Latest Scary Drug Ad: What is AndroGel 1.62%?

What is AndroGel 1.62%?

Testosterone topical gel is used to treat the symptoms of low testosterone in men who do not produce enough natural testosterone. Testosterone is a hormone that is usually produced by the body that is needed for the growth and functioning of the male sexual organs.

The commercial I saw last night had about 15 seconds explaining what the drug does and then 45 seconds explaining the side effects. Here's where it gets scary.

• 

  
  breast enlargement and/or pain
  decreased sexual desireacnehair losshot flushesdepressionmood changesnervousnessheadacheweaknessdifficulty falling asleep or staying asleepteary eyeschanges in ability to smell or tastedry skin

Then even more serious side effects?!?! Call your doctor immediately if any of these occur:

• swelling of the hands, feet, ankles, or lower legs
  breathing problems, especially during sleeperections that happen too often or that last too longdifficulty urinatingweak urine flowsudden need to urinate right awayfrequent urination, especially at nightnauseavomitingyellow or darkened skin

Then they warn about your wife growing hair and your kid entering puberty early if they're exposed to the gel!!!! WTF??!!???

How does a drug with scores of extremely troubling side effects get approved? To me, this is another example of the drug industry pushing a questionable treatment onto the public using direct to consumer advertisements while the regulators charged with approving these meds appear to be rubber stamping potentially dangerous medications. This is not the first time. SNL had an amazing sketch highlighting the strange world we now find ourselves in.

The real question ought to be why are men not producing enough testosterone in the first place. Why are drug companies developing these medications while the regulators responsible for protecting the public fail to eliminate our exposure to chemicals that may be leading to this condition?

Los Angeles wants a cut of my chedda

Time to Pay Up Son!

Did you receive a green innocuous little green postcard from the city of L.A.? You might have mistaken it for a new years holiday card from your local dispensary. That it is not. It's your business tax renewal reminder. If you make money as an artist, consultant, photographer, street performer, chainsaw juggler or are some sort of independent person getting paid outside of a normal 9-5, guess what? If you be stacking up loot in the city of angeles, you gotsta hand over some of that chedda to Mr. V and the gang down on 1st & Main.

Here's some info you'll need to know to when filling out the form. The government classifies what you do into a series of numbers that lets economists make pretty pie charts for CNN's big board. It's called a professional activity code So what's your number?

New Principal Business or Professional Activity Codes

Accommodation, Food Services, & Drinking Places

Accommodation
721310 Rooming & boarding houses
721210 RV (recreational vehicle) parks & recreational camps
721100 Travel accommodation (including hotels, motels, & bed & breakfast inns)
Food Services & Drinking Places
722410 Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)
722110 Full-service restaurants
722210 Limited-service eating places
722300 Special food services (including food service contractors & caterers)

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Administrative & Support and Waste Management & Remediation Services

Administrative & Support Services
561430 Business service centers (including private mail centers & copy shops)
561740 Carpet & upholstery cleaning services
561440 Collection agencies
561450 Credit bureaus
561410 Document preparation services
561300 Employment services
561710 Exterminating & pest control services
561210 Facilities support (management) services
561600 Investigation & security services
561720 Janitorial services
561730 Landscaping services
561110 Office administrative services
561420 Telephone call centers (including telephone answering services & telemarketing bureaus)
561500 Travel arrangement & reservation services
561490 Other business support services (including repossession services, court reporting, & stenotype services)
561790 Other services to buildings & dwellings
561900 Other support services (including packaging & labeling services, & convention & trade show organizers)
Waste Management & Remediation Services
562000 Waste management & remediation services

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Agriculture, Forestry, Hunting, & Fishing

112900 Animal production (including breeding of cats and dogs)
114110 Fishing
113000 Forestry & logging (including forest nurseries & timber tracts)
114210 Hunting & trapping
Support Activities for Agriculture & Forestry
115210 Support activities for animal production (including farriers)
115110 Support activities for crop production (including cotton ginning, soil preparation, planting, & cultivating)
115310 Support activities for forestry

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Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation

Amusement, Gambling, & Recreation Industries
713100 Amusement parks & arcades
713200 Gambling industries
713900 Other amusement & recreation services (including golf courses, skiing facilities, marinas, fitness centers, bowling centers, skating rinks, miniature golf courses)
Museums, Historical Sites, & Similar Institutions
712100 Museums, historical sites, & similar institutions
Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, & Related Industries
711410 Agents & managers for artists, athletes, entertainers, & other public figures
711510 Independent artists, writers, & performers
711100 Performing arts companies
711300 Promoters of performing arts, sports, & similar events
711210 Spectator sports (including professional sports clubs & racetrack operations)

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Construction

233110 Land subdivision & land development
233300 Nonresidential building construction
233200 Residential building construction
Heavy Construction
234100 Highway, street, bridge, & tunnel construction
234900 Other heavy construction
Special Trade Contractors
235500 Carpentry & floor contractors
235710 Concrete contractors
235310 Electrical contractors
235400 Masonry, drywall, insulation, & tile contractors
235210 Painting & wall covering contractors
235110 Plumbing, heating, & air-conditioning contractors
235610 Roofing, siding, & sheet metal contractors
235810 Water well drilling contractors
235900 Other special trade contractors

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Educational Services

611000 Educational services (including schools, colleges, & universities)

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Finance & Insurance

Credit Intermediation & Related Activities
522100 Depository credit intermediation (including commercial banking, savings institutions, & credit unions)
522200 Nondepository credit intermediation (including sales financing & consumer lending)
522300 Activities related to credit intermediation (including loan brokers)
Insurance Agents, Brokers, & Related Activities
524210 Insurance agencies & brokerages
524290 Other insurance related activities
Securities, Commodity Contracts, & Other Financial Investments & Related Activities
523140 Commodity contracts brokers
523130 Commodity contracts dealers
523110 Investment bankers & securities dealers
523210 Securities & commodity exchanges
523120 Securities brokers
523900 Other financial investment activities (including investment advice)

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Health Care & Social Assistance

Ambulatory Health Care Services
621610 Home health care services
621510 Medical & diagnostic laboratories
621310 Offices of chiropractors
621210 Offices of dentists
621330 Offices of mental health practitioners (except physicians)
621320 Offices of optometrists
621340 Offices of physical, occupational & speech therapists, & audiologists
621111 Offices of physicians (except mental health specialists)
621112 Offices of physicians, mental health specialists
621391 Offices of podiatrists
621399 Offices of all other miscellaneous health practitioners
621400 Outpatient care centers
621900 Other ambulatory health care services (including ambulance services, blood, & organ banks)
Hospitals622000 Hospitals
Nursing & Residential Care Facilities
623000 Nursing & residential care facilities
Social Assistance
624410 Child day care services
624200 Community food & housing, & emergency & other relief services
624100 Individual & family services
624310 Vocational rehabilitation services

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Information

511000 Publishing industries
Broadcasting & Telecommunications
513000 Broadcasting & telecommunications
Information Services & Data Processing Services
514210 Data processing services
514100 Information services (including news syndicates, libraries, & on-line information services)
Motion Picture & Sound Recording
512100 Motion picture & video industries (except video rental)
512200 Sound recording industries

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Manufacturing

315000 Apparel mfg.
312000 Beverage & tobacco product mfg.
334000 Computer & electronic product mfg.
335000 Electrical equipment, appliance, & component mfg.
332000 Fabricated metal product mfg.
337000 Furniture & related product mfg.
333000 Machinery mfg.
339110 Medical equipment & supplies mfg.
322000 Paper mfg.
324100 Petroleum & coal products mfg.
326000 Plastics & rubber products mfg.
331000 Primary metal mfg.
323100 Printing & related support activities
313000 Textile mills
314000 Textile product mills
336000 Transportation equipment mfg.
321000 Wood product mfg.
339900 Other miscellaneous mfg.
Chemical Manufacturing
325100 Basic chemical mfg.
325500 Paint, coating, & adhesive mfg.
325300 Pesticide, fertilizer, & other agricultural chemical mfg.
325410 Pharmaceutical & medicine mfg.
325200 Resin, synthetic rubber, & artificial & synthetic fibers & filaments mfg.
325600 Soap, cleaning compound, & toilet preparation mfg.
325900 Other chemical product & preparation mfg.
Food Manufacturing
311110 Animal food mfg.
311800 Bakeries & tortilla mfg.
311500 Dairy product mfg.
311400 Fruit & vegetable preserving & speciality food mfg.
311200 Grain & oilseed milling
311610 Animal slaughtering & processing
311710 Seafood product preparation & packaging
311300 Sugar & confectionery product mfg.
311900 Other food mfg. (including coffee, tea, flavorings, & seasonings)
Leather & Allied Product Manufacturing
316210 Footwear mfg. (including leather, rubber, & plastics)
316110 Leather & hide tanning & finishing
316990 Other leather & allied product mfg.
Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing
327300 Cement & concrete product mfg.
327100 Clay product & refractory mfg.
327210 Glass & glass product mfg.
327400 Lime & gypsum product mfg.
327900 Other nonmetallic mineral product mfg.

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Mining

212110 Coal mining
212200 Metal ore mining
212300 Nonmetallic mineral mining & quarrying
211110 Oil & gas extraction
213110 Support activities for mining

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Other Services

Personal & Laundry Services
812111 Barber shops
812112 Beauty salons
812220 Cemeteries & crematories
812310 Coin-operated laundries & drycleaners
812320 Drycleaning & laundry services (except coin-operated) (including laundry & drycleaning drop off & pickup sites)
812210 Funeral homes & funeral services
812330 Linen & uniform supply
812113 Nail salons
812930 Parking lots & garages
812910 Pet care (except veterinary) services
812920 Photofinishing
812190 Other personal care services (including diet & weight reducing centers)
812990 All other personal services
Repair & Maintenance
811120 Automotive body, paint, interior, & glass repair
811110 Automotive mechanical & electrical repair & maintenance
811310 Commercial & industrial machinery & equipment (except automotive & electronic) repair & maintenance
811210 Electronic & precision equipment repair & maintenance
811430 Footwear & leather goods repair
811410 Home & garden equipment & appliance repair & maintenance
811420 Reupholstery & furniture repair
811190 Other automotive repair & maintenance (including oil change & lubrication shops & car washes)
811490 Other personal & household goods repair & maintenance

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Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services

541100 Legal services
541211 Office of certified public accountants
541214 Payroll services
541213 Tax preparation services
541219 Other accounting services
Architectural, Engineering, & Related Services
541310 Architectural services
541350 Building inspection services
541340 Drafting services
541330 Engineering services
541360 Geophysical surveying & mapping services
541320 Landscape architecture services
541370 Surveying & mapping (except geophysical) services
541380 Testing laboratories
Computer Systems Design & Related Services
541510 Computer systems design & related services
Specialized Design Services
541400 Specialized design services (including interior, industrial, graphic, & fashion design)
Other Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services
541800 Advertising & related services
541600 Management, scientific, & technical consulting services
541910 Market research & public opinion polling
541920 Photographic services
541700 Scientific research & development services
541930 Translation & interpretation services
541940 Veterinary services
541990 All other professional, scientific, & technical services

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Real Estate & Rental & Leasing

Real Estate
531100 Lessors of real estate (including miniwarehouses & self-storage units)
531210 Offices of real estate agents & brokers
531320 Offices of real estate appraisers
531310 Real estate property managers
531390 Other activities related to real estate
Rental & Leasing Services
532100 Automotive equipment rental & leasing
532400 Commercial & industrial machinery & equipment rental & leasing
532210 Consumer electronics & appliances rental
532220 Formal wear & costume rental
532310 General rental centers
532230 Video tape & disc rental
532290 Other consumer goods rental

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Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, & Similar Organizations

813000 Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, & similar organizations

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Retail Trade

Building Material & Garden Equipment & Supplies Dealers
444130 Hardware stores
444110 Home centers
444200 Lawn & garden equipment & supplies stores
444120 Paint & wallpaper stores
444190 Other building materials dealers
Clothing & Accessories Stores
448130 Children’s & infants’ clothing stores
448150 Clothing accessories stores
448140 Family clothing stores
448310 Jewelry stores
448320 Luggage & leather goods stores
448110 Men’s clothing stores
448210 Shoe stores
448120 Women’s clothing stores
448190 Other clothing stores
Electronic & Appliance Stores
443130 Camera & photographic supplies stores
443120 Computer & software stores
443111 Household appliance stores
443112 Radio, television, & other electronics stores
Food & Beverage Stores
445310 Beer, wine, & liquor stores
445220 Fish & seafood markets
445230 Fruit & vegetable markets
445100 Grocery stores (including supermarkets & convenience stores without gas)
445210 Meat markets
445290 Other specialty food stores
Furniture & Home Furnishing Stores
442110 Furniture stores
442200 Home furnishings stores
Gasoline Stations
447100 Gasoline stations (including convenience stores with gas)
General Merchandise Stores
452000 General merchandise stores
Health & Personal Care Stores
446120 Cosmetics, beauty supplies, & perfume stores
446130 Optical goods stores
446110 Pharmacies & drug stores
446190 Other health & personal care stores
Motor Vehicle & Parts Dealers
441300 Automotive parts, accessories, & tire stores
441222 Boat dealers
441221 Motorcycle dealers
441110 New car dealers
441210 Recreational vehicle dealers (including motor home & travel trailer dealers)
441120 Used car dealers
441229 All other motor vehicle dealers
Sporting Goods, Hobby, Book, & Music Stores
451211 Book stores
451120 Hobby, toy, & game stores
451140 Musical instrument & supplies stores
451212 News dealers & newsstands
451220 Prerecorded tape, compact disc, & record stores
451130 Sewing, needlework, & piece goods stores
451110 Sporting goods stores
Miscellaneous Store Retailers
453920 Art dealers
453110 Florists
453220 Gift, novelty, & souvenir stores
453930 Manufactured (mobile) home dealers
453210 Office supplies & stationery stores
453910 Pet & pet supplies stores
453310 Used merchandise stores
453990 All other miscellaneous store retailers (including tobacco, candle, & trophy shops)
Nonstore Retailers
454110 Electronic shopping & mail-order houses
454310 Fuel dealers
454210 Vending machine operators
454390 Other direct selling establishments (including door-to-door retailing, frozen food plan providers, party plan merchandisers, & coffee-break service providers)

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Transportation & Warehousing

481000 Air transportation
485510 Charter bus industry
484110 General freight trucking, local
484120 General freight trucking, long-distance
485210 Interurban & rural bus transportation
486000 Pipeline transportation
482110 Rail transportation
487000 Scenic & sightseeing transportation
485410 School & employee bus transportation
484200 Specialized freight trucking (including household moving vans)
485300 Taxi & limousine service
485110 Urban transit systems
483000 Water transportation
485990 Other transit & ground passenger transportation
488000 Support activities for transportation (including motor vehicle towing)
Couriers & Messengers
492000 Couriers & messengers
Warehousing & Storage Facilities
493100 Warehousing & storage (except lessors of miniwarehouses & self-storage units)

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Utilities

221000 Utilities

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Wholesale Trade

Wholesale Trade, Durable Goods
421600 Electrical goods
421200 Furniture & home furnishing
421700 Hardware, & plumbing & heating equipment & supplies
421940 Jewelry, watch, precious stone, & precious metals
421300 Lumber & other construction materials
421800 Machinery, equipment, & supplies
421500 Metal & mineral (except petroleum)
421100 Motor vehicle & motor vehicle parts & supplies
421400 Professional & commercial equipment & supplies
421930 Recyclable materials
421910 Sporting & recreational goods & supplies
421920 Toy & hobby goods & supplies
421990 Other miscellaneous durable goods
Wholesale Trade, Nondurable Goods
422300 Apparel, piece goods, & notions
422800 Beer, wine, & distilled alcoholic beverage
422920 Books, periodicals, & newspapers
422600 Chemical & allied products
422210 Drugs & druggists’ sundries
422500 Farm product raw materials
422910 Farm supplies
422930 Flower, nursery stock, & florists’ supplies
422400 Grocery & related products
422950 Paint, varnish, & supplies
422100 Paper & paper products
422700 Petroleum & petroleum products
422940 Tobacco & tobacco products
422990 Other miscellaneous nondurable goods

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999999 Unclassified establishments (unable to classify)

Grateful for the Morning Sun

Good Moring Los Angeles! Last week, I posted a gnarly photo of the aftermath from my accident collision with a hit and run driver almost 3 weeks ago. It freaks me out to see that photo as it crystalizes just how close I came to death.




I wanted to share a recent portrait. As you can see, I'm healing up quickly, which is the most amazing part of this whole ordeal. I attribute my rapid recovery to being in excellent shape before the wreck, ALOT of rest afterwards and most importantly the outpouring of support from my family and friends.

Thank you.

TONIGHT! Cool Haus Parks in Culver City

 This morning, Heather and I caught a glimpse of Cool Haus putting the final touches on their nifty new stationary shop in preparation for their grand opening tonight.



 From 6-7pm they'll be serving free ice cream sammys. I bet there will be a line. Who's going to be the mayor?

Checkpoint

 

 3 weeks ago, I was nearly killed by a hit and run driver while riding my bike in Echo Park. As an avid bicyclist, I've wondered what could be done to make the streets safer for cycling in Los Angeles. This morning, I found the answer.

 

As I was driving to work, I saw an angry man holding a nearly illegible sign waving furiously at the cars passing by. Up on the next block, I saw what he was angry about: a police checkpoint. It turns out, he was warning unlicensed drivers that the police were checking every driver to make sure they had a drivers license. 

I was shocked how many people he had to warn. In just 4 hours, the Culver City Police had taken 100 unlicensed drivers off the road. Their cars were impounded and they were free to walk away.

Here was one such driver. Was he unlicensed or was his license suspended for a DUI? Either way, it was illegal for him to be driving.

Driving is a privilege. More importantly, it's a potentially deadly activity requiring skill and training. If you cannot prove you are trained to operate deadly machinery, you have no business putting people in danger. If you have been suspended from driving and continue to drive, you're a menace to public safety and deserve to be stopped.

An estimated 2 million California drivers are unlicensed. Either they never got a drivers license or their license has been suspended. More than half of all people driving with a suspended license were convicted of a DUI.

Half of all hit-and-run collisions involve unlicensed drivers. Unlicensed drivers are four times more likely than licensed drivers to be involved in a fatal accident.

If you support safe streets and would like to end the menace of hit and runs that kill cyclists and pedestrians, take a moment to thank the Culver City Police Department for catching 100+ unlicensed drivers this morning. Call CCPD Traffic Division at 310-253-6251 and let Lt. Ron Iizuka know how much you support checkpoints to catch unlicensed drivers. Better yet, ask the police in your neighborhood to implement similar checkpoints. I have yet to see a more effective way to reduce the danger posed by hit and run drivers.

Walking The Walk

How many times have you seen a police officer driving in a reckless manner? I've stopped counting the number of cops talking on their cell phone while driving. I even saw a motorcycle cop riding his bike with one hand and holding his cellphone in another. Once when I confronted an LAPD officer while riding next to her squad car on my bike, she smiled and said to me "It's for official police business" as if the subject matter of her call magically immunizes her from distraction and me from the danger she poses to my safety. I've witnessed Beverly Hills police blow through stop signs while speeding through residential neighborhoods. While this is legal when their lights are on and they are responding to an urgent call, their emergency lights were off, and because they made no effort to alert anyone, it can only be described as reckless driving. A call to the watch commander confirmed they should not have been doing that. One of my hopes was that one day, all these officers would be held to the same laws that all other motorists must abide by.

For one Miami police officer, that day has finally come.

Florida Highway Patrol arrested a Miami police officer on Oct. 11 after a seven-minute-long high speed chase on Florida's Turnpike in Broward County.

VIDEO COURTESY OF UNIVISION 23

Bike Your Halloween Weekend

Tonight's Critical Mass will feature one thousand plus costumed riders taking to the streets of L.A. starting at 6:30pm, Wilshire and Western.

On Saturday, head over to the Graff Lab for the L.A. Fixie Bike Film and Music Festival. Music, Films, Food and Racing with CASH prizes for men and women! So if you think you're the fastest fixie rida in all the land,

PROVE IT, and collect $400. Here's a teaser:

And on Sunday, The 99% Ride takes to the streets starting at OccupyLA at noon, sharing our demands for a world that works through democracy, not corporatocracy.

I've invited the mayor to join us.