On Saturday, June 21, the weather was extremely hot (for San Francisco): burning, scorching 100 degrees felt much hotter, than it was, the trees or other outside shade provided no visible relief and the ever present wind made itself scarce.

 
On that fateful day, in the morning, when the indoor temperature was still somewhat bearable, I left the door outside open: all that heat must’ve affected me that much. I was doing some housework, when I heard a cat’s cry. I stopped all the activities and went to investigate.

 
My 3 cats were sitting in the corridor facing an unwelcomed visitor – some neigborgh’s innocently looking, medium sized gray cat. I came closer. They were quietly staring at each other and seemed to be firmly connected to the floor. 

 
My reaction was fast and moves – swift: I grabbed my biggest, but most shy and timid cat and carried him to another room. He allowed it with no protests. I dropped him on the floor and was going to leave for the further rescue efforts, when, while I was unbending, he with a lightning speed with all his 15 pound might, suddenly launched at me: grabbed my right hand with both his paws, plunged his claws deep into the flesh and hang there for the eternity, which was probably, a few seconds. At the same time with a strong bang, he plunged his teeth into my hand, as well. When the shock of the pain registered, I screamed his name, he let go off me and just sat there looking somewhere past me.

 
First glance at my injuries almost made me faint: deep, blood sipping lines of sliced skin with jugged edges and puncture craters in between them all over my wrist on the inner side and the upper side of my hand below the knuckles were getting darker and uglier by the second. I grabbed a towel, draped it over my hand and returned back to the other battlefield. Two of mine and the other cat were still there, eyeing each other. I made some war-like, commanding sounds and they all dispersed, with the invading party unhurriedly leaving the house in a very dignified manner.

 
I washed my hand and once again looked at the damage: it looked terrifying and started to hurt. My next move was to the computer: I googled “cats+bites+scratches”. The information was in abundance and to the point: the open wounds by cats are dangerous, may get infected and lead to problems. I knew that, of course, but in my many years of living with cats, nothing even remotely resembling this massacre, ever happened to me. I attended to my hand some more by cleaning it with vodka and applying ice, and in an hour my state of denial was replaced by a doubt and fear: things happen.

 
I pondered my options, “admired” my rapidly swelling hand and drove to the hospital.Three hours later I came out sporting a tastefully designed “hand piece”, which prevented the painful movement of the wrist, a bottle of antibiotics, a bottle of prescription painkillers and a slight feeling of a discomfort on the upper part of my other hand, where a very sympathetic nurse lovingly administered a tetanus shoot, while another one made me comfortable by explaining how to keep my arm elevated and promising a fast and trouble-free recovery.

 
As you can see, I was too preoccupied with my injuries and thus could not write a coherent post. On Sunday the heat was not as bad, I felt reasonably comfortable, albeit in pain, but avoided the computer nevertheless.

 
Fast forward: things looked worse on Monday, before they got to look better on Tuesday (I leave some gory details out). I visited my regular doctor, who explained me all the possible consequences of these things, what to expect in a future, expertly and tenderly examined my hand and assured me, that I am on my way to recovery and he will watch me as a hawk. I left happy.

 
The moral of the story: don’t just get yourself in a middle of a fight, even if your intentions are noble. First, estimate the situation, the level of emotions and the parties involved, then make an intelligent decision on the intervention and proceed with caution to execute it by the best method possible.Also, don’t ever forget: since animals’ bites and scratches are dangerous and could be lethal, don’t wait, seek medical help.

 
By the way, same applies to the human scratches and bites.

 
And now, have a pleasant day!

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For years we’ve heard about all the benefits wine drinking brings. 
Some studies disputing this claim were published earlier by CNN, but were given very little attention.
It said “…any benefit from light to moderate drinking is probably small and unlikely to outweigh the harm to health caused by alcohol.”

 
“While moderate to heavy drinking is probably coronary-protective, any benefit will be overwhelmed by the known harms,” say Dr. Jackson’s team.
…If so, the public health message is clear. Do not assume there is a window in which the health benefits of alcohol are greater than the harms — there is probably no free lunch.”

 
The new study is more particular:
“Drinking too much wine damages the brain more than beer or spirits, scientists have discovered.
…The ground-breaking study shows that the hippocampus, the part of the brain involved in memory, spatial tasks and many other functions, was more than 10 per cent smaller in those whose tipple was wine than in those who favoured beer.”

 
What about beer? “One theory is that there may be something in beer that partially protects the brain from the damage caused by wine.”

 
This new study is about the impact of the alcoholic beverage chosen and was conducted among the patients with alcohol dependence. Read more on it at Independent

 
Shall we listen? Shall we dismiss this info? Shall we follow our intuition?
Too many confusing studies, but moderation is still seems to be the key.

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If you are doubting the rule of 8 glasses of water a day – you are correct.
The article, published by Telegraph, is debunking this myth.

 
“…no studies have found any benefit to the organs of increased water intake.
no single study indicated average healthy people needed to drink this amount of water – a total of 3.3 pints – each day.

 
…The authors said that while dehydration can decrease skin stiffness, no studies have shown any clinical benefit to skin tone as a result of increased water intake.
This is replaced through drinks but a large amount is also contained in food, so it is not necessary to drink an equivalent amount to replace water levels.
Too much water can affect the balance of salts in the body causing “water intoxication”, which can be fatal.”
For more details read the article at Telegraph

 
In December of 2005 the Snopes pages posted an article, where drinking 8 glasses of water a day was pronounced a myth, but it remained largely ignored. 
Read this article at Snopes

 
Actually, there’s been cases, where people died from from water intoxication. The very high profile case involves a women, who died trying to drink as much water, as she could hold. It happened last year, when a radio station in Sacramento, CA organized a contest “How much water a person could drink without going to the bathroom”
Read about it at msnbc news.

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Celebrate life of less of restrictions by having a candlelit diner with less water and mindless conversation; and then go on reading in the dim light. You won’t lose your eyesight. All permitted now.

 
Other myths, such as “shaving makes hair grow back faster or…eating turkey makes you drowsy,…mobile phones are dangerous in hospitals” are just myths.

 
And you may stop worrying about your appearance in your final hour: “Hair and fingernails continue to grow after death” – is another myth. You may read all about it here: Reuters.com

 
Now, what about drinking coffee and tea?
Enjoy yourself, because “…people who drank three or more cups of coffee a day were 16 percent less likely to develop kidney cancer than those who averaged less than a cup per day. And those who sipped just one 8-ounce cup of tea each day had a 15 percent lower risk of the disease than non-drinkers.”
These are the facts, according to the latest medical studies. Check it out here: Reuters.com

 
That’s all for today. Enjoy all things in moderation and listen to your instinct. Meanwhile, I’ll be reading all I can, and the minute I find out about more things permissible, I’ll let you know.

 
Enjoy your Holiday Season!

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The Bedfan Cooling System  $69.95

The cool solution!  Simply regulate the temperature of your bed, or just part of the bed and don’t adjust the temperature in your room!  No, we are not talking about thermal blankets.

“The Bedfan Cooling System is guaranteed to keep you much cooler  while you sleep ” by creating  “…a slight breeze between top and bottom sheets”. 
Find out more about it here: http://www.bedfan.com/
Isn’t it a cool present? Good for any time of the year.

 
Rest and Relieve Mattress Pad  $239
Warm and therapeutic at the same time (keep your legs and back warmer or just your neck), 100% cotton, 10 warming settings per zone, 3 warming settings per person, wireless control.
Get more info and read the reviews here:
www1.macys.com

 
For more details, please read articles about the Bedfan Cooling System and Sunbeam’s Rest and Relieve Mattress Pad here:
The Hot Bed and The Cool Bed

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You may not know how your great grandfather looked, but you may find out what kind of genetic material he passed on to you.

Wouldn’t you like to be aware of your predisposition to certain ailments and illnesses? Bay Area company “23andMe” will help you to do just that. For $999 you will get a report, based on the scan of your DNA, which will reveal clues to the questions you might have.
All prospective customers need to do, is “sign up online at 23andme.com and receive a saliva test kit in the mail to send back.

Four to six weeks later, they can access their private report on the company Web site. It will show how their genes might raise or lower their risk of heart attacks, cancer, diabetes and other illnesses. The personal genetic profiles also can be compared with those of relatives to create a family tree, and might indicate, for example, which grandparent passed down a tendency to stay up all night or fumble a football.”

Read the article at www.sfgate.com and find out more.

 
Or go directly to “23andMe”:  www.23andme.com and start the discovery of yourself.

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