Black Raven Dragoons

[Snobal]

I know on one occasion he hired a prostitute and she bit his tongue and wouldn't release so he bit the Christ out of her and they both were arrested on battery charges.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMMxIAn_76g&feature=channel_page

[Zancarius]

So that's what it was! He always came off as a sleazy creep.

Billy Mays came off as a friendly average guy who was always having fun.

[Tirian]

Farrah Fawcett.
Michael Jackson.
Walter Cronkite ailing.
Now this.
The man. The legend. The beard.
Billy Mays.

I'm going to go home and drink.

Tirian (/depressed)

[Damorte]

I know on one occasion he hired a prostitute and she bit his tongue and wouldn't release so he bit the Christ out of her and they both were arrested on battery charges.

Dooood.... wtf.

[Zancarius]

Don't buy Shamwow?

[Snobal]

As much as I hate to say it, I own two. They were given as gifts to my parents, so I guess really they own them. And they suck. And I don't mean they suck cola out of the carpet, either.

[Zancarius]

You mean they don't suck?

[Snobal]

Yeah, I guess I am. They don't suck. At all.

[Zancarius]

Bump. Just heard cocaine was found in his system.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090808/D99UCE601.html

I'm tempted to make a "white powder" joke.

It's important to note he wasn't under the influence of it when he died buuuut...

The medical examiner "concluded that cocaine use caused or contributed to the development of his heart disease, and thereby contributed to his death," the office said in a press release.

The office said Mays last used cocaine in the few days before his death but was not under the influence of the drug when he died. Hillsborough County spokeswoman Lori Hudson said nothing in the toxicology report indicated the frequency of Mays' cocaine use.

[Zancarius]

Edit: I kind of have to wonder about the coroner's office releasing this information. It seems a bit... odd.

[Lithium]

Just heard that, too. Stimulants crossed my mind when I initially heard of his death, with the level of energy he had. But all accounts indicated he was born with that level of enthusiasm.

In any case, It's sad to hear that it was a contributing factor to his death.

This is mandatory: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo4LPpeAvTE

And also, a re-link, for great justice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tyct9l-fD8&NR=1

[Zancarius]

OMG the Billy Mays one. I forgot about that...

That is the epitome of awesome. I'm going to be watching Billy Mays videos on Youtube now for the rest of the evening.

[Zancarius]

Mays' family has come out saying they never saw signs of abuse. Turus speculated over the phone that perhaps the toxicology reports were confused by the prescription drugs he was taking (I don't know whether that's possible or not, but it's something to consider).

What's been bugging me since yesterday is this: Why would the coroner release this information when the family indicated they weren't exactly in the know beforehand and/or didn't want it released? Fame?

[Grimblast]

While you ponder this, refer to Billy Mays kick butt action in the following video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5utavAdhUIM

More importantly, the area around 6 minutes and on. The rest is just random robot chicken like stuff. Watch at your own peril!

[Lithium]

Mays' family has come out saying they never saw signs of abuse. Turus speculated over the phone that perhaps the toxicology reports were confused by the prescription drugs he was taking (I don't know whether that's possible or not, but it's something to consider).

What's been bugging me since yesterday is this: Why would the coroner release this information when the family indicated they weren't exactly in the know beforehand and/or didn't want it released? Fame?

He'd been scheduled for hip replacement surgery, which would have probably had him on Oxycontin, Norco, or at the very least, Vicodin. These are all opiates, similar to Morphine. Having taken these, and if you've taken them, you know that they mellow you out - sometimes to the point of sleeping.

Cocaine is a stimulant and lesser versions are a local anesthetic. Unless he recently had surgery, he shouldn't have anything resembling it in his system.

While coke is a stimulant, doctors prescribe other medications that are extremely chemically different, and could never be confused with cocaine in a toxicology report.

And that's the thing about cocaine. Without getting terribly into it, most users' friends and family never know unless they turn into an out-of-control addict. It's compact, odorless, and a user could easily slip into the bathroom to dose up while his or her friends and family thought they were just taking a leak. Most people take "bumps" in the bathroom by dipping their car keys into a packet of previously cut coke.

He probably used it sparingly, or his wife is just acting surprised. If he were a moderate user his family definitely would have known. Short temper, weight loss, sleep deprivation and other uncharacteristic qualities would have made them suspicious. If you watch his show, Pitchmen, with Anthony Sullivan, you never once see those characteristics. He was usually pretty jovial. He more than likely used it once in a great while as opposed to every few hours. It may come as a shocker, but a lot of businessmen or people who travel frequently substitute it for coffee to keep them alert. It has little to do with recreational use. Mays definitely would fall into that description.

The toxicology report said they couldn't conclude how often he used it, so we'll never know. And it's probably not owed to us anyhow. Even this report was unecessary, but it would fall under public knowledge. It's available to read, but it doesn't need to be reported prominently. That's just rude of them.

While he likely wasn't a fiend, use of that shit in any moderation can mess you up. Shame that it did in Mays' case.