Movember - facial hair for a cause

Lance Armstrong Foundation (laf.org) and Prostate Cancer Foundation (pcf.org) have an event each November (or Movember, mo being short for mustache or in French and in the Queen's English moustache).

According to the wikipedia article (linked above), Movember has been around since 2004.

The idea is to start November cleanly shaven and grow a moustache during the month. Friends and colleagues will likely ask if you're growing one, why, etc. which is a good way to bring up the event and raise awareness. The official site logs donations and there are prizes for the most donations. I have no fear of coming close to prizes but I wanted to participate.

I let my moustache grow in and didn't shave it until I was 33. So knowing I can grow one (and also having grown a full grizzly beard in 5 weeks in 2006 pretending to be Iraqi Police in a Marine training exercise) I thought maybe if just a couple of people hear about it, think about the problem, tell a friend or two, then the snowball effect begins.

There will also be events and local competitions. Some with the chance to go to an event where Lance Armstrong will be.

Here's my profile page on the US site http://us.movember.com/mospace/346240.

There's an app on facebook to help make a time-lapse of the moustache growth. The intro video wasn't working until the day before so I didn't try to use it, plus my laptop isn't stationary (for once). I've taken webcam pics and posted some progress on my profile. I've taken pics with a tripod camera but they will likely be too dissimilar to make a time lapse.

If you can grow facial hair, or think you might be able to by next November (or Movember) we need all the help we can get "to change the face of men's health."

Overactive Nerves

When I was listing all of the factors that play into the Meniere's, I forgot TMJ (jaw misalignment, popping, etc.). Of course I have that one too.

I searched to see if there were any new info in the last 5+ years and there isn't much. There's a distinction of Vestibular Hyperacusis where sound causes dizziness. (Ding, Ding, Ding. we have a winner.) Most VH patients have little or no tinnitus (yup). I have some symptoms of the other, Cochlear Hyperacusis, but that can probably mostly be attributed to any hereditary irregularity and the blood pressure problems added to all the other crap.

Anyway my last post mentioned other conditions that have similar sensitivities to sound: migraine and autism, but epilepsy also, in addition to light sensitivity.

Isn't it strange how in a few short years we've discovered all sorts of new conditions with overactive nerves: Fibromyalgia, Restless Leg Syndrome, what about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Attention Deficit Disorder, ADHD, PMDD, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, numerous anxiety disorders. There are probably dozens I don't even know about.

What happens to nerves from ingesting chemicals in odd combinations? The movie "The Incredible Shrinking Woman" (with Lily Tomlin) comes to mind.

Aspartame is 10% methanol (wood alcohol) which is a poison regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency. Consuming 3 - 20 oz. bottles of a soda sweetened with aspartame is more methanol than the EPA warrants as safe.

All politics aside, from the way it was approved and those who became filthy rich from it, what is it doing to our bodies? It's playing out right in front of us.

Then enter politics again as the government tries to regulate healthcare. I don't see how they could possibly manage that when we see what they allow in food, and we see how pitifully they monitor things they do not allow in food.

When they won't bother to put enough research on things that are killing us, and allow things in or food that might be doing just that, how can we expect research on quality of life for those of us who are not yet dying.

CEOs of charitable organizations make millions. Don't we wish we all could make millions helping people? Or are we then helping ourselves more? Every member of congress and the house should be asking themselves the same questions, as well as agencies and committees who ultimately answer to no one.

Are all the overactive nerve diseases just too much caffeine and sugar? Not likely as these have been around in high consumption for much longer. Of course most of our "sugar" is overprocessed corn.

Are 5th graders conducting the experiments that claim that something is safe or harmful? (assuming they are ever done) Vitamin A has toxic levels (as do many other vitamins). So that means Vitamin A is toxic. Uh, no it doesn't. Humans can drink formaldehyde and methanol in small quantities and not show immediate effects, so these must be safe for consumption. I must appologize to 5th graders because they are smarter than this.

I think I'm going in circles and not addressing the matter that all the overactive nervous disorders might be related.