seen with the device apart from his left ear, the side on which his cancer developed. Anti-cell phone advocates state this correlation is backed by numerous other examples and is far from mere coincidence. And even while it seems prolonged usage is the cause of these tragedies, such does not mean that shorter durations of exposure to the microwave radiation is all okay. Cancer is merely the most visible symptom. Spanish studies have concluded that a child exposed for even two minutes has a disruption of natural electrical brain activity of upwards to an hour. Swedish scientists have also revealed that the moment cell phone radiation comes in contact, the blood-brain barrier, which separates brain tissue from circulating blood, is compromised. This allows elements in the blood that are toxic to brain cells to interact with sensitive nerves. Of course, government studies have apparently shown that cell phone usage is safe to a reasonable degree. Even so, every study, whether resulting in information for or against mobile phones, should ideally be checked for hidden motives.
Anti-phoners certainly have their agenda, but government researchers can easily be influenced by corporate pressures. The difficult thing about microwave emissions is that, unlike the egg example, the average person does not have the equipment nor the time to check it out himself. Immediate effects require being able to see inside the body, while the ultimate effects can take years to manifest. Yet in the meantime, how much does the average person actually have to be on the line? What is gained by jabbering on the phone with someone every ten minutes, every half hour, or even every hour? Even if one doesn’t believe that a little radiation won’t be cause for harm, cell phone usage is exploding. Practically everyone now has a mobile phone, and the effects easily compound. Businesses, schools, and even homes are becoming microwave soups. To keep up with the ever expanding market, telecommunications companies erect more receiver antennas, each of which give off many times as much radiation as the single phone unit. Whenever you dial, it’s not just you who’s receiving emissions, it’s everyone around you and everyone between you and your call. What’s an alternative to calls? Perhaps text messaging is a step up. It seems reasonable that the smaller amount of data would result in less going through the air, and one doesn’t have to hold the thing up to the head. As added bonuses, it allows the user to think a bit before speaking, and is also less of a distraction for everyone else around.
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03.15.07
Posted in Anything goes, Uncategorized, felt projects, knitting and crocheting at 7:50 pm by Administrator
I’m a bit jazzed today because I just finished my very “first” felt project! I’ve been thinking of doing one for a long time, and finally got down to doing it. There are so many cute things to try like felted slippers and hats. But for now, I thought I would try something very simple. It’s called a “booga bag.” I recommend it as a first/beginners project. So here’s my before and after shots. I got the free pattern online from Black Sheep Bags. This one is for my mom, and in the colors she likes. I want to try another bag for my auntie, and one for myself, heheheh.
The picture below is the bag after I completed knitting it, but before it went into the wash to get felted:
And the picture below is the completed bag after felting and blocking and with the straps attached. As you can see, it shrinks quite a bit. I picked up a talisman from Chinatown today, and attached it to the strap on the left.
I’m pleased with the way this came out, and it gives me encouragement that I can do these things. I can’t wait to start another project!
Marlakins
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03.14.07
Posted in Anything goes, Health-related--Natural Alternative Treatments, Uncategorized at 9:09 pm by Administrator
Arrrggghh! That’s how I feel when I lose posts in cyberspace. . .
Okay, now that I got that out of the way, I had typed out a post on the color of foods when my computer decided to be naughty. So this is a second attempt. . . Lots of times you hear that certain types of foods are good for such and such conditions. But when I have gone out to find such items, I find that there are a variety of those foods, that is, there are a variety of tomatoes, or a variety of onions, so which ones are the good ones? 
A while back I heard that sesame seeds are good for those who could use more platelets. What I have wondered was, “Does it matter if I use the white or the black sesame seeds?” Just the fact that they are different colors, makes sense that they have some different properties. Well, recently, I found that some healing disciplines DO consider the “color” of foods to have different affects in the body.
Actually, I’ve read from a few different health practice approaches that the color of foods do matter, and that is why some say to eat a variety of colored fruits and veggies–i.e. the yellowish/orange colors are indicative of carotenes, greens are indicative of phytochemicals, etc. Some say that each color has it’s own frequency or vibration, and thus different colored foods react to the body in different ways than another colored food. This also makes sense to me since I know that each color does have it’s own frequency specific to that color and vibrations do affect cells. Consider rebounding and music. Yet others who follow Chinese herbology have yet another belief that the different colors actually go to different parts of the body. Hmmm. Here’s the color breakdown according to Chinese herbology.
~Green goes to the liver
~Red goes to the heart, pericardium
~Yellow goes to the spleen, pancreas
~White goes to the lungs
~Black goes to the kidneys
I know there are a lot more colors in the spectrum, but in Chinese herbology, they focus on five elements–wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. They use these elements to describe the characteristics of major organs. It gets quite complicated, but suffice it to say, that according to the list above, there is a difference between white sesame seeds and black sesame seeds. If the list above is correct, then the white sesame seeds would seem to affect the lungs, while the black would affect the kidneys. Hmmm. And perhaps that is why the black sesame seeds are more recommended for those who need more platelets. After all, the kidneys are important to red blood production. Perhaps they are also somehow involved with platelets or clotting? I know that kidney dialysis patients commonly have platelet and bruising problems. So I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a connection. The intricacy of foods and how it interacts with the body never ceases to amaze me.
Marlakins 
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03.13.07
Posted in Anything goes, Uncategorized at 12:57 pm by Administrator
The gasoline prices here in Los Angeles have gone over $3. Regular unleaded is now $3.05 per gallon! Premium is $3.25. Not long ago, I noticed in my journal from around this time last year that I wrote I was surprised that gasoline had hit $2 a gallon. This is the fastest jump in price I ever remember. I don’t want to date myself by saying the prices I do remember paying, hehehe. But, when I think about it, once the price goes up, they generally don’t come down again for very long. Eh, what’s up with the gas prices? I’m curious what gasoline prices are in other parts of the country. If anyone would care to share, I would be grateful.
Marlakins
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03.12.07
Posted in Anything goes, Health-related--Natural Alternative Treatments, Uncategorized at 11:49 am by Administrator
There was an article I just read linked from the AA Central Forum entitled, “CDC May Investigate North County Blood Disorders.” The particular “blood disorder” named in the article is Aplastic Anemia. Apparently, 10 people have recently been diagnosed with AA in North County. I know of several AAers who live/d in San Diego and likely not among the 10 patients the article mentions. That seems like a lot of AAers in a particlar area. I myself had visited San Diego about two weeks prior to getting my AA diagnosis back in October 1999 as did another AAer I keep in touch with. She developed AA in 1998 but had also visited San Diego just before her diagnosis. This, naturally, makes me reflect upon the past and what was going on at the time. I know that my health was probably already compromised, so I wonder if I were exposed to something in San Diego that pushed me over the edge to AA that I would not otherwise have had? I still have some pictures of my visit to San Diego just prior to my AA diagnosis. Here’s one of me back in 1999 just before AA diagnosis, and boy, I had NO IDEA what was in store for me two weeks later (otherwise I wouldn’t have had such a big smile on my face)!–a year and a half of blood transfusions and a boat load of anxiety!
Boy, oh boy. When I look at this picture, I think, “What’s inside that bone marrow during that shot? Something was brewing amiss, and I didn’t even know it.” I can tell you that there’s more inside that brain today then was captured in that photo about 7 years ago. . .
Marlakins
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I was able to take a picture of the observatory from the trail. It’s hard to see the observatory in the thumbnail, so click onto the picture for a larger view. The observatory is off to the right with the dark domes over the white buildings. Far behind the observatory in the haze are the buildings of Downtown, Los Angeles. 
The next picture is of my youngest son, Aaron, and me at the beginning of the trail we took. Since I didn’t orginally plan on taking a hike, I wore the wrong type of shoes, ack! But all went well anyway because the particular trail we took was moderate and not difficult at all, yet gave us a nice view of the city. Afterwards we ate lunch at Real Food Daily in Los Angeles, then took them shopping along Melrose and Little Tokyo in Downtown. I got to pick up a well-illustrated book on Chinese Knotting, which is something I had been wanting to learn.
The beginning of the museum starts off with the early model cars like this 1903 Cadillac. Who would have thunk this was a Caddy? The next picture is of one of the first cars made in Los Angeles by Earle C. Anthony. He was 17-years-old. 
This car (cart, heheh) was powered by a 1.5 -horsepower motor. Hold on to yer hats! Ha! One fun thing about this museum is that it has exhibits which reflect not only the history of automobiles, but also that of Los Angeles. 
My sister and I got a kick out of the “Helms Bakery Truck” because we remember so well when we were kids and that Helms truck used to come by selling donuts and candies. Boy did we love climbing into the truck while the driver pulled out the drawers of donuts and candies for us to choose! Here we are now about 35 years later. We no longer see them rolling down the street. 
Here’s what the drawers that held the goodies looked like. Once my sister was lucky enough to get a whole dollar, ha! When the Helm’s man drove down our street, we stopped him and bought “100″ pieces of bubble gum, ha ha ha! At that time they used to cost 1 cent each. Eh, if that didn’t date me, then maybe the name of the bubblegum will. Can you say, “Bazooka?” LOL
Another part of Los Angeles history are the Indy racing cars. Here are some that were made in the Southland. And of course, since Hollywood is such a part of Los Angeles, Hollywood movie cars as well as cars own by some of the movie stars are also on display at the Peterson. 
Here’s one of the Bat mobile. Apparently, it was made from a 1967 Chevy Impala found in a London junk yard. Rolls-Royce jet engine components were used to form the hood-mounted intake, and the turbine blades in the nose piece were scavenged from a British Harrier figher jet, ha! Don’t you just love it? No, that’s not Michael Keaton behind me, it’s batman!
Now lemme see what else they had. Here on the right is a proto-type of the Mach 5, eh, I’m dating myself again, but boy did I love Speed Racer! 
And here on the left is another car that was purchased by Ali Khan for Rita Hayworth. Must be nice to be rich and beautiful, huh? Ha! Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top frequently has some of his cars on display at the Peterson like his “Cadzilla,” and “Hogzilla.” And next to that was the Kisscat. I only got a picture of the back end with the guitars or “axes.” 
Moving along we come to a 2006 Ford GT pictured on the right. Oh la la, this baby can reach 60mph in about 3 minutes and hit a top speed of about 205mph. 
And displayed right next to her (and pictured to the left) is a Bugatti. . . top speed about 235mph (that is if memory serves me correctly. It could be a top speed of 255mph). Hold on ta yer wigs, babies! Make sure those dentures are secure, ha!
Well, we weren’t quite ready to fly out of there just yet. Instead we headed upstairs and discovered the “discovery station” where we got to climb into some of the cars and a police motorcycle. As you can see, things slowed down a lot over here. What were the top speed of these cars? 35 mph? Eek! And the museum provided some props like the hat and coat I’m wearing. I couldn’t convince my cousin to use the props for the men, shucks. 
We also climbed aboard an old street car downstairs. 
Then I bumped into Laurel and Hardy. Oop! I can assure you that there were a lot more cars that I would have loved to include here, but time and space cuts me short, awww. 
But I do want to squeeze in one last shot of a custom built armored White House limousine. It was built in 1942 for Franklin D. Roosevelt, and also later used by Harry S. Truman. This was Lincoln’s first armored car built for the protection of the U.S. President. Too bad Kennedy wasn’t riding in this thing. . .
