slamboard

The only adjustable and completely reversible weight-loss surgery available in the United States today is the LAP-BAND System. Diets and exercise are, of course, also adjustable and completely reversible weight-loss strategies. They get adjusted and reversed despite our best intentions. For a large segment of the population, the risks that are associated with their extra weight outweigh the risks associated with laparoscopic procedures.

Richard Collier is an very experienced laparoscopic surgeon and he performs the LAP-BAND procedure at his clinics in Texas. Here are the locations where he performs lapband houston, Conroe, Kingwood and The Woodlands. The surgical clinics are designed to comfortable accommodate morbidly obese patients.

I have an outsider’s perspective on health care employment in the USA. I have spent most of my life in Canada and I experienced a Doctor shortage that was exacerbated in part by head hunters who would come up from the USA and recruit some of our best family practitioners. There were also semi-regular job fairs put on by large HMOs that aimed to attract nurses and other professionals.

Canada’s health care system gets touted as a preferable model to that of America, but the reality for workers has been long hours and comparatively modest pay. My own family doctor, the friendly, brilliant man who gave my babies their first year of checkups, headed south. I wished him well.

Nursing is a smart career choice for young Americans as there is a need for more people at all levels in the majority of specialties. The RN Nursing Degree at Hondros College in Cincinnati is suitable for people starting out in nursing or experienced people working towards advancement. Nursing education may soon be starting on other Hondros campuses to meet demand.

Hydroquinone is the ingredient that is at issue with several products that are designed to fade or remove tattoos. This chemical has multiple industrial and cosmetic uses but it has been banned in some countries, most notable the UK and France. InkBusters.com is a website that sells tattoo removal products that do not contain Hydroquinone.

If you have a tattoo that you no longer want, consider concealment as a chemical free option. Yes, children may comment on your tattoo during swimming season, but you must have considered that eventuality when you got the thing, right?

If the image and/or text on your skin is so far removed from who you are now that it simply must go, the product available from InkBusters.com can fade the tattoo. If you opt for laser removal later, it will be less costly. The website has a page full of medical references. The main ingredient in their product was the primary non surgical method recommended by doctors before the advent of laser removal.

InkBusters.com Press Release

Headline: FDA bans ?

San Diego - With the launch of it’s new website, Inkbusters.com warns the public about possible health risks associated with using tattoo removal creams purchased on the Internet. The new site states “many” tattoo removal creams sold online contain Hydroquinone, which is usually the active ingredient in skin bleaching creams.

In August 2006 the FDA proposed a ban on over the counter skin bleaching creams containing Hydroquinone due to concerns about Cancer and Exogenous Ochronosis. This proposed ban is similar to those already enacted in Japan, France, Great Britain and Australia for the same reasons.

InkBusters.com CEO Rick Barker notes, “Indirectly—and probably without knowing it—the FDA is saying they think the tattooed public may be at risk if they use tattoo removal creams containing Hydroquinone. This is particularly true when you consider most skin bleaching cream makers––prescription or OTC––never recommend Hydroquinone be used more than 4-6 months for maximum effect. Many tattoo removal cream makers online offer supplies well beyond this recommended period.”

InkBusters.com sells TCA at its website to help consumers remove tattoos in a natural non-laser fashion. TCA is a popular non-prescription skin-peeling agent commonly used by doctors, health spas and private individuals to remove fine lines, wrinkles and acne scars on the face. TCA has twice been medically tested and proven to fade and/or remove tattoos on the body. TCA looks and feels like water and is applied with a q-tip. There is no Hydroquinone in TCA.

MedStorage.com looks like a great online resource for hospital equipment such as medical supply carts. Even if you are not someone in a position to be shopping for portable storage for a hospital, you should look around this site.

I was once one of a handful of people who were trying to think outside the box to find practical storage and handling solutions for our very specialized business. I have noticed a couple of items on MedStorage.com that would have been better than some of the solutions that we settled on. The pricing on this site is about what I would expect for items that are made out of materials like stainless steel and that are constructed to meet a variety of certifications. I think the items are reasonably priced given the quality and the specialized purpose.

Calling the membership with MaternitySavings.com Pregnant Insurance is a bit of an over simplification. Basically the MaternityCard has a monthly membership fee and it entitled you to a comprehensive maternity program. All aspects of your maternity care is covered.

What you are essentially doing is joining a group of health care consumers that are represented by the Maternity Savings company. You benefit from their buying power, industry relationships and oversight. they guarantee that they will save you money.

You will save at least the cost of the yearly membership or they will pay you the difference and $200. They also extend the benefits for twelve more months free of charge. Keep in mind that they are also working to assure the highest quality of care.

I don’t actually have a tinfoil hat. I was commenting on my environmentally themed blog about Coca Cola’s big recycling announcement and I started researching HFCS. This lead me to stevia which lead me to the FDA which lead me to former White House dude Rumsfeld. It is amazing how much questionable business and politics surrounds the simple business of making food and drinks taste sweet.

In 1991, the FDA banned the natural low calorie sweetener stevia from being used as a food additive (it is allowed in diet supplements). It’s use is widespread and common elsewhere in the World. I was just double checking to make sure it was true that Diet Coke is sweetened with stevia in Japan and I found out what a small World we inhabit. My query for “stevia japan coca cola” had Jimmy Moore as the top hit. His post is more focused than my post. He details how some big business entities may be making a push to get stevia unbanned as a sweetener in the US. The comments that follow Jimmy’s post are quite illuminating. As an outsider, I have a bit of an approach avoidance issue with American politics.

This whole thing becomes hopelessly complicated when you factor in the fact that the biggest exporter of stevia is CHINA. Politics, economics, health and safety, human rights…there are a lot of issues wrapped around something as simple as a sweet tasting leaf.

I clearly remember when I first met a person who directly benefited for the discovery that many stomach ulcers are caused by a treatable bacteria. That discovery was worth a Nobel Prize.

Now there is a recent discovery that a common virus plays a role in obesity. This is by no means as cut and dried as the cure for stomach ulcers. It seems to me that developing a treatment that would eliminate this factor would only be a small benefit to an individual. It could be worthwhile because of the overall benefit to the health of the entire population. Early research showed that 30% of obese people test positive for the virus while only 11% of lean people have it.

Read more Heidi Diaz (Kimmer) and the Kimkins diet saga here and here.

This is one of a group of 21 pictures I received today from Robert Charlton of Alliance Investigative Services, a private investigation firm in Corona, California. The pictures were taken on August 15, 2007. Click the thumbnail to see the full-sized picture.

I am spending some time to edit the remaining pictures to remove identifying details such as Heidi Diaz’ home address and the license plate from her van. This will take a little time. However, I intend to post the rest of the pictures later today.

The private investigator states that he is certain that these pictures are of the subject Heidi Diaz. Some of the details of how he obtained his information are trade secrets which he will not divulge. However, he states:

• He ran the plate on the minivan she was driving and it came back registered to Heidi Diaz.
• There is a small trash can in a public area at Heidi’s front door. The trash can has no lid and inside it, face up, was a receipt from a customer to Kimkins.com.

I am looking forward to the chance to interview Robert further on his experiences and observations during his lengthy surveillance of Heidi Diaz, and I will share more information as it becomes available.

Personally, I thought nothing could shock me about Heidi Diaz. However, today I can truly say I was shocked. How can an obese woman spend so much time making other heavy women feel so inadequate?

I have obtained pictures from a Southern California private investigator. He believes the pictures are Heidi Diaz — Kimmer from Kimkins. I was SHOCKED.

UPDATE: I just heard from the private investigator who conducted surveillance, and he wants it made clear that he is certain the photos are of Heidi Diaz. More soon.

“If you are coming to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you are coming because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”
–Australian aboriginal woman

This quote has been republished in many different places. I thought it was a pretty interesting viewpoint. I discovered a business model yesterday that captured my imagination. It was a niche travel services company that served the unique needs of missionaries. It was specifically for Christian missionaries. I can imagine that other companies exist that work primarily with secular charities and possibly missionaries from other religions.

I guess the primary difference in focus with these travel agencies is that they take people into regions of the World with no functional tourism industry. There are lots of areas with an overlap, in that a thriving tourist and hospitality trade can exist in shockingly close proximity to poverty.