HZlhaZiiZg d[ i]ZM]jiiaZ N]ZgbdenaVZ

Greetings Crew,
International Conference was very interesting. We got to meet people who we only knew by
name. I got to meet the Commander STARFLEET.
He has a lot of forward thinking ideas that could be
good for STARFLEET. Next year’s IC will be in
Denver…a whole lot closer than Philadelphia. Perhaps we can get a little convoy going for that. It could be a great time.
Planet XPO’s Star Trek 40th anniversary Celebration will find
12 of Thermopylae’s best pulling security duty. We are ambassadors
and security backup for this planet’s celebration and I can’t think of a
better crew to represent our shuttle and STARFLEET.
A hearty welcome aboard to our newest member Robert
Brown. Major Fuller and I along with others of the crew have known
Robert for many years now and know he will be an asset to Thermopylae. That brings us up to 20 members. Halfway to Major Fuller’s goal
of 40 by the time we become a full ship.
Congratulations to all who have completed the SFA Convention Security Officer’s course! All of you make us proud. We are going to have the best educated crew in the fleet!
For those of you who could not make the last meeting August
20, you missed a treat. Ensign Kim-Aun and his lovely wife Ji put on
a spread of food that was wonderful. They are both gracious and generous hosts. Thank-you both for hosting our meeting and feeding us so
well!
I am very proud of our shuttle and our Crew. Keep up the
good work people.
Commander Cathey R. Fuller
Commanding Shuttle Thermopylae
RECRUITING CONTEST!
The Recruiting Office is offering a prize for the member of the
Shuttle that brings in the most members during the our tenure as a shuttle. (that means this is extended through RADCON, Feb 2007).
Contact the Recruiting Officer (Major “Nuisance” Fuller) at
(253) 529-1170 or [email protected] for more information.
Greetings, Shipmates!
I was having a little trouble sleeping a few nights ago so decided wander down to galley and see what I could come up
with for a snack. One thing led to another and the next thing
I knew, I decided some nice, warm, soothing Plomeek Soup
would hit the spot. It would take a while, but it would be well worth it. It
is a traditional morning meal on Vulcan, so the timing was just about right.
A bit of soup savvy:
In 2151, Crewman Elizabeth Cutler tried to impress T’Pol by sampling it.
In 2267 Nurse Christine Chapel made the mistake of serving it to Spock.
He tossed the bowl at her. Guess he wasn’t a morning person. To his
credit, he did ask her to prepare it again for him.
In 2370, it was again used to impress a Vulcan, when Quark added it to a
meal for the Maquis member Sakonna.
In 2371 Neelix, in an attempt to produce authentic native dishes for the
crew of the USS Voyager, made plomeek soup for Tuvok, who found
Neelix’s modifications a bit spicy.
In 2371 Dr. Julian Bashir often ordered plomeek soup. Once he ordered
it with a touch of basil (personally, I’d suggest rosemary).
Without further ado, here’s the recipe:
2 tb Butter; or margarine
2 md Onions; up to 3
-peeled and sliced
1 lb Carrots; peeled and sliced
1/2 lb Turnips; peeled and sliced
10 oz Potatoes; peeled & sliced
5 tb Tomato paste
3 c -Water
2 ea Garlic cloves; sliced
2 1/2 ts -salt
3/4 ts Basil, dried
1/4 ts Nutmeg
1 c -Water; to rinse pan &blender
-to be added to soup
Sour cream for garnish
Parsley finely chopped for garnish
"Plomek soup is traditionally served with a spoonful of sour cream on
top; this is carefully swirled out with a spoon to make a spiral shape, representative of the galaxy. The outline of the galaxy is then emphasized with
very finely chopped parsley. for less festive occasions, it may be served
with a small spoonful of butter (or margarine) in the centre. In the pot, melt
the butter and when it is foamy, add the onion and fry until golden. Add
everything else to the pot except the last cup of water and the sour cream
and parsley garnishes. simmer, covered, for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until
the potatoes and carrots are tender. Run it all through the blender, about 1
to 1 1/2 cups at a time. When it is all pureed, rinse the cooking pot with the
cup of water and add that to the '
empty'blender. Run the blender for a few
seconds and then slosh the water about to get as much of the vegetable puree as possible off the sides of the blender. Add this liquid to the soup. Pour
the soup back into the cleaned out pot and reheat it before serving (use very
gentle heat). Ladle into bowls. Garnish with sour cream and parsley as
described above.
(Christine Chapel’s Plomek Soup)
- Live Long and Prosper R.P. Mattison
XO, Shuttle Thermopylae
We have been invited to attend the monthly meeting of the IVK T’mar (for
those that do not know, they are our Klingon friends from Tacoma)!
"
!
#
The next meeting of the IKV T'
Mar is this Saturday, Sept 2nd starting at 1pm.
Peter is hosting it at his new home in Graham. His dining room set isn'
t there
yet, so bring a chair if you have one. Be'
Taj and I are bringing a few folding
chairs and a folding table. Peter is feeding us, if you have a food allergy please
speak up.
Last minute discussion in preparation for the Star Trek 40th show, upcoming
events, and we need to pick a date for outdoor Wargames! (ie, lazer tag) So
think about whether Sat or Sun works better, and which weekends.
21108 168th Ave E.
Graham, WA 98338
360-893-1157
Mapquest:
http://tinyurl.com/mpy6l
This is an open invitation.
AUGUST’S TRIVIA QUESTION:
!
What are "Jeffries Tubes" and for whom are they named?
AUGUST’S TRIVIA ANSWER: (See the Engineer’s Article!)
SEPTEMBER’S TRIVIA QUESTION:
In Gene Rodenberry’s original treatment of Star Trek, what was the
ship’s Name?
"! #$%%&'("!*)+%"!%, .-!//00,1*)+%0 %2
34,1#5..,6 /% 78#$)+9%1:%1!%'
!
Joe & Cathey Fuller
Prasith Kim-Aun
526.30
2,636.70
Total for Aug
Date
to
6/5/2006
Grafenwhoer
7/25/2006
Grafenwhoer
8/30/2006
Grafenwhoer
$ 3,163.00
Total
$1,308.20
$2,417.71
$3,163.00
Running Total
$1,308.20
$3,725.91
$6,888.91
#
$%
Greetings Marines and Fleeters,
#
I issued a challenge last month to the fleet members of the Thermopylae. Ensign Prasith Kim-Aun responded by turning in almost $3000 in coupons for August! Way to go Prasith! Now,
the Marines only turned in $526 in coupons. ‘Nuff said Marines, lets get
with the program! There are military families in Germany that need our
help and we cannot let them down.
In October we will be starting the Toys for Tots program for the
shuttle. I would like to see each member bring a new toy to every event
that we have. It does not have to be an expensive toy, just something
that will bring a smile to a child’s face. A smile that might not otherwise be there. I will be looking for other opportunities to find occasions for us to get into uniform and get those toys!
We have a new PFC in the Mardet, PFC Jason Eklund completed
his Initial Entry Training with a score of 88%, way to go Jason! PFC
Begin is close to finishing his PD-12 (one of the most difficult tests I
have seen out of SFMCA) and I have been slamming away on Ship Operations courses. I would like to see us participate in the Marine Unit
Readiness Program this year for Special Operations, Leadership, Infantry and Professional Development. That means that we need more people working on more courses. I know that we can do it!
I have been speaking with the Northern Fire Team and we are
planning a Marine Muster at Fort Eklund by Sedro Wooley in early October. This will be a chance to work on correspondence courses, do a
little drill (flag ceremony comes to mind) and just hang out with the Marines. Fleeters are more than welcome to attend. I may ask General
Scott Akers to attend and give us some of his insights. I will also be inviting the 565th to attend as well, so look for a fun event.
Until next month, keep up the great work and know that I am
proud of ya!
Major Joseph Fuller, OIC
503rd MSG, The Spartans
“Retreat is NOT an option...
#
SEPTEMBER
Sept 2
Sept 8-10
Sept 24
Sept 30
OCTOBER
Oct 4
Oct 14-15
Oct 18
Oct 29
NOVEMBER
Nov 1
Nov 15
Nov 19
!
IKV T’Mar Meeting (Graham)
40th Anniversary Convention!!
Shuttle Meeting (CDRs Qtrs—2PM)
USS Rubicon Anniversary Dinner (Tri-Cities)
Fleet Night at the Movies (CDR’s Qtrs—7PM)
Marine Muster at Ft. Eklund (tentative)
Marine Night at the Movies (CDR’s Qtrs—7PM)
Shuttle Meeting (Location TBD—2PM)
Fleet Night at the Movies (CDR’s Qtrs—7PM)
Marine Night at the Movies (CDR’s Qtrs—7PM)
Shuttle Meeting (Location TBD—2PM)
New Faces!
Please join me in welcoming our newest member, Crewman Robert
Brown. Robert is a long time friend of the several members and a former
member of SFI. He will be joining us at the 40th Year Anniversary so look
for him there and say hello! His personae is Klingon, be SURE to say hello.
Major Joe Fuller
Recruiting Officer
# &' '
( ) *%
These are evenings where we will watch the Star Trek movies (Fleet
Night) and selected Marine Corps movies (Marine Night). Marine type
movies are “Sands of Iwo Jima”, “Guadalcanal Diary”, etc. The entire crew
is welcome to these movie showings, the more the merrier! Please bring
munchies and soft drinks.
Let us know if there are any particular films that you would like to
see and we will try to get them!
1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month. We know people are busy
on weekends so we thought to try this out. These nights will also be coupon
clipping nights, so bring your coupons!
Hello Shipmates,
In the last commlink the trivia question was
‘What are “Jeffries Tubes” and for whom are they’
named after? As that is an engineering question I guess
I should come up with an answer.
Jefferies tubes, in the Star Trek fictional universe, are small tunnels
or corridors that provide access to critical starship systems. They can
be vertically or horizontally oriented, and form a network that allows
travel throughout large volumes of a starship even when the turbolifts
are not functioning.
The term "Jefferies tube" was originally an inside joke among
the original Star Trek production staff, a reference to Original Series
art director Matt Jefferies, the man who designed the original starship
Enterprise. This was incorporated into the fictional universe in Star
Trek: Enterprise, when in "Home" Captain Archer says "I had an argument once with Captain Jefferies; he was one of the designers of
the NX class" (another inside joke), presumably referring to the inventor of the eponymous tubes.
The term quickly caught on among fans, becoming an official
part of the show'
s lexicon, and has begun being used informally in
some real-world situations to refer to similar access passages. In the
Next Generation series the Jefferies tube is mentioned in the episodes
"Quality of Life", "Lessons", and others. It is also mentioned in the
Voyager series in the episode "Twisted", "Macrocosm", and others.
Additionally, the US Air Force has taken the term for use within the
Space Command community whereby any small or confined space is
called a Jefferies Tube.
Walter Matthew "Matt" Jefferies (August 12, 1921 - July 21,
2003) was an aviation and mechanical artist, set designer and writer,
best known for designing the original starship Enterprise for the Star
Trek television series.
Jefferies'father was chief engineer at a power plant in Virginia. He
had a younger brother named John who worked with him as his chief
draftsman. He served in Europe in World War II, was inside of B-17,
B-24, B-25 bombers and had four years as a flight test engineer.
He was a member of the Aviation Space Writers'Association. Jefferies
restored and flew period airplanes as a hobby. He owned a Waco aircraft
and stored it at an airfield in California for many years.
Besides creating the Enterprise (interiors & exterior), Jefferies was
responsible for designing props (including phasers), sets, and the Klingon
logo and D-7 battle cruiser. Years later, his concept sketches were revisited and used to design the spaceship Enterprise, the Olympic class U.S.S.
Pasteur, the Daedalus class, and pre-Federation Vulcan ships. In contrary
to popular belief, Jefferies did not create Star Trek shuttlecraft; although
Jefferies submitted his own concept, it was found too complex to build
with the show'
s shoestring budget. Gene Winfield'
s much simpler design
was used instead, and Jefferies designed only its interior.
He had a very pragmatic design ethic.
• Reasoning that a starship'
s engines would be extremely powerful and
potentially dangerous, he positioned them far away from the ship, with the
added benefit of modular design so that they could be ejected quickly in an
emergency.
• Figuring that whatever could go wrong would, he put all of the ship'
s
workings on the interior for easy access, eliminating the need for spacewalking for exterior repairs.
• The bridge panels were given an ergonomic design for comfort and
ease of use.
• He was opposed to the idea of PADDs, as well as the goose-neck
viewers that appeared in the first pilot.
• He disliked the idea of a large engine room, because by his reckoning
the entire ship could be run by a single panel on the bridge.
Jefferies'work on the bridge of the Enterprise influenced the design of the U.S. Navy master communications center at NAS San Diego.
When Jefferies saw Star Trek: The Motion Picture he fell asleep. He never
watched subsequent incarnations of Trek, remarking that they had turned
his Navy-esque bridge into "the lobby of the Hilton."
Within the Star Trek universe, Jefferies tubes and Captain Jefferies are
named in his honor.
In June 2003, Jefferies was the guest of honor at the presentation
of a documentary about him prepared for the special edition of the Star
Trek: Generations DVD.
Type at ya later,
Lt. Ed Mattison
Chief Engineer, Shuttle Thermopylae
’
!
I would like to cordially invite you all to the USS Rubicon'
s Anniversary
Dinner which will take place on September 30th at the Red Cross Building, 7202 W.
Deschutes, in Kennewick.
There will be choice of a chicken or pork dish this year. There will also
be other courses that will be included with the meal. We have the same caterer that
we had last year, so if you were able to come last year and enjoyed the food, I'
m sure
that you will enjoy it this year as well.
Our theme this year is a celebration of Star Trek: The Original Series 40th
Anniversary. The price for the dinner will be $10 for paid adult Rubicon members
and $15.50 for those that are not and $4.00 for paid child Rubicon members and
$8.00 for those that are not. Please send me your choice of meat (unless you want a
more detailed menu description) and your funds to me and I will get them to Diana.
Festivities are to begin at 3 p.m. There will be our traditional crew photo,
good food, good fellowship and hopefully a lot of fun (I want to keep some of the
program a secret so you'
ll just have to come to see what will be happening).
Please e-mail me (yes, I will checking my e-mail more often now that
inventory is over) if you have any other questions.
Thank you and hope to see you there.
BGEN Patrick McAndrew
[email protected]
(Editors Note: If you want to attend, please let CDR Fuller or MAJ Fuller know, we
will send a single check for all Thermopylae members. We will be staying the night
in Kennewick, contact us for hotel information and ride-share arrangements.)
Gunny Stoddard'
s Personal Log
Greetings from Edgar Station!
Operations with the local forces have been suspended due to
several lightning caused fires in the base area. So far, there has been no
loss of life, and less property damage than was originally feared. Fortunately, the base
area here has so far been spared, but dry thunder in the night is cause for concern.
+
The bright spot is the local population of blood sucking insects has declined
about the same time, due to low levels in the nearby river and irrigation in the neighboring fields ceasing in anticipation of harvest. The number of bites I receive in a week is
now less than what I used to get in one day.
Some of you have asked about Prigal. He and I met under circumstances that are
still classified shortly after the Cardassian War. He is, in the field, an outstanding Marine, and has been decribed as '
that mad genius'in regards to his datawar skills. In the
field, there are few Marines I'
d rather have backing me up. However, one of his former
commanders once stated "I wish we could just keep him in the transporter buffers until
we need him" due to his legendary propensity for getting into trouble off-duty.
When I transferred from powered infantry into Mecha, I thought I'
d left Prigal
behind. However, one day my CO introduced me to my new tech ...
It seems no matter where I go, Prigal follows. I suspect, but cannot prove, that
his datawar skills have something to do with it. Still, when things get hot, I'
d rather have
Prigal than most other Marines handy. Maybe that transporter buffer idea has merit.
Speaking of Prigal, we had one of our infrequent supply ship visits this month.
During that visit, the ship'
s captain kept referring to me as "chief". Prigal pointed out that
the proper form of adress would be "Gunnery Sargeant" or just "Gunny", whereupon the
ship'
s captain replied "Sorry, it'
s just force of habit. In Starfleet, I'
d address a senior
enlisted man as '
chief'
." Prigal snorted and said: "If Gunny was Fleet, you'
d be addressing
him as '
Admiral'at least."
I assured the irate captain that Prigal would be suitably punished for his insubordination. Pvt Prigal is therefore conducting an extensive taste test of the local beers at my
expense.
GSGT JA "Hawk" Stoddard
NCOIC 503rd MSG '
The Spartans'
"Retreat is NOT an option"
Cordial greetings, Crewmates!
,
$
#
Our shuttle meeting in August was a smashing success!
With 15 attendees, it was the largest meeting since the
creation of the Shuttle Thermopylae. I would like to
thank everyone who followed my invitation to make this
event such a fun gathering. Special considerations go to
our shuttle guests CAPT Dana Marshall, COMM Keith
Marshall – both from the Shuttle Daniel Soule, GEN
Scott Akers from the USS Jaguar who also is Starfleet’s
historian, CAPT Tod Sturgeon, and our Klingon friends
Steve Greenfield (AKA “CDR ChonBey”) and Robyn Meadows (AKA
“CAPT Be’Taj”) from the Klingon vessel IKV T’Mar.
It is with my deepest gratitude that I say “thank you” to my wife Ji who has
been very supportive in my Starfleet endeavour, although she is not a Trekker
at all, and she still shakes her in disbelief when I am complaining about how
the rank pips are placed to close or too far apart from each other…
$
$
One of the highlights of the event was a preview of “Star Trek – Of Gods
and Men,” which was presented and commented by CDR Peter Christian.
The crew of our shuttle was one of the very few exquisite people who were
able to get a glimpse on the upcoming movie that is to be released in December – and it looked very promising and action-loaded!
Our meeting concluded with the announced group picture, and it came out
beautifully. Here is our final computer-enhanced holographic group shot that
everyone on the picture should have received by now in a printed and laminated version: (next page)
Get involved!
Join with the Shuttle Thermopylae in supporting the above charities. One person CAN make a difference!
,
$
#
$
$
From left to right, top to bottom:
CDR Peter Christian, LT Ed Mattison, CDR John Christian, MAJ Joseph Fuller, COMM Keith Marshall, CAPT Tod Sturgeon
ENS Prasith Kim-Aun, LCDR Rose Mattison, CDR Cathey Fuller,
ENS VickyJeanne Sheppard, CAPT Dana Marshall.
Now back to business. Our CO CDR Cathey Fuller asked me to create a
Shuttle Thermopylae Fitness Program, but since this request came of such
short notice, I need to defer this project to the next CommLink issue. So
stay tuned.
As for this issue’s topic, I would like to cover “Caries” that might sound
quite straight-forward, but is a “much larger than life” topic!
Caries (Tooth Decay)
What is tooth decay and how do I get it?
Some people would simply say “Tooth decay – it’s those cavities in my
teeth because I ate too many candies!” But is it really that simple?
First of all, “caries” originally means “decay of the bone” because it was
thought that teeth were part of the bone, which is not the case as we know
today. To understand caries, we need to “think and act” like the enemy (ie.
understand its mechanism).
,
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In order to get caries, each of the following four factors must be present:
1. The host (ie. tooth – d’oh!)
2. Bacteria
3. Substrate (ie. food for bacteria)
4. Time
Why are those factors so important?
Well, let’s go through them one by
one.
1. About the “host: Although this
may sound quite self-explanatory (no tooth, no decay), there’s much
more to it. Let’s say a person grew up in an area where drinking water
had high levels of naturally occurring fluoride (which are often the
mountain areas). His teeth would be much harder and more resistant to
caries because of the integration of fluoride into the crystalline structure
of his developing teeth. Now you probably understand all the fuzz
about fluoridating community drinking water. It presents a very cheap
and effective way to reduce cavities, especially when you remember
from my last CommLink article that only 50% of Americans go to a
dentist regularly.
There are some
genetic anomalies and developmental disturbances
where
teeth are soft
because of underdeveloped
enamel
(socalled “enamel
h yp o p l a s i a ” ) .
Enamel is the most outer layer of the tooth and is made up of 95% of
minerals. So, no wonder it is the hardest substance in the entire human
body! If there is not enough enamel, dentin (the second tooth layer) will
take its place, but unfortunately it is much softer (only 65% minerals),
more porous, and thus more prone to caries. The above picture shows a
former patient with “amelogenesis imperfecta” (a genetic anomaly)
where dentists have attempted to cover his teeth with composite (“tooth-
,
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colored”) fillings with only limited success. Now if you are thinking of
blaming your parents for your bad teeth because of “poor” genetics, that
would be valid in only 5% of all cases. That means in 95%, you need to
look into the mirror to find who’s responsible for those holes… J
2. About “bacteria”: They are commonly referred to as “germs” or
“sugar bugs,” but only few people know that only very specific bacteria
will cause tooth decay because of their “special” properties – sounds
like the “X-Men,” which is a pretty good analogy. So, the main players
have fancy names like Streptococcus mutans (or simply “S. mutans”),
Streptococcus sobrinus (“S. sobrinus), and certain lactobacilli – names
that you don’t need to remember as long as you know that only specific
bacteria will cause caries. Those bugs are special because
they are able to produce weak organic acids when they metabolize the
food we eat into stuff such as lactic acid, propionic acid, formic acid –
just to name a few; they are able to survive in the acidic and hostile environment they created; they can produce a water-insoluble carbohydrate matrix, which acts like glue and therefore allows them to stick
even better to the tooth; this matrix will, of course, allow other kinds of
bacteria and food to stick as well; the end-result is plaque!
Because the matrix is water-insoluble, just “flying” with your
toothbrush over your teeth and rinsing your mouth with a mouthwash
will not remove plaque; you might inhibit its growth a little bit, but it’s
like cleaning your car by leaving it outside in the rain.
The key to caries, though, is acid, acid, acid! Tooth structure does not
like an acidic environment and when exposed long enough (“time” factor) to even weak acids, it will start to dissolve and lose minerals in areas where the acid attack occurs. Preferably, those are the so-called
“interproximal” spaces, ie. spaces between your teeth where food gets
stuck easily and then metabolized by bacteria when no floss is used!
(Remember my last article about flossing? Floss, floss, floss!!!)
Since those bacteria are so specific, then how in the world did we get
them? Usually by mouth-to-mouth contact, ie. kissing! Mommy and/or
daddy kissed baby, and now baby is infected – yes, infected! Caries is
indeed considered an infectious disease that is given from generation to
generation – and still, it has nothing to do with genetics (nice try!). Experiments with “sterile” lab rats that were not contaminated with those
germs revealed that they did not get caries, no matter how much sugar
they were fed! Interesting, right?
,
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$
$
3. About the “substrate”: Bacteria need food to live and proliferate.
Simple sugars are the most welcome ones, and as already mentioned above,
it’s the bacteria’s metabolites (byproducts) that are acidic. Please keep in
mind though, that not all sugars are alike! Think of one sugar molecule as a
single unit of Lego. This presents a “monosaccharide” – “mono” means
“one,” “saccharide” means “sugar.” If you would attach another Lego, you
would have a “disaccharide.” If you would add another unit, you would get
a “trisaccharide.” If you would add many, many units, you would get a
“polysaccharide” – “poly” simply means “many.”
Now why do I explain all this? Mono- and Disaccharides are easily digested by bacteria and the human system and are great and readily available
energy sources. A polysaccharide on the other hand, takes much longer to
get broken down into simple units. There are also polysaccharides that cannot be digested by the human body, although their monosaccharides are!
Take starch and cellulose as examples for two different polysaccharides: as
everyone knows, starch is in flour or potatoes and cellulose is a building
material for grass or any other plants, which make up the “fibers.” Both are
made from the monosaccharide “glucose,” the very sugar that is so much
loved by kids and adults and “sugar bugs.” The only difference is that glucose units were put together in a slightly different way to either produce digestible starch or indigestible cellulose – that’s all there is!
So if you eat whole grain bread versus white (refined) bread, your chances
of getting decay is higher with white bread because whole grain contains
fibers. Those fibers slow down the breakdown of the polysaccharides and
have some cleansing effect on your teeth as well. Also, since sugar is broken down slower, your body will not experience as much of a sugar “high”
or “spike” in your bloodstream, and therefore will release less insulin. This
will reduce fatigue on your pancreas (which produces the insulin) and lowers your risk of getting diabetes! Isn’t that an eye-opener? Furthermore,
insulin is responsible to store the excess glucose into the fat cells! So that’s
one major reason why people get obese! And from here, I could rattle on
about dieting and exercising, but that’s another story…
4. About “time”: It only makes sense that if you do not expose your tooth
too long to any acids, you will have less demineralization and therefore a
lesser chance of getting decay. And that is the focus of the next question…
,
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How can I prevent or reduce the risk of getting caries?
Armed with the above knowledge, it’s pretty “simple” to avoid decay:
you need to attack at least one of many above-mentioned factors. How?
Here are a few suggestions:
Attack the factor “host”: Consider using ACT®, which is a fluoride
rinse that will help strengthen the surface of the tooth by depositing fluoride into the enamel, especially if you think you are a high risk candidate
to get caries because of your eating habits or less than optimal oral hygiene or because you already had cavities in the past.
Attack the factor “bacteria”: Sterilizing your mouth to get rid of bacteria is a nice theory, but practically impossible – even if you used antibiotics. All those “tricks” have been tried already without significant success. So the best you can do is to thoroughly brush and floss. There we
go again with the flossing – and it will haunt you ‘til you lose your last
tooth! If you think you cannot improve your brushing or you’re not such
a good brusher, why don’t you switch to an electric toothbrush instead?
And I’m not talking about those “toys” that have mermaid or racing car
handles. I’m talking about professional versions that will make a big difference on how much cleaner your teeth will feel. Most patients confirm
that their teeth do feel cleaner since they use of an electric toothbrush,
and kids will benefit from them as well. A quick word and recommendation regarding electric toothbrushes: if you know you have periodontal
problems, I recommend the very gentle Sonicare® whereas for a lot of
people, the less expensive BRAUN® would do the trick. But no matter
what your choice is, either one is great! Tip: You might be able to get
them cheaper directly from your dentist.
Mouthrinses like Listerine® are useful to kill germs, but please keep in
mind that they are only an adjunct to brushing and flossing and do not
and cannot replace the mechanical removal of plaque.
Attack the factor “substrate”: It only makes sense to reduce sugar intake whenever and wherever possible and be more aware of what we eat.
For a sweet treat chose a banana or grapes instead of chocolate. Drink
lots of water or milk and less soft drinks. By the way, did you know that
soft drinks will weaken your bones? Culprit: phosphoric acid (take a
look at the label)!
Attack the factor “time”: Reduce the exposure time of the acid-tooth
contact! If you love chocolate or your sugared morning coffee or your mandatory
Coke, do not spread your sugar intake over the day, but eat a nice big
amount of sugar at one time – and that’s it! The sugar will produce acid,
,
$
#
but your saliva (that contains high levels of minerals, too) will dilute
the acid with time and remineralize the tooth. One drawback of using
this method: you could temporarily get a tremendous sugar “high,”
which is not a big deal for healthy people, but watch out when you are
already diabetic.
On the other hand, if you spread your sugar intake over a long period of
time, acid would constantly be produced and you won’t give saliva
enough time to do its tooth-salvaging work.
Alright, this subject turned out to be longer and more complex than
planned, but I hope you were able to get some understanding and a few
tips out of this reading. Especially the topic “sugar” has been very simplified because we know a lot about it because it is ubiquitous and a part
of our life. The bottom line is that it is true what mamma said: “Brush
your teeth or they will fall out!” Now at least, we understand why. I
might want to subliminally mention floss again! May the floss be with
you!
Now the fun part (if the above material was not funny enough)…
Cowboy Wisdom
$
$
Don’t squat with your spurs on.
Never slap a man who’s chewin’ tobacco.
There’s two theories to arguin’ with a woman. Neither one works
Warning Labels
On a life-saving device: “This is not a life-saving device.”
On children’s cough syrup: “Do not drive car or operate machinery.”
On a motorcycle mirror: “Objects in the mirror are actually behind you.”
On a box of sleeping pills: “May cause drowsiness.”
On a milk bottle: “After opening, keep upright.”
On a mattress: “Do not attempt to swallow.”
On a remote control: “Not dishwasher safe.”
On a garden hose: “May cause cancer in California.”
On an iron: “Never iron clothes on the body.”
On a chainsaw: “Do not attempt to stop chain with hands or genitals.”
On a hammer: “Do not use to strike any solid objects.”
On a curling iron: “For external use only.”
Enjoy life! Live long and prosper!
ENS Prasith Kim-Aun, DMD
CMO, Shuttle Thermopylae NCC-71816/1
Shuttle Commander
CDR Cathey R Fuller
[email protected]
(253) 529-1170
Executive Officer
LCDR Rose M Mattison
[email protected]
(253) 472-6338
Chief Engineer
LT Ed Mattison
[email protected]
(253) 472-6338
Science Officer
Crewman Bill Kinnear
[email protected]
Communications
ENS Vickyjeanne Sheppard
[email protected]
Medical
ENS Prasit Kim-Aun
[email protected]
Operations
CDR John Christian
[email protected]
Helm
CDR Peter Christian
[email protected]
Navigation
(tbd)
Marine OIC
Marine DOIC
Marine NCOIC
MAJ Joseph J Fuller
2LT Angelina Christian
GSGT Jerome A Stoddard
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Recruiting Officer
MAJ Joseph Fuller
[email protected]
(253) 529-1170
Web Site
www.ussthermopylae.org
Crew
PO Paul McManus
PFC Jason Eklund
PFC Jean Eklund
LCPL Lee Eklund
PFC Robin Begin
Crewman Nancy Begin
Crewman Liz Lanman
Cadet Matthew Christian
Crewman Robert Brown
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
c/o [email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
(not released)