A Bucket List...

There is nothing like hearing the diagnosis from your doctor, terminal! I am sure there are plenty of things that run through one's mind in the immediate aftermath of knowing that the time frame remaining on your life is definitely much shorter than you had been figuring on. So, what to do with the time one has left?

Dave Ismay was diagnosed with terminal cirrhosis of the liver. The terminal part was three months to live.

Ismay is well-known around Britain as a comedian and because of his work at the Aston Villa Football Club. But, at 64 Ismay realised there were a stack of things that he had not done that he really would like to take a stab at before pulling up stumps and going to the big football club in the sky.

Remembering the movie with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, Ismay decided to make a "bucket list" and list all the things he needed to get done. These included buying a Mercedes and taking a trip to Australia.

Nevertheless, in between planning his demise and passage to the eternal life of the ever-after, Ismay began to wonder about how a non-drinker manages to get cirrhosis of the liver, particularly the terminal kind. Ismay's research began to suggest that even he, a one-time 60-cigarette per day smoker, was not a likely candidate for cirrhosis.

Probably the most interesting part of this story is that Ismay kicked his smoking habit with the aid of hypnosis. According to Ismay he made a trip to Florida from his home in the UK and sort an intervention of the hypnotic kind to rid him of his smoking habit. He did that when he was 40-years-old. He is now a sprightly 64-years-old.

Despite his concerns about the diagnosis, it was eight weeks before the doctors called to say "good news, you are not terminal with cirrhosis of the liver!" Ismay had a much more manageable condition known as haemochromatosis. Haemochromatosis is essentially iron overload. The body absorbs too much iron out of your dietary intake and overloads your system.

Haemochromatosis is generally not fatal. But, it does involve one parting with lots of blood in order to strip the body of the excess iron.

Well, now that Ismay knows that his death is not imminent, is he going to continue with his bucket list?

Rabies in Bali...

Rabies is a problem in Bali, and it has been for a while. The government has never really been pro-active in controlling and eradicating rabies. The government has tended to be more reactive, and now that foreign governments are starting to issue travel warnings or advice that suggests the rabies epidemic is serious enough that people need to take extra precautions or not travel to Bali has seen the government ratchet up efforts to get on top of the spread of rabies.

The past two years have seen an explosion in numbers of dog bites and human deaths from rabies infections. There have been some 34,000 reported dog bites this year. The past two years has seen 76 recorded deaths from rabies.

The government plan calls for all dogs to be vaccinated by the end of the year. This is presumably dogs that are seemingly owned by someone. The reality is that strays are likely to be destroyed. The authorities in Bali estimate that there are still hundreds of thousands of dogs to be vaccinated. That is a lot of dogs and a lot of potential rabies cases, especially when one considers that since 2008 somewhere in the vicinity of 300,000 dogs have been vaccinated, and tens of thousands destroyed.

There is an article in The Jakarta Globe about the issue. The following little extract caught my eye enough that I have cut and pasted it into this post:


"Unlike the rest of mainly Muslim Indonesia, where people do not generally keep dogs, Bali is a predominantly Hindu island and dogs are common either as pets or strays."

I am guessing that this is a statement of fact based on the idea that dogs are less acceptable under Islam than they are in Hindu beliefs. I only note it because I saw more dogs in other places outside of Bali than I did in Bali, so on in an anecdotal sense this did not ring true to me, personally. Besides, I am not sure that the reference to religious beliefs adds anything to the gravitas of the story itself.

But, dogs are not the only animals that carry rabies, are they?

Oh well

Is It Safe For Australians to Travel to Bali?

If you have read the latest travel advice from the Australian Government available at Smart Traveller, then you would be having serious considerations about wanting to travel to Indonesia, and more specifically Bali.

According to the advice, rabies is a real threat to Australian travellers. Also, a violent feud between rival taxi companies has also escalated to a point where the Australian authorities consider there to be real risks to Australian holiday makers on the island of Bali. These two issues are additions to the standard fare about the ever-present threat of terrorism and natural disasters.

So, the question is: "Should Australians travel to Indonesia, and particularly Bali, in light of the travel advice?" Yes. If you want to go to Bali then you should not be deterred by the issuance of this travel advisory. Travel, like any other human activity, comes with risks and rewards. The simple equation you have is as a traveller is to balance those risks and rewards and make an informed decision on whether to go or not.

Travel to Indonesia is really about being aware of your own personal safety and surrounds. If you are a little bit more conscious of not placing yourself in dangerous situations then you are unlikely to be harmed. The chances of one being killed in a terrorist attack are small. If you are worried about dying, then have a look at statistics for what kills people while they travel and my guess is that you will find rabies and violent taxi feuds rank pretty low on the scale of misadventure. It is not being argued that it is impossible, but it is being argued that the risks are negligible if you use your brains.

That is the rant for today.

Bird Flu Still A Problem in Indonesia?

It would seem that bird flu is still a problem in Indonesia. To be honest, I do the rounds of sites focusing on Indonesian news on an almost daily basis (OK, I lie, I do it on a daily basis).

One story that I have not seen for a while is bird flu related deaths. This is in rather stark contrast to when the bird flu scare first arrived in Indonesia and the fear that it would develop into a pandemic that could potential wipe out tens of thousands of Indonesians where death was an almost daily reporting occurrence.

So, it is an attention grabber when Antara puts out a news bite that highlights a health official in Central Java confirming that the recent death of a young girl was bird flu related. The girl dies in Sukuharjo. However, the health official noted that despite the confirmation from the lab in Jakarta that the young girl was positive for bird flu, the health department was still not sure as to where the girl was infected.

We still have family that live in Indonesia, a rural kampung outside of Java, so it is always a worry.

Obesity vs. Tobacco -- The Biggest Killer Is ...

Tobacco!

However, recent research and the expert opinions of some medical practitioners suggest that this might not be the case for too much longer. It seems that obesity is set to take over as the leading cause of premature death and illness in Australia. In a completely anecdotal sense this is pretty easy to accept. Just take a walk around the streets of Sydney on any day of the week and, if you are so inclined, you will notice that Australia is certainly becoming a much heavier nation.

Personally, I could just look in the mirror to see the proof of an enlarged Australia in comparison to my parents generation. I am guessing this is not what Kevin Rudd had in mind when he was talking about a big Australia. I am also guessing that Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott are not referring to obesity when they state that they are not aiming for a big Australia!

This has led for calls for the government to go after obesity in the same aggressive manner it has done with tobacco. In the big scheme of things it makes sense to spend a little bit more now to avoid the big health spending costs down the track. Although, the government will probably argue that weight, and specifically weight control, is an individual matter. However, a small policy change with a little amended legislation could up the ante on rebates and the like for those who join gyms and other health-related organisations.

It is thought that spending on weight-related health care has already ballooned to in excess of AUD 60 billion a year. This figure leaves the spending on tobacco-related problems for dead (no pun intended).

Now, the really scary part in this article are the numbers. It is stated that more than 60% of the adult population is overweight or obese. Simply, when you stand around with 4 of your mates, 3 of you, at least statistically, are considered to be what is affectionately known as porkers! Or if you are with me and my mates, then just 'fat bastards'.

Ho hum...

No apologies for the lack of political correctness. If you are offended by terms like 'fat bastards' or 'porkers' then get over it. This is a serious problem and sometimes the direct and blunt approach might be more effective in the long run.

USA & HIV / AIDS -- A Travel Decision...

It seems that the US has finally decided to make its decision to overturn the ban on HIV infected people travelling to the US a reality. President Obama has signed an order that will see the ban lifted from early next year. Hopefully, the other dozen or so countries that continue to ban HIV infected travellers will soon follow the US lead and remove the bans in their respective countries as well.

HIV / AIDS treatment has come a long way since the early eighties. So much so, that it is more a chronic illness than the death sentence it once was. People are living much longer with proper treatment, and the majority are able to live full lives and make lasting contributions to the communities in which they live. To discriminate against them on their HIV status is wrong.

Interestingly, there has not been a single HIV conference in the US since 1993. The ban on HIV+ travellers has meant that HIV+ researchers and activists would not have been able to attend to participate in any conference held. If you want to be the leader in any endeavour then you must act like the leader. This decision to remove the ban on HIV+ travellers is definitely a sign of leadership in the fight against HIV / AIDS.

Did You Know...

Some more interesting factoids for the trivia box, enjoy!

1. The first man-made item to exceed the speed of sound is the bull's whip or leather whip;

2. The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue;

3. The most common non-contagious disease in the world is tooth decay;

4. About 10% of the world's population is left-handed;

5. The average human body contains enough fat to make seven bars of soap;

6. People say, "Bless you" when you sneeze, because when you sneeze your heart stops for a millisecond;

7. Grapes explode when you put them in the microwave;

8. The names of all the continents end with the same letter that they start with; and,

9. If you stand at the bottom of a well, you would be able to see the stars even in the daytime.

What's Your Preference?

The miracles of modern medicine and our ability to save and prolong life are an integral part of who we have become, who we are, and who we will be. It is also a matter of some concern, at least, in a medical ethics sense.

The most obvious example of a current concern is the leaps and bounds being made in cloning technology. I am all for development of new technology. Nevertheless, new technology, particularly in medical science, is going to give rise to some interesting ethical and moral debates.

I have just finished reading this interesting story about prospective parents being able to choose not only the sex of their child, but also the child's hair colour, eye colour, and even skin colour. I guess this is like a little bit of pre-natal cosmetic surgery.

The issue here is that some individuals are exploiting advances that were made with more primary concerns involved. Scientists who have developed the ability to identify certain diseases or markers for potential health problems have also, as part of the process, discovered ways to manipulate cells and genes to ensure certain outcomes, like blue eyes.

Medical research is not cheap, so it is of no surprise that the selection of the specialized traits for your baby will also not come cheap. The current estimated cost is USD 18,000. Having had a look at my perfect little bundle of screaming joy on getting home earlier tonight, I can think of other things to put USD 18 K to, rather than a set of hazel coloured eyes or darker skin.

When it is all said and done, to each their own. However, even if I had the money or the ability to choose these traits, I would not do it and I would not have done it in this case. This, for me, is a separate issue from one such as identifying a gene for disease, such as down syndrome. But, that's just me.

Killing Our Environment and Killing Ourselves

Why is it that human beings have such an exaggerated appetite for death and destruction? This appetite includes an obvious innate desire to limit our opportunities for survival on this planet. We better hope those astro-scientist types work out practical ways for us to live elsewhere in the universe or we will soon be victims of our own excesses.

What inspired this not so cheery post is a press release from the UN that highlights the human race's propensity to destroy its environment means the likelihood of finding cures to modern diseases decreases as rapidly as the natural environment that we destroy on a daily basis.

An example of this is the Rheobatrachus or the Southern Gastric Brooding frog which was thought to produce substances that slowed acid and enzyme excretions which are a main cause of peptic ulcers! Nah, bugger me if we haven't gone and made this poor little frog extinct and with it the possibility of finding and developing a treatment for the prevention of peptic ulcers - idiots!

Just the possibility that the cure for cancer or HIV/AIDS is just sitting there out in the environment there waiting to be discovered must become motivation enough for us as a people to protect the biodiversity that we have left.

Climate change, stripping away of natural resources, environmental degradation, and the like are real and we each need to start playing our little parts in turning the tide against what will ultimately lead to our destruction!

This would be the ultimate irony for those that believe in God our ability to destroy that which was given us! It would also be the ultimate vindication for evolutionists as the cycle of life and death would fit nicely into the evolution theory of humans coming into existence and ultimately being evoluted out of existence.