26 November 2004

Word for the day...

con·nip·tion n. Informal

A fit of violent emotion, such as anger or panic. Also called conniption fit.
A colleague used this (not referring to me!!), and I hadn’t the foggiest idea what it meant until I looked it up. Seems to be a useful word - am storing it for use at Christmas, as conniptions seem to be common in my family!!


On Rotation…

Food:
nectarines, mangoes, strawberries, mangoes, bananas, mangoes.

CD’s:
Skylarking - XTC;
Music for Airports - Brian Eno;
Aether - The Necks;
His’n’Hers - Pulp;
The Very Best of Elvis Costello

Books:
The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde
Love in the time of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marques

Skirts:
Every skirt I am wearing seems to be rotating around on me. Mildly irritating in some cases, close to a fashion faux pas in other cases (splits rotated around 180 deg to the front or side). Not sure what is causing this… Am I normal?

19 November 2004

Iron woman

Well that’s probably taking it a bit too far.

But, I am going in a 2.3 km swim around Cockatoo Island this Sundy Morn.

Wish me luck. I’ll make it to the end, no worries, but it’s the harbour water and what’s in it that worries me most….

04 November 2004

Check your ethics

For years, everyone except perhaps the most macrobiotic dieters among us have been thinking “what could possibly be wrong with taking vitamin tablets? It can only be good for you, right?” The so called health industry has been raving about antioxidants…. Fruits and veges have lots of them, therefore the logical conclusion was made by many that these compounds compressed into a pill for you to take can only make you healthier...

Not necessarily. See linked article.

This article highlights the problem of fully private funded research, and how some companies are (likely to be) keeping certain results commercial-in-confidence whilst releasing research that is in their favour. Products are probably out there despite the fact that there may be unpublished data showing that a product is not effective or even detrimental to the circumstances it claims to improve. Disturbing when it's your health they're messing with....

This is why we can’t entirely trust the private sector to fund all of our research. But even in a society where we have both govt and privately supported research, how do we ensure that companies are acting in the interests of the health of the community, without totally removing any competitive advantage they might rightfully gain from funding their own research…??

02 November 2004

Diary of an intermittant insomniac....

12:30am
Lying awake, mildly annoyed that I can't get to sleep tonight.
Can't be daylight savings, as that only accounts for an extra hour awake.
Brain ticking over, going over the days contradictions.
OK - time to start thinking of more pleasant, menial, daily things, the weekend.
Worked for a bit, then back to days events....
Get up, do things until I feel tired again...
Go back to bed.

Look over at partner blissfully doing sleepy activities - regular breathing, occasional snore and roll over. Jealous. Must keep some herbal sleeping tabs for moments like these - only happens half a dozen times a year... Must get some headphones for late night music listening...

2-3:00am
I don't even feel remotely tired.
Beginning to worry that I will be so tired tomorrow, that I won't do a decent day's work.
Recalling helpful insomnia hints: make sure you wind down before bed (tick); make sure you keep active during the day and try to go to sleep at regular time(tick); get up when it is light, no matter how tired you are (tick); remember, setting standards that you need a certain amount of sleep creates needless anxiety and will keep you awake longer (ohh).

6:30am
Wake up, relieved that I got to sleep at all, mildly panicky about the day ahead. How vague will I be?

Here's to an early night....