Whatcha smoking?

[quadz]

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/food-dyes-are-they-safe

From the article:

Every two weeks, the children were given a special drink that contained enough dye found in two bags of candy.

The researchers and their parents found a significant increase in hyperactivity in the children during the weeks that they consumed the drink with the artificial colors.

While mildly interesting, I'd suggest a comparison case should have been made with, "Every two weeks, the children were given a special drink that contained enough sugar found in two bags of candy."

It's not enough to find a "significant increase" unless compared against normal foods that cause an increase. (After all, from zero percent to 0.1 percent is an infinite percent increase! Holy shit!) From the stated dosage, it would seem we can infer the dyes contribute to hyperactivity only a fraction of the amount that 'natural' substances like pure cane sugar would do (otherwise the dosage of dye wouldn't be as much as found in two bags of candy.)

At a glance this would appear to be characteristic of the familiar disconnect between a reasonable study, and how such studies are "interpreted" in the media. The same garbage interpretations frequently occur with radiation studies. (OMG! The California coast is awash in deadly radiation from Fukushima!)

[|iR|Focalor]

That vaporized ammonia allows for quicker uptake of nicotine from the lungs and into the bloodstream. It's essentially a method of "freebasing" nicotine.

Also... I dunno if anyone's ever heard of people doing this before. And before I go any further, I should definitely state this here and now to everyone reading this: DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS, YOU IDIOTS! IT WILL FUCKING KILL YOU DEADER THAN HELL! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! But apparently a number of people have gotten the bright idea to use hypodermic needles to inject formalin (Yeah, formaldehyde! Brilliant rocket scientists at work here.) into the filter portion of tobacco cigarettes, or sometimes they put a few drops of formalin on the tobacco in the cigarette, and then smoke it. Supposedly, it produces some kind of unbelievable high. Now I'm not 100% sure on the chemistry of it, but I assume this is due to the formalin acting like ammonia to allow for the nicotine to be absorbed at extremely efficient rates into the bloodstream which bombards the brain and nervous system with the substance. I dunno for sure, but it sounds reasonable. Thing is, as we already know, nicotine causes hardening of the arterial walls. Formalin... it DEFINITELY hardens the shit out of organic tissue. So do the math. It's not a question of "IF" it will kill you, it's "WHEN".

And we gotta live on the same planet with these people. Drive on the same roads with our families and friends in half ton murder-mobiles with these geniuses. God damn. Hurry up and colonize Mars already, I'm ready to get the fuck outta here.

[|iR|Focalor]

Rode up to South Carolina this morning to meet a friend for a bit and stopped in at a cigar shop while I was up there. Been a little while since I've browsed a cigar shop. They had a pretty nice sized walk-in humidor with tons of variety. Didn't wanna spend a lot though. Most "good" cigars these days are gonna run you 10 to 15 bucks starting out, and they only go up from there. I was shopping cheap though.

Before I go any further, I should mention that are lots of different cigar types. Probably the most popular is the corona, which are about 5 to 6 inches long and have a rounded tip to them. Then you have your Churchill, which is slightly thicker than a corona, pretty long at about 7 or so inches, and also have a rounded tip. Then you have your robusto, which is a pretty short one at 5 inches or less, with an extra fat thickness for a fuller stronger smoke, and usually with a pointed tip. Then you've got your torpedo, which is basically a longer version of the robusto, same thickness or thicker, same pointed tip. And there's a few others, but you get the point.

Since I was shopping cheap, I was mostly looking at the shorter robustos which were about 7 bucks and up. But I made my way to one of the middle aisles of the humidor and spotted some pretty cheap coronas. For $1.90, it was a steal.



It's a Quorum Shade corona. Probably one the cheapest cigars out there, but still not bad at all for a cheapie. The wrapper is some kinda Connecticut Shade Ecuadorian leaf, and the binder and filler is some kinda Nicaraguan mix, not sure exactly what varieties. Supposedly the wrapper is one of the most mild smokes out there, while the binder and filler are a little richer but still kinda mild. Overall, it's a damn good everyday any occasion cigar. Tastes pretty good, not really strong, but I usually prefer milder mellower cigars anyway. Sat on the edge of the fishing dock on the pond out back puffing on it while drinking a cup of coffee. The high life, bro. I'm gonna miss shit like that if I ever stop smoking.

Also picked up one of the shops in-house handmade cigars. It was about $4.80, but I figured I'd give it a try just to see if they knew how to throw together a good homemade cigar. It's about the same length as the Quorum Shade corona, but a little fatter, and probably gonna have a heavier smoke to it. It smells very very mild though. I didn't ask anything about the particulars of it, maybe I should've. But I guess if it's anything special, maybe I'll stop off and pick up some more next time I'm up that way. Haven't smoked it yet, might burn it later tonight watching the UFC fights at a nudie bar or something.

[Fraginstein]

Personally, I think this "ADHD" thing is not rooted as much in anything medical or nutritional going into the body as it is in the psychological input. Basically, I think the ADHD phenomenon is a conditioned response caused by television, internet, video games, and this advanced society at large. In the case of television, just look at the commercials they have now. The camerawork in commercials switches scenes or angles on average every 1 or 2 seconds. It's just BAM BAM BAM BAM. They flash shit up, flash something else, shit goes by so fast, it's just go go go go all the time. You subject a human brain to that kind of stimulus long enough in it's formative years, and it's gonna have lasting psychological effects that convinces it that rapidly moving from thing to thing is the proper way to function. It's brainwashing at work. Plopping your kid in front of a TV for too long is basically hardwiring their brain to fire at a rhythm that may not be optimum for it to function on. Brains are different, like fingerprints. Some kids, TV and shit effects them more than others.

   Excellent hypothesis!    Especially considering 3% of the populations is photosensitive & subject to their surroundings, affecting a variety of mental and physical functions, ie, seizures &/or other symptoms such as headache, nausea, dizziness and more.  "People may be triggered by exposure to television screens due to the flicker or rolling images, to computer monitors, to certain video games or TV broadcasts containing rapid flashes or alternating patterns of different colors, and to intense strobe lights like visual fire alarms."  >  http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/aboutepilepsy/seizures/photosensitivity/

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/food-dyes-are-they-safe

From the article:

Every two weeks, the children were given a special drink that contained enough dye found in two bags of candy.

The researchers and their parents found a significant increase in hyperactivity in the children during the weeks that they consumed the drink with the artificial colors.

While mildly interesting, I'd suggest a comparison case should have been made with, "Every two weeks, the children were given a special drink that contained enough sugar found in two bags of candy."

It's not enough to find a "significant increase" unless compared against normal foods that cause an increase. (After all, from zero percent to 0.1 percent is an infinite percent increase! Holy shit!) From the stated dosage, it would seem we can infer the dyes contribute to hyperactivity only a fraction of the amount that 'natural' substances like pure cane sugar would do (otherwise the dosage of dye wouldn't be as much as found in two bags of candy.)

At a glance this would appear to be characteristic of the familiar disconnect between a reasonable study, and how such studies are "interpreted" in the media. The same garbage interpretations frequently occur with radiation studies. (OMG! The California coast is awash in deadly radiation from Fukushima!)

As it said, that was just their study, that they're accumulating with/on top of dozens of similar studies performed at other Universities. >

"This research correlates with an analysis of different studies done at Columbia University and Harvard University.   The analysis affirmed that removing foods and products that contain artificial food coloring can help relieve the symptoms of children already diagnosed with ADHD."   

[quadz]

As it said, that was just their study, that they're accumulating with/on top of dozens of similar studies performed at other Universities. >

"This research correlates with an analysis of different studies done at Columbia University and Harvard University.   The analysis affirmed that removing foods and products that contain artificial food coloring can help relieve the symptoms of children already diagnosed with ADHD."

Again, what I'd like to see reported is some benchmark of how the relative dosages and behavioral effects compare to those of other 'natural' foodstuffs, such as sugars.

For instance, how do the effects of the "special drink that contained enough dye found in two bags of candy" compare against the effects of sugar from one candy bar?

The dye studies are interesting in the abstract, but I'd like to see them put into more perspective.

Mandrake, do you realize that in addition to fluoridating water, why, there are studies underway to fluoridate salt, flour, fruit juices, soup, sugar, milk... ice cream. Ice cream, Mandrake, children's ice cream.

Fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous communist plot we have ever had to face.

I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids.

[Fraginstein]

As it said, that was just their study, that they're accumulating with/on top of dozens of similar studies performed at other Universities. >

"This research correlates with an analysis of different studies done at Columbia University and Harvard University.   The analysis affirmed that removing foods and products that contain artificial food coloring can help relieve the symptoms of children already diagnosed with ADHD."

Again, what I'd like to see reported is some benchmark of how the relative dosages and behavioral effects compare to those of other 'natural' foodstuffs, such as sugars.

For instance, how do the effects of the "special drink that contained enough dye found in two bags of candy" compare against the effects of sugar from one candy bar?

The dye studies are interesting in the abstract, but I'd like to see them put into more perspective.

Mandrake, do you realize that in addition to fluoridating water, why, there are studies underway to fluoridate salt, flour, fruit juices, soup, sugar, milk... ice cream. Ice cream, Mandrake, children's ice cream.

Fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous communist plot we have ever had to face.

I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids.

   I get what your saying now!  & agree, there's some very evil intent behind a lot of this Sh!t !  For instance, Metal filings in frosted flakes.       

[quadz]

I get what your saying now!  & agree, there's some very evil intent behind a lot of this Sh!t !

Can you believe there are significant levels of Dihydrogen Monoxide in many varieties children's food and baby formula?

http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html

And yet coverage in the mainstream media has dried up completely!

[yahoo]

And yet coverage in the mainstream media has dried up completely!

its coz the media is chasing after the "flavor of the month thing".

Media has always been selective of reporting or covering stories that it deems to be catchy to the public. thus more public interests = more business.

[Fraginstein]

I get what your saying now!  & agree, there's some very evil intent behind a lot of this Sh!t !

Can you believe there are significant levels of Dihydrogen Monoxide in many varieties children's food and baby formula?

http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html

And yet coverage in the mainstream media has dried up completely!

I don't put nothing past these cocksuckers , just like I believe a lot of these vaccines/booster shots we're pumping into our babies are causing various diseases though-out our lives, from children with Autism to Alzheimer’s & the elderly.

[quadz]

And yet coverage in the mainstream media has dried up completely!

its coz the media is chasing after the "flavor of the month thing".

Still, somehow I imagined there would be a deep reservoir of interest about Dihydrogen Monoxide, or at least a public thirst for information about this compound whose use is prevalent in, but not limited to food manufacturing. It's as though the flow of coverage in the media has been reduced to a slow drip, or almost like someone shut off the faucet.

[|iR|Focalor]

Non-smokers, man. Always bitching and complaining about the smell. Taking away the smoking sections from my restaurants. Making me have to stand 2 miles away from any store entrance and 10 miles away from any part of a hospital to smoke. And look now. Now they wanna take my threads up with shit that ain't about smoking. You people are never happy, are you?

Swung by the tobacco outlet again this morning to pick up some filters to roll in with my cigarettes. That's actually what I came in to look for at the cigar store this weekend, but they didn't have any, so I just bought the cigars instead. The American Spirit tobacco tastes great smoking it, which is a definite improvement over Camels that really taste less like tobacco as you're smoking it and more like burning paper or trash. Seriously. Imported cigarettes from France or South America or anywhere else at all taste downright fucking AWFUL, and American cigarettes do taste much better than any of them. But you really don't realize how short you're being sold even with the better quality American cigarettes until you taste some American grown unadulterated tobacco like American Spirit 100% US Grown. It's got a really sweet smell both unsmoked and as it's smoking. This is what smoking is SUPPOSED to taste like.

And without all the additives and adulterants in it, it burns slower. But as great as it tastes and smells, there's still no getting around the tar content of it. My roller fits 1.5 papers, and I can really only smoke a tad more than half a cigarette of this stuff non-filter before it starts giving me that kinda icky feeling and making me want to put it out, and that's probably the unfiltered tar hitting my lungs causing that. And I hate re-lighting it later, because it always tastes like shit when you do. And more than that, I hate wasting half a cigarette's worth of tobacco on every cigarette I roll. So I figured I'd get some filters and then I'd be able to smoke them a little longer, plus I wouldn't waste all that unsmoked tobacco that goes in the butt and just gets trashed into the ashtray when I'm done.

So I picked up a 100 pack of these 15mm Top filters. Yeah, the same Top that makes Top RYO tobacco in the can. But it's all they had other than the premade paper cigarette tubes with the filters attached. The only other thing they had was a 200 pack of longer 18mm Top filters. I figured those might be too long, so I went with the shorter ones. Turns out, I should've gotten the 18mm filters. These things are TINY. Still can't really smoke the whole thing. And holy shit, you wouldn't believe how nasty and brown the filter looks when I'm done. Makes me wanna think twice about smoking altogether.

Last night I tried cutting up cotton balls that I normally use for putting Caladryl on poison ivy to use for filters... but it didn't work so great. The shit was a bit too thick to get a good strong drag through. Also had little pieces of cotton stuck all over my damn lips, haha!

[Fraginstein]

lol, sorry about the thread hijack     As far as the smell, it's been almost a year since I quit, but when I catch just the right whiff of someone's cigg, & it hits me like walking into someone's kitchen while their baking cookies;  the only unpleasant odor I've come across is old over stuffed ashtrays.

As far as taste, tar & wasting half a cigg goes... How about trying a Vapor Genie I had one, it will eliminate the tar & waste issue & the taste.. WOW, tobacco is amazing out of it, pure flavor;  there is a learning curve using it & it's main downfall is, it eats lighters.

[|iR|Focalor]

I don't worry too much about lighters anymore. Back around Xmas time, I stopped using my trusty Bic's and switched to Zippo. Never really used a Zippo before that, and dunno what possessed me NOT to. But my grandmother recently got stuck in an old folks home, and my dad brought me a box of stuff that she had that used to belong to my grandpa. He had died back in '88 or '89. One of things in the box was an old Zippo lighter. I ran around town looking for things to get it working again. Nobody had EVERYTHING all in one place, I had to go to 20 different places before I found it all. But finally got a bottle of some Ronsonol fluid for wick lighters, some Zippo flints, and a replacement wick. Turns out I didn't even need to replace the wick. Just stuck a flint in it, squirted some fluid into the wadding, and it lit right up. So screw paying 2 or 3 bucks for a disposable Bic. I can pay that for a whole bottle of Zippo fluid and it'll last 5 times longer.

I dunno what I was thinking discriminating against Zippo's though, that maybe old Zippo's would wear out or wouldn't light or something. Hell naw. After using one, I've come to understand the pure fucking GENIUS of the design of it. These things are made to last FOREVER. And they work flawlessly. I kinda figured since my grandpa died in the late 80s, this Zippo was probably made in the mid 80's. I looked around on the bottom of it trying to find some kinda symbol stamped into the metal that might be a proof mark and a code for the year it was manufactured, but all I saw was the Zippo logo. Turns out... I wasn't looking hard enough. The proof marks were there, I just looked right over them. On the left and right sides of the Zippo logo on the bottom was two little dots stamped in there. I glanced right over them thinking it was just pitting in the metal. Didn't realize it until I hunted around online and found a chart for dating Zippo's. With two dots on both sides of the logo, that indicates it was made in 1962. So this damn things 52 years old with the original wick and rayon wadding still in it and it lights like it's brand new. Now for an antique Zippo, it's probably not worth much. Maybe 20 or 30 bucks since it's got some minor dents in it and some wear on the sides of the wick chimney. From what I read, it's really the Zippo's from the 40's and earlier that have any value to them.

Another item I found in the box of stuff was this old Coca-Cola logo lighter that my grandpa used to have sitting on display on the mantle above his fireplace. I remember as a little kid, sometimes I'd try stand on the bricks in front of the fireplace and reach up and grab it to play with it, and my grandpa would freak the fuck out. And it wasn't because he thought I'd set the place on fire with it. It didn't work anymore and didn't have any fluid or a flint in it. But after doing a little bit of research on it... now I kinda know why he had that thing proudly displayed and didn't want me fucking with it. Turns out, it's pretty damn rare and worth a good bit of money. It's an old Hadson BlueBird wind-up musical lighter. It's got a little key knob on the back of it that you wind up and it plays a tune kinda like an old musical jewelry box. It's so rare, that info on it is a little hard to find online, so I can't date it completely accurately, but as far as I can tell, they were all made between about 1957 and 1961. It's in almost mint condition, and from what I've seen, the going price on it would be anywhere from around $1000 to $500. I eventually figured out how to take the thing apart. Had to stick a teeny tiny screwdriver up the flint shaft to scrape out a bunch of ancient oxidized flint crud that was preventing the brand new flint I was trying to stick in it from contacting the flint wheel. I attempted to fill it up with fluid, but the wadding inside is packed so damn tight or it's so old that it wouldn't drink much of it. Ended up overfilling it and got the flint wheel soaked with fluid. Let it sit for a day to dry. Tried to light it... but it wouldn't really do shit. I could light it off with another lighter, but the flame was too small and puny to actually light anything with it. Eventually I got it kinda-sorta working, but that only lasted for about 3 or 4 lights and it stopped lighting again. So I give up. I see now why they don't make them anymore while they STILL make Zippo's. Because Zippo's are quality shit, man.

Anyway, here's a little video I found on YouTube of someone selling one and displaying how it plays music.

<span data-s9e-mediaembed="youtube" style="display:inline-block;width:100%;max-width:640px"><span style="display:block;overflow:hidden;position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%"><iframe allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" style="background:url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XtXtVXmc18g/hqdefault.jpg) 50% 50% / cover;border:0;height:100%;left:0;position:absolute;width:100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XtXtVXmc18g"></iframe></span></span><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/XtXtVXmc18g" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/XtXtVXmc18g</a>

From what I found online, apparently BlueBird made lots of these things with several different designs and logos on them, but the most valuable and sought-after ones are the Coca-Cola and Pepsi logo ones. Mine's probably the 2nd most valuable one of them. The most valuable one would be the white ones with a red circle and white Coca-Cola logo that play "Dixie". Apparently they are the rarest of them all. Like I said, they were made from the late 50's to the early 60's, a time when the Civil Rights Movement was starting, and I guess even back then the song "Dixie" was a little controversial. So apparently the maker decided to recall all of them that hadn't been sold, and since they weren't available all that long, they're rare. From what I've seen, those go anywhere from $2000 to $900 depending on condition.

[Fraginstein]

   told ya' > E-ciggs found poisonous

[|iR|Focalor]

Well that's not exactly "news". It has nicotine in it.... well, YEAH. We knew that already. I'm a little concerned that they call it a "neurotoxin". That's not entirely accurate. Nicotine is classified as a stimulant, whereas snake and spider venom are actual neurotoxins. Way back in the old days, rich white tobacco plantation owners in Virginia and North Carolina would have their numerous black slaves harvesting tobacco leaves in the fields with their bare hands. They'd absorb the nicotine through their skin from the leaves, which would usually make them sick as hell to the point of uncontrollable vomiting when they'd first start until they could build up a higher tolerance to it. Sometimes, they'd even DIE from a transdermal nicotine overdose. So the fact that too much nicotine in the blood stream can kill a person is not a new discovery.

What I'd be concerned about the most with e-cigs is the other things in it that ISN'T nicotine. Maybe some innocuous compound in it that converts to a not-so-innocuous compound once it's broken down by the body. This is how an awful lot of prescription drugs are eventually recalled. They neglect to test them extensively enough, and come to find out that some seemingly harmless component of it breaks down into something harmful to the liver or kidneys that accumulates over a long period of time causing irreversible damage that can result in organ failure.

Then again, smoking is bad for you, period. And nicotine is the main ingredient in cigarettes that is harmful to the circulatory system. It just so happens that cigarettes ALSO have other things that are bad for other parts of the body. The tar and carbon monoxide damage lung tissue and can cause the tissue to become cancerous. Burning tobacco produces trace amounts of arsenic that is bad for dental health as well as overall health since arsenic is considered a highly poisonous toxin and is the main ingredient in rat poison, however it's still found in very miniscule quantities in tons of things we ingest, and our immune systems can defend itself against such microscopic low doses of it.

Truthfully, the human body can actually function on relatively HIGH doses of arsenic too. Since it's a naturally occurring compound in the human body, it can be difficult to detect by medical professionals if they don't know to focus in on it. Many people have been progressively poisoned to death by arsenic. Maybe a pissed off wife starts putting a little bit of it in her husbands coffee every morning, then piece by piece she increases the dosage and the onset of the symptoms from the poisoning come on slower over the course of several weeks or months to make it appear as though it's some other illness. Eventually they get to where they can't even walk or get out of bed. They take them to the hospital and the hospital runs all kinds of tests trying to find out the cause of it and find a way to cure them. But it's too late, and they didn't know to look for heavy metal poisoning, and the person dies. Sometimes, even the coroner will do an autopsy and miss all the clues.

Anybody wanna come over for some coffee?