Exciting news in the mesothelioma world. There is a blood test for mesothelioma that has been developed.

Warren Zevon has malignant mesothelioma. He was diagnosed almost two years ago, so he's really beat the odds by surviving this long. Sad that he is dying fairly young. He doesn't really know how he got mesothelioma, although it is almost always caused by exposure to asbestos. Steve McQueen, the actor, died of mesothelioma back in 1980.

Interesting device for managing lawn clippings. Good for commercial landscapers.

Hot, hot, hot weather throughout the summer. One type of summer snack is granita. It's flavored frozen ice, but not too cold. The ice should melt in your mouth. Ideal granita is a slush.

Apparently some people put milk in their bowls of ice cream. It makes the ice cream feel colder in the mouth due to increased heat transfer.

Billiards table occupy two niches in the ecology of the home: they're both furniture and games. The high quality tables can be furniture, anyway. The cheap vinyl tables don't work as furniture. You don't really want them around when you're house is being photographed for Architectural Digest.

Hard wood billiard tables with quality construction such as those made by Proline Billiards can be good enough pieces of furniture to proudly stand in any room. These tables are more expensive than the vinyl ones, but worth the investment.

Peritoneal mesothelioma is found in the abdomen in a thin membrane called the peritoneum. Symptoms include abdominal swelling, loss of appetite, and weakness. The only known cause to this disease is exposure to asbestos.

More reason to ban asbestos products!

When investors get in squabbles with their brokers because the brokers do something wrong, they almost always go through a process called arbitration. The brokerage aggreement that people sign when they open an account stipulates that any suits must go through an arbitration forum.

If they've lost a lot of money, investors should hire a lawyer to guide them through the securities arbitration process. Christopher Bebel is a former SEC official turned securities lawyer who represents investors in arbitration. This can be a good resource for people in lawsuits against brokers.

I found a good site on asbestos cancer treatment. I'll tell you, mesothelioma is a nasty disease.

Occupational lung diseases have injured and killed so many people - it's a real tragedy. People go to work to provide for their families and then get some chronic or fatal illness in their chest. Silicosis, byssinosis (brown lung disease that affects cotton field workers, pneumoconiosis (black lung disease that affects coal miners, and mesothelioma, from beathing asbestos fibers. These are some really nasty diseases.

Fortunately, regulatory authorities and modern industrial hygiene has reduced the risk. Of course, there are still people coming down with these problems, as the latentcy period can last decades.


But I find it incredible that asbestos still hasn't been banned.

Senator Patty Murray has a site about the dangers of asbestos at
http://murray.senate.gov/asbestos.

It's amazing that asbestos is still legal in the United States, despite its proven ealth hazards. Some countries are moving to ban asbestos, but the United States isn't, despite an attempt by the EPA in the late 1980s.