STRIKE!!!! You're OUTTA HERE!

Yes guys I'm outta that "jol" they call claremont hospital.

They had to pull my drains outta both sides of my neck, which was a little hectic, but then it was homeward bound for Mr. Potato Head. hehe. That's the name peeps have decided to start calling me because my face is still swollen and my neck and shoulders are stiff as hell. hehe.

Well, I'm out... now I need to get my head str8, deals with some issues and deal with the drugs that are still in me (thank goodness). Then I must learn and pass my exams. Gonna be tuff but I intend to stay the course, being a cowboy and all ;)

So, the operation was successful. The Doc says that it went better than expected and that no voice box endangering surgery was necessary. Phew! Altho, my voice is pretty fcuked up @ the moment with my fat cheeks and all. I have no feeling from my ears and my jawline to the top of my shoulders and chest. This is permanent, so Rors ain't ticklish anymore! Other than that, I've gotta keep at the physio to loosen up my neck and shoulders, which I might add is fcuking difficult. hectic days.

I'd like to thank everyone for their support. It was really, really, really appreciated. Thanks for giving me the strength and will to recover. Love ya all.

Till we meet again... peace.

My Operation

Well, folks, that week went quick as hell. Tomorrow is the day. I've never had a "break-up day" which I haven't looked forward to. But what can you do. Speak to you guys soon. Should be out of the hospital Tuesday or Wednesday then its str8 to the hard grapht of exams.

Can't wait to just go home and totally relax. Get my head str8 b4 I nail my thesis. Yikes!

Thanks for the call the other night Daal & Oxo. Really appreciated.

Love to all.

peace.

Hackers Taking Hostages Now!!

A new web scam holds your documents captive until you pay a ransom.

Computer users already anxious about viruses and identity theft have new reason to worry: Hackers have found a way to lock up the electronic documents on your computer and then demand $200 over the internet to get them back. Security researchers at Websense uncovered the unusual extortion plot when a corporate customer they would not identify fell victim to the infection, which encrypted files that included documents, photographs and spreadsheets. A ransom note left behind included an e-mail address, and the attacker using the address later demanded $200 for the digital keys to unlock the files. The FBI said the scheme, which appears isolated, was unlike other internet extortion crimes. Leading security and antivirus firms this week were updating protective software for companies and consumers to guard against this type of attack, which experts dubbed "ransom-ware."

Source: Wired News

Happy Birthdays!

Happy Birthday to Matty and Marty.

That's got a nice ring to it! hehe. Have a good day guys!

Heavy Cyg Puffin Can Affect Your Memory

A little update on the challenge first... I'm doing well. Didn't even smoke that much spliff this weekend. Wayny is surviving I think. 3 weeks and looking good. :)

here's an interesting article courtesy of ircspy.com

According to research, carried out by 5 universities, heavy nicotine use has a negative effect on day-to-day memory. Researchers asked smokers and non-smokers to rate their long-term memory. They found that smoking significantly impaired memory, with heavy smokers reporting the most errors. The survey which involved more than 700 people was carried out by teams from Newcastle, Wales, Northumbria, Westminster and Teesside universities. The teams took into consideration how much people smoked - a heavy smoker was classed as having more than 15 cigarettes a week and a light smoker between 1 and 4 cigarettes a week. Heffernan, of the human cognitive neuroscience unit at Northumbria University, said: "The result of the study revealed that smokers reported more errors in their long-term memory than non-smokers. There was also a significant detrimental effect of cigarette use on everyday memory function."

"For example, a typical heavy smoker reported 22% more memory-related problems than a non-smoker and around 12% more problems than light smokers. It is concluded that chronic, heavy smoking is associated with impairments in everyday memory, although the precise nature of the deficits are as yet unknown." The research was done via an internet questionnaire and published in scientific journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.


**Eish! So if you're having about 6 blunts a week you're getting the negative memory effect of nicotine as well as the spliff's memory effects. I wonder if i'll remember this article next time I smoke? Aah who am I kidding... of course I'll forget!

Operation: "Get That Sh1t Out!"

Good afternoon fellow spliff.blogsters,

The easiest way to do explain this covert operation is to simply tell you str8...

Next week Thursday, 26 May 2005 @ 1100 hundred hours, I will be going for my neck surgery. If you haven't heard already (where the hell have you been) I've got 2 cancerous tumors in my neck that must get the fuck outta there. My doctors advised that it is best to get it out sooner rather than later. Hence, I have decided that I do the operation in between end-of-semester and exams. My first exam is on 13 June 2005 which should leave me enough time.

Wish me luck! Oh and I expect lots of big lavish presents when I'm recovering :) However, if this cannot be arranged then I at least expect some good articles to be posted on the spliff.blog whilst I'm away.

Over & Out.

Find of the Day

Hey... found this little joke/stab and thought why not post it. Thanks to www.bash.org


"A woman has a close male friend. This means that he is probably interested in her, which is why he hangs around so much. She sees him strictly as a friend. This always starts out with, you're a great guy, but I don't like you in that way. This is roughly the equivalent for the guy of going to a job interview and the company saying, You have a great resume, you have all the qualifications we are looking for, but we're not going to hire you. We will, however, use your resume as the basis for comparison for all other applicants. But, we're going to hire somebody who is far less qualified and is probably an alcoholic. And if he doesn't work out, we'll hire somebody else, but still not you. In fact, we will never hire you. But we will call you from time to time to complain about the person that we hired."

The Challenge Continues...

Yes, ladies & gentlemen...

I lasted the whole of last week without having a cigarette :) I think thats pretty impressive considering all the shit that went down. Oh yes, plus I went out on Saturday and got shmangled and didn't have one. (well I don't remember having one at least - damn memory loss!)

Gotta keep the composure!!! Going to be difficult this week, more pressure from Varsity and thus more stress.

Very very hectic stuff. I don't think Wayne has had one yet but that's for him to know and tell.

Hope you all have a good start to the week. And to those who still smoke. Fah-Q!

Peace.

Ecstacy Can Block Cancer Growth

Maybe I should take some pills to make me better! :) hehe. Now that's what I call drug therapy. Cure cancer: "Shmoke some Spliff and Pop some Pills."

[The article courtesy of the BBC and ircspy.com]

A University of Birmingham team found that drugs such as Ecstasy, weight-loss pills, and anti-depressants like Prozac have the potential to stop cancer cell growth. The team found that the drugs were effective at blocking cancer growth in more than half of lymphoma (white blood cell cancer) samples tested. The study could lead to new cancer therapies.

Cancer growth was slowed down in 9 out of the 17 samples when they were exposed to anti-depressants, and in 11 out of 17 when exposed to one or both of the amphetamine derivatives. The research was supported by the Leukaemia Research Fund.

Professor John Gordon said: "We think that a range of psychotropic agents that are being used, or sometimes abused, for other reasons will now help us in our fight against all different types of cancer. We are excited that drugs like Prozac are effective in killing these types of cancer cells, as these antidepressants are in such wide circulation and have an impressive safety record."

Ecstasy, on the other hand, was not so straightforward - the dose required to block cancer growth was so high it would kill the patient. Dr Nick Barnes, who also worked on the study, said he was still hopeful of Ecstasy's potential to combat cancer. "Perhaps by breaking down the actions of this designer drug we can extract its cancer killing properties..."

Dr David Grant welcomed the findings by saying: "Around 10,000 people are diagnosed with a lymphoma in the UK each year and so the possibility that some of these patients can be treated with anti-depressants that have cancer-killing properties is truly remarkable. Clearly there is a lot more work to do before this becomes a reality but it is very exciting that there may be other, much less aggressive ways, of treating this particular cancer."

BBC

* Hiccup *

Top 'O the Morning on this fine Monday. The beginning of a new long cyg free week. Lanky has supposedly joined wayni and I today. Need you to confirm lanks. First a confession... both wayne and I had some cygies on Friday night. We were at a Camel Experience @ Deluxe and the booze was flowing and one thing led to another. Well haven't had since then. But still! Fuck quitting is tuff! So sorry to disapoint on Friday but the Challenge is in full swing again. Over and Out.

The Benefits to The Challenge

In order to get an appreciation of why we are doing this to ourselves I thort it would be good to show the physical/health improvements.

20 Minutes
Your blood pressure, heart rate and the temperature of your hands and feet normalize.

8 Hours
The oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in your blood normalize.

1 Day
Your likelihood of having a heart attack decreases.

2 Days
Your sense of smell and taste improves. Nerve endings start to regrow.

2 Weeks - 3 Months
Your circulation becomes better and breathing improves; it becomes easier to walk.

1 - 9 Months
Coughing, sinus congestion, shortness of breath and fatigue decrease and you have more energy.

1 Year
Happy Birthday! Your excess risk of heart disease is now less than half what it was a year ago.

5 Years
Your risk of cancer of the lung, mouth, throat and esophagus is half that of a pack-a-day smoker.

10 Years
Your risk of dying of lung cancer is similar to non-smokers'. Precancerous cells have been replaced.

15 Years
You are at no more risk of heart disease than if you never smoked.

[UPDATE]

I'm still koo. No gwaai yet. But i did have 1 or 2 jointys so 2nite will be a tester as i can't smoke, got to learn for a test. I told Wayne to come check out the site and add his 2 cents but it appears that he hasn't. This could be because he's already ignited a cyg and is now a little blog shy or he hasn't found time or has forgotten. I have my 6th sense telling me he snuck a little cygie in somewhere. Sorry wayne but you're gonna have to convince me that you're still on course.

The Challenge Begins

As of today, both Wayni and I have quit smoking. It will be the ultimate test of will! Who will hold out the longest? Hopefully both can kick the habit, but time can only tell. Wayni, who has attempted to quit on many an occasion, will be an outside bet but I too have succumbed to the pressure on a couple of quitting attempts.

Keep your browsers glued to spliffpolitics where you'll find all the news and updates about The Challenge.