I Have "Inherited" $12 Million; I Feel so Lucky!

Wowee, I'm Rich. Read the e-mail below and see how I have instantly become a millionaire. I feel so fortunate!! I may just be able to retire early!!

E-Mail receive 10/6/09:
Good Day,
I found your contact particulars in an E-mail address guide they provide us here, as I desperately need an urgent help to do this deal. I am seeking your kind assistance to move the sum of $12m {Twelve Million U.S Dollars only} to you in United States , as far as I can be assured that my share will be safe in your care until I complete my service here.

SOURCE OF FUND:

A lot of money in various currencies were discovered in barrels at a farm house near one of Saddams old palaces in Tikrit in Iraq during an operation Conquest in Fallujah north of Baghdad, and it was agreed by Staff Sgt. Kenneth Buff that some part of this money be shared among both of us before informing anybody about it since both of us saw the money first. This is quite an illegal thing to do, but well tell you what? no compensation can make up for the risk we have taken with our lives in this hell hole, of which my brother in-law was killed by a road side bomb last time.
The above figure was given to me as my share, and to conceal this kind of money became a problem for me, so with the help of a British Contact working here, at Southern Basra British fortified green zone, whose office enjoys some immunity, I was able to get the package out to a safe location entirely out of trouble spot. He does not know the real contents of the package, and believes that it belongs to a British/American medical doctor who died in a raid here in Baghdad, and before giving up, trusted me to hand over the package to his family in United States . I have now found a very secured way of getting the package out of Iraq to you, for you to pick it up, and I will discuss this with you when I am sure that you are willing to assist me, and I believe this my money will be well secured in your hand because you have a fear of God.
I want you to tell me how much you will take from this money for the assistance you will give me. One passionate appeal I will make to you is not to discuss this matter with anybody, should you have reasons to reject this offer, please and please destroy this message as any leakage of this information will be too bad and catastrophic for soldiers here in Iraq. I do not know how long we will remain here, but I hope to have a shift very soon for me to return back to the States. I have been shot and wounded twice and I have survived two terrible suicides bomb attacks just by special grace of God, this and other reasons I will mention later has prompted me to reach out for help, I will honestly want this matter be resolved immediately. You can contact me at sgtedwincurt@gmail.com
I thank you so much for everything and anticipate that you will be trustworthy and handle this transaction to the best of your ability to benefit both of us.Conatct me through my private email at sgtedwincurt@gmail.com
God Bless you and your Family.
Yours
Sgt. Edwin Curt

Would You Like Some Cocaine Vaccine to Go Along with that H1N1?

Yep, it's true. Researchers have had some limited success in teating cocaine addiction by using a vaccine.

Scientists say they have developed a cocaine vaccine that can prevent addicts from getting high by blocking the drug’s effect on the brain, though it does not blunt cravings for the drug.

A New York Times article states that "the trial’s success is significant because some of the same principles are being used by other scientists in trying to create an antinicotine vaccine, which could have even broader appeal."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/health/research/06cocaine.html?scp=1&sq=%2b%22Food+and+Drug+Administration%22&st=nyt

If you're interested in reading the entire paper, here is a link:

http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/66/10/1116

Should the Color of Nasal Discharge Dictate the Medicine?

We've all been taught that a thick, green-colored nasal discharge is a sure sign of bacterial infection. In fact, practitioners use this to determine if antibiotics are appropriate.

Every now and then new information comes along that calls into question these long-held notions. A recent article in the New York times reveals that the color of the discharge may be misleading.

A line from the story reminds us that "Old prescription habits apparently die hard."

Click on this link to find out more:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/health/06real.html?emc=tnt&tntemail1=y

Will You Have a Job When You Graduate??

This just in from the Associated Press:

Panasonic said Tuesday it has developed a medical robot that dispenses drugs to patients, the Japanese electronics giant's first step into robotics.

Panasonic will sell the robot to Japanese hospitals next March and will market it in the United States and Europe later.
Panasonic spokesman Akira Kadota said the robot will cost several tens of millions of yen (hundreds of thousands of dollars).
"This robot is the first in our robotics project. It sorts out injection drugs to patients, saving time for pharmacists," said Kadota.
The robot does not look humanoid. "It looks like a cabinet with lots of small drawers," he said.
Pharmacists put drugs into the robot, which stores medical data for patients. The robot will then sort out drugs for each patient and place them into respective drawers bearing the names of patients.
Osaka-based Panasonic hopes annual revenue from the robot and other medical robotics will reach 30 billion yen ($315 million) in the financial year to March 2016.
Japan boasts one of the leading robotics industries in the world, and the government is pushing to develop the industry as a road to growth. Automaker Honda Motor Co. has developed the child-sized Asimo, which can walk and talk.
Earlier this year, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, a government-backed organization, revealed a walking, talking robot with a female face. But it hasn't cleared safety standards and cannot yet help humans with daily chores.

Joke: The Hypnotist at the Senior Center (Rated R- language)

As the hypnotist went to the front of the meeting room at the senior center, he announced,'Unlike most hypnotists who invite two or three people up here to be put into a trance, I intend to hypnotize each and every member of the audience.'
The excitement was almost electric as the hypnotist withdrew a beautiful antique pocket watch from his coat.
'I want you each to keep your eye on this antique watch. It's a very special watch. It's been in my family for six generations.'
He began to swing the watch gently back and forth while quietly chanting,
'Watch the watch, watch the watch, watch the watch ...'
The crowd of seniors became mesmerized as the watch swayed back and forth, light gleaming off its polished surface.
Hundreds of pairs of eyes followed the swaying watch, until, suddenly, it slipped from the hypnotist's fingers and fell to the floor, breaking into a hundred pieces.
'Shit,' said the Hypnotist.
It took THREE DAYS to clean up the senior center.

The Official Flat Stanley Project

A few of you indicated that you have heard of the Flat Stanley Project. Here's how it works: Students make paper Flat Stanleys and begin a journal with him for a few days. Then Flat Stanley and the journal are sent to another school where students there treat Flat Stanley as a guest and complete the journal. Flat Stanley and the journal are then returned to the original sender. Students can plot his travels on maps and share the contents of the journal. Often, a Flat Stanley returns with a pin or postcard from his visit. Some teachers prefer to use e-mail only. Especially creative hosts send the Flat Stanleys back with pictures, souvenirs, stories and reminders of the visit.

Click on the link to find out more about Flat Stanley.

http://www.flatstanley.com/how.html

Click on the vdeo below to see a short video about Flat Stanley. Maybe we can start our own project to get Flat Stanley to "vist" all of the pharmacy schools in the US!

Do You Know the Toxic Effects of Lidocaine During Liposuction? You Should!

We often boast about the Pharmacist being "THE Drug Expert," and most of the time I believe that. We are especially remined of that during October, American Pharmacist Month.
The things we know about drugs sometimes we take for granted. Most of us know the side effects of drugs, but I am astounded at how often people are hurt through the careless and dangerous way drugs are used. This drug thing is hard, but not THAT hard. Why would people not know about the common side-effects of drugs?

This is a tragic case of a 37 year old patient named Rohie Kah who went to a spa for something called 'Carboxytherapy." Carboxytherapy is described on the Spa's website as a "medical service" that injects carbon dioxide into a patient to improve the appearance of cellulite or stretch marks. Now, this patient's family has been advised that "It's just a matter of time before she's dead."

The problem: most likely it was lidocaine toxicity. Watch this video and see if the clinical picture they describe is consistent with lidocaine toxicity:

What's more important is that the FDA put out a Public Health Advisory about this very thing back in January. Here is the link to that advisory. Sometimes people never learn:

http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PublicHealthAdvisories/ucm054718.htm