I am actually dying laughing here 😁 Don't even worry about it, it's just your pet. You know there aren't any diseases involved, so just give it a quick disinfectant wipe and you'll be fine.
That’s definitely on the lower side, but honestly, quite a few of my girlfriends have blood pressure just like that, especially first thing in the morning. It doesn't seem like anything to worry about...
Honestly, I still feel like business owners should have the freedom to decide whether their cafes or restaurants are smoking or non-smoking. To me, it’s not even about discrimination—it’s just like having vegetarian versus meat-based restaurants. I’m guessing you’d actually prefer places where smoking is strictly prohibited and there isn't a single corner where someone can light up.
By the way, the kind of behavior you’re describing in that restaurant doesn't even have anything to do with smoking; it’s more about general etiquette. It's just arrogant, rude, and honestly pretty primitive...
And what's wrong with the sixties? 😁 Personally, I don't mind that people could do whatever they wanted back then, especially since we didn't have to deal with things like AIDS😬
It’s not even really about the guests; it’s about the staff working in all that smoke. They should be provided with some decent air quality through a solid ventilation system.
And honestly, if your waiter keeps lighting up five or six cigarettes every single night, he’s going to be an alcoholic within ten years...
Brian Ortiz68 said:Look, why are you comparing staff smoking to industrial labor? Everywhere, and I mean everywhere, OSHA standards have to be respected. That’s how it works in heavy industry, and it really should be the same for service jobs too. No factory or plant can operate without meeting minimum safety requirements to protect their workers. Ignoring those basic standards comes with a massive price tag in fines and penalties.
Around here, though, those rules are often just words on a page. It's a shame, really. Okay, so if that's the case, why not introduce air quality standards for restaurants and bars and make owners actually follow them? Whether they achieve that by implementing a total ban on smoking or by setting up dedicated smoking lounges with high-end filtration systems is entirely up to them. That way, everyone wins. Some might even invest enough to keep their smoking customers coming back, and I'm pretty sure it's technically possible to ensure clean air even in areas where people smoke...
bluewolf4, a waiter who drinks on the job is a bad waiter 😁 Real professionals don't drink while they're working.
Thanks so much for such an informative reply and for taking the time to help me out.
The only real headache is that I have absolutely no idea where all my medical records are hiding. I know exactly what I’m allergic to in my head, but I don't have anything in writing. Back when I was a kid in '89, everything was fine, so I only ever saw a pediatric allergist instead of a regular GP—mostly because I didn't need a referral back then. My entire file is probably sitting in some dusty archive at a General Hospital somewhere. It’s definitely not in my current patient file since I went through a doctor change a few years ago, and they only kept a tiny portion of it.
Right now, I might be able to get some testing done for free at a local clinic since there are some students practicing there. Honestly, it would be great to finally have it all in black and white. Plus, I can get a prick test done—that way I won't pass out from pure terror 😬—and maybe even a spirometry test if I feel like it (though I'm sure the results will be fine since my bronchoconstriction has cleared up).
As for the asthma stuff, that started last year and it hasn't been fun at all, so I’m planning on starting medication soon (which I haven't really done before). I’ve already made up my mind to start "drugging up" once September hits. I'm just a little nervous about facing the doctor 😲
I was also thinking about picking up a peak flow meter; they aren't that expensive. My breathing is great right now, but once ragweed season kicks in, it’ll be a total disaster... I already know I won't be able to exhale properly.
You can always just wear a mask while you're walking around the house 😁 That's what a good friend of mine does since he has little kids running around...
In the US, you basically need a pretty hefty annual salary if you want to afford private healthcare on your own (I can't recall the exact number right now, but I remember it being quite high).
And that’s not even counting any extra private insurance coverage...
Look, I’m all for the idea that people with unhealthy lifestyles should pay higher premiums for health insurance, but how on earth are we supposed to actually prove it? What’s the metric? A nicotine test? Weighing them? Or maybe just checking their driving record to see how many speeding tickets they've racked up...
Honestly, anything would be better than our current healthcare system where your coverage is determined by a percentage of your salary. It’s so frustrating—you work hard to earn a decent paycheck, only to have a massive chunk of it sucked away for insurance, and then you finally go to the doctor only to realize you've basically been paying for a piece of paper... because if you want any actual quality care, you still end up having to pay out of pocket for a private specialist anyway.
For a manager, a server, or even a kitchen hand, the cafe area and the dining room are their actual workplaces. (And honestly, for bartenders and escorts too, it's often 😁 )
So, it makes total sense to prohibit smoking in those areas. It’s not even about protecting the customers—they don't have to step foot in a smoky lounge if they don't want to. It's about looking out for the employees who are required to be in those spaces all day...
V.
In some bars, you'll still see "smoking permitted" signs at a few tables. To me, the bigger issue is that owners aren't investing enough in proper ventilation or physically partitioning off the smoking sections from the rest of the room.
Besides, those kinds of patrons don't even need to visit these establishments, but I worry that cutting them off might hit the business hard and hurt the jobs of the people working there. I totally agree that staff in these places are exposed to secondhand smoke, but then again, it's not much better for people in industrial jobs dealing with nasty chemicals, or even for me, since I'm exposed to really intense non-ionizing radiation at my job. At the end of the day, everyone chooses their own path when it comes to their career...
In restaurants, you rarely see people smoking; at least I don't recall ever being able to smoke in the actual dining area. Almost everywhere you go, it's either banned or the smoking section is physically separated...
Thurgood Marshall said:Drunk driving is illegal 🙂 and if you break the law, you pay the price. Cops pull people over for it. You're rambling again...
Do you honestly think a simple fine covers the cost of lifelong medical care and rehab? There are people out there whose intoxication causes accidents that ruin lives forever—that kind of damage costs way more than even lung cancer would.
When you're holding a regular magnet in your hand, you can actually feel that pulsing sensation right in your palm, even from a few feet away from the device.
The average operating value sits at around 20mT. I was just checking the specs on one of those units, and they all seem pretty much identical...
Personally, I’ve had quite a bit of professional exposure to intense electromagnetic radiation. To give you an idea, the strength of one of those "magnetic" devices we use can hit anywhere from 70 to 100 mT, with frequencies ranging from 1 to 60 Hz. And believe me, when you have several of these units running in a small room, you don't want to be stuck in there for very long...
And if I told you that this stuff is basically just a placebo, offering maybe some tiny clinical benefits while the staff ends up sitting in that field for hours every single day—well, let's just say I'm not looking to work in government facilities, especially if there's even a slight chance of getting pregnant and having to deal with that kind of environment.
Plus, there are so many other things out there emitting nasty levels of radiation, but I won't even start listing them all...
I haven't actually made it over to America yet, but if I'm being honest, the idea of visiting is becoming less and less appealing to me every single day.
In Europe, you can usually find spots at the airports where you can actually smoke like a normal person, even while grabbing a coffee.
Man, those nerves will send your blood pressure through the roof, so don't be surprised at all if things spike.
Maybe try cutting back on the coffee and cigarettes—and most importantly, try to manage the stress. I know, sounds like Mission Impossible, but it's worth a shot. You should also start getting some exercise in; it does wonders for both your heart and your stress levels...
Not yet, my doctor suggested I give Letitia a shot instead.
I actually went looking for some Intel, too, but she mentioned they don't even carry it on the market anymore 😢 Honestly, I think it would have helped quite a bit with this asthma I've been developing lately...
I used to take Intel back when I was a kid (the Intel + Gnadion spray combo), and it really did the trick, though applying that Intel three times a day was such a massive pain...