What A Week It Has Been

My web site was down most of last week and I ended up moving it to a much more reliable server. It is back up now, so if you attempted to get to it but couldn't, try again, at MomBom's Web Design. I have been making some changes and added a few things, and will be making a lot of changes this week as I sort out all the web design links I have collected.

- Lucy

URBAN LEGENDS REFERENCE PAGES

http://www.snopes.com/

Claim: The FDA has announced that drug products containing PPA (phenylpropanolamine) should be avoided due to the possibility they may cause strokes.
Status: True.
Origins: On 6 November 2000, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning that phenylpropanolamine, an ingredient found in many over-the-counter cold medications and diet aids, may cause strokes and thus should be avoided.

The FDA is taking steps to ban the substance completely. However, because that process will take months to complete, in the meantime the agency is asking drug manufacturers to voluntarily stop selling products that contain PPA and to provide safer alternatives.

According to the FDA, "Although the risk of hemorrhagic stroke is very low, FDA recommends that consumers not use any products that contain PPA."

Consumers are being asked to seek non-PPA alternatives to products they are using. Drugmakers have been asked to stop putting PPA into their products and to refrain from marketing the ones already produced. Health Canada is following the FDA's lead, asking consumers to eschew the drug and stores to stop selling products containing it.

The FDA is answering PPA questions toll-free at (888) INFO-FDA. A direct line, although it is not toll-free, is (301) 827-4570.

The FDA warning comes as a result of a May 2000 study conducted at Yale University School of Medicine. The Hemorrhagic Stroke Project found PPA increases the risk of hemorrhagic stroke, a type of stroke characterized by bleeding in the brain.

In October 2000, an FDA advisory committee confirmed the findings in the Yale study. The Yale study, published by The New England Journal of Medicine, suggested that PPA could raise the risk of stroke, even in young people aged 18 to 49.

The FDA advises that you go through your medicine cabinets, paying special attention to cold remedies and diet aids, and discard any medications that list phenylpropanolamine as one of their ingredients.

http://www.snopes.com/toxins/ppa.htm

Phenylpropanolamine (PPA) Information Page
http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/ppa/default.htm

Questions and Answers
Safety of Phenylpropanolamine
http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/ppa/qa.htm

- Sent by several subscribers

TOP TWELVE NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS MADE BY PETS

• 12. Have a torrid one-night stand with a street mutt.
• 11. Try to understand that the cat is from Venus and I am from Mars.
• 10. I will no longer be beholden to the sound of the can opener.
• 9. Circulate petition that Leg Humping be a juried competition in major dog shows.
• 8. Call PETA and tell them what that surgical mask-wearing freak does to us when no one is around.
• 7. Take time from busy schedule to stop and smell the behinds.
• 6. Hamster: Don't let them figure out I'm just a rat on 'roids, or they'll flush my ass.
• 5. Always scoot before licking.
• 4. Grow opposable thumb; break into pantry; decide for MYSELF how much food is *too* much.
• 3. Get out of the castle more, maybe swim counter-clockwise this year.
• 2. January 1st: Kill the sock! Must kill the sock! January 2nd - December 31: Re-live victory over the sock.

AND the Number 1 New Year's Resolutions Made by Pets...
• 1. I will NOT chase the damned stick unless I see it LEAVE HIS HAND.

THINGS I WISH I'D KNOWN BEFORE I WENT OUT IN THE REAL WORLD

• 1. Any and all compliments can be handled by simply saying "Thank you" though it helps if you say it with a Southern accent.
• 2. Some people are working backstage, some are playing in the orchestra, some are onstage singing, some are in the audience as critics and some are there to applaud. Know who and where you are.
• 3. Never give yourself a haircut after three margaritas.
• 4. When baking, follow directions. When cooking, go by your own taste.
• 5. Never continue dating anyone who is rude to the waiter.
• 6. Good sex should involve laughter. Because it's, you know, funny.
• 7. You need only two tools. WD-40 and duct tape. If it doesn't move and it should, use WD-40. If it moves and shouldn't, use the tape.
• 8. If you tell a lie, don't believe it deceives only the other person.
• 9. The five most essential words for a healthy, vital relationship: "I apologize" and "You are right".
• 10. Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.
• 11. When you make a mistake, make amends immediately. It's easier to eat crow while it's still warm.
• 12. The only really good advice that my mother ever gave me was "Go! You might meet somebody!"
• 13. If he says that you are too good for him-believe him.
• 14. I've learned to pick my battles; I ask myself, Will this matter one year from now? How about one month? One week? One day?
• 15. At hard times I ask myself, "How do I feel? What do I want?" I use it whenever I'm at loss for words or thoughts.
• 16. Never pass up an opportunity to pee.
• 17. If you woke up breathing, congratulations! You have another chance!
• 18. If you move far from your family when you're young, consider choosing a career with an airline. Your need to see your family will last a lifetime, as will your travel benefits.
• 19. Living well really is the best revenge. Being miserable because of a bad or former relationship just proves that the other person was right about you.
• 20. Be really nice to your friends because you never know when you are going to need them to empty your bed urinal and hold your hand.
• 21. Work is good, but it's not that important.
• 22. Never underestimate the kindness of your fellow man.
• 23. And finally... Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect, it just means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections.

IN THE ARMY

A young naval student was being put through the paces by an old sea-captain. "What would you do if a sudden storm sprang up on the starboard?"

"Throw out an anchor, sir."

"What would you do if another storm sprang up aft?"

"Throw out another anchor, sir."

"And if another terrific storm sprang up forward, what would you do?"

"Throw out another anchor."

"Hold on," said the Captain, "where are you getting all your anchors from?"

"From the same place you're getting your storms, sir."

A Couple Shorties

A drunken man gets on the bus late one night, staggers up the aisle, and sits next to an elderly woman.

She looks the man up and down and says, I've got news for you. "You're going straight to hell!"

The man jumps up out of his seat and shouts, "Dammmmmn, I'm on the wrong bus!"

Jill: Did you make any new year's resolutions?

Mary: Nope! I'm gonna use the same ones I made last year.

Jill: You can't do that!

Mary: Why not? I never used them; they're just like brand new!

The MAN Song

This has got to be one of the funniest things I have found on the Net. I laughed so hard listening to this that the tears were rolling down my cheeks. You gotta see and hear this one - The MAN Song.

The MAN Song at Jill's Joke Line

WHO YA VOTIN FOR

Two farmers at the feed store were discussing the local election for tax collector.

One of the candidates was named Harkins, who was also the operator of the drawbridge over the local river.

"You gonna vote for Harkins?" the first farmer asked.

"No, I don't think so," the other replied.

"Why not?" the first farmer asked.

"Well, you remember that prize bull I used to have? One day I looked in the barn and there's that bull lying down actin' strange. So I asked the vet and he gave me some medicine, and he said it had to be put in the bull's rectum.

"I took the medicine home but I couldn't find a funnel. So I seen this old army bugle hangin' on a nail in the barn and I used that.

"Only problem was that before I could get that bugle out, my bull passed some gas and made a loud toot on that bugle.

"Well sir, that scairt my bull somethin' awful and he busted out of the stall, made another toot, then busted through the fence and went runnin' down the road.

"He went down the road, runnin' and tootin' towards the bridge that Harkins runs. That fool old man opened the bridge, and my bull ran across it, fell in the river and drowned.

"Now," the farmer said, "Do you think I could vote for a man that's run that bridge for years but don't know the difference between a boat whistle and a bull blowin' a bugle out his rear?"

Cool Sites Worth a Visit

DESCRIPTION: Welcome to PBS Kids Online. With thousands of pages to explore, you'll have loads of learning fun. Find over 50 games or send us a joke in Fun and Games, create an interactive story or write us a letter in Babble On, or uncover facts and backstage secrets in Did You Know?. PBS Kids also hosts web sites for all of your favorite characters, like Arthur, Barney, Zoboo- mafoo, and ZOOM. --- We recognize that the Internet can be a po- werful tool for learning and skill development, so our sites are designed with specific educational goals in mind.
PUBLISHER: PBS: Public Broadcasting Service, Alexandria, VA, USA.

http://www.pbs.org/kids/

DESCRIPTION: Mission Statement: To provide free, to the general public, a concise and user-friendly weather web site that pulls together the most valuable and frequently accessed weather data on the Internet.
PUBLISHER: Live Weather Images, Burse Business Group, Lebanon, OH, USA.

http://weatherimages.org/

First Wedding

A little boy was attending his first wedding. After the service, his cousin asked him, "How many women can a man marry?"

"Sixteen," the boy responded.

His cousin was amazed that he knew the answer so quickly. "How did you know that?"

"Easy," the little boy said. "All you have to do is add it up, like the preacher said: 'Four better, four worse, four richer, four poorer.' "