February 2006 Archives

First, she calls of the engagement, now Sheryl Crow has found out that she has breast cancer. Could she have a more difficult couple of weeks?

Sheryl Crow Treated for Breast Cancer

February 24, 2006

"The Insider"'s MARC MALKIN has confirmed to ET that SHERYL CROW underwent surgery for minimally invasive breast cancer on Wednesday. A spokesperson for Crow says that doctors confirm her prognosis as excellent and that she will receive radiation treatment as a precaution. Crow's spokesperson added that, "with much regret, she must postpone her complete tour of North America which was scheduled for March/April," but that it is her "intention to reschedule as much of the tour as reasonably possible."

A statement from Crow reads:

"Approximately 1 in 7 American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime and more than 2 million Americans are living with breast cancer today. I am joining the more than 200,000 women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year.

We are a testament to the importance of early detection and new treatments. I encourage all women everywhere to advocate for themselves and for their future. ­ See your doctor and be proactive about your health.

More than 10 million Americans are living with cancer, and they demonstrate the ever-increasing possibility of living beyond cancer. I am inspired by the brave women who have faced this battle before me and grateful for the support of family and friends."

Just over two weeks ago, the 44-year-old singer and seven-time Tour de France bicycling champion LANCE ARMSTRONG announced their surprise split. The two became engaged in September, 2005.

For assistance to help survivors face the everyday physical, emotional and practical challenges of cancer through education, qualified referrals and counseling services, Sheryl recommends calling LIVESTRONG SurvivorCare at 1-866-235-7205.

---

Sheryl, I still love ya, and am wishing you the best through all of these trying times!

See... being an anti-morning person might not be a bad thing... Follows is an article from a Health Site:

Why it's not a great idea to get out of bed in a hurry
BY SAM LISTER, HEALTH CORRESPONDENT

GETTING up in the morning is the first, and for many people, the most perilous moment of the day. You can sprain an ankle on the stairs, scald a hand while making tea or be floored in an ungainly tussle with your underwear.

But according to researchers, grogginess after waking should be treated more seriously for how it impairs thinking and memory skills — and the implications for doctors, firefighters and other staff roused straight into action upon waking.

A study by scientists at the University of Colorado suggests that the performance of people immediately after waking is as bad as, or worse, than if they were drunk.

The research showed that short-term memory, counting skills and cognitive abilities were impaired in the groggy period, known as sleep inertia.

The performance was found to be significantly worse in people who had just woken up after eight hours’ sleep than those who had been awake for more than 24 hours.

The most severe effects were seen in participants within the first three minutes of waking and generally appeared to dissipate within the first ten minutes. However, the authors said that the impairments could be detected for up to two hours.

Kenneth Wright, an assistant professor at Colorado university, said that the study had implications for medical, safety and transport workers.

He added that it also illuminated the challenges faced by anyone who was forced to make crucial decisions after an abrupt awakening. “If a person is awakened suddenly, by a fire alarm for example, motivation alone may be insufficient to overcome the effects of sleep inertia,” he said.

Dr Wright added that cognitive deficiencies after 24 hours of sleep deprivation had previously been shown to equate to the effects of alcohol intoxication. The study, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, is the first to quantify the effects of sleep inertia. “The cognitive skills of subjects were worse upon awakening than after extended sleep deprivation. For a short period, at least, the effects of sleep inertia may be as bad as or worse than being legally drunk,” Dr Wright said.

A morning alarm they didn't need

ONE memorable image of 1997 was a groggy Cherie Blair in her nightie accepting flowers the morning after Labour had ended 18 years of Conservative rule.

At 6.07am on May 29, 2002, Andrew Gilligan said on the Today programme that the Government “probably” knew that its claim on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction was wrong. It led to the Hutton inquiry, the downfall of the Director-General and the Chairman of the BBC and Mr Gilligan’s departure.

Francis Joyon, the French sailor, had set a record last year for fastest solo Atlantic crossing when he nodded off as he neared home. His £500,000 trimaran ploughed into rocks and was destroyed.

In 1992 Pandora Maxwell was angry at two suited men who woke her up at her London home. She threatened to call the police. They were the police and had come to arrest her husband, Kevin, Britain’s biggest bankrupt.

Well, this year's Superbowl wasn't all that exciting, to me... I guess since I wanted Seattle to win (they haven't done it before), and since I wanted Pittsburg NOT to win (now they've tied the Cowboys and 49ers with 5 wins), I wasn't particularly enthusiastic.

Ant this year's commercials weren't all that great either...

The Bud Light being stolen from the guy being attacked by a bear was OK. The one with the "streaking sheep" was pretty funny, too. But, I guess I'd say the Caveman/Fed Ex commercial was my favorite... see it below:

I just took the time and did it all... no more delaying it,no more problems... they're all back in... Reflections is complete again.

My next steps will be to set the template close to what it was... or possibly re-do the whole thing anyway. Then, I'll start some "now" posting... and then I'll probably look to fillin in the gaps from September through February.

Hang in there!

Ugh... this is grueling!!! I spent at least 4 hours tonight copying and pasting old entries into the new install of MT 3.2, and that's not including a couple of hours last night... ... and after all of that... ... I'm half done!!!

Ugh!!!

It has been interesting going back through all of what I've been through, though. But it still sucks having to re-enter all of it!!!

But, there could be some good news... since I have no way of getting my templates back from the old install, then I'll probably be doing some slight updating of the "Reflections" pages. At least it can be interesting... but that won't happen until after everything has been re-keyed.

And then, I can do some new posts again!!!!

I haven't posted an entry here since September! Sometime shortly after that, MT upgraded to 3.2, and in the upgrade process, my databases somehow became corrupted. I didn't lose everything, but I sure wish I had exported a backup.

So, for at least a while, I'll be cutting and pasting old entries into Reflections, until they're all back in place... and then I'll get back to writing about what's going on...

.. but since September... I've got lots of catching up to do!!!

Hopefully the re-entry won't take too long... but in the meantime... this is still a work back in progress...