Naica Mine

This is the crystal cave of giants found in the Naica Mine, Chihuahua, Mexico.

These are Selenite crystals (gypsum) and are the largest crystals ever discovered. They are 1000 feet down in a limestone host rock where they are mining for lead, zinc and silver.

These crystals were formed by hydrothermal fluids emanating from the magma chambers below. The miners had to drill through the Naica fault, which they were worried would flood the mine, and this is what they discovered.

Click on the image for a larger one! Impressive!

World AIDS Day

The 1st of December, World AIDS Day, is the day when individuals and organizations from around the world come together to bring attention to the global AIDS epidemic. This year, 2020 marks the 32nd anniversary of World AIDS Day. Whilst we have come a long ways since 1988, there is still much more to be done.

What is HIV?

HIV is a virus that attacks the body's immune system - the body's defence against diseases. The latest research suggests that between 70 and 90 per cent of people may experience symptoms of infection a few days after having been infected. Three symptoms occurring together: fever, rash and a severe sore throat should always be considered a potential indicator of HIV infection. These symptoms usually disappear within two or three weeks. Other people may not have symptoms to start with. In all cases, without effective treatment the immune system will eventually become very weak and no longer be able to fight off illnesses.

Are HIV and AIDS the same?

No. When someone is described as living with HIV, they have the HIV virus in their body. A person is considered to have developed AIDS when the immune system is so weak it can no longer fight off a range of diseases with which it would normally cope.

I don't know anyone with HIV... do I?

At the end of 2005 there were an estimated 58,000 people in Canada living with HIV - up from 50,000 in 2002. Of these, around 30% were unaware of their infection. It is estimated that between 2,300 and 4,500 new HIV infections occur in Canada each year, though many of these are not reported right away.

From the start of testing in November 1985 until the end of June 2007, there have been 63,604 positive HIV tests reported to CIDPC (Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control). In 2006, there were 2,557 positive test results. This figure includes some persons not featured in the table below since they were under 15years old; their gender was not reported; or they were reported as transgender.

Is there a cure for HIV?

No, but treatment can keep the virus under control and the immune system healthy. People on HIV treatment can live a healthy, active life, although they may experience side effects from the treatment. If HIV is diagnosed late, treatment may be less effective in preventing AIDS.

What's it like living with HIV?

If people with HIV are diagnosed early and respond to treatment they can be healthy, work and have relationships like anyone else and have a long life expectancy.

Coming to terms with an HIV diagnosis and getting used to treatment can be very difficult however, and people living with HIV will often need support from healthcare providers, friends and family, employers and support organizations.

Why do people find it hard to tell others they are HIV positive?

People living with HIV may find it hard to tell others about their condition as they worry that people will reject them, or they will experience prejudice from friends, family and colleagues. People living with HIV can also experience discrimination in their workplace, in healthcare settings (e.g., GPs and dentists), from members of their local community and through the media.

HIV prejudice is often the result of ignorance about how HIV is passed on and unfounded fear of becoming infected. Encouraging those around us to talk about HIV and find out the facts can help overcome this.

In the period 1985-2001, the MSM category accounted for 62% of adult HIV diagnoses for which exposure category was reported. The equivalent proportion was 39% in 2006. MSM remains the largest single exposure category.

In recent years around a quarter of new adult HIV diagnoses have been among women. Nearly two thirds of the women diagnosed in 2006 with reported exposure category were probably infected through heterosexual contact.

Rate your doctor - be nice!

A cool site! Check out your doctor! Rate your doctor! Requires registration to add a rating -- but not to read! Click below:

Busy Picture - Lots Going On!

 

T’was a month before Christmas

T’was a month before Christmas,

And all through the town,

People wore masks,

That covered their frown.

 

The frown had begun

Way back in the Spring,

When a global pandemic

Changed everything.

 

They called it corona,

But unlike the beer,

It didn’t bring good times,

It didn’t bring cheer.

 

Contagious and deadly,

This virus spread fast,

Like a wildfire that starts

When fueled by gas.

 

Airplanes were grounded,

Travel was banned.

Borders were closed

Across air, sea and land.

 

As the world entered lockdown

To flatten the curve,

The economy halted,

And folks lost their verve.

 

From March to July

We rode the first wave,

People stayed home,

They tried to behave.

 

When summer emerged

The lockdown was lifted.

But away from caution,

Many folks drifted.

 

Now it’s November

And cases are spiking,

Wave two has arrived,

Much to our disliking.

 

Frontline workers,

Doctors and nurses,

Try to save people,

From riding in hearses.

 

This virus is awful,

This COVID-19.

There isn’t a cure.

There is no vaccine.

 

It’s true that this year

Has had sadness a plenty,

We’ll never forget

The year 2020.

 

And just ‘round the corner -

The holiday season,

But why be merry?

Is there even one reason?

 

To decorate the house

And put up the tree,

When no one will see it,

No-one but me.

 

But outside my window

The snow gently falls,

And I think to myself,

Let’s deck the halls!

 

So, I gather the ribbon,

The garland and bows,

As I play those old carols,

My happiness grows.

 

Christmas ain’t cancelled

And neither is hope.

If we lean on each other,

I know we can cope.

 

So for those staying home,

Safe out of sight,

Merry Christmas to ya all,

May it be extra bright!

 

~Author unknown

ALERT!!

There is a dangerous virus being passed around electronically, verbally, and by hand.

This virus is called Weary-Overload-Recreational-Killer (WORK).

If you receive WORK from any of your colleagues, your boss, or anyone else via any means, DO NOT TOUCH IT. This virus will wipe out your private life completely.

If you should come into contact with WORK, put on your jacket and take two good friends to the nearest liquor store. Purchase the antidote known as Work-Isolating-Neutralizer-Extract (WINE) or Bothersome-Employer-Elimination-Rebooter (BEER). Take the antidote repeatedly until WORK has been completely eliminated from your system.

Why We Love Children

1) NUDITY I was driving with my three young children one warm summer evening when a woman in the convertible ahead of us stood up and waved. She was stark naked! As I was reeling from the shock, I heard my 5 year old shout from the back seat, "Mom! That lady isn't wearing a seat belt!"

2) OPINIONS On the first day of school, a first-grader handed his teacher a note from his mother. The note read, "The opinions expressed by this child are not necessarily those of his parents."

3) KETCHUP A woman was trying hard to get the ketchup out of the bottle. During her struggle the phone rang so she asked her 4-year-old daughter to answer the phone. "Mommy can't come to the phone to talk to you right now. She's hitting the bottle."

4) MORE NUDITY A little boy got lost at the YMCA and found himself in the women's locker room. When he was spotted, the room burst into shrieks, with ladies grabbing towels and running for cover. The little boy watched in amazement and then asked, "What's the matter, haven't you ever seen a little boy before?"

5) POLICE # 1 While taking a routine vandalism report at an elementary school, I was interrupted by a little girl about 6 years old. Looking up and down at my uniform, she asked, "Are you a cop?" Yes," I answered and continued writing the report. "My mother said if I ever needed help I should ask the police. Is that right? "Yes, that's right," I told her. "Well, then, "she said as she extended her foot toward me, "would you please tie my shoe?"

6) POLICE # 2 It was the end of the day when I parked my police van in front of the station. As I gathered my equipment, my K-9 partner, Jake, was barking, and I saw a little boy staring in at me "Is that a dog you got back there?" he asked. "It sure is," I replied. Puzzled, the boy looked at me and then towards the back of the van. Finally he said," What'd he do?"

7) ELDERLY While working for an organization that delivers lunches to elderly shut-ins, I used to take my 4-year-old daughter on my afternoon rounds. She was unfailingly intrigued by the various appliances of old age, particularly the canes, walkers and wheelchairs. One day I found her staring at a pair of false teeth soaking in a glass. As I braced myself for the inevitable barrage of questions, she merely turned and whispered, "The tooth fairy will never believe this!"

8) DRESS-UP A little girl was watching her parents dress for a party. When she saw her dad donning his tuxedo, she warned, "Daddy, you shouldn't wear that suit." "And why not, darling?" "You know that it always gives you a headache the next morning. "

9) DEATH While walking along the sidewalk in front of his church, our minister heard the intoning of a prayer that nearly made his collar wilt. Apparently, his 5-year-old son and his playmates had found a dead robin. Feeling that proper burial should be performed, they had secured a small box and cotton batting, then dug a hole and made ready for the disposal of the deceased. The minister's son was chosen to say the appropriate prayers and with sonorous dignity intoned his version of what he thought his father always said: "Glory be unto the Faaaather, and unto the Sonnn, and into the hole he gooooes."

10) SCHOOL A little girl had just finished her first week of school. "I'm just wasting my time," she said to her mother. "I can't read, I can't write and they won't let me talk!"

11) BIBLE A little boy opened the big family Bible. He was fascinated as he fingered through the old pages. Suddenly, something fell out of the Bible. He picked up the object and looked at it. What he saw was an old leaf that had been pressed in between the pages "Mama, look what I found," the boy called out. "What have you got there, dear?" With astonishment in the young boy's voice, he answered, "I think it's Adam's underwear!"

Make A Difference

 

A really heartwarming movie.
Click above to watch it. Get out your kleenex!

Flash back...

 

Put your answer in the comments

Ooriginal meaning of a deck of playing cards

52 cards for 52 weeks in the year.

2 colours for day and night 

4 suits for the 4 seasons and  13 weeks per season.

Twelve court cards representing the 12 months.

If we add each of the cards (ace + ace + ace + ace + two + two + three + seven + eight ... and etc) of the game we will get 364.

The card game is an agricultural calendar that told us about the weeks and the seasons.

With each new season, it was King's week, followed by Queen's week, Jack's and so on until AS week changed seasons and we started over with a new colour.

Jokers were used in leap years.

And you, did you know it?

Thriving, Surviving, Struggling and In Crisis

 

The Love Doctor

  Dear Love Doctor,

My partner and I have lived together for four years now and we hardly ever argue about anything - except money.

We both earn about the same salary, but we disagree about how to save and what to spend it on.

I think it's important to think about our old age and try and put as much to one side as possible.

He says we shouldn't worry about getting old and that we should enjoy ourselves while we can. We're both in out mid twenties and I think unless we start now we'll have trouble in store.

How do I get him to be realistic?

Signed,

Moneyman

Dear Money,

Well, you're dividing up the tasks of being coupled perfectly. He's being fatalistic and a spendthrift, while you take on the role of worrier and miser.

As long as you're both stuck in these roles the arguments will continue. It's a perfect example of how a couple can "play out" a problem instead of working it out.

There are all sorts of ways of changing the situation. The one I'm going to suggest is the easiest and at the same time the most difficult: One of you has to behave differently.

Even if that person has to do it with gritted teeth and a false smile plastered over their face!

That will let the other one feel less threatened and be capable of thinking and doing things differently as well.

Now, guess who got volunteered? That's right, you!

Few couples today, gay or straight, is preparing for the future. And, like it or not, the future will arrive all too quickly. Let's face it, CPP and Social Security are not going to let you shop the mall every day, let alone pay your rent or mortgage.

But, to be fixated on putting money away is just as dangerous. You have to reach a compromise.

Sit down with him and tell him "You're right! We need to budget money for fun things. We need to enjoy ourselves now! Lets work out how much we have and how much we can spend, but can we remember how anxious I get about saving and budget for that as well?"

Let him know that he's right and so are you. You both need to work together as a couple realize your full potential for looking after each other.

The Love Doctor

--Send your questions about love to "The Love Doctor" directly from 'OZ' - The 'Other' Side of the Rainbow! I have added an email link that goes direct to The Love Doctor - this will enable quicker responses from him. You can do this by clicking on his picture in the sidebar and put your question in the email. This will ensure that The Love Doctor gets your question. The Love Doctor forwards his replies to me for posting consideration. Note: Due to the high volume of letters that The Love Doctor receives, not all letters will be posted on 'OZ' - but the Love Doctor will reply to every email. (so he says)

R.I.P David Prowse (1935-2020)

British actor David Prowse, who played Darth Vader in the original "Star Wars" trilogy, has died aged 85, his management company announced Sunday.

Prowse died after a short illness, according to his agent Thomas Bowington. CNN reported in 2018 that Prowse was being treated for prostate cancer. 

 

"It's with great regret and heart-wrenching sadness for us and million of fans around the world, to announce that our client DAVE PROWSE M.B.E. has passed away at the age of 85," Bowington Management said on Twitter Sunday. 

 

 

Think about it - One for Saskamoon

Interesting....

This is a picture of a rock formation near a lake in Burma. The photo can only be taken on a specific day once a year when the sun rays touch the rocks at a certain angle. What do you see?

Tilt your head to the left and then look at it again....


Here the picture is switched to vertical:

Amazing eh? Ahhh... the power of Photoshop

Hmmmm

65,000 singing Bohemian Rhapsody

Before and After

Oh Hungry? Oh My!

When feeling very hungry, you should pay restaurant Waldgeist in Hofheim a visit. They will serve you the biggest Schnitzel. The plates in the following pictures are the size of a pizza-plate (!). This all for very affordable prices. Every table has rolls of alu-foil, ready to be used. Those that have to use the alu-foil are considered cowards. Drinks are, unless otherwise ordered, served in 2-litre glasses and their bestseller is “Der Bembel des Todes” a 5-litre glass filled with Bacardi-Cola for only 35 Euro.

And for those that are not too fond of Schnitzels - Why not try their sausage???

If you can‘t get to Hofheim then check out these burgers!

 

The LOST revelation of GILLIGAN'S ISLAND

Message of the day...

  

Let's Dance!

New Golf Shoes

 

An elderly gentleman went to the local drug store and asked the pharmacist for the little blue "Viagra" pill.

The pharmacist asked, "How many?"

The man replied, "Just a few, maybe a half dozen. I cut each one into four pieces.

The pharmacist said, "That's too small a dose. That won't get you through intimacy."

The old fellow said, "Oh, I'm past eighty years old and I don't even think about intimacy much anymore. I just want it to stick out far enough so I don't pee on my new golf shoes."

Two Types of YOGA

 

THE LOVE STORY OF RALPH AND EDNA

Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have. Ralph and Edna were both patients in a mental hospital. One day while they were walking past the hospital swimming pool, Ralph suddenly jumped into the deep end. He sank to the bottom of the pool and stayed there.

Edna promptly jumped in to save him. She swam to the bottom and pulled him out. When the Head Nurse Director became aware of Edna's heroic act she immediately ordered her to be discharged from the hospital, as she now considered her to be mentally stable.

When she went to tell Edna the news she said, "Edna, I have good news and bad news. The good news is you're being discharged, since you were able to rationally respond to a crisis by jumping in and saving the life of the person you love. I have concluded that your act displays sound mindedness. The bad news is, Ralph hung himself in the bathroom with his bathrobe belt right after you saved him. I am so sorry, but he's dead."

Edna replied, "He didn't hang himself, I put him there to dry. How soon can I go home?"

Canada's Drug Problem

The other day, someone at a store in town read that a methamphetamine lab had been found in an old farmhouse nearby. He asked me a rhetorical question, "Why didn't we have a drug problem when you and I were growing up?"
 
I replied: "I had a drug problem when I was young: I was drug to church on Sunday morning. I was drug to church for weddings and funerals.
 
I was drug to family reunions and community socials no matter the weather. I was drug by my ears when I was disrespectful to adults.
 
I was also drug to the woodshed when I disobeyed my parents, told a lie, brought home a bad report card, did not speak with respect to the teacher or the preacher; or if I didn't put forth my best effort in everything that was asked of me.
 
I was drug to the kitchen sink to have my mouth washed out with soap if I uttered a profane or four-letter word. I was drug out to pull weeds in mom's garden and flower beds and cockleburs out of dad's fields.
 
I was drug to the homes of family, friends and neighbors to help out some poor soul who had no one to mow the yard, repair the clothesline, or chop some firewood; and if my mother had know that I took a single dime as a tip, she would have drug me back to the woodshed.
 
Those drugs are still in my veins and they affect my behavior in everything I do, say and think. They are stronger than cocaine, crack or heroin; and, if today's children had this kind of drug problem, Canada would be a better place."

Does it work?

 

Seems Legit...

 

Medieval Humour in Architecture

 

Opinion on Opinions

 

Ancestral Mathematics

 

Can My Dog Eat This?

 

I Cannot/Can Control

 

Fido Dido - The Mind Reader

 

Click here. Uses Flash.

Kung Fu

Two kung-fu masters were carrying on about their respective skills. "Why, my reflexes are such that you will not believe," boasted Master Foo and drawing his sword, he sliced at a passing fly, which promptly dropped dead in two pieces.

"That's nothing," said Master Koh. Drawing his sword, he made two deft cuts at another passing fly.

Master Foo was highly amused. "What are you talking about?" he sneered. "That fly is still flying."

"Ah yes," replied Master Koh, "but now it can never have children."

Story of Two Houses

LOOK OVER THE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE FOLLOWING TWO HOUSES AND SEE IF YOU CAN TELL WHICH BELONGS TO AN ENVIRONMENTALIST.

HOUSE # 1:

A 20-room mansion (not including 8 bathrooms) heated by natural gas. Add on a pool (and a pool house) and a separate guest house all heated by gas. In ONE MONTH ALONE this mansion consumes more energy than the average American household in an ENTIRE YEAR. The average bill for electricity and natural gas runs over $2,400.00 per month. In natural gas alone (which last time we checked was a fossil fuel), this property consumes more than 20 times the national average for an American home. This house is not in a northern or Midwestern "snow belt," either. It's in the South.


HOUSE # 2:

Designed by an architecture professor at a leading national university, this house incorporates every "green" feature current home construction can provide. The house contains only 4,000 square feet (4 bedrooms) and is nestled on arid high prairie in the American southwest. A central closet in the house holds geothermal heat pumps drawing ground water through pipes sunk 300 feet into the ground. The water (usually 67 degrees F.) heats the house in winter and cools it in summer. The system uses no fossil fuels such as oil or natural gas, and it consumes 25% of the electricity required for a conventional heating/cooling system. Rainwater from the roof is collected and funneled into a 25,000 gallon underground cistern. Wastewater from showers, sinks and toilets goes into underground purifying tanks and then into the cistern. The collected water then irrigates the land surrounding the house. Flowers and shrubs native to the area blend the property into the surrounding rural landscape.


HOUSE # 1 (20 room energy guzzling mansion) is outside of Nashville, Tennessee. It is the abode of that renowned environmentalist (and filmmaker) Al Gore.


HOUSE # 2 (model eco-friendly house) is on a ranch near Crawford, Texas. Also known as "the Texas White House," it was the private residence of the President of the United States, George W. Bush.


So whose house is gentler on the environment? Yet another story you WON'T hear on CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, MSNBC or read about in the New York Times or the Washington Post. Indeed, for Mr. Gore, it's truly "an inconvenient truth."

Ear Hair

My neighbour found out her dog could hardly hear so she took it to the veterinarian. He found that the problem was hair in its ears. He cleaned both ears and the dog could hear fine.

The vet then proceeded to tell the lady that if she wanted to keep this from reoccurring she should go to the store and get some "Nair" hair remover and rub it in the dog's ears once a month.

The lady goes to the drug store and gets some "Nair" hair remover. At the register the druggist tells her, "If you're going to use this under your arms don't use deodorant for a few days."

The lady says: "I'm not using it under my arms."

The druggist says: "If you're using it on your legs don't shave for a couple of days."

The lady says: "I'm not using it on my legs either. If you must know, I'm using it on my schnauzer."

The druggist says: "Stay off your bicycle for a week."

Cool Site O' The Day

I can't remember meeting anyone who did not like to pop those little bubbles in bubble wrap. Now you can squish away to your heart's content by clicking here. Uses flash.

New Stealth Fighter!