Well, I’m back in full flight again after my recent dose of flu-like virus which knocked my head for six for 5 whole days. I was still a bit shaky when I started work on Monday morning but I’ve been very careful not to overdo it. I’m almost back to my full health, but I’m being careful to take my time about things and not get all hot and bothered when things pile up as they have a habit of doing. While work is important, it is not the most important thing by a long shot. But it is easy to forget this in our pressurised society. I had temporarily forgotten this and that is why I was hit by this virus - it was my body’s way of getting me to slow down and stop for a breather.

I’m currently feeling like sh1t with this nasty little virus that has invaded my sinuses and knocked out my finely-tuned thinking processes so essential to programming. So I’ve taken a couple of days off from work - no point in fighting for a lost cause, or indeed in spreading the virus further.

Right now I’m seated in our healing room typing this on the Powerbook G4 while I listen to Coil’s Scatology as it is transferred from cassette tape to mp3 format via the Tape2PC usb tape deck and the XP laptop. I must say the lyrics admirably (I used the word advisedly!) reflect my mood and how I am feeling. “See the black sun rise in the solar lodge” (from Solar Lodge) repeated over and over to cacaphonous drums and guitars does the trick. And the track titles themselves lend to the ambience:

1. Ubu Noir
2. Panic
3. At the heart of it all
4. Tenderness of Wolves
5. The spoiler
6. The clap
7. Solar Lodge
8. The sewage worker’s birthday party
9. Godhead - Deathead
10. Cathedral in Flames

Some of the lyrics in Ubu Noir sound suspiciously like the Klingon “dach mach teach” as uttered by the Klingon captain in the banquet scene on board the Starship Enterprise in The Undiscovered Country.

A couple of days ago (or was it yesterday?), the Food Safety Authority of Ireland issued a warning to parents about the dangers of certain artificial colourants added to some foods and soft drinks - you can read the detail on the FSAI’s website.

While it comes as no surprise to me that these additives are dangerous (even though that’s not the word used by either the Irish or British FSA, for legal reasons it is to be presumed), it never ceases to amaze me how people in general, and parents of young children in particular, never look at the list of ingredients in the stuff they buy for themselves and their children. Surely not to look at the ingredients is serious enough to be considered a dereliction of parental duty! It is in my book!

The additives in question are Tartrazine (E102), Ponceau 4R (E124), Sunset Yellow (E110), Carmoisine (E122), Quinoline Yellow (D104), and Allura Red (E129). At least some of them are members of the so-called Azo Dyes, which I have written about in an earlier post.
This notice coming hot on the heels of the banning of E128 (Red 2G) shows that the Food Safety Authorities in these islands are doing their job. It is now incumbent upon parents to start doing theirs.

Driving back from Ennis this afternoon, I heard an item on RTE Radio One on the Camara Project, which accepts computer equipment from companies and individuals, refurbishes it and sends it to schools and other educational institutions in Africa which is in dire need of IT equipment and know-how.

The minimum requirements for the computer equipment is a PIII (Pentium 3 chip) PC - they don’t accept MACs because these are difficult to maintain and fix in Africa. First thing they do is wipe the Hard Drive completely to guarantee that the old data cannot be retrieved in future. Then they install a Linux-based Operating System (long live Tux!), and some educational programs including a HIV/AIDS awareness program. The refurbished machines are then shipped out to several countries in Africa, where they are put to excellent use.
This strikes me as a tremendous project as it avoids perfectly good computer equipment being dumped and contaminating the environment, and in the process it recycles the equipment so it can be used in health and education in Africa. So if you are upgrading your computer equipment don’t just dump it - visit the Camara website. Or just send them a donation.

A few years ago, I bought one Feverfew plant from a garden centre. While that plant is long since dead, it did a great job ensuring a healthy progeny before it expired, with the result that Feverfew pops up all over the place every year, including in other plants’ pots. Since I like the flower and the peppery scent the leaves give off when rubbed, or even brushed against, I leave it do its thing.

Feverfew, whose scientific name is Chrysanthemum parthenium (Bernh.) or Tanacetum parthenium (L.) depending on which book you reference, has been a popular herb in physic gardens for centuries due to its effectiveness as a cure for colic and fever. The name is a corruption of the Latin Febrifuge which means something like “fever chasing”. Mrs. Grieve in her seminal work A Modern Herbal (Penguin Books, 1980; ISBN: 0-14046-440-9) has this to say about its medicinal uses:

As a stimulant it is useful as an emmenagogue. Is also employed in hysterical complaints, nervousness and lowness of spirits, and is a general tonic. The cold infusion is made from 1 oz. of the herb to a pint of boiling water, allowed to cool, and taken frequently in doses of half a teacupful.
A decoction with sugar or honey is said to be good for coughs, wheezing and difficult breathing. The herb, bruised and heated, or fried with a little wine and oil, has been employed as a warm external application for wind and colic.

The full text entry on Feverfew is available on Botanical.com.

The news on Today FM is reporting that the red food dye known as Red 2G has been banned in Ireland - more info here courtesy of The Irish Times.
Also known as E128, this dye is used to impart colour to sausages and burger meat, and is one of the so-called azo dyes which are potentially carcenogenic - though this is disputed by the Food Industry (surprise surprise!).

My Collins Gem Guide to Natural and Artificial Food Additives (Harper Collins 1991, ISBN 0 00 458992 0) says this about Red 2G

A synthetic azo dye and coal tar dye, employed to impart a red colour to jams, meat and meat products, and soft drinks. It will not withstand high temperatures or high acidity. It is not recommended for children with a history of hyperactivity. Red 2G is banned in most European countries, Australia, Japan and North America, although not in the UK.

A much more up-to-date book on the subject on our kitchen bookshelf is The Chemical Maze Shopping Companion by Bill Statham [Summersdale Publishers Ltd 2006, ISBN 1 84024 482 8]. This has the following to say on E128 aka Red 2G: “Synthetic; azo dye; banned in many countries” and states that it is “best avoided“. It lists its potential effects as: “Asthma; gastrointestinal symptoms; hyperactivity; angioedema; chronic hives; aspirin sensitive people may wish to avoid; carcenogenic.”

Personally, I’ve been aware of the danger of azo dye additives in food for decades, but it is difficult to avoid them altogether. As far as I’m concerned, anything that is derived from coal tar or petrolium cannot be good for you. I’m amazed at the amount of chemical shit that Food companies are permitted to put in food and drink products, and even more amazed that most people never check the ingredients of the food and drink products they buy in the supermarkets. They are playing russian roulette with their own health and the health of their children.

I’ve caught another damn cold - this time it’s gone down to my chest which is quite tender. What a nuisance! I don’t usually catch colds this easily. The weather which has turned wet, windy and cool is not helping.

I’m off to have a hot bath with some Aromatherapy Bath Oil (containing Benzoin, Eucalyptus and Pine for respiratory ailments) added to make me feel better and help fight off this thing.

I had my Bowen Technique session with Kevin Kinsella this afternoon, and the pain has already lessened considerably. The right knee is by far the worst of the two (as usual) and the hamstring is affected along its entire length. I’m going for a repeat this day next week in an effort to rid myself of this scourge for once and for all.