Today's Keyword Topic is:Chantix

The recent articles on Chantix as a smoking cessation medication have reported negative side effects and may well be valid, for some individuals. I, for one, am an exception to that situation. I had to arm twist(figuratively) my doctor to write me a prescription for it because I had been smoking for over 20 years, was tired of coughing, tired of wheezing in bed trying to sleep, tired of the cost, and tired of stinking of tobacco all the time! I started the program (without using any of the support services they offer customers) on May 5th of 2007. I wanted a date to easily remember (Cinqo de mayo). I followed the instructions on the starter pack and by the end of the first week I no longer had a desire to smoke. I had no craving for a cigarette. I had no food cravings or other oral substitutions to replace the cigarette, and most importantly I had no indication of ANY withdrawal at all! None, Nada, Nicht, Nyet! Since that date my doctor asks me how many cigarettes I'm down to because my blood pressure and blood chemistry look so much better. I give him the same answer I gave him when I went back for the second refill prescription - none! I took the Chantix for 8 weeks and stopped because I felt I was past the worst and had no desire for a smoke at all. This coming May of 2010 will be my 3rd anniversary of being smoke free. Another benefit I realized from being on the Chantix was that I could stand in the middle of a group of smokers and feel NO compunction to light up, even just one.

There is one requirement to being on Chantix and being successful with it! This is a very important item now and you must pay close attention if your planning on opting for this route. I have seem many of my friends fail the Chantix program because they didn't have this one requirement firmly in place. Ready for the answer? It's an easy one that has a failure rate if not real with each person.

You dep down have to want to quit smoking. You need a reason that is important to you to keep in your mind that wants you to quit. Mine was coughing when trying to laugh, wheezing, shortness of breath doing simple physical tasks, high blood pressure and all of that while entering my 50's. I don't want to die! I want to live! The cigarettes were going to kill me before I was ready to go and I want to live as long as I can, without oxygen tanks or riding in scooters or having chemo tubes hanging out of me!

I want to point out to anyone who may feel apprehensive about taking Chantix after reading the Stephen King version of side effects. The government requires ALL reported effects to be listed, even if the product didn't cause it because the treatment was in place and it was considered relevant to be reported as raw data.

I did not have ANY side effect that was listed, or unlisted, during the time I took this medication. I'm not from the planet Krypton, I'm not bionic, and I don't attend Hogwarts School of Magic and Wizardry! I am an average Joe who achieved success in my desire to quit smoking everything. I felt GREAT while I took it and felt the benefits soon afterward while my system was weening the nicotine out of my brain and bloodstream and tissues. I've been able to lose weight and not feel a replacement habit to be in order and I'm able to list myself as smoke free for insurance purposes now, which also saves money!

If anyone has ANY questions about Chantix and would like my take on it just leave a comment and I'll be happy to help. To set the record straight, I don't work for Phizer (makers of Chantix) and I'm not being compensated for this article. They are just my honest thoughts that I wanted to share with anyone who may be interested, especially since the negativity that surrounds Chantix may not be coming from health related sources entirely. There are some that will lose revenue if too many people stop smoking. You know who they are! Ride em' cowboy!

I will be repeating this article on all my blogs today for full exposure to me varied readers. Please excuse the redundancy for my writing. David.

Todays Keyword Topic is:SciFi

James Cameron's Trailer

Todays Keyword Topic is:HOT



The days of the water heater tank in the basement or in the garage could be heading for oblivion. The day of the tankless water heater is upon us! Or is it? I first started hearing about these devices about 12 years ago when I was in England. The flats are so compact over there that they needed to do something like this for space sake if not just for efficiency. I thought that this was a great idea since this seemed like it would be great for my house by freeing up space in the garage, thus allowing me to store more 'stuff' where the tank was. I never got around to it until just this past year. I spoke to several plumbers about tankless heaters and I got the same response from all of them, "how much hot water do you need for how many people at once" and "do you plan on running your dishwasher or washing machine while you shower?". Odd questions I thought but I pursued it further and was told that the concept was good, it's just that the pipes need to be larger in the house than it was built with to get the needed 'gallons per minute' from the unit. Oh well, maybe another time.

The tankless water heater works by electrically heating the water while it's still in the pipe and delivers it to where the demand is. No demand means the unit is off until hot water is needed again.

The Upside - hot water on-demand without having run down of stored hot water, since none is stored. Uses electricity ONLY when water is required, thus lowering electrical costs. Small unit mounts on wall thereby eliminating a bulky tank.
Units can run from $200-$500 USD, not including installation which is reasonable for long term cost savings.

The Downside - unless your home was/is designed for this system during construction the pipe size and flow rate will diminish with multiple calls for heated water. A home with 2 adults not washing clothes would be appropriate for this system, not for families.

Recommended with reservations noted above.

Disclaimer: The unit shown above is for example purposes only and does not reflect any judgement on this units abilities or performance.

Todays Keyword Topic is:Shocking




This is appropriate for anyone who lives in the Tampa Bay area of Florida, or any other lightning rich area, in the summer months. Those of you who enjoy the snap, crackle and pop of a good lightning storm (like me)would enjoy the sky-ripping bolts of pure electricity steaking across the sky and also striking the land. Now for the sober side of lightning. When it hits buildings, at the very least, the power goes out and the very worst is the building is destroyed. Several things happen when lightning hits near your home or power sub-station. The electricity may fluctuate and stay on, it may go off for a short while or a long while, the current may surge and destroy non protected devices, it may follow a metallic pipe or line and bring the power into the house causing a fire, plumbing fixtures may be destroyed and worst of all it could cause human or pet casualties. There isn't too much you can do to stop a bolt of lightning and yes, I know what your going to say "but I have lightning rods on my roof to protect me". Okay, I see! You have metal rods on your roof to attract lightning to your house! Hmmm! I will continue to something you do have control over. Everyone has appliances (ie: washer, dryer, fridge, tv, pc), to some extent, that could be adversely effected by an electrical surge. Most plug-in surge suppressors cannot handle a direct hit from lightning. Once the current gets into the house it will fan out across any wiring it can find. What can you do? Simple. Contact your local electric company and ask if they can provide a surge suppressor for your outside meter. My provider is Withlacoochee River Electric Co-op. I pay a very small monthly fee (<$7) and this gets me the surge stopper installed on the meter AS WELL AS full insurance coverage for any major appliance in the house that is damaged by a surge that manages to get through. I don't know about you but I know I could never afford to replace more than 1 appliance at any one time. The Upside - very low cost whole house 'lightning through the wires' protection.

The Downside - not all electric companies offer this service. Ask Them To!!

Todays Keyword Topic is: Economize


I found, after receiving a bigger than usual electric bill, that I had a hole in the air I was pouring electric light into. This is similar to swimming pools that are a hole in the ground you pour money into. In Florida houses are lit up most of the time and 99% are using incandescent light bulbs. This is one of the biggest invisible expenses on your bill. I selected this item to be my first cost cutter in the house. I now have 75% of my lighting with these tube bulbs. They use 30 watts of electricity to produce 60 watts of light and in two of my rooms I found the light to be brighter than the old lights and was able to eliminate secondary lights altogether.

The Upside - good lighting with lower operating cost. Try home stores like Lowes or Home Depot for larger multi packs (I got mine cheaper there than at that BIG retailer).

The Downside - do not use fluorescents with security lighting as the response time is inadequate for instant lighting. These bulbs get full brightness after 2-3 seconds.

Todays Keyword Topic is:Unproductive

I'm probably going to be ending this web page soon. I'm not stopping due to earnings potential or anything of the kind. I have not used this site for anyhthing but personal use after I saw what the ads were doing to the site. My other websites are virtually ad free and the ones I do have are products or services that I personally use and endorse without compensation of any kind. The pages were starting to look like the crap you see in a Times Square photo, ads and more ads, not what I wanted to get across to my readers. This blog surprisingly has the greatest number of followers that I have out of all my blogs and that's funny because it was the least updated of the 4. I'll be continuing the type of material I've presented on this forum on DIY Environmental which has evolved to something different from what it started out to be. You are welcome to visit my more moderate site which is Dave's Blue Planet and my more controversial and somewhat politically charged site Just a Random Thought!

I appreciate your continued readership and I hope to continue to provide you with the kind of content you may enjoy whether it's humor, information, or politics as usual!

Dave