xylophone

Have to agree with your points, and decades ago, things were discussed around the dinner table and so on, and young ones absorbed the information and knowledge therein, however now I have yet to see a family in a restaurant actually talking to one another, all of them being on their mobile phones or the like, and it makes me wonder what the forthcoming generation will actually be like. As for your question about "when you couldn't school exams", well I remember it well and even in the 60s when I was taking my electrical engineering exams, we were only allowed to use slide rules, not that I would know how to use one these days!!! However just as an aside, it's not just the younger generation, because I have friends around my age (in their 70s) who are gullible enough to believe and repeat rubbish that they read on various sites, and the Covid/vaccination/masks information they have forwarded makes me wonder if they were just stupid in the first place, or if they learned how to be that way over the years??

Sorry AAH, but I am an atheist and just love what Christopher Hitchens says about Christianity/god, and of course all of the other quotes and chuckles made at the expense of what a friend of mine used to call, "god botherers" and Christianity in general. I don't believe in Father Christmas, Batman or Spider-Man, so there's absolutely no chance I would believe in this eternal entity. Nice try though!

“Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever 'til the end of time! But He loves you. He loves you, and He needs money! He always needs money! He's all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow just can't handle money!”

Wow, I just love your responses to this poster, and something which Christopher Hitchens said, always rings in my mind, "What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof". And the following takes a look at religious stupidity, and the "believers" can't see the joke is on them!! Religion has actually convinced people that there.docx

Yes indeed, they all have stories and I have been told this on a few occasions, and even experienced it, but yesterday, a girl with whom I have become friendly here (not a bar girl) was talking about her friend who works in a massage parlour and is also the manager of it, and has had to move out of it into a secret location because she owes the money Mafia some money! I asked this girl exactly how this manager lady was going to be able to pay back the money Mafia, and her reply was: – "oh this lady have many stories to tell farangs to get money; Mama/Papa sick; have to go to hospital for operation; brother have accident on motorbike" and she rattled off a few more, but I didn't hear the old joke about the "sick buffalo", so I said to her, and maybe they tell farang that the Buffalo die, to which she burst out laughing and couldn't stop!!!!

As I have previously mentioned, I have taken to the BBC iPlayer to search for movies and docos to fill the void left by a dearth of good movies, and last night I watched an old classic, "The Remains of the Day" and I thoroughly enjoyed it although I remember very little about it from the first time I viewed it. Great acting by Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins, and something which stood out for me this time was how the stifled emotions and straitlaced "profession" had cocooned Anthony Hopkins into a life in which he saw no other meaning, than to serve his master – – thereby missing out on huge aspects of life in general, and that was sad and really came over well in the movie.

A boy comes running to his dad and says, "dad, there's a man at the door selling funny faces". Dad says, "tell him you've already got one son".

I agree with what you have said Lorry, and quite true I did start reading up on my "disease" when I'd had it for many years (decades) and no amount of antibiotics would cure it, nor many visits to different urologists. And you are quite right inasmuch as I don't fully understand some of what I read, but there are elements which are easily understandable, and much is published on the subject, which can make easy reading. I have also consulted a couple of professors who are doing a lot of research on prostatitis, and both of them have said that because it is so difficult to treat, they often use multi-antibiotic regimes at once, and over a long period of time, and much has been published on the different bacteria which have been found in the prostate and can cause this situation, and it's not just E. coli. I still stand by a lot of what I said and it's best summed up as follows: – 1). My stance was that antibiotics can be given where dental work involves dental surgery or difficult extractions and where it is possible that the bacteria Streptococcus sanguinis can enter the bloodstream and cause problems with heart valves. This is supported in the main by by the dental/medical profession, even though there is still debate over it. 2). My next stance was that the bacteria Streptococcus sanguinis can cause problems in other areas of the body, namely the prostate, where it has been found. This is also supported by knowledgeable professors and urologists, as well as research and tests, and I posted a couple of links on it. So I rest my case and really don't want to get into further debate with this poster, so I will let this post explain my rationale. Over and out..............

Again you are incorrect in your assumption with regards to prostatitis, this especially as two professors with whom I have liaised, one in Harley Street and one in Melbourne, readily agree that prostatitis is extremely difficult to treat and not as simple as just being an E. coli infection which the body can deal with, otherwise there wouldn't be millions of men worldwide suffering from ongoing prostatitis which doesn't respond to various antibiotics, and which has been called "a medical wasteland for treatment" by prominent a urologist in the USA. Furthermore it is not only "diabetics, old people, generally unhealthy, fat, smokers etc" who are continually suffering with prostatitis, despite your assertion that is the case. I am none of the above and other men I know are not either Now back to how this started:- I posted: Unfortunately there are quite a few bacteria that live in the mouth and one which is usually protective of teeth and environs, Streptococcus sanguinus, can be dangerous if it gets into the bloodstream, causing problems with heart valves. (Which is correct). To which you replied: The mind boggles reading these fairytales! (ridiculing my post) I replied: S. sanguinis may gain entrance to the bloodstream when opportunity presents (dental cleanings and surgeries) and colonize the heart valves, particularly the mitral and aortic valves, where it is the most common cause of subacute bacterial endocarditis. For this reason, oral surgeons often prescribe a short course of antibiotics to be taken a few days before to a few days after oral surgery. (Which is correct) You replied: It's strep. viridans found in the mouth, and it can compromise damaged or artificial heart valves only! (Which is not correct because it was Streptococcus Sanguinis I was referring to). You then suggested that I was "like everybody, using quotes from Google without having any in-depth understanding". Thereby disparaging not only my comments but the results of carefully controlled studies in the medical field, and by medical experts in that particular field. I stated that you were mistaken on this particular point and again published peer-reviewed medical research regarding this bacteria, which you also disparaged by saying "so it's unlikely oral bacteria would infect the urinary track", but as other research I quoted has shown you, it does, along with many other bacteria, which I also detailed. I also included links to online medical libraries for your perusal. This after you again refuted my point that this bacteria could infect/colonise the prostate. You see this goes on and on and it results from your ridiculing of my original post and your assertion that Streptococcus sanguinis cannot be found in the urinary track or prostate – – and you are wrong. No point in arguing with you when you will not admit what you actually posted, or even admit that you could have been wrong.

Jesus, if you were on the Oxford or Cambridge debating team, then it must have been a pretty poor bunch! First of all I stated that I had Streptococcus sanguinius in my urinary system and that was confirmed by a culture test, yet you dismissed that as not being the case??? I also presented case histories/medical publications of the same and also regarding this particular bacteria being found in the prostate, again you dismissed it, obviously because you didn't read them, and my point about this particular bacteria was that if it gets into the bloodstream it can be dangerous, which you have now stated can be the case. And as for your assertion that the dentist I had which fractured my lower jaw was a "poor operator" then that's another own goal for you, because my normal and highly regarded dentist in New Zealand recommended a well-known oral surgeon to do the extraction because the root of the tooth was somewhat crooked in the jaw, and it was he who fractured my jaw. And just for the record no, I wasn't stressed or run down or immunocompromised when the Streptococcus sanguinis found its way into my urinary system. As for your last question regarding advocating antibiotics for all dental patients, that is not something I've advocated, and I will go with what the experts know (not you of course) and what is widely recommended by these experts.

Yes, and I have offered my expertise and research on streptococcus sanguinis, which has been found in the prostate, and indeed in my UTI. We may differ on this, but I've been through this actual experience and there are medical journals which backup my research. No doubt about it you are the expert on dentistry, and although your posts would suggest that antibiotics are not necessary, again there are many, many medical articles which are in favour of issuing antibiotics, and many which warn of the problems with streptococcus sanguinis finding its way into the bloodstream and colonising the heart valves (which you scoffed at in one of my earlier posts) especially in cases of difficult extractions (wisdom teeth?). So I guess we will have to agree to differ. However if you are unfortunate enough to get that particular bacteria in your urinary system/prostate, then you may be in for many years or even decades of prostatitis, which is extremely unpleasant. PS. I hope the checkup and x-rays on your hip replacement show that everything is well.

Sorry I didn't see that, but it was "spot on"!!!

Really pleased to hear that Rick, as after my experience, I wouldn't wish it on anybody, however you have come through with flying colours and all's well that ends well.

I totally agree with your comment about having four wisdom teeth out in one sitting as being "too traumatic". The one I had removed, lower jaw, took an age to remove (well over an hour as I recall) and was very bloody and messy and eventuated in me having a broken jaw! God only knows what having four out at one time would entail!

With respect you seem to be missing the salient point in a couple of the links/research I have posted, whereby streptococcus sanguinis has been found in the prostate, and can be the cause of prostatitis – – and for anyone who has had this condition, that would indeed be a "salient point". So these bacteria DO NOT ONLY CAUSE PROBLEMS WITH COMPROMISED HEART VALVES!!!!! It's all there, out in the open in published and peer-reviewed papers/research if you care to look

I downloaded and watched, "NOPE" which seems to have crept surreptitiously into the movies I am able to download, so I was hoping for a nice surprise. My feedback is: – – IMO, is it a good movie – NOPE – Does it have characters which develop and draw you into the movie – NOPE – Is the storyline good – NOPE, and what on earth the chimpanzee beginning has to do with the movie, I'm not quite sure. – Were the special effects good? – NOPE. And the spaceship/entity/thingy would have been more at home in an Ed Wood movie. – Was it original – NOPE as the spaceship/entity/thingy repeated similar scenes which were seen in another war of the worlds movie. Altogether a NOPE!!

I think that the thinking has changed over the years, however in this particular person's case he was having four wisdom teeth removed, and that can be quite a dreadful procedure, which I have first-hand knowledge of because the dental specialist actually broke my jaw in trying to extract my wisdom tooth! It is an interesting topic and in my case, I strongly advocate antibiotics for the removal of four wisdom teeth, which can be very complicated and "messy"!

The quotes I used were from carefully controlled studies and not just any old "quotes from Google", and furthermore there is more information available on it, the deeper you wish to look; and I have been doing this research for decades now, and I have enough information and links in this research to prove my point. I don't follow the media and "shallow social media blogs" when doing my research on prostatitis, but I do follow published papers and peer reviewed studies. I'm not doubting your qualifications, however I am saying that you are mistaken on this particular point and my next point below further backs this up. Again, further research will show that streptococcus sanguinis has been found in the prostate and in my case it was found in the urinary tract, which was verified by culture tests done at Bangkok Phuket Hospital. The article below will explain this and hopefully put paid to any doubts you may have about this particular bacteria........... According to the classification criteria established by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), prostatitis is divided into the following four categories: acute bacterial prostatitis, chronic bacterial prostatitis, chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS), and asymptomatic prostatitis. CP/CPPS reportedly has a significant negative impact on the quality of life.1, 2 CP/CPPS accounts for 80% to 90% of prostatitis cases,3 but its etiology and pathogenesis remain poorly understood. The pathogens isolated from global cases of acute and CP primarily include Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Klebsiella, Proteus spp., Enterococcus spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Corynebacterium.4, 5 Chronic bacterial prostatitis may also be caused by anaerobic bacteria, the most common of which are Streptococcus sanguis and Bacteroides. Studies have also shown that sexually transmitted microorganisms, such as mycoplasma, Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, human papillomavirus, and Trichomonas vaginalis, are among the most common pathogens of CP.3, 6 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/pros.23971 AND from another publtshed article: Blood and urine cultures resulted positive for S. sanguinis. In this case, we report S. sanguinis causing urinary sepsis as a primary inciting event. Although S. sanguinis is an unusual cause of urinary tract pathology, treatment should be considered if the clinical picture is consistent with infection. Given the concern of dissemination, we recommend at least two weeks of antibiotics against S. sanguinis with repeated negative blood cultures prior to ureteral procedures. For the record, my son is a medical professional in London and specialises in infectious diseases, and has published many papers. Perhaps the need to gain knowledge in this area is genetic!!!!!!!

Dumb is as dumb does!!

Well I was only quoting from published papers and from Wikipedia, and what I have also been told by a dentist friend of mine, and much to my dismay this particular bacteria found its way into my urinary system (it was cultured so was definitely this bacteria) and I had to have 14 days of intravenous carbapenem to get rid of it, which was extremely expensive. See below................... Streptococcus sanguinis (S. sanguinis) is an abundant oral commensal which can cause disseminated human infection if it gains access to the bloodstream. The most important among these diseases is infective endocarditis (IE). https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.00010/full S. sanguinis is a normal inhabitant of the healthy human mouth where it is particularly found in dental plaque, where it modifies the environment to make it less hospitable for other strains of Streptococcus that cause cavities, such as Streptococcus mutans. S. sanguinis may gain entrance to the bloodstream when opportunity presents (dental cleanings and surgeries) and colonize the heart valves, particularly the mitral and aortic valves, where it is the most common cause of subacute bacterial endocarditis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streptococcus_sanguinis

I'm not sure about the Holep procedure here in Phuket, although I do know that they do normal Turp procedures. I have looked on the Bangkok Phuket Hospital website and and it does give the name of a urologist, but I have not had a good experience with this person, so I can't recommend him, not sure that he is familiar with the Holep procedure anyway (send me a PM if you want his name). This procedure is done in Bangkok and I have attached a link for your perusal: – https://www.lyfboat.com/hospitals/holmium-laser-enucleation-of-the-prostate-holep-hospitals-and-costs-in-thailand/

Was the house built on a landfill by any chance, because landfill land which has been reclaimed, can cause this effect, even after many years?

Following my decision to seek out and download a few older movies, last night I watched, "The Kingdom of Heaven" and although I could remember just a few parts of it, I thoroughly enjoyed it, so much so that I decided to do some research after watching it, and it was a surprise. In the movie there was a king of Jerusalem, who was a leper, which I thought was made up for the movie, and there were other aspects of it which prompted me to do a bit more research after the movie finished, and I was very surprised at what I found – – for example, the Knights Templar, who I'd always thought of as being "the good guys" weren't anything like that and were catholic soldiers (best thing I could call them) who were very bloodthirsty. Anyway still a very good watch for anybody willing to download it, which took me a long time because there were very few seeders!

Where can I find that please Vinci?

A key question, but one to which you didn't know the answer, but which a 15 year old would know! Strange, unless you had an ulterior motive? Darwinism is not wrong, and I quote "Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution is one of the most solid theories in science" although some aspects of it are being debated, in the main it still seems the seminal work. I have no idea what you are talking about with regards to "20-year-olds do that on Twitter" because I have never visited Twitter, nor do I have access to it, nor do I want to. As for your statement about "one-upmanship" only you know the meaning of that in this context, because I have no idea to what you are referring. Anyway, I can't waste my time debating nonsense with people like you, who seem to dream up all sorts of strange retorts, and at the age of 75, I choose to interchange with other learned folk like myself, not Twitter guys like you! So onto "ignore" you go. PS. You obviously spend time on Twitter because you seem to know a lot about it!