Eric if the history of taxol is any indication then my point is valid regarding trying to patent a natural substance which leads me to believe the rules of the game are restrictive and favor synthetic drugs. The following is an excerpt from a Wikipedia article on taxol which shows even a pharmaceutical company has had numerous headaches with the process: While it seems clear the NCI had little choice but to seek a commercial partner, there was also controversy about the terms of the deal, eventually leading to a report by the General Accounting Office in 2003, which concluded the NIH had failed to ensure value for money.[52] In related CRADAs with the USDA and Department of the Interior, Bristol-Myers Squibb was given exclusive first refusal on all Federal supplies of Taxus brevifolia. This exclusive contract lead to some criticism for giving BMS a "cancer monopoly".[53] Eighteen months after the CRADA, BMS filed a new drug application (NDA), which was given FDA approval at the very end of 1992. [50] Although there was no patent on the compound, the provisions of the Waxman-Hatch Act gave Bristol-Myers Squibb five years exclusive marketing rights. In 1990, BMS applied to trademark the name taxol as Taxol(R). This was controversially approved in 1992. At the same time, paclitaxel replaced taxol as the generic (INN) name of the compound. Critics, including the journal Nature, argued the name taxol had been used for more than two decades and in more than 600 scientific articles and suggested the trademark should not have been awarded and the BMS should renounce its rights to it.

This could get "sticky" the mom is mobile now but "closing the fridge door" how often would you have to be checking it. What if she starts spilling milk, are you going to have to clean up half dried messes, will they start taking you for granted & expect you to "take mom to dr." clean up after her if she gets sick, etc. Will "walking the dog" be your job for the mile walk if she can no longer do it? It's his mom but wife may want out from under it completely & you may be helping bathe ,diaper or who knows, also looking for her if she gets lost, any fences, can she just take off & your job to "find her". Probably better write list of things that may come up & how it will affect you if he doesn't think you are "doing enough" or she thinks you "should do more"(probably for same pay) a lot would depend on how compatible you are with the couple, is their marriage stable(don't want to get in middle of fighting couple)or have to take sides. If she is good friend will that last if you try it & quit or will she hold it against you as she will have more work to do. Lots to think about. More than likely mom is going to resent you for awhile, maybe daily, elders don't like to think they are failing. I know from friends & 90 yr old mom. 1 friend's parents got help 4 hrs a day. the wife wanted her out of her house even tho hubby was getting lost etc. Dog food could be locked up & you take out just enough for that day so dog would be Ok. Fridge could be slightly higher in front so would close on its own as most have screw feet. Mine closes by it's self. Are they going to pay s.s. taxes & income taxes? What if she falls 5 minutes after you leave to go do your other duties, will you be responsible for her "laying there for 4 hrs". Lot to think about!You will definitely need 1 weekend off a month & 1 day a week,because you have the other job, you will burn out otherwise.Good Luck!

Posted by silversword (My Page) on Wed, Oct 1, 08 at 14:20 Someone mentioned PAS Syndrome, so I looked it up to see what it is. This is the definition of PAS as described by R.A. Gardner who discovered the syndrome and has become an expert in dealing with the issue.Gardner's definition of PAS is: "The parental alienation syndrome (PAS) is a disorder that arises primarily in the context of child-custody disputes. Its primary manifestation is the child's campaign of denigration against a parent, a campaign that has no justification. It results from the combination of a programming (brainwashing) parent's indoctrinations and the child's own contributions to the vilification of the target parent."(Excerpted from: Gardner, R.A. (1998). The Parental Alienation Syndrome, Second Edition, Cresskill, NJ: Creative Therapeutics, Inc.) Basically, this means that through verbal and non verbal thoughts, actions and mannerisms, a child is emotionally abused (brainwashed) into thinking the other parent is the enemy. This ranges from bad mouthing the other parent infront of the children, to withholding visits, to pre-arranging the activities for the children while visiting with the other parent. http://www.paskids.com/ I don't know very much about it, but this is what my mom used to do with my dad. It really is sad how children get in the middle. Posted by sue36 (My Page) on Wed, Oct 1, 08 at 19:39 A good friend of mine had this happen to him. He had custody and then custody got transferred to his ex-wife after she cleaned up her act. She had basically abandoned the kids (after cheating on her husband, our friend) and after getting custody she set out to systematically eliminate our friend from the children's lives. It got very, very ugly. He now has no contact with the children. Many years ago I dated a guy who was recently divorced and something similar happened to him. While he was in the military, away on deployment, his wife moved out of their on base housing without even telling him (he learned when he got back from a deployment, can you imagine?). She moved back to her home state and they got divorced. They agreed she would have custody (the child was young) and he would have visitation where he would go to her home state until the child was a certain age. She then married a former boyfriend very soon after the divorce. The custody arrangement wasn't worth the paper it was written on. She decided her new husband should be the child's father (not just step father). She would disappear with the kid when he showed up for court ordered visitation (he had to fly there). She wouldn't answer the phone when he called to speak to his child. The court (the court in her home state) wouldn't do anything. He eventually gave up his parental rights and her new husband adopted the child. He couldn't take it anymore. Both of them spent small fortunes fighting to enforce the visitation orders and got nowhere. Â Posted by moonie_57 (My Page) on Wed, Oct 1, 08 at 20:45 And I don't think that PAS is necessarily one parent against another, although I didn't read the link provided. Just from the explanation, I feel like this is what my DD's adult friend has done. She bad mouths DH and I to DD. Even after going to court, and the woman being found guilty of contribution to the delinquency of a minor, DD still has contact with her. I'm just trying to find proof. Â Posted by silversword (My Page) on Thu, Oct 2, 08 at 15:42 Moonie, I didn't think of it like this, but you're right! "And I don't think that PAS is necessarily one parent against another" I have seen this happen as well. It must be really hard to deal with your individual situation because this is probably an older, "cooler" person than your DD and she must look up to them. It's hard to see sometimes, especially as a teenager, that your parents really have your best interests at heart and aren't just trying to keep you away from your "good friend". I remember my mom telling me one of my friends wasn't a nice girl, and I didn't believe her. In retrospect, she was right. I only hope this girl removes her tentacles from your daughter before more damage is done.

That kitten needs another kitten! He is doing what comes naturally - trying to learn to fight. It's a deep instinct and the cat can't help doing it. Kittens do this by playing with each other, very hard and wildly. They leap on each other, chase, nip, and claw. Then they fall asleep and then they awaken and do it all over again. Is there any chance that your parents would adopt another kitten, preferably a bit younger? I've had cats all my life, almost always just one at a time, or at least adopted at intervals. Then four years ago we adopted two ten-week old kittens from the SPCA. It was a revelation in raising cats. They took out all their aggression on each other. With DH and me they are the essence of gentleness, cuddliness and purrs. They are also tightly bonded to each other, they sleep together, groom each other, follow each other around, etc. They have NEVER bitten, scratched, attacked or hissed at us, NEVER. That's because they learned to fight with each other, as nature intended. Except for a year or so of disorder in certain parts of the house, two cats are really not much more work than one. You need at least two litter boxes (we just have two), and two feeding bowls, a few toys, and a few large, soft pillows and throws. That's it. If you can add another kitten, and soon, there will be a bit of hissing and growling when they first meet. That will pass quickly, when each one discovers that it finally has a playmate! The sooner the better, while both are still kittens and willing to accept each other quickly. IMO taking the kitten to visit the other cat, or vice-versa, won't work, as it will be a territorial intrusion, and there is likely to be much hissing and very little acceptance. If possible, do give this some thought! And good luck with wild kitty!