Saving our planet....HOGWASH!

So I just finished reading a new book by James Rollins, my favorite author, called "The Doomsday Key." For those of you who have not read Rollins, he is a fantastic author with an incredibly inventive mind, and a helluva nice guy.

A little background here. I found James' on a whim about 7 years ago in a grocery store aisle, simply because I was intrigued by the cover of a book. He was relatively unknown then, but I was so blown away by that book, I went and bought everything he had written. I wound up emailing him a few days later just to tell him how much I enjoyed his novels. He responded within a half hour, and we began a limited correspondence. I wound up having lunch with him at a writers conference, and he has helped me immensely in my writing, which I am sad to say, I just haven't had much time to pursue lately. But I will get back on that horse soon enough, I hope.

Anyways, since that time, he has written about 7 more novels, and is now a fixture on the NY Times Bestseller list for fiction. "The Doomsday Key" is currently at number 7. His books are quite an intriguing mix of government conspiracy, Shadowy forces, technology, archeology, ancient mysteries, and even cryptozoology. But his latest book really got me thinking again about some of my radical beliefs on the earth, and the so called "green movement," which I think is a load of crap.

"The Doomsday Key" focuses a lot on the over-population of the Earth, a problem that really takes a back seat to the issues of global warming and green house gas emissions, but it is one that I believe will be much more devastating to our environment.

We think of the world as having unlimited space and unlimited resources, even though we know it doesn't. Our population is close to the 7 billion mark. 25 years ago, it was under 5 billion. The growth rate is alarming. The world is a finite place. Space is limited. Most experts agree that once we reach 10 billion, we will exceed the Earth's habitability, which will cause wars, famine and death on an unimaginable scale. There are radical theories on what we can do, ranging from birth licenses to tax relief to people for NOT having kids, but its a subject that is really swept under the table, simply because the bible tells people to "multiply". And with technology still improving like crazy, we may even see the population growth increase. Medical technology is allowing people to live longer, while birth rates remain constant. I do believe by the end of the next decade, we are going to have real problems with the resources available to us.

But that is not the real reason for this blog. The main focus is on the so called "Green Movement." Hippies running around on Earth day, yelling "Save Our Planet!" Al Gore winning Nobel Prizes for his rants on Global Warming.

This pisses me off, because it's BS. Let's say what we really mean people. This planet will be here long after we are. We are not destroying the planet, we are destroying ourselves. And if you REALLY want to save the planet, that's the best thing for it. Humans are a virus to the Earth, and just like our own T-cells, the Earth will fight the virus and will eventually win. It's inevitable. Global warming, natural disasters...they are Earth's way of trying to shake the viral infection of humanity.

So the slogan "Save Our Planet" is not what we actually mean. "Save Humanity" is the truth behind the slogan, but it sounds shallow and self-centered to shout that. And of course, it makes us feel good to do things that we believe are helping our natural environment. Recycling, driving hybrids, buying carbon credits (the most ridiculous thing of all, IMO), all of these actions make us feel like we are doing good things for our ecosystem and the planet.

But don't be fooled. The way to save Earth is simple. We need to disappear.

Be well!

Lessons learned the hard way

Cluster headaches are so friggin hard to deal with. When I am not getting them, I don't even think about them. But when the cycle hits, all I do is try to figure out new ways to get rid of them. So what haven't I tried?

Short of sticking a steak knife behind my left eye, there isn't much; Medicines, exercise, cutting out foods...you name it, I have tried it.

But it dawned on me during this latest attack that there is something I have not tried - A BODY FLUSH.

Aren't herbalists and holistics always saying that the buildup of toxins in your body can cause all sorts of maladies? So I figured "What the hell? Can't hurt, right?"

WRONG

I went and purchased myself some Super Colon Cleanse. It's the "gentle" cleanser. Before purchasing, I read the directions, read all the warnings, and it looked pretty good. I came home, took my first dose that night, and a second in the morning.

It was shortly thereafter I discovered the hard way that there are some serious warnings missing from the label, and for the benefit of all consumers, I will point them out now.

#1: DO NOT use product if you are in the middle of a cluster headache cycle.

#2. DO NOT drink an entire pot of coffee after a dose.

Since these were missing from the warning label, I felt all systems were go for some "gentle" cleansing, and found myself in a mixed state of discomfort and agony, the likes of which I haven't known since the last Nicholas Cage movie.

There I was at about noon, diligently working on my computer, sipping my second cup of coffee, when the stomach pains first struck. "Oh Boy" I said, knowing that the cleanse was hard at work. It's painful, but it usually doesn't last too long. Of course, I left my work for a while and camped out in the "other" office.

(Jeopardy theme plays over this part)

I left the bathroom, but my stomach was still doing flips. I needed a rest so I decided to lie down on the couch for a few minutes. Well, due to the fact that the cluster headaches had kept me up all night, I suddenly started having trouble keeping my eyes open, and I dozed off for about 15 minutes. Of course, you know what happens next, I wake up on the verge of another raging headache.

Now, if you read my last blog, you will know that the only way I have been successful at knocking these headaches out before they get to the screaming stage is with rigorous exercise. Not always, but enough to make it worthwhile to try. However, trying to do rigorous exercise with my stomach in the condition it was in was going to create an entirely different kind of problem. I guess you could say I was caught between a rock and...well, you know. I realized quickly there was no way I could get on my ellipticle and try to pedal to pain-free paradise, for I probably would have made a detour at soiled-pants point. Needless to say, the headache hit me full force within a couple of minutes.

So there I am, hunched over in agony, face contorted, left eye shut and tearing, quickly pacing around my house trying to escape the head pain, while on the other hand, trying desperately not to let my stomach woes catch up to me. Incapable of making a decision in the state I was in, I quickly knew the head pain would take precedent over any other dilemma, and thus, I was completely vulnerable to an attack from the rear.

Well you may have already guessed that I made it through this nightmare unscathed, otherwise I probably wouldn't be telling anyone about it. But I did learn a very valuable lesson, and isn't it our goal to try to learn something new every day?

Go ahead and laugh. I did. (Of course, not till it was all over, but I did.)

Be well.

What a cluster f**k

It's been 16 years now of pure madness. 16 years of pure pain.

Well not 16 years straight, but on and off for the last 16 years I have had to deal with cluster headaches. (click for a great website dealing with clusters.) For those who may have experienced them, you know my agony. This is more for those who don't.

I have just gotten over the latest attack (not cycle, just single attack). I am sure that more will follow tonight when I try to go to sleep.

Clusters are not migraines. Most migraine medicine does not work for cluster sufferers (I have tried almost everything). I have never had a migraine, so I cannot compare the pain, but if they cause even a quarter of the pain that these do, then I sympathize whole-heartedly.

Imagine, if you will, a grown man, fearless, tough, etc., cursing at the top of his lungs, not able to lie down, but not able to stand up. Left eye shut, tearing. There is no escape from the pain. It's unbearable. I pray for one of two things. Either make this headache go away, or give me an instant and massive aneurysm. Just end the pain somehow. All this hits within five minutes, and lasts anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours. I rock back and forth, I pace, I try to lay down, I get up, I swear, I pace again. Finally I feel the pressure ease and within minutes, it is gone. The madness is over, right? WRONG! If I fall back asleep, it will most likely return within a couple of hours. Up to 4 times a night. It's unbelievable. People years ago referred to them as "suicide headaches", I am sure you can guess why.

The closest I can come to describing the pain is like the apex of brainfreeze (you know, after drinking an ice cold drink to fast), and having that brainfreeze stay at that level for two hours. My body starts to quake, sometimes my head feels like its trapped in a gear mechanism, grinding back and forth.

When the headache goes away, the muscles in my head, neck, and face are still sore, as if they have been contorted and stretched like crazy.

When I am not in a cycle, the headaches are out of sight, out of mind. I don't even think about them. When I am in cycle, well I function normally, but my mind is always on when the next demon will strike.

I am not writing this so that anyone feels sorry for me. I needed to blog about something and this was on my mind (literally and figuratively). The main reason I wanted to write this is because whenever I tell someone who doesn't understand these headaches about them, I get all of the usual suggestions over and over. "Take some Aleve," "Go lie in a dark room," and so on. It's not that I don't appreciate the suggestions, but I've tried everything, and nothing works. The only way to get through these is to just tough it out. So for those who I tell, just try to understand that I am not asking for help. I simply need to share the pain. Need someone to know that I am in agony. There is nothing you can do, nothing you can say that will help. I just thank you in advance for understanding, and trying to help.

Be well...and pray you never get these.