Linda Z

My understanding from writing a new-drugs column for a couple journals for a few years is that bacterial resistance comes from the overprescribing of antibiotics. I suppose it's possible that taking one for less than the prescribed length of time could be a factor--I just hadn't heard that before and I'm not sure why that would be. But I'm not a medical professional. However, I can tell you from experience what can happen when you don't take the full course of an antibiotic and then you get another bug later on and decide to self-treat with the same antibiotic. For me that little stunt sent me to the hospital in anaphylactic shock. NOT a fun experience, I guarantee you. I forget the full explanation, but something about taking a few doses, stopping, and resuming a month or so later caused me to develop a sensitivity to the drug. However

Shaz, I can only speak for me, but when VP ministered to me, I really wasn't expecting "VP to heal me." I was expecting God to heal me, which is what VP told me was possible in the process of ministering to/praying with me. I didn't know VP. I'd never laid eyes on him before that day, because I hadn't taken PFAL yet. Dovey is right...there are two separate issues here, the first being whether God can/does heal and the second whether someone like VP could have any part in precipitating the healing. To the first, I'd say of course God can and does. Why not always? I don't know. To the second, I can only say that I believe VP's pointing out that God could heal me and cared about whether I got healed did affect the outcome. If someone had come along and said, "Well, you're screwed. That's gonna leave a nasty scar. Would you like a wheelchair?" I might have been just as easily swayed to expect the worst. But that's not the way it went. My son reminded me of another healing--one that he received when we were in the Family Corps. He was sick in bed with an ear infection. He'd been plagued with them since infancy, getting several a year, and they were accompanied by high fevers and severe ear aches. VP was visiting the campus and heard some people were sick. So he went to the rooms of the sick ones and prayed for them. When he prayed for my son, he specifically said, "You'll never have another ear infection again." My son was 12 at the time. Now he's 37 and he's never had another ear infection. That's after 12 years of having 3-4 per year. Coincidence? I don't think so. I think God was not limited by VP's wrongdoing/sins. When VP was attempting to do the right thing, I believe God honored that. That certainly doesn't mean I can't recognize where VP screwed up royally.

Flat Arrived in Kansas Today. Wow! I thought it had been flat for centuries! Ya learn somethin' new every day!

I had one this morning when my son was rooting around in the attic and found a whole pad of the infamous blue forms! I didn't even know the stupid things were up there. We had a good laugh after I got over cringing at the sight of them!

I think sometimes we have trouble deciding to forgive someone because we have a misconception about just what forgiveness is (e.g., Satori's point about forgiveness vs. absolution). There's another area of misunderstanding, it seems to me, and that's thinking we have to like someone if we've forgiven them. I don't think God requires that as part of the "forgiveness package." I can't think of anyone in twi I haven't forgiven. Yet, of those who really hurt me or tried to intimidate me, I can't think of one I'd want to hang out with. I don't like them, but I don't wish horrible things upon them and I feel if they have consequences coming, it's not up to me to seek my own revenge or justice.

mstar, do we need to send smelling salts??? Simon, yeah, right after that drug and hair thing. :P-->

Yippee!! Way to go!! Congrats to all Boston fans. And congrats to my bad boy Manny. He can be a stinker, but he's such a little boy when it comes to baseball that I can't help but love him. Yay, Paw!! Could this be an omen for another winner from Boston in, say, 6 days??? :D-->

mstar, your story about that kids' signs made me cry, too. I've thought of Paw's dad so often during the playoffs and the Series. I don't know him, but I know what it's like to wait a lifetime for a winning team! Go Boston!!

Oh heck, I ingested Rosalie Rivenbark's crap for a whole lot less than a million!! -->

Here's wishing you the happiest, safest, healthiest, best b'day yet! I think you're swell in the costume you wear daily!

Song: VPW ministered to me once, after I'd totalled my car on the way to ROA '72, and I was healed--not instantaneously, but very quickly. That Saturday's evening teaching at ROA was "Lord I Believe," about the man Jesus healed who was born blind. I'm sure that contributed to my speedy recovery. (I hadn't taken the PFAL class yet.) I've shared about this at length both on Waydale and GS, so this is the abbreviated version: After the accident: Nasty, deep facial cut from top of my forehead to tip of my chin, caused by breaking the windshield with my face (ouch). Couldn't walk without leaning on someone, because I'd rammed my knee into a metal panel under the dash. ROA was only three days long then. By the end of that long weekend, the facial cut was healed to the point that the scabs were coming off, leaving perfectly healed skin underneath. I ended up with only a teensy scar under my bottom lip. By the second day I could walk using a walking stick someone found for me. By the final day I was walking without the stick. I've never had any residual problems with that knee.

That question crossed my mind, too, dmiller, but it's sorta like asking "Why did that girl who got raped wear such a short skirt?" It doesn't let old smug Bill off the hook (if he really behaved as alleged), whether she hung up or not. The rapist is still guilty regardless of what the person he attacked was wearing. I would have not only hung up the phone, but I'd have first told him to buzz off and shove his job. But regardless of her reason for not hanging up and for continuing to go out to dinner with the alleged scumbag, he's the one responsible for his alleged behavior. Alfakat said, "If you read the complaint and you have listened to the guy 3 or 4 times, what he is alleged to have said and the manner of his address and so forth ring very true. I find him to be a pompous, self-infatuated wind-bag know-it-all... and her allegations are spot on with his attitude and personality." Boy, that's exactly what hit me when I read that document, alfa. Given his attitude, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if what this woman says is true. It just fits his obnoxious, egotistical personality perfectly.

While we're at it, how do you clean the flat LCD screens? The surface is a plastic film, so I don't dare put Windex on it, I don't think. But with two pets and my being a smoker, it needs help. The manual that came with it doesn't say anything about cleaning. -->

Thanks, Steve. Go figure. I haven't changed anything yet, and I'm posting this via the regular "Reply" button. I'll try changing the pop-up blocking in my Norton software. The Google pop-up blocker has always worked just fine for me, anyway. I'm starting to think I might dislike Symantec.

I'm sure this has something to do with my ongoing struggles with my Norton Antivirus/Firewall software on my computer at home, but when I click on "Reply" or "New," nothing happens. The only way I can post is to use that "QuickReply" thing. Anybody got any ideas? I can seldom post from work, and this is getting frustrating.

OM said: "Linda Z, my view is, he did the best he could under the circumstances. Yeah, Craig was a novice coordinator who made lots and lots of mistakes; and I saw proof of that from being in the Sick Corps for a few months. And who was around to do a better job? If anyone was, don't you think VPW would have put that person in charge? He wanted the thing to work, didn't he?" No, you don't get a "thing" to work by putting someone unqualified to run it in charge of it. You wait until you have someone who's qualified. Especially if the "thing" is going to affect a lot of people's lives. I don't think LCM's "leadership" of the Corps was the only thing wrong with the program--not by a longshot. But putting LCM in charge of it reflected VPW's tendency to put style over substance and to promote yes men over people who'd call a spade a spade. OM again: "I think you have to take what you've got and make the best of it; that's how I view VPW's handling of Craig, Rosalie and gang. Sorry, OM, but from someone who was around during the time those two gained ascendancy: That's just ridiculous. I can guaran-dam-tee you that there were more qualified people to preside over the Way Corps than a young pup with a big bark. And I can think of several who could have run Way Publications and Way Productions better than Rosalie Rivenbark.

OM: "No man can guarantee the actions of another ..." No, but it doesn't take a whole bunch of revelation to figure out if someone's unqualified and unsuitable for positions of responsibility. I've always said that VP's lack in this area was one of his greatest weaknesses. Examples: 1. putting RFR, already known to be a controlling, legalistic, manipulative person, in charge of University of Life AND Way Productions AND Way Publications. 2. putting a still-wet-behind-the-ears LCM in charge of the Way Corps at age 20-something 3. letting Emogene Allen gain more and more control (besides the bookstore operation, she was also ultimately in charge of Way Pub before Rosie took over). I can think of many more. VP used to say, "Sometimes you have to put up with people's weaknesses to benefit from their longsuits." I think he failed to weigh the true pluses and minuses in too many cases.

PS to dmiller: I'm glad to note that you know the correct spelling and usage of "vociferous," by the way. Those darn vostiferous insurgents! They is our real concerns. :D-->:D-->:D-->

dmiller, I was responding to this comment by Eagle when I said Kerry had the right to protest: "But I can't vote for him because he is an American traitor from the Vietnam War, so he doesn't belong in the Senate, never mind the presidency. He belongs in prison...." Sheesh. Even the Fox News "no-spin" guy Bill O'Reilly calls Kerry a patriot. Eagle went on to say: "The candidates were not supposed to have the questions in advance per the moderator. However, I did notice the moderator brought up questions to both of them more about the Iraqi war and "Bush's record" and did not touch on Kerry's record once. This scenario laid up by the moderator had Bush on the defensive all night." The focus of the questions wasn't a surprise to either candidate, since they both knew the topic of the first debate was foreign policy. I think Bush was on the defensive for two reasons: (1) because he doesn't do well without a script or a teleprompter in front of him and (2) because he doesn't like to admit mistakes. He doesn't even seem to like to consider that he might have made any mistakes. Eagle again: "On this debate, Kerry was smooth and prepared to answer the questions, as if expecting them, as if he had scripted answers. "After the CBS fiasco, I was wondering if the moderator faxed the questions he was going to ask to the Kerry campaign so they could practice and left Bush out." Both Kerry and Bush knew enough to prepare because they both knew the topic of the debate. They both should have been ready to answer questions on that topic. Kerry was. Bush wasn't.

Kerry risked his life in the Vietnam war. He and the other veterans who saw what was going on over there had more right than anyone on the planet to protest.

Hahahaha Grizzy. I happen to like Dolly. I'm not attacking her impressive bosomly features. I just don't think they're homegrown, just like I don't think Geogeie's "just folks."

I think anyone who didn't watch the debate on C-Span missed a lot. C-Span ran a split screen throughout the entire debate, rather than picking and choosing when to show "reaction shots." I highly recommend that channel to you all for the remaining debates. It was also the best for the Rep and Dem conventions, IMO. At times Kerry's nodding and smiling and gesturing were a bit much, but Dubya's expression through much of the debate looked like he was about to drop to the floor kicking and screaming like a spoiled kid in K-Mart whose mom says he can't have a toy. I'm an independent voter. I've registered Dem and Repub at various times for purposes of voting in primaries, but I vote for the person I think is most competent, regardless of party. I've said more than once on the Politics & 'Tacks forum that I don't hate Geo. W. Bush. I simply think he is beyond incompetent in his current role (and in most positions he's held in throughout adulthood), and I believe Rumsfeld and Cheney and some of his other top advisors have led us into a mess that's going to take us a long time to get ourselves out of regardless of who wins this election. There were a couple things Kerry said that gave me pause and that I'm going to have to read up on, but those two things pale in comparison to Dubya's dismal record of the past four years. I thought one of the most effective things Kerry did was to quote W's father, saying that if we went into Iraq we'd be in a big mess (don't remember the exact words) and we'd become occupiers. And I loved Kerry's line about certainty being good but you can be certain and wrong. That, to me, seems to be the hallmark of George Walker Bush. My way or the highway. And I'm sorry, but don't buy Goerge's well-crafted image of being "just a regular guy." One of your average folks, riiiiiiiiiight. I'll bet those who believe that little PR bit also believe Dolly Parton grew those boobs all by herself. :D--> Bush's "I know that!" was far and away his most entertaining line of the night, followed by his series of repeated "hard work" comments. Those gave me flashbacks of Chris Gearshift in POP: "I had to scrub the floors and cook the food and drive the MOG and I had soooo much to do and blah blah blah." Well duh, who doesn't know that war is hard work??? I want to see how W tries to spin the economy, because here in Ohio, one of the swing states, we're hurtin'. (In fairness to W, we do have the biggest dolt of a governor of all time, Bob Taft--he makes W look like that millionaire Jeopardy contestant!) All in all, the debate was more interesting than I expected it to be. I still wish they'd dispense with the 32-page rule book, not be allowed to have script writers, and just take off the gloves and go at it, but I'm sure their handlers would be too afraid they'd get foot in mouth disease.

Thanks, Goey & WordWolf. I went through Symantec's list of possible problems and that didn't do the trick. Since I'd downloaded the trial version and it was about to expire anyway, I figured that if I upgraded that might fix the problem. After much weeping and gnashing of my teeth, I got the new 2005 version installed, and my access is no longer blocked. The people who write the so-called help files for that company ought to be taken out and shot. I'm not stupid. I'm not even completely naive about computers. But going around in circles because of getting sent to dead ends on a Web site after spending money for the privilege is not my idea of a fun way to spend a Saturday. WW: I saw your e-mail after resolving the problem. Too late. :)-->

Help me, please help me. All of a sudden about a week ago my Internet access was blocked. I called my cable provider and we pinged and tested and yada yada and the techie said it's a firewall problem. Ever since then, the only way to get on the Net is to first disable Norton Internet Security. I checked the Norton help files, and it said to change my "Inbound NetBIOS name" setting to "permit." I did. It didn't work. I went to the Symantic help (hahahahahahaha!) Web site and it was no help. I don't know what to do next. To get live help over the phone from Symantec is $29.95 per call! Can anyone talk me through what I need to do. (And no offense, but please only volunteer if you know for sure what I need to do. :)-->) If it would be easier to talk me through it over the phone, please send me your number at zindalinzee@yahoo.com and I can call you on my dime. Or if you'd rather call me, I can send you my number. Thanks in advance for any help anyone can give me! Linda

I've tested that premise, too, and I've come to the same conclusion as Krys. I think we can switch between thoughts/tasks very rapidly, but I've never been able to think two separate thoughts at once. Even with the analogy of opening multiple windows, on a computer, think about how you do it. You open one at a time. Yes, you might "merge" in your mind what you're looking at in one window with what you're looking at in another, but one will be sorta "background"--or literally an extremely recent memory, while the other is the one you're focusing on.