(I have asked my sister to share my story with you, I no longer use the internet.)

When the ambulance arrived I could barely move. Lying on the floor in my own excrement, spasms jerking my body this way and that, I was not well. Not well.

The doctors determined that I was near starvation and dehydrated. They filled me with fluids. But none of that explained why I was dehydrated. My dear sister had a hunch that was confirmed by the psychologist at the hospital. They conspired with others to put me in this place.

I'm not sure exactly where I am, but I am sure that I can't find it on a Google map. They don't allow me to use computers. They said I had Internet Addiction. I think it's been around 3 weeks now. The drugs, food and kind people have been a help. I feel better. I don't know when, if ever, it will be safe for me to use a computer again.

I used to love slashdot. All you witty people who care about much more than just programming. I know you're there but I may never share your wonderful insights. Because I care so much I want to urge you to get help. Get tested. Don't let what happened to me happen to you.

Just a moment. What do you mean? It can't be! These damn drugs... Sorry people, I thought it was April first.

thanks Paul

It will be a very bad day for everyone when an ordinary word or image can be patented.

Silver is often beneficial for health. Before antibiotics there was silver. Worked fine.

Today there are silver colloids available for various internal and external disturbances. There is a silver compound being used in some hospitals on various railings and things people touch a lot. It kills germs, even those like MRSA that are hard to kill. Germs are unable to become resistant to the killing power of silver. People with various symptoms use silver colloids as eye drops, nasal irrigating fluid, for wound protection, and they drink it. Antibiotics, OTOH, will dramatically weaken your immune system and your digestion may take months to recover.

Silver can't be patented. The medical establishment has powerful incentive to use only patented products. They and our government still tend to feel the same way about vitamins and other supplements; no patent, no recommendation. And for some reason they want you to eat lots of carbohydrates and no fat. Could it have anything to do with the Food & Drug Lobbyists in Washington and your doctor's office?

"500% of its original length"

Wait a minute; that's five times the original length. Are we supposed to be impressed by the big number? Well let's make it bigger: 500.000%

The summary begins with "Researchers report...", but this sounds like marketing exaggeration. Is there anything in the summary but useless numbers and facts followed by wild speculation?

Is a preteen boy smart when he can memorize 40,000 digits of pi? Or is he really dumb for having directed his energy in such a stupid direction? Should we feel dumb the first time we see the word 'omphaloskepsis'? As many here have said- knowing stuff isn't the same as being smart.

New members of Mensa (the hi IQ society) often want to explore what intelligence really means. Experienced members are tired of that discussion and just want another beer. IQ tests don't satisfy everyone's idea of intelligence but we have nothing better yet.

Note that the internet won't help you when the test asks "Which object is most different from the other three?" It won't help you match puzzle shapes. Neither Wolfram nor your religious order can help you with logic problems typical of intelligence tests Neither Google nor Wikipedia are of much, if any, help with IQ tests.

So these newbie discussions in Mensa are usually fruitless. One point sometimes arises that may satisfy some people. Humans are different from other animals in their survival equipment. We have no claws or fighting teeth or camouflage. We are weak, flabby creatures but we are smarter than others. You could say that our individual ability to survive and thrive is a measure of our intelligence. How well you achieve your life goals is your measuring stick.

"Then, they do even MORE lab tests to determine if the mechanism of action can be delivered..."

You left out the primary reason for all this effort. Willow bark can't be patented. Without a patent it is useless to investors, who are the only people that matter.

Many drugs began as ordinary substances. They would remain so but for the power of the patent. The patent is a jealously guarded piece of property. Obviously no infringement can be tolerated, but it goes way beyond that.

Anyone trying to sell the original substance (which may have been used for centuries) will have to deal with the Food and Drug Administration (the enforcement arm of the food and drug manufacturers). There will be questions about the safety and/or efficacy of the formula. There will be questions about any health claims made for the substance. Labeling and packaging will be scrutinized. And though there is little money to be made with herbal or generic products, there can be huge costs when you go up against Big Pharma.

It isn't about helping patients in the USA, it's about money and lots of it.

How is it that millions of N. Koreans have discovered the Notel before slashdot?

Exactly who are these 'authorities'? Where are the 'plans'? Who approved the money for this project and why do the citizens have no say in it? Later the word 'proposals' is used; so is it a plan or a proposal?

This is very poor journalism. Not a single authority is identified. There are references to two critics of the project who have no authority and their opinion doesn't matter. There is no substance to this story at all, no citations, no evidence that it is not just in the reporter's imagination.

& cement is not the same as concrete.

OK, I posted the 'causes' comment and lots of cowards replied or moderated.

I have been there. I've been there with many others in a group situation.I know. The comment just above this is accurate for many- the rest are trash.

Many of my friends who shared this condition with me are long gone and forgotten. They died so long ago that they aren't listed on the internet. They are truly gone. The ones who survived did it by one simple technique: They learned to look outside themselves. They refused to turn inward.

What saved me was the Milky Way. It was still visible when I had my troubles. A vast infinite sea of objects, each little dot far bigger than I could even imagine. And beyond my vision many more. And here I am in a common type of galaxy, a boring solar system, a small blue planet, and I'm one of billions of creatures on that planet. Is my ego so big that I think I'm important? Not when I look at the heavens. I got over myself.

Some people may need drugs or other help initially. I can't speak for everyone, but I have observed many. But I strongly believe this to be true:

To the extent that you think you and your miserable life are important, you will suffer. Get over yourself, participate in the world around you. Join an organization that does good work. Read a book that isn't about sick people (I read every psychology book I could find at first). Exercise and learn tai chi. Help a child who is struggling in school.

And ignore anonymous cowards.

People who consider suicide tend to be self-centered. They have no real interests outside themselves. No hobbies, no close relationships, no physical or intellectual challenges in their lives. They are surrounded by mirrors and every event, every comment they hear, every activity is interpreted as having a personal impact. There is an ego element in the feeling that they are important, but also a tragic sense of personal doom and victimhood. If the president declares war, it is because of something in the individual's personal world. This is common among teens.

It would be reasonable to expect a high proportion of suicidal people to wallow in Facebook. And perhaps appropriate that Fb would take this precaution. Parents should take responsibility, but parents, unlike drivers and hairdressers, don't need a license or any education about care for their offspring. That leaves schools, but they barely have the budget to teach reading and arithmetic.

I'm in the US and I'm wondering if there is any advantage to using outside internet services. With our government intruding on every part of our lives, could this be a protective measure? Some countries seem determined to protect privacy within their jurisdictions.

I have a number of domain names, and have some names I may want. I also have trademark names that are not active yet. I would dearly love to Google these names to check if they are claimed, to know what their history is, to see if I can make them my own.

You can bet that google, bing and yahoo are all alert to a search with no result. You search for a term like 'flipple' and if there are no results alarms go off in the search engine. Some human will look at that term. Does it have any usefulness? Could it be the name of a domain, a business, a device, a service... Could we sell it so someone?

You have exposed your clever word to people who have the means to exploit it while you are twiddling your thumbs. It's gone.

The summary says "Premera Blue Cross has suffered a data breach". But have they suffered? No doubt there will be lawsuits that drag on for years, but how much will this cost them in relation to their overall wealth and income? And how many executives will lose their bonus for the year (of course none will be fired)? Where and how exactly are they suffering? Has any company or executive ever paid a substantial penalty for losing identity data? Perhaps the penalty is having to distribute donations to their congress people who will protect them from prosecution.

It has been suggested that you can not be a member of Congress or other high office unless you have a criminal background.

The theory is that there are certain powers who decide who may enter exalted positions. These 'powers' need to know that you will perform according to their wishes if elected. The way they do that is to have information about you. Information that could destroy you and any public support you may have accumulated. Once this is ascertained, you and they will come to an agreement about how you will behave in office. If you are a good boy or girl, you will be allowed a long political career.

If, OTOH, you are squeaky clean in all your doings ... you have no hope of being elected.

"and nothing can be done to him"

The first thing that a freshman congressperson learns is that if you aren't on an important committee, you are nobody. How do you get on an important committee? You make your party happy. You vote according to their agenda, you show up at the proper events, you bring in donors who contribute to party priorities. Dare to make waves, to contradict any party platform and you will be relegated to obscurity.

Yes, lots can be done to him. He treads a fine line between attracting our favor and losing his party's favor.