Absorbed...

 

 Self-absorbed people like to one-up others. They don't like the focus being on anyone else's distress, projects, or goals.

If you tell a self-absorbed person what you have going on, they will tell you about something bigger they're experiencing or doing. This could be positive or negative. For example, if you tell them about your COVID vaccine symptoms, they will no doubt have had more severe symptoms. If you tell them about a craft project, they will tell you their plans to renovate their whole house. If you tell them about a success, they will tell you about a bigger one.

Self-absorbed people can run hot and cold.

Because self-absorbed people get very immersed in their feelings and endeavors, they can be inconsistent in their contact with their support people. They may want to talk to you often if they're excited and see you as an outlet for sharing that excitement. However, when they've moved on to another topic, they might move on to another person along with it.

If you're not fulfilling a particular need for them, such as a need for emotional support, they may all but disappear. They may become very interested in you if they sense you may help them with a goal but then go "off" you if that doesn't pan out, or a new person catches their attention and seems more valuable.

Sargramostim...

 

A new study suggests that Sargramostim, a medication often used to boost white blood cells after cancer treatments, is also effective in treating and improving memory in people with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease. This medication comprises of a natural human protein produced by recombinant DNA technology (yeast-derived rhu GM-CSF/Leukine®).

Thus, naturally increased levels of GM-CSF in people with rheumatoid arthritis may be one reason that they are protected from Alzheimer’s disease,” said Huntington Potter, PhD, director of the CU Alzheimer’s and Cognition Center, who together with Jonathan Woodcock, Timothy Boyd and collaborators carried out the new trial.

“Human GM-CSF is the active compound in the known human drug Sargramostim, and we are the first to study its effect on people with Alzheimer’s disease.”

Trigger...

 

Researchers at the Greifswald teaching hospital in northern Germany said  that they had discovered the cause of the unusual blood clotting found in some recipients of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine.

The investigation showed how the vaccine caused rare thrombosis in the brain in a small number of patients.

The discovery means that targeted treatment can be offered to those who suffer similar clotting, using a very common medication.

The researchers emphasized that treatment would only be possible in patients where blood clots appear, rather than as a preventative treatment.

The information has been shared with hospitals around Europe.

Symptoms like continuous headache, dizziness or impaired vision lasting more than three days after vaccination need further medical check-ups, according to the German Research Association for Thrombosis and Hemostasis in a statement on the recent findings.

Wild Fire...

 

The opening night of the Democrats’ virtual convention was the beginning of a coronation for Joe Biden, but it was also a victory march for Andrew Cuomo, New York’s governor and a supposed hero of the coronavirus pandemic. “For all the pain and all the tears, our way worked,” Cuomo declared in his five-minute speech. “And it was beautiful.”

Beautiful” is an odd way to describe a virus that has killed more than 50,000 New Yorkers, or about 15 percent of the total number of Americans who have died from COVID-19. 

But Cuomo has long been a curious leader for Democrats to hold up as an emblem of successful leadership during the pandemic: He has somehow presided over the worst and deadliest coronavirus outbreak in the country while eluding the widespread criticism that has surrounded New York City’s Democratic mayor.

Cuomo’s initial response to the coronavirus outbreak was slow and mistake-filled. He initially balked at issuing stay-at-home orders while cases mounted and then ordered sick elderly patients out of hospitals and back to nursing homes, where the virus spread like wildfire. 

But to the unending frustration of Republicans, the governor’s buoyant image has been a study in the power of public communication to overshadow policy failures: Cuomo’s detailed, candid, and often weirdly funny daily briefings became appointment television for New Yorkers stuck in their homes and for a national cable audience transfixed by a leader who was tackling the crisis head-on.

Wreck...

 

Spreading...

 

Shameful Coda..

 

The report, commissioned by the global Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, is a shameful coda to the career of the late minister, whose books and radio programs have been a staple of evangelical Christian media for decades. 

Zacharias died in May of cancer at age 74, after aggressively denying sexual misconduct allegations made in 2017 by Lori Anne Thompson, a former follower, and her husband and portraying the couple as extortionists. The report referred to the Thompsons’ case but said investigators did not have enough data to fully assess it.

While the report by Atlanta law firm Miller & Martin said it “did not find evidence that anyone within RZIM or on its Board knew that Mr. Zacharias had engaged in sexual misconduct,” details in the document showed multiple red flags. It said several staffers were punished after raising questions about Zacharias traveling with a masseuse or spending weeks alone in Asia. It said RZIM didn’t investigate the 2017 allegations  despite the case making worldwide news.

There is no Saint without a past, no dinner without a future. Just a thought.

Surge...

 

Stressors...

 

The researchers found that people who reported experiencing no stressors were more likely to experience better daily well-being and fewer chronic health conditions. However, they were also more likely to have lower cognitive function, as well.

David M. Almeida, professor of human development at Penn State, said the study suggests that small, daily stressors could potentially benefit the brain, despite being an inconvenience.

“It’s possible that experiencing stressors creates opportunities for you to solve a problem, for example, maybe fixing your computer that has suddenly broken down before an important Zoom meeting.” “So experiencing these stressors may not be pleasant but they may force you to solve a problem, and this might actually be good for cognitive functioning, especially as we grow older.”

According to the researchers, a large number of previous studies have linked stress with a greater risk for many negative outcomes, like chronic illness or worse emotional wellbeing. But Almeida said that while it may make sense to believe that the less stress someone experiences the more healthy they will be, he said little research has explored that assumption.

Idiotic...

 

Shootings are soaring, but Mayor Bill de Blasio figures sending cops to knock on citizens’ doors and lecture them about their hateful speech is a wise move.

This was de Blasio’s idea of how to react to the horrific massacre in Atlanta: Officers can prevent anti-Asian attacks if they show up at the doors of people accused of hate speech. It is “perfectly appropriate” for officers to “confront” people for actions “not rising to a criminal level,” he said; the warnings could have an “educating” and “sobering impact” on potential future criminals.

De Blasio made a huge deal about having had “the talk” with his black son about fearing cops and regularly slams supposed NYPD excesses. Yet now he wants the same officers to become conflict mitigators and social judges?