Fish lovers Beware!

Bizarre fish poisoning sparks alarm

Little-known ciguatera infection switches victims' sensations of hot and cold

Grouper, open-mouthed coral variety, are among reef fish known to harbor ciguatera, a fish-borne food illness that can cause strange symptoms and lingering illness in humans.

By JoNel Aleccia

Health writer

msnbc.com

updated 8:30 a.m. ET, Thurs., Feb. 26, 2009

The fish was delicious, no doubt about it.
Perfectly seasoned and cooked just right, the broiled grouper on the Texas menu last summer tempted Donna Schroeder to eat every bite.
The only problem? It was poisoned, tainted with a hard-to-detect toxin that produces symptoms so bizarre, they put peanut-linked salmonella infections to shame.


“It’s horrible, I’m telling you,” said Schroeder, 65, a retired Beaumont, Texas, realtor, who is only now recovering from the worst symptoms of ciguatera fish poisoning, an exotic foodborne illness that health officials say may be dramatically under-recognized in the United States.
The malady afflicts at least 50,000 people a year worldwide — and the real number may be 100 times that many. While ciguatera fish poisoning is largely unknown in most of the U.S., several recent cases have attracted growing concern, officials say. They hope a greater awareness will help alert consumers and doctors and improve treatment of the incurable illness caused by coral algae toxins that accumulate in large tropical reef fish.

Within hours of the July dinner, Schroeder was stricken not only with typical nasty food poisoning symptoms — diarrhea, vomiting and fatigue — but also with a dangerously slow heart rate and neurological problems that caused her hands and feet to tingle painfully and, oddest of all, reversed her sense of hot and cold. Some patients also say they feel like their teeth are falling out — and the symptoms can linger for years.

The following species may pose a danger of ciguatera fish poisoning:

— Moray eel

— Barracuda

— Grouper

— Kingfish

— Jacks

— Snapper

— Surgeonfish

— Parrot fish

— Wrasses

— Hogfish

— Narrow barred Spanish mackerel

— Coral trout

— Flowery cod

— Red emperor

to continue with this article to describe more symptoms, and other places this has occurred go to this link

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29392319/

A thought in serious motion......

OK seriously guys, I eat out entirely too much to not be getting something back from this. So I think I'm going to start a Restaurant/Food Critic Blog!!! Any thoughts???
I can critique the different restaurants, my kids and I eat at. I can determine for other people just how family friendly a place is or not...The service, the food, etc.....
I've been in entirely too many restaurants where I've over heard waiters and waitress not wanting to wait on us all because there are 3 kids and only 1 adult. (Mind you I always tip well, I give 18%, and if the service is great, I will add onto the 18%.) I've been to, too many places where customer service is unheard of. The lack of smiles from these people who are hired to wait on us, like us coming to their place of work was an inconvenience to them. Then there are places that are the best to go, and if I could I would eat there almost everyday!!
So, if I have a great waiter or waitress, then maybe giving them a shout out on here, would be proper?!?
I can be like the big time critics who are feared yet, all restaurants have the desire to completely impress! My kids are good at this already too, they will get upset if we pull into a parking lot of a restaurant where we had horrible service the last time. So I'll even post from a child perspective also.
SO, if you would please......
help me come up with a name for this blog...
what questions would you want answered about these places...
and at any time let me know where you may want me to go, if I haven't mentioned it....

Yikes! what was I thinking...lol

OK last night my kids and I went out to dinner at a local steak house. Well, I have this thing where I can't stand for people to talk LOUDLY on their cells, especially in public. Unknowingly I did this very thing I hate last night, while having dinner with my kids. Usually if I do answer my cell while in a restaurant I'm so worried that I'm not being too loud that I barely hear what the person on the phone is saying. I don't know what came over me last night, maybe making plans for lunch today with a friend I haven't seen in a year, the excitement got the best of me. The funny thing is the louder someone else speaks you automatically raise your own voice. So I guess both of our excitement got the best of us. lol Although speaking this loud on a cell in a restaurant wasn't the worst of it, while picking a place to meet, she picks this other steak house my kids and I ate at over the weekend and it made me sick as I don't know what, well we are discussing this on the phone. So not only am I being loud, I'm discussing being sick at another restaurant while all these people around me are having dinner.....geez!!!! What's wrong with me!?!?! SO, I guess I was all in my conversation, because I was oblivious to the fact that all the tables in the vicinity was staring at me the whole time, with the dirtiest of looks. At the closing of my conversation I look up, so see some pretty mean looks, my 1st instinct was, what the heck was my kids doing and I didn't even notice. As soon as I hang up, my oldest looks at me as states, "mom that was loud. Everyone in the restaurant is staring at YOU!" I felt soooooo bad after that, but what can ya do?? I lowered my voice and continued on with my evening. I felt so guilty about being that loud and the topic of conversation all night.....I know sad but I even woke up this morning with it still on my mind..hence the blog!! lol
Seriously if you really know me, I'm somewhat quiet and laid back, (in most situations) and truly do not like to draw attention to myself.
So if any of you was in ear shot of me last night I apologize!!

Seriously???

Future for cell phones in classrooms?

KELLER, Texas (UPI) -- A University of Michigan professor and a Texas teacher say cell phones are the future of classroom computers.

Matt Cook, a teacher at Trinity Meadows Intermediate School in Keller, Texas, said a class of fifth graders have been using donated Verizon smart phones with specialized software to perform tasks including Internet research and using Microsoft Office programs Word and Excel, The Dallas Morning News reported Friday.

Cook said he came up with the idea for classroom use of cell phones, which students in the district are banned from carrying in all other contexts, after attending a technology conference.

"To me, this is the new paper and pencil," Cook said to the newspaper.

Elliot Soloway, the University of Michigan professor who created the software for the school, said cell phones are rapidly becoming a necessary accessory for every child.

"Laptops are oh so '90s -- they're your parents' generation," Soloway told the Morning News. "While every kid does need a computer, the computer that will happen on will be cell phones. The cell phone is now as important as a pair of shoes or a coat."


http://www.arcamax.com/parents/s-501948-472181


I don't even know what to say about this...........

ummm who's paying for the connections of these phone services, even if they are all donated??

so not only do kids have to compete with all the other stresses of growing up, like whether or not they have the right brand of clothes, or even have just an email address now.....it's whether or not u have a smart cell not even a cell, but a smart cell? If I remember correct, schools are still trying to have enough computers for kids to learn and do the required work in school, now cell phones.
Let's not forget that apparently we don't even have to know how to use a pencil....call me a romantic of paper and pen, but I don't feel learning how to actually write is the old school way.........
Tell me what's going to happen to our future generations whenever we have the inevitable black outs, computer crashes, etc. Will they even have the knowledge or know how to overcome/survive these situations if we keep thinking that the only way to move forward is to be completely electronic!!

I just have a lot in my head about this and I know it's not coming out they way it should sound, possibly not even coherent at this moment, but ......seriously!!??

The things kids come up with.......

OK so having all these boys running around my house, I'm trying to get some order. So we made a chore list. They stated what they think they should be responsible for and these things was distributed amongst each of them, in rotation, for a 5 day span. Off on the weekends!!! Along with the chores, they get added bonuses for doing the "lil extras" such as a good deed, bringing up their grades from one grade period to the next, going a full day without arguing with each other, or me, and so on....so basically I'm trying to instill that good behavior can have some rewards also. My only problem is .....I need rewards, incentive, to make them want to do these things daily...although I know my praise for all the help, will do some good, these boys, well they need that extra push!! So I did what any sane person would do, I asked them what they would want..toys excluded....
I got general ideas such as going places, doing things, of course money enters the picture.

Well the funniest thing my almost 9 year old brings to the table is:
If you pay us $5 a day, at the end of each week we can give you some money to help with bills and things around the house. So I look at him, and say "so, you want me to pay you to do chores, and in return you basically pay me rent?" He says "YES!" Isn't that just the cutest thing!! Needless to say $5 a day is not going to happen. Although I am considering giving so many dollars over time and teaching them the importance of saving.

Here's a looksy at our chore chart.......
It includes chores, expectations, bonuses, their last grades, so they know what they need to come up in, and my oldest is in band, so you also see his practice daily sheets. The little papers at the bottom, are what they use to document what they have done and when. If they don't fill one out they don't get credit, for what ever reward, that I have not come up with yet, they may want to earn.

SO any input on incentives, or even just making this a better system, would be nice. Hopefully this will work for us!!!

Curious!!

So I was just wondering...anyone who comes across my blog are more than welcome to answer this...

If you could live any where in the world...or even narrow it down to the US; where would it be?

What would help you in making this decision?

i.e. like the area?
amount of or lack of natural disasters?
hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, droughts, land slides, snow, etc.....
research of area?: jobs, less criminal records, schools, etc.....
things to do?
Distance to and from people or things?

I'm curious to know how and what everyone looks for an area to live (and) raise their families.....

ranting

ok I'm on a little vent tantrum at the moment. Can someone please tell me what's the point of insurance other than increasing the amount of people in our lives that get to legally RIP US OFF! If it's not the doctors jacking up their bills, it's the insurances not wanting to cover a damn thing after you pay them hundreds of dollars each month. Then if they do cover what you need, they slap on this huge deductible rate. WTF!!! They need to just come out and say hey we will rip you off if you go with our insurance. Then your jobs make it seem your getting such a deal by getting it through them. Obama wants to fix something..go there! Make insurance affordable for families not on welfare. Make them have set rates, deductibles, and plans, also write it in lame mans terms so that the average person can understand wtf they just purchased, so that we're not getting our hard earned money ripped off and leaving you feeling less than for not understanding your own benefits.. !!!!
ok I guess my tantrum is over....
hope everyone has a nice day!

Did you know.......

Ok for anyone that knows me, they would probably know that the weather and most things related brings great interest to me. I recently started looking into earthquakes. I became rather shocked to find out that our precious east coast is not immune to earthquakes. Obviously I don't believe that any place in this world is immune to anything; I'm not that naive, but it's just not really heard of on the east coast. So my recent discoveries are:

December 18, 2008
North Carolina had an earthquake of a 1.7 magnitude on the other side of Asheville.
http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/last_event_states/states_north_carolina.html

January 29, 2009
Summerville. SC, outside of Charleston, SC, 2.5
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/Quakes/semmw0129.php

February 1, 2009
Hanover New Hampshire, 1.9
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/Quakes/ne00001090.php

February 3, 2009
New Jersey has one of a 3.0 magnitude located around Dover and Morristown, NJ.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/Quakes/ld1023269.php

Although I understand that these quakes aren't nearly as devastating as they are on our west coast, or even other places in the world. I just like to feel that we have certain worldly issues to not stress about.