Steroid free Day 10

Greetings to all your beautiful people out there. The beer blog will be taking a temporary hiatus as I will be focusing this blog on my hopeful recovery of pseudo eczema.

Now most of you know I suffer from what I'd always believed was eczema. At work, people have seen me tape my fingers. In jitsu, it wouldn't be uncommon place for me to breakfall a couple time and have my hand open up with sores and cuts. And in general, all of you have seen me scratch. No lie it's true.

In my never ending search for something to avail me of this living hell I had search and visited anyone that would listen.

Western Medicine has me on topical steroids in addition to PUVA, Protopic Ointment and Oral Prednisone along the way.

The naturopath said I might have leaky gut syndrome and should take lots of Omega 3s, probiotics and ACESe + Zn to help sort it out. They also mentioned I might have food sensitivities to Dairy, Eggs, Soy and a bunch of other stuff.

Recently, the food sensitivities thing proved true with more and more food causing flares. Removing dairy, whey, eggs, soy, chicken, tomatoes and strawberries would cause minimal cracking in the hands. This never made sense to me though since I would eat all these things as a child and none of the current symptoms had ever shown. It's almost as if the eczema had evolved.

Even with that though my eczema didn't subside and most recently I had the worst flare up ever seen post grading season and move. During the move, I watched my hands crack and bleed beyond control and even remember seeing the healthy skin fall off a small portion of my hand as I washed it causing an open sore. My immediate response to this was to add polysporin and of course steroid creams to tame the flare.

But, for all my efforts, the chronic swelling and cracking did not go away. Seeing how my right hand wouldn't even close for about two weeks straight, I once again turned to the internet.

A few recommended the candida diet to help ease overgrowth of candida in the gut. I have been observing this diet in some form for a couple weeks now and seeing some mild aid. Moreover though, in my internet search, I found one individual who had tried candida and now trying Topical Steroid Withdrawl and was seeing skin healing.

What is TSW? The short answer is that TSW is an acknowledgement that Topical Steroids are actually the cause of eczema like symptoms after chronic use. Years of use has caused the subdermal layers to thin beyond functional use which results in the epidermal thickening and resulting eczema look. Additionally, the adrenals start to misbehave as the steroids start to go systemic with changes.

The simple answer recommended by ITSAN? Cease and desist all topical steroids immediately. The result? Full recovery of pseudo eczema (termed Red Skin Syndrome) over the course of months and years.

Now considering my hand was falling apart with mere skin washing, I am more than happy to give this a try. I am currently 10 days in and have already seen a marked reduction in hand swelling. My natural itch has gone up but that's normal since the systemic steroids have been removed since they are no longer bleeding in through the skin. Over time many TSW bloggers have now seen relief of RSS/TSW and I'm throwing my hat into the fold in hopes that if this works, someone may find this and find the inspiration to endure TSW to find their own relief.

Let the battle begin!

A beer enthusiast

A beer enthusiast is what I was called; That's what they use to call me and hence forth I will adopt this title as I write on. Due  an abundantly busy I have not had a good chance to sit down and write until now. Either that or I'm too lazy. Whichever the case, on with the following post!

Parallel 49 Seed Spitter

Location: Alibi Room
Serving Type: Sleeve
Rating: 3/5
Best Suited for: BBQs

After trying this beer at the VCBW beer festival and not finding it as favourable as I'd originally thought, I decided to give it another go. Now, while I did enjoy  this beer a little more the second time around, I still found there was something lacking about this beer. The nose on the beer had hints of sour apple and the taste a complimenting sour melon taste. Still, watermelon is usually a summer treat that always delivers and this beer didn't quite hit that bench mark.

Tariq Khan's English Porter

Location: Alibi Room Cask Ale
Serving Type: Pint
Rating: 5/5
Best Suited for: Social Sit Downs

I do believe this beer is the first perfect score I've given on this blog but this beer deserved it. The nose on this beer was malty and the following taste comprised of a perfect hops, caramel and malt barley. Since this was a cask ale, the body of the beer wasn't overly carbonated which made it quite easy to sip on. What a treat!

Green Flash Trippel

Location: Firefly
Serving Type: 650mL bottle
Rating: 2/5
Best Suited for: A beer tasting

Usually I adore belgian trippels and dubbels. In the refermenting process they seem to gain a higher level of excellence and delicious flavour. So imagine my excitement when this bottle crossed my path from Green Flash brewery out of San Diego. At initial glance this beer poured well with lots of head and a nice smell of bananas and citrus. The taste however failed in comparison to other trippels I've had in the past. Had more of beer and fruit juice taste which was a definite fail in this case.

Rogue Mocha Porter

Location: Firefly
Serving Type: 650mL bottle
Rating: 4/5
Best Suited for: Social Sit Downs

This beer poured nicely with little head and dark brown colour. The flavour on it was quite nice finding a  nice blend of flavour of coffee hints and stout beer. The dark chocolate taste on the end finished the flavour off quite nicely. Fair warning though; this beer does have coffee in it and it your not a coffee drinker, it will keep you buzzing.

Whister Brewing Company Pineapple Express

Location: Firefly
Serving Type: 650mL bottle
Rating: 3/5
Best Suited for: Served cold after activity

After seeing this beer on facebook, I searched beer vendors high and low for this sweet sounding beer. Before heading off for Summer Camp last weekend, I finally managed to get my hands on it and was excited at the prospect of finally trying it. Was it worth the wait? Sadly no. The nose on the beer was that of pineapple and in the undertone of flavour, one could make out the pineapple flavour. Still though, much like the trippel, it left something lacking. In it's defense though, I think it was unfairly judged since it was mildly cool and tasted after some dark ales. One it's own, I might give it a better score.

Russell 6.26 17th Anniversary Scotch Ale

Location: Firefly
Serving Type: 650mL bottle
Rating: 5/5
Best Suited for: Anytime

For the second time in this blog, a beer is given a perfect score. With a bit of oak a vanilla on the nose, this beer went down smoothly with hints of caramel and dried fruit. Highly recommended.

Rubies and Belgians!

Well, last Friday turned into an impromptu pub crawl after meeting with DW for a post work drink. Needless to say, there turned out to be many post work drinks over the course of the afternoon. 

Red Truck Ruby Strong Ale

Location: Cascade on Main
Serving Type: Pint
Rating: 3/5
Best Suited for: Social Sit Downs

This was my second beer of the night and turned out to be a nice compliment with dinner. The smell of the beer was just like Halloween candy which was fitting since the taste was both sweet and slightly sour at the same time. The strength of the flavour made it good for conversation as the sweet/sour taste had a linger to it which gave it a unique character.

Lost Coast Belgian Triple IPA

Location: Alibi Room in Yaletown
Serving Type: Pint
Rating: 4/5
Best Suited for: Birthday Celebrations

Forewarning to anyone that tries this marvelous delight; it will knock you on your keister after one or two of these. This was my fifth and sixth beer of the night and the turning point in the night when just enough became too much. This was impossible to forsee though as this 9.5% creation of taste magic blends a unique combo of citrus grapefruit and hoppy zing. I would definitely return to the Alibi for this one, just at the beginning of the night.

Now if I could only remember the names of the other four beers I had.

Beer Review post Vegas

Greetings all,

The lack of posts lately has been due to high course load, work and a trip to Vegas. None the less I'm back with a four beers to post about. Included are:

Driftwood Fat Tug IPA
Townsite 'Zunga' Blonde Ale
Shock Top Belgian White
Fernie huckleberry wheat ale

Driftwood Fat Tug IPA

Location: New Oxford in Yaletown
Serving Type: Pint
Rating: 4/5
Best Suited for: Social Sit Downs

I'd first had this beer as a Christmas gift this past season and while I'm not usually fond of hoppy beers, I was quite pleased with it's taste. Until now though I chose not to post about it as I could not put a descriptor on the taste. That all changed recently though after having an epiphany at the Nex Oxford sipping on this fine craft once again. The taste on the palette was quite strong and while that made for slow sipping, the taste of grapefruit and hopps in unison keeps you quite pleased in the long haul. 

Townsite 'Zunga' Blonde Ale

Location: New Oxford in Yaletown
Serving Type: Pint
Rating: 3/5
Best Suited for: BBQs

Townsite is a relatively new brewery (as far as I know) based out of powell river. I'd seen this beer previously at the VCBW beer festival but didn't try it in favour of their limited release at the event. I saw this once again at the New Oxford and based on the fact that they are one of only TWO bars to have it on tap in Vancouver, I thought I'd give it a try. The nose on the beer had a light fruity smell and the body was lightly coloured. The taste of the beer was VERY mild and almost favoured a pilsner. Since I'm one who likes suttle flavours on beer, I did not favour this beer at all.

Fernie Huckleberry Wheat Ale

Location: Lennox at City Square
Serving Type: 650mL bottle
Rating: 4.5/5
Best Suited for: BBQs

And cue a wonderfly subtle flavoured beer out of Fernie BC. I've seen this beer in stores for a while but have never purchased it since the label leaves something to be desired. However, after learning about Fernie beers at the VCBW, I decided to give it a shot. This beer is one of the best wheat ales I've had in a long time. The body was nice a cloudy and the smell had a whiff of berry fields. The taste matched the body colour and smell perfectly. The taste of light 'hefe' was smooth and light and the undertone of berry flavour, versus the typical citrus, made for a wonderful compliment. Highly recommended!

Shock Top Belgian White

Location: Monte Carlo in Vegas
Serving Type: 341mL bottle
Rating: 3.0/5
Best Suited for: BBQs

Had a chance to taste this beer while playing Texas Holdem at the Monte Carlo in Vegas. Not a bad sipping beer for the price. Lightly coloured with a taste of citrus. Probably the best macro micro belgian you could get for the price.

Vancouver Craft Beer Festival

Well, strangely, I'm working on this post for the second time as blogger seems to have pitched my first copy. Ridiculous. Below is a summary of the Vancouver Craft Beer Festival as best I can remember.

Upright Brewing De Glazen (Portland, OR): A nice saison to start of the days event. I found it quite refreshing while DW wasn't a fan. 4/5
Townsite Belgian Ale (Powell River, BC): Well bodied fruity beer with cloudy texture. 8% and event the sampler knocked me on my ass. 3.5/5
Fernie Brown Ale (Fernie, BC): A nice nutty brown ale. 3/5
Cannery Brewing Squire Scotch Ale (Pentincton, BC): Not as good as R and B Wee Angry but still not bad. Good body with a hint of caramel sweetness. 3/5
Red Truck Limited Ruby Da Dog (North Van, BC): Sour beer. Almost like lemonade meets beer. Strangely refreshing though. DW was not a fan of sour beers. 4/5
Parallel 49 Watermelon Wit (Vancouver, BC) Not as good as the name made it sound. Might be because it followed the sour beer. Points though for being the most unique. 4/5
Yukon Red, Amber Ale (Whitehorse, BC) Best beer of the night. Easy on the palette beer with a touch of honey. 5/5
Philips Cask Ale (Victoria, BC): I can't remember what this was! ?/5
Duchesse de Bourgogne (Vichte, Belgium): Slightly sour fruit belgian ale. Good but not worth two tokens. 3.5/5.

Overall, I had quite the great time at this even and can't wait to do it again next year!

A Taste of Beer 2 Results

Well strangely, not a huge turnout for a Taste of Beer but that's okay as it gave me a better chance to get to know those who were here and prevented me from likely overdrinking. While we didn't follow the rating system I'd set up, here's a synopsis of the three beers we had:

Swan's Riley Scotch Ale

Location: Brewery Creek Liquor Store (Main St)
Serving Type: 650 mL Bottle
Rating: 3/5
Best Suited for: Compliment to a Dinner Meal

This ale was quite nice. The body on it was lighter than the previous Russell Wee Angry Scotch Ale that I'd had before. None the less, this was still quite good and almost like a lighter bodied guinness

Spinnakers Uber Blonde

Location: Brewery Creek Liquor Store (Main St)
Serving Type: 650 mL Bottle
Rating: 4/5
Best Suited for: Cooking on the BBQ

This beer was a nice compromise between a hefeweizen and traditional ale with a hint of sweetness on it. Seemed like it'd be perfect after a tough day as it went down quite smoothly. At 8.2% I'd avoid too many of these though as the smoothness lead to quite a punch after a pint's worth.

Driftwod White Bark Wheat Ale

Location: Lennox Liquor Store
Serving Type: 650 mL Bottle
Rating: 2.5/5
Best Suited for: Sausage Dinner

I think out of the three beers we tried, this was my least favourite. I was initially drawn to it as looks like it was crafted to be like a traditional Bavarian Hefeweizen with included unfiltered hefe left in the bottle. Driftwood also produces their Farmhand ale which is quite nice. While this beer had a good flavour to it, it simply did not follow on the excellence of the previous two and seem to have a little aftertaste. The aftertase might be why they call it white bark. Whichever the case, it did not earn high points on the growing list of craft brews.

A Taste of Beer 2

Last year at this time, Vancouver launched its first ever Vancouver Craft Brewery Week which featured a selection of events highlighting craft beers. From the onset I was on board with the theme and hosted my own event which I aptly titled a Taste of Beer. This year, I've decided to host a second event with the same title. The beers I've bought this year that shall be featured include:

Granville Island Imperial Chocolate Porter (ft. flavours from Rogers Chocolate)
Fernie Buckleberry Wheat Ale
Swan's Riley Scotch Ale
Spinnakers Uber Blonde Ale
White Bark Wheat Ale
VCBW Cascadian Brown Ale (VCBW ft ale!!)
Howe Sound Megadestroyer Stout

Just for fun, I will have people rate their beers based on some simple criteria:

Type of Taste
Strength of Flavour
'Newness' of Flavour
Overall Rating

Screw the cigars! Bring on the crafty goodness!

Cheakamus Chai Maple Ale

Location: Lennox Liquor Store at City Square
Serving Type: 650 mL Bottle
Rating: 4/5
Best Suited for: Casual Conversations with Friends

While perusing one of the local Vancouver publishings whose name currently escapes me, I saw an add for this beer stating that it would be released April 9th. Almost instantaneously I started lashing my lips at the thought of sampling this beer as the professed combination of chai and maple in some type of awesome harmony sounded too good to be true. With high hopes though, I made routine visits for the local beer store to see if it had arrived and while it did not make it there for the April 9th date previously announced, I did find it about three weeks later.

Now, because I'd waited so long to actually get my hands on this beer, I wanted to save its opening and savouring until a special occasion. That day came yesterday after a hellacious Spartan Run, I decided to celebrate my accomplishment with this ale. Initially I was a little hesitant since my precious encounter with Cannery Maple Stout left me with dissatisfaction of maple beers. But, much as I'd hope, this beer was great. The initial taste on the palette was very strong as I'd been having Granville Island Pale Ale until that point and the sharp flavour of chai and maple were less than casual in terms of strength. After letting it sit though and giving it more sips, I must say that this beer lived up to the expectations I'd set out for it. Kudos Whister Brewing Company; You've outdone yourself!

Philips Ginger Beer

Hello? Anyone still using this space?

Mayhaps it's time that I dust this space off and make use of my one useful bit of wisdom to blog about our favourite thing in the world... Beer! As many of you know, I'm a bit of a craft beer fanatic and as long as time allows, I'm going to post reviews in this space of beers that I have come across and how well they went over.

Philips Ginger Beer

Location: Speakeasy on Broadway
Serving Type: Draft
Rating: 3.5/5
Best Suited for: Dad

When I was younger, and every year since, every Christmas season my dad would brew ginger beer. Over the years the formula changed quite a bit with changing flavours over time. Two things always remained constant about it though. One was that you would always taste the ginger on this drink to the point where you'd be nursing a glass for at least an hour. The second was that upon drinking completion you'd be warm on the inside for the rest of the night. Needless to say that through the years, I developed a love/hate relationship with ginger beer.

At a post work social, Philips incarnation of this drink crossed my path and I was keen to try it. The flavour on the palette overall was well bodied. The ginger in the beer could not be tasted but the flavour of a well bodied ale was still there. What I did like, that had me going back for a second, was the pleasant warm feel the lingered while sipping on the beer. No, it wasn't the esophagus piercing sting that my Dad might call for but it definitely highlighted the ginger. Overall quite nice and much better that the Granville Island counterpart that I've had before. Recommended to all.

Don't know when to say stop

And so today, I finally find myself on the cusp of rest. Rest that I have much needed for a long time now but have been unable to attain due to my desire to never 'lie in our graves' wondering if I had spent my living days well. I was suppose to have taken May off to mentally relax but that never happened. There was a spot at May's conclusion where I had about a week and a half off but found myself mentally occupied with sorting myself financially for the year and incorporating travel plans into that in regards to martial arts training for myself. Then came the week that I traveled home and didn't really sit down much in favour of either training or touching base with estranged faces. Upon my return to Van City, I worked a pretty grueling schedule paired a Calgary trip that has left me quite tuckered.

And so now, one month later, I sit doing absolutely nothing (well still doing stuff, but mostly nothing) and being okay with that as the batteries need a good recharging. Nothing also allows me to hold back financially as I've been working a little/lot ahead of my means and so now I can plan on how I'm going to pay for the things I do.

Sometimes I wish I had just %10 more stamina as that would have made all of this much much easier. At least I can say I lived when I'm alive and its now or never.

Home

This past week, I was fortunate enough to have another return visit to Ontario. Overall I had a fantastic time and managed to touch base with a lot of family and old friends. It was one of those trips that your sad to see end because you're having such a good time but had to end at some point. In regards to this, my Mom had asked me a day or two earlier if I was going to be sad when I left home. To this, I replied that I was but the thing was that I was going from one home to another. It was at this juncture that I realized that I had a couple places that I could really call home. There was Brampton home where I'd been born and raised. Then there was K-town where I made some of my closest friends and matured as a Jitsuka. And now there was Vancouver where I'd paved my own path and carved a niche of my own. They were all places where I could set my head, find familiar faces, get a bite to eat and rest my head to sleep with comfort. Real comfort though. The type that resonates in your body when that part of your brain knows its safe and warm.

It's not too often that, we as individuals find a comfort like this in even one location much less more than one. Just one more thing I suppose that I consider myself fortunate for having.

P.S. I just got a new tattoo. Also, I only have four minutes to save the world.

The itinerary for the trip home

This week T-Bone 1.5 returns home to re-visit his roots. The plans so far go as such. Looking forward to seeing everyone.

Trip Home:
Saturday:
Sunday: (Mother's Day) Helping Mom
Monday: Religious Function with Mom; Possible TO training?
Tuesday: Dinner with Nadine and Family
Wednesday: Visit Raesh and Co
Thursday: Dinner with Sally
Friday: Training with Alex Fairweather
Saturday: Hangout with MK and Mosie
Sunday: Back to Van 5pm

Xsist to Inspire

In recent days, I've entered a centre of philisophical thought in regards to what my role is as martial arts instructor and moreover how my stature on the mats relates to them. It's stemmed from a discussion I had about moving onwards and evolving in the structure of our martial arts forum. In starting a club, I'd never realy though so much about my own stature in relation to them so long as they were learning from me as an instructor. But through this discussion and the comtemplation of it afterwards, I realized that I was giving it thorough thought not only because of its nature but also because of who was saying it. Ultimately it was because of said individual's commanded respect that each statement had emphasis and brought about the realization that the quality of what I teach is made more credible if I evolve as a martial artist myself.

The time has come to evolve, transform and transcend.

Truly Awesome

Earth Hour + Settlers = The most romantic game of settlers ever

Get ready

T-Bone is now officially slated to return to ON in May from the 10th to the 17th. Looking forward to seeing all of you ON folk.

'After all these years and miles and memories'

On most b-days, I usually take a moment to reflect on how lucky I've been at every juncture in my life to have lived as full a life as I have. With that being the case, in this 27th B-day post, I'm going to do something a little different and typical. The following lyrics are from 'Just Older' by Bon Jovi and to say that I've felt almost every lyric today would be an understatement. The feeling behind this song resumes the exact place in my life where I find myself and I couldn't be happier about it.

Hey, man, its been a while
Do you remember me?
When I hit the streets I was 17
A little wild, a little green
Ive been up and down and in between
After all these years
Can you believe Im still chasing that dream
But I aint looking over my shoulder

Chorus:
I like the bed Im sleeping in
Its just like me, its broken in
Its not old -- just older
Like a favorite pair of torn blue jeans
This skin Im in its alright with me
Its not old -- just older

Its good to see your face
You aint no worse for wear
Breathing that california air
When we took on the world
When we were young and brave
We got secrets that well take to the grave
And were standing here shoulder to shoulder

Chorus:
I like the bed Im sleeping in
Its just like me, its broken in
Its not old -- just older
Like a favorite pair of torn blue jeans
This skin Im in its alright with me
Its not old -- just older

Im not old enough to sing the blues
But I wore the holes in the soles of these shoes
You can roll the dice til they call your bluff
But you cant win until youre not afraid to lose

Solo

Well, I look in the mirror
I dont hate what I see
Theres a few more lines staring back at me
The nights have grown a little colder
Hey man, I gotta run
Now you take care
If you see coach t. tell him I cut my hair
Its been all these years
Can you believe Im still chasing dreams
But I aint looking over my shoulder

Chorus:
I like the bed Im sleeping in
Its just like me, its broken in
Its not old -- just older
Like a favorite pair of torn blue jeans
This skin Im in its alright with me
It s not old -- just older

Evolution

I talk about myself a lot. This is nothing new. Most people do. One of the things that I often lack in most of my self indulgent stories is a visual reference that reflects the time period as it usually has some bearing on my personality at the time. Today, I remedied that and present for my small cadre of readers, 'Evolution of the Bone'.

Out of curiousity

Everyone's noticed the Haks and I appreciate all the comments and well wishes but, has anyone noticed that I have a beard and that it is spectacular?

A report from out west

Well, it has been a while since I've posted but here we are once again for another update. Last week was a complete and utter whirlwind between work/the new club/getting ready for the Thumper visit. I will attempt to address each as best I can.

Work - Work sucks. Most days were average but Monday was especially terrible. I was pulled from one of the nicer working areas with newer equipment to do x-rays of a decomposing corpse which was so decayed that it was green. On the plus side of things though, I was able to selfishly use the computers at work to do some of the paper work associated with the new club.

The new Club - Tuesday had to be one of the days I was the most excited and scared about. Naturally I was ecstatic about finally starting a club in BC but that residing fear of no one showing up and everything turning into a flop was also very prevalent. This was compounded by an e-mail on Monday stating that as of the writing time, there were only four individuals registered. Initially I was put off by this but figured that people would still show up for the 'trial sessions' I'd unofficially organized. And thankfully that's exactly what happened. My first sessions saw nine, enthusiastic energetic novices on the mats who were eating up everything that I was giving them. Thursday saw the same number and numbers have since gone up to 10 paid members as of Thumper's Tuesday sessions visit. Speaking of which...

Thumper's Visit - Without missing a beat, Thumper and I picked up where I'd left of when I left ON back in Oct of 06. There was our usual brand of bad comedy, a copious consumption of delicious foods from around the city and the usual fun of training on the mats. I could go on in boring detail but the following two pictures tell the story better than words could.






















These past two weeks have been some of the most rewarding experiences of my life having seen many of my long term dreams come true. Long ago as a purple, I thought to myself that it would be an honour to stand beside Thumper as both his student and a Sensei to others and this week I had that honour. I've also found myself riding the cusp of my dream of moving to Vancouver and starting a Jitsu club. There are moments where I catch myself even wondering if this is actually happening and whether I'm about to wake up from the dream. That hasn't happened yet though and until I do, I'm going to savour every last moment of this new ride.

On a disappointing last note, whoever decided to be so classy and leaving the anonymous comment of " I think you are still a self centred waste of time thats going nowhere", grow up. Not only does it reek of immaturity that one hides behind the veil of the internet to fling feces like a monkey, but its also petty and lacks any form of dignity. If you really have a problem with me (not that anyone should as its been more than half a year since I've had any real significant battle with anyone), take it up with me in the real world live civilized individuals do.

A few more doctrines

A while back, while having to deal with the backward folks of Cornwall, I had a post about some values which dominate the majority of my actions. Over the past few days, the following two themes have been on my mind and are new doctrines which I would like to add to the book of Zout.

The stupidity of 'Just joking'
Since I've been a child and as long as I can remember, people have always used this term as it was an absolution of any prior statements and actions that might have just occurred. What I've never been able to understand is why people have never understood that, instead of back tracking to try and cover there actions with such a lame statement, they should have just been smart enough to have never followed the path of the unwise action in the first place. Moreover, it also seems ridiculous to me that some would use such a whimsical statement to cover their track than a heart felt explanation and apology. The latter are the things I appreciate from people and don't think its far fetched to say that most others would sympathize with that sentiment.

Every action should have a net positive effect
A man who I respect dearly once wrote that you should always look to find a method to better any situation you're in as the net effect is bringing about a better outcome for any party involved in the situation. If one dictates their actions accordingly, there should never be a situation where you have to cover your tracks with 'just joking' as action to better should have been the initial though and the followed thought.
While the reality of such a thought can be far fetched depending on the nature of the situation, it does more good to start from this school of thought and follow from that than to just start with nothing and to question what you can do. If one is seeking the best possible outcome for anything, it is beneficial to work from the top down.

Please and Thank You Can Never be used enough
Enough said.