Yesterday an email arrived, a posting to one of the lists I belong to, in which the writer referred to a SWOT analysis being helpful to her business pursuits. A quick Google showed me that this stands for “Strengths – Weaknesses – Opportunities – Threats.” Basically, you set up a two-by-two grid:

Then you take a look at both Strengths/Opportunities to find new directions to move into, and Weaknesses/Threats to develop protective strategies. You can do this on a personal level as well as business, although business is my focus this weekend.

I throw this idea out there because we aren’t all quite as prescient as our biscuit, who knows what’s going to happen and can plan for it without too much effort. I just have vague forebodings of bad things coming down the pike, and I need to have plans in place.

My house is in a state of complete chaos. This chaos perfectly reflects my state of mind. The simple truth is, I’m very alarmed by a convergence of two events, the economic collapse and the firing of my boss, so much so that, several times over the past few weeks, I’ve been overcome by panic attacks.

Panic attacks are a longstanding problem of mine, a problem that once crippled me but that, I’m proud to say, I overcame without the help of pharmaceuticals.

One of the problems with panic attacks is that the anxiety is often rooted in “truth,” as is the case now.

And the same is true now. There really is an economic crisis. Stephen Roach was absolutely correct when, way back in 2003 or 2004, he predicted Economic Armageddon. My boss did get fired, and even though they fired him for good reason, this has rattled me to my very soul. So there is more than a little rationale for my panic.

Even worse, though, my house is in complete chaos because all my free time has been devoted to painting or preparing to paint or thinking about painting. And chaotic places make my mind chaotic.

I’m far from a neat and tidy person, but when I know important things – like paying property taxes and electric bills – aren’t getting done because the bills themselves are buried beneath a pile of books and student papers and coupons I might use and old shoes and small paintings I was supposed to return to someone three years ago and unanswered letters and unopened notices and invitations, I get minor panic attacks. In real life, some people get upset because, these days, I tend to just charge ahead and do things instead of endlessly debating the details. But I do that because it’s my experience otherwise, nothing gets done, and when nothing gets done, I have a panic attack.

And that is, in fact, part of the solution for my current problem of daily panic attacks. I need to simply do the best I can to forestall possible disaster. This means, first of all, I really need to preserve my job because, without my job, I will lose this house, and I love this house.

Second, I need to make my environment as peaceful as possible. The only way to make it as peaceful as possible is to, first, make sure I’ve gotten everything done I need to get done (paying bills, notifying people, answering important mail) and, second, to clean the house.

There are a lot of other things I need to do — I need to return to my old habit of allowing myself the time to meditate and space out, I need to spend time staring at the ceiling and out the windows, and wandering around the park — but these are my reliable starts. These are the steps that helped me overcome panic attacks in the past, even in the face of the very real bases for the panic attacks.

But no one, except for us, visits here, unless a thief who posts my thoughts on another site, and can not be kept from doing so until it is too late. Not good.

I am just telling everyone here, as of now that I will no longer post nor crosspost here. It takes too much effort, for too little gain. I have enjoyed all four of your comments, but I have limited time.

I am very sorry that the traitor Assinus screwed this site, and I never even click his posts on Kos, let alone rec them.

This site, as a very sad fact, is about withered away, and I have more important things to do.

I cherish each of you as individuals, but no longer will post here. You are welcome to visit my posts on Kos, which are always tilted towards your interstes.

I am sorry to be so harsh, but in reality, very few view this site. It could get more, but not like this.

I consider each of you to be friends, but this site just does not get any traffic.

If anyone wants to chew me out, my telephone number is 859 626 5029. On the other hand, you may call to brainstorm to talk about how to get more traffic.

Please do not think of this as a rejection, nor a mean comment, just as a real one.

Warmest regards,

Doc

[...] “consumption of seven or more eggs a week pushed up the chances of dying from any cause by 23 per cent”. It says that this latest research could re-open the debate about how many eggs are safe to eat, just when it seemed clear that it was safe to consume them.

So much for my fortifying myself before a long day at work with two eggs cooked in olive oil.

Shit!!!

This was a prospective cohort study of 21,327 men who took part in the Physicians’ Health Study. This study was a randomised controlled trial which began in 1981. It was designed to test whether low-dose aspirin and beta-carotene, an anti-oxidant supplement, could prevent heart disease, stroke or cancer among US male doctors. Only those aged between 40 and 85 years old were invited to enter the trial. Participants also had to be healthy, without previous illnesses such as stroke, warning stroke, heart attack, ulcers, gout or cancer.

As part of this large study, all participants were asked to give details of how many eggs they ate using a simple, short questionnaire. They were asked to estimate their average egg consumption during the past year five times throughout the study, which ran for over 20 years. Their answers were recorded as: rarely or never, one to two times a month, once a week, two to four times a week, five to six times a week, daily and more than twice a day. They were also asked similar questions about other food groups, including vegetables and breakfast cereals.

[...]

Over the course of the study 1,550 new heart attacks, 1,342 first strokes and 5,169 deaths occurred.

The researchers report that egg consumption was not associated with first heart attack or first stroke in their models. However, in contrast, there was an association with overall mortality: those who ate more eggs were at greater risk.

The highest risk was in the men who ate more than seven eggs a week. They were 23% more likely to die of any cause than those who ate fewer than one. Any small increases in mortality in those men who ate one to six eggs a week were not significant.

Good thing I got the oatmeal out of the freezer.

Take some beef, lamb, or whatever you like. Venison is good, too. Cut it into about half inch pieces.

Take some flouer and season it with salt and pepper, and dredge the meat thougth it.

Then brown it in hot fat.

Then cook it with broth and vegebles.

Warmest regards, Doc.

Take some bacon, and fry or microwave it. Three or four slices are sufficient. Put them aside.

Take an egg, and fry it gently, just breaking the yolk and letting it get done in the pan with a bit of bacon grease.

Take two sliceces of bread, (whole wheat is best) and toast it whilst the egg cooks.

Now, take some lettuce and fresh tomato and, after the mayonaisse or salad dressing (depending on your preference) is depostited, put the lettuce one one picece of bread, and the tomato on the other. Then add the bacon on one side, and a piece of American cheese on the hot side. Some salt and pepper, and now you have a frog sandwich.

Warmest regards,

Doc

If the folks that have put their hearts into this site for a while to support me for a month or two, I will not dissapoint you.

But I can not do it my myself. I will say this: I will not just abandanon you, like someone did.

I will take this upfront, and post more important things on Kos, and ask that you do the same, and show the crossposts.

Are you with me? This site is too important to let die, and I am sort of pissed at the couple of folks who left us out to dry. I am going to get to bed, but will post a diary first. You can count on me for several per day, but I want several per day out of you, and for you to get at least two or three folks to contribute here every day.

If we do not, just close the page and forget it. Your temporary leading writer, Doc.

Doc

Mwalla.

*hat tip to Shasha at Hen and Harvest who appears to be starting a pantry series. Be sure to bookmark!

So here it is: Cities are for People: The Limits of Localism