Thanks for the info.

Cheers, Mate.

AAARRRGGGHHHH!!! Don’t know how that happened, but it’s fixed. I guess I was so worried I would misspell requiem that I didn’t focus on old Joey’s name enough. Maybe I was thinking ‘green’ when I spelled it.

~Monty

Thanks for the kind thoughts. We appreciate them.

I’m clueless as to the Elvis deal. I’m not sure who or what he/it is (other than the original, of course, who now rests peacefully in Memphis). Give me a hint.

MD’s choral society presses on. They are doing the Verdi Requiem next Saturday and Sunday. I’ll post on it a little later in the week. It’s a huge deal for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it’s the Verdi Requiem, a huge piece. But this performance comes with a lot of history that I’ll discuss in my post.

i hope i heard correctly that the fires are being brought under control…so hope you are back in your home and all is safe and well. just wanted to mention that i read the people magazine issue with kirstie alley on the cover…in addition to the many reasons mentioned for why she’s gained back 85+ pounds she says she gained an enormous amount of weight while eating a vegetarian diet! if only she would find her way here and start eating natural whole foods instead of cardboard boxes of chemicals.

please send mother’s day wishes to md!

MD had a great Mother’s Day. Two of the three kids got together and had us to a nice brunch. And gave her a Tiffany necklace, which she loves.

Too bad about Kirstie. I didn’t know that had happened.

i was recently in California for the first time in my life, and drove up the PCH with my husband and baby (from LA) to spend a night in Santa Barbara. it really is such stunning country there. my husband grew up in L.A. but I’m from England – now that I’ve seen it, i don’t know why *everyone* doesn’t want to live there and can well understand why people call it paradise…

It usually is paradise, but it hasn’t been so paridise-y these last few days. I’m glad the marine layer of cool, foggy air has drifted in at last.

This is really off-topic, but I just found this interesting article regarding meat-eating and cancer in which Gary Taubes was brought up: http://dcscience.net/?p=1435 Taubes even responds to it within the comments. It looks at different type of studies, as you have done, because the media bias fails us all. Perhaps you can give it a look whenever you get a chance and share your thoughts on it with those of us who follow your blog.

I read it several days ago. It’s a great blog, especially if taken together with Gary’s comment. I’m glad you sent to that others can read it. In fact, I think I’ll ‘tweet’ it.

The structure of your home and the first 30 feet around it are critical to increasing your chances. Non-flammable roofing is a must. There are new fire preventive attic air vents that have spark arrestors to prevent burning embers from entering your attic that can be retrofitted to replace your existing vents. The area around your house foot print needs to be clear of all flammables, i.e. wooden sheds, tools, patio furniture, stored items, fuel, pesticides, etc. Then the next 30 feet needs to be religiously pruned. Low flammability plants can replace high flammability ones. Trees need to be limbed up to at least 8-10 feet of no low hanging branches. All branches directly overhanging or within ten feet of the roof need to be trimmed back. All low lying plants and grasses need to be kept cut short and tight. These same techniques are important to do from 30 feet out to the property line as well, but the first 30 feet are the most critical.

There are fire resistant gels you can spray on your windows and the underside of the eaves and on all roof vents if you have a few minutes to spray before you evacuate. For a few hundred dollars you can have a complete gel kit standing by next to your hose ready to go. Unfortunately, water is often one of the first services lost in an emergency. For a few thousand dollars you can get a gel kit that runs off a generator and can use water from a stream, water tank or swimming pool to apply the fire retardant gel.

If you want more specific info and links to more fire protection info, feel free to write me.

Here’s wishing that all of you and yours stay fire safe.

Be well and be safe,
Ben Fury

Thanks very much for the info. I really appreciate it, and, I’m sure, so do a lot of my readers.

Anyway, thanks for the update and hope it continues to pass your neighborhood by.

Thanks for the good wishes. The ‘incidentese (great name, BTW) is still annoying to me because it doesn’t have to be that way. God knows, Doctors have a vast vocabulary of terms that are meaningless to the non-medically trained and have to deal with patients who wouldn’t understand the medical terminology. We (most of us, at least) make the effort to give patients explanations in terminology that can be understood. I don’t know why the people who give these press conferences can’t do the same thing.

People get into ways of speaking that are rote, and they don’t seem to realize how idiotic it sounds. The one that always gets my dander up is when the flight attendant says, ” please turn all electronic devises to the off position.” Do you think this same flight attendant talks that way to his/her kid who needs to turn off the TV and go to bed. No. They say, “Turn the TV off and go to bed.” Why don’t they just say that on the plane?

I don’t know any docs there that are low-carb since we left. Ron Rosedale, who used to be our partner, moved to Denver and is in practice there, I think. He is a good low-carb doc.