Cape Karen
Have you noticed the noise in your neighborhood yet? It's not new, but it's proliferating at an alarming rate in many communities around the country. It's the noise of boom cars. Boom cars are usually driven by young males who want to impress their friends. You can hear them coming from as far as two blocks away and, when they pass your home, the walls and floors actually vibrate from the percussion of their deep bass beats repeating over and over and over again: "Ka-thump, Ka-thump, Ka-thump-thump-thump-thump." Sometimes these vibrations will go right through your body, like a electric shock.
As if that weren't bad enough, these same drivers are installing glass packs in their mufflers, ramping-up their boom box music and amplifying their engines to sound like freight trains coming down the track. Combined, the noise these vehicles are able to generate is simply unreal! Some communties are doing something about it, by increasing their local noise ordinances and enforcing the law, but many haven't caught-up with this peace-disturbing menace, so nothing is being done to discourage or stop it. And, that's the case here.
Everyday, hundreds and hundreds of these irritating boom cars are going past our house, at all hours of the day and night, leaving nerves shattered in their wake. "Aggravating" isn't the word for it... it's enough to make you want to kill someone. And that's what happened recently in Georgia - a neighbor, fed-up and frustrated by the incessant noise from a boom car, went outside one night and shot the driver dead. (No... I'm not ready to do that YET, but I sure can understand his frustration!)
If you had a neighbor who was having loud parties every night, the local police could come and shut them down for disturbing the peace. But when it's boom cars going by, they do nothing. Even if you called them, the vehicle(s) would be long gone by the time they got there. And, because it's just a misdemeanor, a "nuisance," they probably wouldn't even bother to come out. Actually, this boom car noise isn't 'just a nuisance,' it's a very real health threat to those exposed to it. Also, the noise generated inside these boom cars prevents the drivers from hearing the sirens of approaching emergency vehicles - so they are also a danger to medical personnel and law enforcement when responding to an accident or other emergency. (It has also been found that these drivers are often the same drivers frequently picked-up for causing accidents, having multiple DUI's and drug offenses and driving on revoked licenses.)
So, what is one to do? Move, you say? Well, why should innocent people, doing no harm to anyone, be forced to move out of their homes, with all the expense and disruption entailed, just because a bunch of juveniles (many of whom are illegal aliens) are being allowed to pollute the neighborhood with their loud boom cars full of expensive equipment? That makes absolutely no sense at all. Just as a matter of principle, it's the wrong solution. The right solution would be for the police to enforce local noise ordinances.
So, I'm going on a crusade! I'm going to "bug" my local law enforcement... the "Keystone Cops" in Pigeon Poop, TN. I think I'll start by picking up the phone and calling them each and every time a loud, annoying boom car goes by my house. I'll just say, "Hello - Karen here - another boom car just went by and shattered my nerves...." and then I'll hang up. I'll have to do that hundreds of times a day, seven days a week, and even into the wee hours of the mornings. Every time one of these annoying cars disturbs me, I'll disturb them; maybe then they'll start stopping them!
It's a better idea than grabbing one of Frank's rifles and shooting them dead... don'cha think?
This from: www.lowertheboom.org
"Boom cars, with their high-intensity/low-frequency sounds and infrasound, are a known stressor that can lead to specific, negative events in the body. Within a few seconds of being in contact with their offensive noise the body sets off it's fight-or-flight adrenaline response. Impulses from the brain trigger the autonomic nervous system, which sets off the general stress response. As a result, glandular, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and musculoskeletal systems are then affected.
When the body encounters loud noise, the brain instantly sends a message to the adrenal glands, which quickly release epinephrine (adrenaline). Within moments, this chemical has the entire body on alert. The heart beats more rapidly and with more force. The pupils dilate to allow more light to come into the eyes. Breathing increases. The digestive system slows, allowing more blood to go into the muscles.
The muscles tense. Blood pressure increases. Increased sugar, cholesterol, and adrenaline are then released into the bloodstream. Peripheral blood vessels constrict. Increased activity related to gastric ulcer formation occurs. Subjective responses to such noise, such as irritability and mood changes, can alter one's immune system and lead to chronic illness."
When was the last time you ordered a pizza? How about that fast food you love so much at Taco Bell? Do you have a favorite "authentic" Mexican restaurant you like to frequent? Or, are you a vegan who eats no meat or dairy products, so you don't worry much about contaminated foods (like us meat-eaters) causing you ill effects? Well, you just might want to read this if any of that is the case.
It used to be that warnings against various illnesses and infections, caused by unsanitary conditions or uncooked foods, were restricted to people traveling to and from third world countries. However, as more and more people have moved to the U.S. from various third world countries, there has been a marked increase in our emergency rooms of people coming in with unexplained seizures and other confusing symptoms. This was first noticed in California and Arizona, but now it has spread all the way to the East coast, and is occurring in many communities throughout the country.
A case in New York's Jewish community drew a great deal of attention a few years ago, and gave investigators their first real lead on the cause of these unexplained seizures. A 14 year-old orthodox Jewish boy, suffering from seizures, was found to have a tapeworm infection called, "cysticercosis." These particular tapeworms only come from infected pork. BUT... this family didn't eat pork, as it was against their religion. Then others, in the same Jewish community, also began presenting with these unexplained seizures ~ and the search was on!
To make a long story short - it was found, after the Center for Disease Control (CDC) conducted home interviews with the families affected, that all of these families employed domestic help from Mexico. Their tapeworm infestation did not come from uncooked pork at all, it came from infected household help who hadn't properly washed their hands before handling their food. These workers were unknowingly depositing the egg larvae right into their foods and onto other surfaces in their homes. The household workers did not know they were infected, anymore than we will know if we get infected, because the infestation had happened years ago, in their home country, from eating contaminated pork. Many Mexicans in the country today are silent carriers.
It is now believed that thousands of illnesses, and even some deaths, have unknowingly been caused by cysticercosis. It has often been misdiagnosed, and therefore untreated, and the brain cysts, seen by MRI, were thought to be brain tumors. That was the case of the Jewish boy, until his blood was tested. Those of us in the U.S. who have been infected without knowing it are what they call, "dead-end hosts." (How thrilling!)
"When humans ingest eggs, through fecal-oral transmission or possibly through autoinfection, they become dead-end hosts of the larval stage of the parasite and develop cysticercosis. Fecal-oral contamination usually occurs viá infected food handlers who do not appropriately wash their hands before working, or by fruit and vegetables fertilized with contaminated human waste." © 2007 The American Academy of Family Physicians
Nope. You don't have to eat contaminated pork to get this particular tapeworm anymore - it can now happen from just eating a meal out, eating a pizza made by someone infected or ingesting eggs that got on your hands from touching a contaminated surface. With so many people coming into the U.S. these days without being screened for parasitic infections or other diseases, we all need to take whatever precautions we can to avoid contamination, while trying not to become paranoid!
I don't know about you, but since learning of this, I'm not about to eat at Mexican restaurants, nor will I hire foreign workers from third world countries as domestic workers in my home. And, I think I'll start scrubbing my fruits and vegetables, that could have been fertilized with contaminated human waste or handled by infected farm workers, with some good,old hydrogen peroxide - just in case!
Q & A:
Can this infection be spread from person to person?
No. Not from coughing or sneezing, for example. However, a person who is infected with the intestinal tapeworm stage of the infection (T. solium) will shed tapeworm eggs in their bowel movements. Those tapeworm eggs, deposited in food or on other surfaces, and swallowed, can cause this infection.
What are the symptoms of cysticercosis?
There are none until the parasite eggs develop into cysts which eventually enter the brain, eyes, muscles and other organs. Headaches, seizures, muscle aches and other pains can manifest, depending on how many cysts are present. Seizures are often the first symptom that something is wrong.
Should I be tested for an intestinal tapeworm infection?
Yes. Family members should also be tested. Because the tapeworm infection can be difficult to diagnose by blood tests alone, your health care provider may ask you to submit several stool specimens over several days to examine them for evidence of tapeworms.
How can I prevent cysticercosis and other disease causing germs?
* Avoid eating raw or undercooked pork and other meats.
* Don’t eat ham that comes from pigs that are likely to be infected.
* Wash your hands with soap and water after using the toilet and before handling food, especially when traveling in developing countries.
* Wash and peel all raw vegetables and fruits before eating.
* Drink only bottled or boiled (1 minute) water, or carbonated drinks in cans and bottles. Do not drink fast-food machine fountain drinks or any drinks with ice cubes. Another way to make your water safe is by filtering it through an "absolute 1 micron or less" filter AND dissolving iodine tablets in the filtered water. ("Absolute 1 micron" filters can be found in camping/outdoor supply stores.)