inkbluesky

amanda girls that wear glasses

Larger photo at the jump. It's difficult to see the subtle coloring at this size.

Dorothy Parker once wrote that men don't makes passes at girls that wear glasses. Clever, but probably doesn't apply in Amanda Peet's case or in most people's cases for that matter. I think she looks a little more interesting with them then without them. Though the debate over glasses is a relatively recent one, while the Phoenicians discovered glass about 3500 BCE it wasn't until the 1200's that the first real lenses were made. Unless you count Roman Emperor Nero (12 AD) who had some emeralds shaped into supposedly some kind of spectator lenses. Glass lens do have an upper crust heritage, even in the beginning of their manufacture in Italy the only people that could afford a pair were the royals and rich land owners. The Spanish get credit for inventing a system of lens gradients used to determine what amount of visual correction a person needed.

Tattoo customers in 3 states get infections 

A worrisome superbug seen in prisoners and athletes is also showing up in people who get illegal tattoos, federal health officials said Thursday.

Forty-four tattoo customers in Ohio, Kentucky and Vermont developed skin infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The infections occurred in 2004 and 2005, and were traced to 13 unlicensed tattoo artists, according to an article in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

These are the first documented cases if tattoo-related MRSA infections, said Mysheika LeMaile-Williams, a CDC infectious disease investigator who co-authored the report.

MRSA is an antibiotic-resistant bacteria that fights off the body's immune system and destroys tissues. The community-associated variety, seen in the tattoo infections, has been diagnosed in otherwise healthy athletes, military recruits and prison inmates.

The skin infections can be transmitted from person to person by contact with draining sores, or through contact with contaminated items or surfaces. MRSA generally causes mild skin infections, but in some cases has led to pneumonia, bloodstream infections, and a painful, flesh-destroying condition called necrotizing fasciitis.

Clusters of MRSA cases were seen in Ohio in June 2004, November 2004 and April 2005, involving 33 people. A four-person cluster was reported in Kentucky in May 2005 and a seven-person cluster was in Vermont in August.

Four of the patients were hospitalized, but all recovered, LeMaile-Williams said.

Ohio, Kentucky and Vermont require licensing for tattoo artists, but all the affected customers went to unlicensed artists. Instead of doing the work in tattoo parlors, the body art was done in the homes of the tattooists or the recipients, or even in public places such as a park.

Not much more to say except if you're determined to get a tattoo go to a licensed tattoo artist who uses proper hygienic procedures. In my area an acquaintance got a small tiger tattoo on his arm that cost about $125 and while it may be tempting to save that kind of money, think how much it will cost if you get one of these infections.

The Seafood Bandage 

When it comes to war wounds, red is dead. Stop the bleeding, and you save the soldier. It’s a simple idea that’s driving a budding industry for fast-acting blood-clotting agents.

The latest in the category: a pourable bandage called Celox. Made by SAM Medical Products near Portland, Oregon, Celox is a granular compound derived from cross-link with negatively charged red blood cells, forming a putty-like plug that blocks blood flow .

There is a slide show at the link. Takes forever to load for me, maybe you'll have better luck.