Of Earthquakes and Other Disasters…

By InsightAnalytical-GRL

As I write this, a tsunami is bearing down on Hawaii, a consequence of the terrible earthquake in Chile.  Japan was also hit with a quake, and, of course, Haiti is still suffering terribly from the quake that hit weeks ago.

There are a few sites that track such things that I visit to keep up-to-date.

My favorite is based in Hungary and features maps and information that track both natural and man-made disasters ranging from quakes, to storms, to major traffic accidents and pandemics. The site has been updated and is fantastic!  Under the “Disaster and Emergency Alert Map” heading, click the “Global” link for a world map; there are also sections different areas on the globe.  Click on an icon on the map to get a brief description of what’s going on in a specific area.  For example, there is a threat of epidemic in Viet Nam today.  Be sure to scroll down the page under the map for a lot more details on current happenings. The amount of information is amazing!

Check it out at:

RSOE EDIS – Emergency and Disaster Information Service

For a huge database of links to information on all sorts of disasters, plus terrorism information, go to:

CBS NEWS Disaster Links

Finally, there is a site (which requires registration to use) that is dedicated strictly to terror and suspicious incidents. Find it at:

Global Incident Map Displaying Terrorist Acts, Suspicious Activity, and General Terrorism News

My Dog’s Teeth

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

Sometimes you realize that you’ve hit a “marker” in life, and today was one of them in Slicker’s…Slicker is my min pin, whom I rescued from the street. He’s just past what we think is his 8th birthday, and the min pin’s tendency to have tooth problems hit him today.

He had had his teeth cleaned a couple of years ago and things seemed fine. But on his annual visit just before the holidays, the vet scheduled an appointment for a dental, no if, ands, or buts.

Slick Around the Time of His November Check-up

I noticed that Slick’s gums were red but he was chewing on bones and they actually looked like they were getting cleaned up.  Not as easy as that, however…

When I brought him in yesterday morning (Friday, 2/26) the tech ran over the procedure and then warned me that about this age, some dogs start requiring extractions.

I went home and waited for the call…and about 2 p.m. the vet called to tell me that he really needed teeth taken out…a bunch of them.  Apparently, an infection had set in and spread around his gums.

It must have grabbed pretty quickly. I had noticed that Slick was a bit listless over the past couple of weeks and was a bit more testy when the two little ones, Toro and Tico, hassled him. He wasn’t jumping onto walls very often, nor did he go nuts over the thrasher hanging around the back yard.  His stomach was a little queasy, too, because over the last few days he was looking for grass to eat…We had the little patch of grass removed a couple of  weeks ago and replaced with gravel, so he had to search hard. I got some wheat grass yesterday, just in case.

Well, all this must have been because of the infection.

I worried all afternoon, then made some rice and went to get some soft food on the way to the vet when it was time to pick him up. I didn’t know what I expected.

When I got there, the assistant reviewed what had been done.  Of 40 teeth, 20 were gone!  However, most of them were the little front incisors, apprently so loose that the vet was surprised they hadn’t fallen out of his mouth!  A couple of molars were gone and a a few of the smaller canines, one of which apparently had an infection that had spread up to his sinuses.  But, thankfully, his main chewing teeth are still there!

I was shocked, but it was not because I had neglected anything.  But, at least he had been fighting the infection. He pre-op blood work was fine and he was very stable during the procedure. In fact, after he woke up, he was standing, looking around, and acting like he wanted attention.

When they finally brought him out, I half expected to see a lethargic dog, but there he was running out with his little bandana on, trying to make friends with another dog!  I was so relieved because he looked like my Slick!  I had been very melancholy, however, because I felt that needing teeth removed really meant he was, indeed, an aging dog.  I even shed some tears over this realization.

In a sad twist, as I was waiting to pay the $845.00 bill, a man, girl and woman came out of a room to the side, all in tears. Obviously, they had lost their pet. It made me grateful that we had taken care of Slick and that, according to the vet and tech, he would really be feeling a lot better now that the infection was going to be cleared up.

Coincidentally, an orthopedic foam bed I had ordered from Drs. Foster and Smith came while Slick was at the vet! So, I got it all ready for him and was so glad it was there for him when he got home!

Slick came into the house and went straight to my room where he sleeps and plopped right onto the bed.  Toro, who is the ornery 11-year-old chihuahua, sat next to Slick’s bed and whimpered. I think he was a bit concerned.  Tico, the chi-corgi mix, sat in the crate in the corner and growled, as usual, so I moved him out of the room!

Slick Crashes On His New Bed Post-Op

We go back in 2 weeks for a follow-up visit and in the meantime, it’s pain meds, anti-inflammatory meds, probiotics and soft food for about 7 days.

Slick's Post-op Pharmacy

I’m just thankful he came through it all OK and that we caught things in time before his health was damaged.

So, we have more precious time with our precious boy, Slick.  Gosh, I love this guy!!

A Moment of Spring…

~~By InsightAnaltyical-GRL

Something to cheer you up!

FLOWER GARDEN

When you get to the page, click  your mouse anywhere and everywhere on the page…better yet, drag it around and see what happens!!

Courtesy American Lassie….ENJOY!!

Surprise, Surprise: Our Goldman Sachs Buddies Are Knee Deep in the Greek Debt Crisis

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

Well, here we go again!

Goldman Sachs had a role in creating the current debt crisis in Greece. Why am I not surprised?

From Spiegel Online International:

How Goldman Sachs Helped Greece to Mask its True Debt

Goldman Sachs helped the Greek government to mask the true extent of its deficit with the help of a derivatives deal that legally circumvented the EU Maastricht deficit rules. At some point the so-called cross currency swaps will mature, and swell the country’s already bloated deficit.

snip

Now, though, it looks like the Greek figure jugglers have been even more brazen than was previously thought. “Around 2002 in particular, various investment banks offered complex financial products with which governments could push part of their liabilities into the future,” one insider recalled, adding that Mediterranean countries had snapped up such products.

Apparently Italy also hid its real debt, but with another U.S. bank which isn’t named in the article.

The article continues:

Greece’s debt managers agreed a huge deal with the savvy bankers of US investment bank Goldman Sachs at the start of 2002. The deal involved so-called cross-currency swaps in which government debt issued in dollars and yen was swapped for euro debt for a certain period — to be exchanged back into the original currencies at a later date.

Fictional Exchange Rates

Such transactions are part of normal government refinancing. Europe’s governments obtain funds from investors around the world by issuing bonds in yen, dollar or Swiss francs. But they need euros to pay their daily bills. Years later the bonds are repaid in the original foreign denominations.

But in the Greek case the US bankers devised a special kind of swap with fictional exchange rates. That enabled Greece to receive a far higher sum than the actual euro market value of 10 billion dollars or yen. In that way Goldman Sachs secretly arranged additional credit of up to $1 billion for the Greeks.

This credit disguised as a swap didn’t show up in the Greek debt statistics. Eurostat’s reporting rules don’t comprehensively record transactions involving financial derivatives. “The Maastricht rules can be circumvented quite legally through swaps,” says a German derivatives dealer.

more

“Fictional exchange rates.”  Incredible.

But not surprising if you’ve followed the recent actions and attitude of Goldman Sachs. You know, the guys who talk about “morality in the marketplace”…

Sigh….

***

This Would Be the Laugh of the Day if It Weren’t So Aggravating: Pious Rationalizations About “Morality in the Marketplace” from Our Buddies at Goldman Sachs 10/21/2009

Goldman Sachs Chairman & CEO Says Company Is Part of a “Virtuous Cycle” With a “Social Purpose” Even as It Apparently Moves Markets in “Miraculous” Ways (SEC, Where Are You?) November 8, 2009

“Lost Generation”? Well, Maybe There IS Some Hope…Perhaps

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

We’re all familiar with palindromes, words that read the same backwards and forwards.  Well, I’ve run across this brilliant video in which the script reads as a palindrome…exactly the same, forward and backwards.  And it’s amazing.

It’s only 1:44 seconds long, but is very powerful. It was created by a 20-year old as an entry in a contest run by the AARP called “u @ 50.”  It won 2nd place but apparently when it was shown, everyone watching was awestruck and it received an outburst of applause.  The entire back story is at the YouTube page if you click on “More info” to the right of the video.

The video was first posted there in November 2007, before Obama was in full swing…so, it probably is not something that was part of the craziness of the campaign in 2008.  It’s actually doesn’t touch on politics at all.

It’s brilliant.  So, be sure to read along to get the full impact.