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LONDON (MarketWatch) — The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index neared its best finish since late 1999 on Tuesday, aided by gains in housing stocks and in AstraZeneca PLC as Pfizer Inc. made its case for a takeover of the drug maker.
The U.K. equities gauge UKX, -0.16% rose 0.3% to 6,873.08. It had been up by as much as 0.4%, but after the widely watched ZEW sentiment survey in Germany missed expectations the FTSE 100, as well as the pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index UKX, -0.16%, came off session highs.
AstraZeneca PLC AZN, +0.56% AZN, +1.28% shares, however, held to higher ground, rising 0.7% as investors kept watch for a potential tie-up with U.S. pharmaceutical heavyweight Pfizer PFE, +0.49%. Pfizer hinted it may be open to revamping its bid for the British drug maker, currently valued at roughly $106 billion. Read: 5 things to know about the Pfizer-AstraZeneca battle.
A "constructive engagement may lead to a transaction that AstraZeneca can recommend," said Pfizer in a statement. AstraZeneca has already turned down Pfizer's earlier bid of £50 a share ($84.47).
AstraZeneca's shares this year have shot up nearly 30% this year, outpacing the FTSE 100's gain of 1.8%. But the FTSE was closing on its record high of at 6,930.20 logged on Dec. 30, 1999, data from Dow Jones showed.
The potential AstraZeneca-Pfizer deal hasn't escaped the attention of British lawmakers. If it's approved, it would be the largest foreign takeover of a British company. During a parliamentary panel hearing Tuesday, Pfizer's Chief Executive Ian Read said there would be some jobs cuts and a lower research and development budget, according to the Guardian.
In U.K. law "there is not much the government can do to block such a takeover, unless it endangers the narrowly defined public interest," said Hossam Zeitoun, an assistant professor of strategy at the Warwick Business School, in a note. "Although [the] Labour [party] has promised to change this, it will all be over before the general election."
Solid growth in U.K. housing prices and sales rates, meanwhile, led builder Taylor Wimpey UK:TW to say it's confident that it will have met or exceeded each of its key financial targets by end the of 2015. It also set new medium-term financial targets for 2015 though 2017. Off the FTSE 100, shares of Taylor Wimpey rallied 7.6%.
But leading the FTSE 100 were construction firms Persimmon PLC PSN, +4.43% and Barratt Developments PLC BDEV, +2.28%, with shares in each finishing up by 3.2%.
Decliners of the day included EasyJet PLC EZJ, +2.67%. Its shares fell 4.2% despite the air carrier's narrower pretax loss of £53 million for the first half of the year.
EasyJet's shares could "take a pause given the group and industry capacity increases through summer 2014," said Investec Securities analyst James Hollins in a note Tuesday. But Investec held its buy rating on the company, in part given its positive long-term outlook. EasyJet shares have risen nearly 8% this year.
Shares in the London Stock Exchange Group LSE, +0.06% dropped 2.5% after the exchange operator said it's "evaluating the merits of a potential transaction involving" stock-index and asset manager Frank Russell Co., and is in talks with Russell's parent company, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.
Talks are ongoing and there's no certainty a transaction will take place, said LSE.
More news on MarketWatch:
U.S. sees $107 billion April budget surplus


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sand(redirected from sandstone)
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
material occurring in fine gritty particles.
brain sand sandy matter about the pineal gland and other parts of the brain.
The fine, granular particles of quartz and other crystalline rocks, or a gritty material resembling sand.
sand(sand) material occurring in small, gritty particles.
brain sand sand bodies.
The fine granular particles of quartz and other crystalline rocks, or a gritty material resembling sand.
1. material occurring in fine, gritty particles loose in the body.
2. geological sand is ingested by animals, especially horses, grazing on very sandy soil. The animals may take in large amounts and this accumulates in the large sacs of the alimentary tract, the reticulum of the cow and the cecum and colon in horses. Sand or dust storms, or volcanic dust fallout may produce a similar, acute situation.
sand colic
see sand colic.
sand enteritis
acute sand ingestion may cause enteritis with severe, sometimes fatal diarrhea. See also enteritis.
sand flea
see tungapenetrans.
sand rash
irritation and weeping of the toe webbing in racing Greyhounds causing lameness. Caused usually by racing in sand.
sand shin oak
sand toe
Greyhounds racing in sand suffer impaction of sand under the coronary band, causing lameness, mostly in the inner and outer toes of the hind paws.
uterine sand
see uterine sand.

subset: commoncrawl


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Swimming Pool Blog
by Rob Cox, May 21, 2010
Accurate Pool Water Testing
I got an email the other day from a customer. "I had a local guy with a computer who did my water tests… It was great… I got a print-out report every week with suggestions by chemical. Worked perfectly and my water was like glass. They are no longer in business and everywhere else uses a 19 year old kid with test strips… the accuracy depending on a) how much he had to drink last night and b) whether he really G.A.S. that day. Can I buy my own computer (?) for under $1K?"
My reply showed my slight distrust of the printout. "Some of the software that operates these store testing 'printouts' are designed to sell more chemicals." I explained. Then we got into the discussion of accuracy. More than a printout (which I later had to admit was rather convenient), what was most important for our customer was having accurate measurements of his water balance, and an easy way to know what chemicals, if any, he needs to add to the pool.
Test Strips
The least accurate method of testing your pool water. Test strips are also the cheapest, simplest and quickest way to test your pool water. Just dip the strip in the pool water, swirling for about 30 seconds and then compare the colors on the test strip to the colors on the bottle. "Comparison" tests such as this rely on the user to match the color and are subject to mis-interpretation or educated guessing.
A more accurate Test Strip came to market a few years back. Digital strip readers take the guesswork out of reading a test strip. You still dip and swirl, but then insert the strip into the handheld TruTest Digital Test Strip reader and it will give you a digital read-out of your test results.
Reagent Test Kits
The next most accurate way to test your water. For Chlorine testing, there are OTO and DPD methods of testing. OTO is the yellow colored test result. It computes Free Available Chlorine but does not test for Total Chlorine, which means that you cannot compute the level of Combined Chlorine in your pool. DPD is more accurate.
Test kits use reagents that you add, drop by drop, to your water sample. Chlorine and pH tests are a Comparison test, which means that we are relying on the eye of the tester to make an accurate color comparison. Total Alkalinity and Calcium Hardness and Cyanuric Acid (Stabilizer) tests are "Titration Tests", which means that we count the number of drops added until we observe a color change. Then we multiply the number of drops by a certain factor, usually 10, to determine the reading, in ppm (parts per million).
Reagent test kits range from $5 "Duo" Test kits, which only test for pH and Chlorine, to the pool management standard K-2005 test kit (shown), to the Professional Field Lab test kit. The fancier test kits will have Comparator Slides, which are color impregnated glass slides that won't fade or glare in the sunlight.
Digital Test Kits
For the ultimate in accuracy, and the testing method chosen by our customer mentioned at the start of this post, take a look at the ColorQ test kits by Lamotte. ColorQ test kits eliminate the need to visually determine slight color variations or use look-up tables, thus taking the guesswork out of poolside water analysis.
Popular with health departments, municipal pools and YMCA's - they give highly accurate results and are very simple to use. An internal photometer measures the sample and provides the user with the next steps, or what to add to the pool. Still no printout, but you could keep a log if you wanted to.
Another popular digital Test kit is the Scuba+ electronic tester. Drop in a tablet, swirl under water (the Scuba+ is an immersible tester) and the photometric reader does its work. Displays to the user the measurement on the LCD. This item is popular with poolguys, fits in a pocket of your cargo shorts.
With test kits, the axiom holds true, you get what you pay for. If you want accuracy, you'll need to pay a few more dollars. For the average pool owner however, I would recommend the $50 K-2005 kit. This will test all of the parameters important to water balance.
One more thing...there are some water testing techniques or tips that will also help improve accuracy.
- Always use Fresh Reagents, most have a shelf life of 1 year.
- Store reagents in a cool, dry location, out of direct sunlight.
- Take your water sample from under the surface. Testing surface water may yield inaccurate results.
- Keep your testing vials clean and rinse well between tests.
- If you get an odd test result, test again to be sure before adjustment.


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Mark Konold, Senior Fellow, Climate and Energy
Senior Fellow
Mark works as a Project Manager for Worldwatch's Climate and Energy program, coordinating and executing initiatives for its Low-Carbon Development Strategies. Included in this work is the generation of Sustainable Energy Roadmaps for the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica. Mark is responsible for integrating the project's various resources and coordinating the activities undertaken by Worldwatch and its project partners in the creation of country Roadmaps. Mark is also a regular contributor to Climate and Energy's Re|Volt blog and Worldwatch's Vital Signs series.
Prior to joining Worldwatch, Mark worked in Chicago for Motorola's Automotive and Industrial Electronics Group contributing to the group's initial electric battery research. Later he went on to work as a network administrator for LandAmerica Financial Group, a nationwide real estate insurance company. In 2005, he switched from the private to the non-profit sector where he helped create, build, and lead new initiatives for various education- and arts-based organizations in the city. He then moved to Jamaica and worked as a volunteer for a missionary group responsible for a high school, a local clinic, and an orphanage. It was there that he first became interested in the potential of renewable energy for creating robust growth in developing areas and the intersection of its technical, economic, and policy aspects.
Mark holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Marquette University and an M.A. in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). As a participant in SAIS's Bologna and D.C. programs, he focused on International Economics, Energy Resources, and Conflict Management. Additionally, Mark is a certified Project Management Professional through the Project Management Institute.
Selected Publications
Vital Signs Online
- "Global Wind Power Takes a Breather in 2011." Vital Signs Online. June 30, 2011.
- "Jamaica Changes Its Government, but What About its Energy Strategy?" January 27, 2012.
- "A Bold Call to Action: The Dominican Republic's Climate-Compatible Development Plan." September 28, 2011.
- "Wington Wind Farm: Jamaica's Commitment to Renewable Energy Starts Paying Off." September 14, 2011.
- "No Problem? Worldwatch is Introduced to Jamaica." August 25, 2011.
- "A Triumverate of Progress for the Dominican Republic's Energy Sector." August 01, 2011.
- "Significant Milestone Achieved in Low-Carbon Roadmap Project." June 20, 2011.
- "Can the Caribbean Create a Common Electricity Market?" May 25, 2011.
- "The Potential to Energize the Dominican Republic." April 22, 2011.
- "Financing a Transition to a Low-Carbon Future." March 03, 2011.
- "A Journey of A Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Roadmap." February 16, 2011.
- "Cuba Takes Steps to Go 'Petro Libre.'" February 02, 2011.
- "Islands of Leadership in a Sea of Mediocrity." January 06, 2011.
- "Renewable Energy not a 'Competing' Priority in Haiti." December 30, 2010.
- "If it IS Broken, Fix It: Developing a Low-Carbon Energy Roadmap for Haiti." November 29, 2010.


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It's a one-of-a-kind pool that you'll only find in Texas.
That's because it has a huge lazy river in the shape of Texas.
The pool will be in the Marriott Marquis next to Discovery Green.
The Marriott says they are three-fourths of the way done.
Photos: Texas-shaped lazy river in downtown Houston
"You're not going to see a Florida-shaped pool in the state of Florida, because they don't care as much as Texas cares about their state," said Jay Marsella, director of marketing for Marriott Marquis.
On Tuesday, crews worked feverishly on the 6th floor of the yet unopened hotel. They sweated in the October sun to put final touches on this pool that is one of its kind--for the one of a kind event.
The Marquis is Super Bowl headquarters for the NFL, and all the media coming to town in February.
The pool itself allows you to float from the edge, which is El Paso, and head over to Galveston in a matter of seconds and come back around.
This is the seventh Marriott Marquis in the world.
The entire terrace level is 60,000 square feet, and it all comes at a cost of $12 million.
"The owners wanted something different," Marsella said. "They wanted something that made a difference in a big city -- something that no one else had."
Marsella also took our cameras on a tour of the entire hotel, which will have six different bar and restaurants in it as well as 1,000 guest rooms and the largest ballroom in the city.
He said the hotel, which broke ground in 2014, is being built primarily to bring additional business to the city, and that business is in the form of conventions.
"The Super Bowl is one weekend, and to be honest, there's a lot more revenue we have to make that's not just the Super Bowl," Marsella said. "The Super Bowl is great to be able to expose ourselves."
But it's likely that exposure will come from the iconic swimming pool, which will light up the downtown skyline.
The hotel will be open right after Christmas, but the Marriott said they likely won't be open until the general public until April, because they have to train their staff and manage the other conventions they have coming in.


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Fujitsu is using quite a bit of bluster to drum up hype for its new gaming rig, which they claim will be the fastest on the whole planet thanks to something called "German ultra clocking." It's built in Germany, people!
There are essentially no details whatsoever about this thing other than the slide you see above and the following, equally-vague teaser video. But guys, Germany! It's engineered in Germany! There's no way this won't live up to their hype!
No, but seriously, what the hell is German ultra clocking?


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The Effects of Nicotine Cessation
Nicotine Withdrawal & Recovery Symptoms
WARNING: The below information is NOT MEDICAL ADVICE and is not intended for those using nicotine replacement products, e-cigarettes or any quitting product such as as Chantix, Champix, Zyban or Wellbutrin. Regardless of quitting method, contact your physician IMMEDIATELY if should you experience ANY condition or symptom that causes you CONCERN or ALARM, including continuing depression.
Within reason, cold turkey quitters are fairly safe in blaming withdrawal for most effects felt during the first three days, but not always. Pay close attention to what your body is telling you and don't hesitate to call your doctor if at all concerned.
The below symptom information was compiled by a nicotine cessation educator who is not a physician. The information provided is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between those quitting cold turkey and their doctor. Do not rely upon any information at WhyQuit to replace individual consultations with your physician or other qualified health care provider.
We are Nicotine Addicts! - Recovery is a temporary journey of re-adjustment during which the mind and body are allowed to undergo an amazing healing process. It's a period when the brain is permitted the time needed to physically re-sensitize nicotine numbed dopamine pathway receptors, and to return the number of receptors to levels seen inside the brains of non-smokers.
Mandatory Replenishment Cycle
Recovery is the time needed to allow the brain to again grow comfortable functioning without nicotine. It's the time needed to break and extinguish subconscious nicotine use triggers. It's where we allow our conscious thinking mind the time needed to adapt to all the physical changes, to get comfortable moving through each day without using, and the time to sort through years of nicotine use rationalizations. Doing so allows us to arrive at a day where we comfortably engage all aspects of life without a physical, emotional, subconscious or conscious want or need for nicotine.
Although we should expect anxiety producing bumps along the road, each passing day beyond physical withdrawal will bring fewer and fewer thoughts of wanting to use. Over time, all of your nicotine feeding cues, cues fathered by true chemical dependency, will be broken. Recovery is a matter of staying calm yet prepared, as a few such cues may be seasonal, mood related or associated with infrequent activities or events.
The bottom line is that whether your dependency was maintained by being smoked, chewed, vaped, drank, snuffed, sprayed, swallowed, sucked, licked or patched, in the end there is only one way out - no more nicotine.
Every recovery is different. The number and intensity of effects noticed or felt varies from person to person, and even between each person's own cessation experiences. Many members at Freedom are surprised to find that they experience almost no symptoms at all, while others are confronted with multiple symptoms. The number and types of particular feeding cues selected and formed by endless compliance with the mind's chemical demand for nicotine refueling also cause each person's recovery experience to be unique.
By understanding some of the symptoms and effects it may be possible, in some instances, to minimize their impact by thought or action. Removing the mystery associated with the sequencing and timing of withdrawal and recovery will hopefully make you feel like you have your very own personal roadmap to the rich sense of comfort, mental quiet and calm that awaits you here on Easy Street.
We nicotine smokers didn't suck tissue destroying tar composed of over 4,000 chemicals, including ammonia, formaldehyde, arsenic, butane, hydrogen cyanide, lead, mercury, vinyl chloride, methane or vast quantities of carbon monoxide into our bodies because we wanted to watch each puff destroy a bit more of our capacity to receive and circulate life-giving oxygen. We did so to get to the nicotine.
Those who care about you, including the victims and families whose nightmares are shared here at WhyQuit, are hoping and praying that you will decide to end your self-destruction while still time. What friends and loved ones don't understand is that the wanting felt for that next nicotine fix is as real and nearly identical to the wanting or craves they feel when hungry. What most users lack are the insights needed to explain why that next fix seems more important than life itself, an understanding that nicotine dependency is a brain wanting disorder, a mental illness and disease.
Nicotine is a colorless, odorless, organic-based alkaloid in the same family as cocaine, morphine, quinine and strychnine. It is a super toxin, fetal teratogen and natural insecticide that was sold in the U.S. as Black Leaf 40. If animal studies relate to humans (which is disputed), the lethal dose needed to kill a 160 pound human is 2-3 drops or about 60mg. Drop for drop, that would make nicotine more deadly than strychnine (75mg), diamond back rattlesnake venom (100mg), arsenic (200mg) or cyanide (500mg). Imagine 1mg of nicotine, the average amount delivered into the bloodstream by smoking just one cigarette, being sufficient to kill the largest rat you have ever seen (1-2 lbs.). Is it any wonder that a recent study suggests that nicotine gradually destroys brain gray matter?
Although heroin produces a numb dopamine high and alcohol a drunken dopamine high, governments and experts tell us that nicotine's alert dopamine high may be the most effective at establishing the onset of chemical "dependency."
The one-year success rate for those who go through heroin withdrawal is roughly 20 percent, whereas with "uneducated" nicotine cessation rate is about 6 percent. Except for the type of high experienced and the fact that our stimulant is legal, we truly are drug addicts, just as much as the addicts that fill jails and prisons around the globe. What's truly ironic is that in 1998 tobacco killed 25 times more Americans than all illegal drugs combined (418,690 to 16,926 - U.S. Center for Disease Control).
Don't Talk Yourself Into Having Symptoms - If you have a toothache at the same time you have a headache, the one that will receive the most attention and focus is the one generating the greatest pain or discomfort. As soon as the discomfort from your primary concern falls below that of your secondary concern your focus will immediately change to the other. We do the same type of primary/secondary focusing with the effects of withdrawal and the phases of recovery. Sometimes we don't even notice a particular symptom until the discomfort of a prior one subsides.
Although the intensity of each remaining effect may be far less significant than the one that preceded it, the mind of the drug addict is looking for any excuse to relapse. After the dramatic reduction in overall symptoms and effects experienced within the first 72 hours, recovery remains continuous yet at times may be so gradual that - like trying to watch a rose bud open - it almost becomes impossible to notice change.
Yet, amazingly, within just 2 to 4 months the adjustment process transports most in recovery to a point where they experience that very first day where they never once "think" to themselves, "gee, I'd sure like a smoke," "a dip," "a vape," "a chew," "a lozenge," "a piece of nicotine gum." After the first such day, they become more and more common. Soon, they become our new norm in life, with the distance between the occasional "thought" growing further and further apart.
Imagine entire days, weeks, months and possibly even years, where your mind never once "wants" for a nicotine fix. Imagine living in a constant state of 100% total comfort with no smoking related anxieties whatsoever - none, zero, nil, complete and total tranquility. It's where hundreds of millions of comfortably recovered ex-smokers and ex-oral nicotine addicts reside today. Were any of them truly stronger than nicotine? Were any stronger than us or was that just another lame excuse?
Breaking free doesn't take muscle or mountains of willpower. It takes dreams and honest reasons for wanting those dreams that are kept vivid, remembered, alive and in the front-seat of our mind. Our odds of success benefit from study, understanding, patience, an appreciation for the true power of nicotine, and a bit of love of self or at least a wee bit of "like." It takes following only simple rule - just one day at a time, no nicotine in any form, Never Take Another Puff, Dip, Vape or Chew.
Upon arresting my thirty-year and three pack-a-day dependency upon nicotine, my recovery evolved to the point of substantial comfort by about eight weeks, a few weeks earlier than most but later than some. It was then that I experienced my last major subconscious crave episode and started to notice that the once steady stream of thoughts of wanting were ever so slowly becoming fewer, shorter and generally less intense.
During the first few weeks I worked hard to maintain a strong positive attitude while refusing to allow negative thoughts to infect my thinking and dreams. While feeding myself large doses of positive thought, I also confronted and analyzed those remaining thoughts that seemed to keep inviting relapse. Soon, it was no longer a matter of trying to believe what I was telling myself. I did believe in the new nicotine-free me and was growing to love it!
Although at times intense, I did my best to remain focused on the long overdue healing happening inside. I saw each and every day as a full and complete victory in and of itself. Today, I was free and today I continued to heal!
The little gifts along the way - the smells, tastes, energy, extra pocket change, the whiteness emerging in my smile, growing pride, empty pockets, a bit bigger step, odorless fingers, hope, endurance, an ashless world, new found time, long overdue self-respect, gradually lengthening periods of comfort, freedom and even the few extra pounds - was simply me coming home to meet me.
I encourage you not to fight your recovery but to find joy in it. Welcome each crave and thought, and embrace them as a very necessary part of this amazing temporary journey of re-adjustment. It's a fantastic feeling never needing to quit again. All our prior attempts failed because we lacked understanding but not this time. Our eyes and minds are open and this time we're going the distance, headed home to again reside inside a quiet mind and to again meet the real "us"!
The problem with symptom lists, such as this one, is that simply by reading them we tend to lead our minds to look for and expect symptoms to occur. In fact, mental expectations are capable of generating mental symptoms. This phenomenon - known as psychological overlay - is very real. Most starting home do NOT experience the majority of the symptoms listed below. In fact, a 1983 survey reported that 53% of ex-smokers said that it was "not at all difficult" to stop. The symptoms are shared here only to educate, allay unnecessary concerns and/or to satisfy curiosity.
Do not sell your mind on the belief that starting your new life needs to be painful or intense. If you relax, maintain a positive attitude, keep your reasons for wanting to break well nourished, abandon the unrealistic victory standard of "quitting forever" and instead focus on only the next hour, challenge or day (there is no need to see yourself sitting down to eat an entire cow when you can have just one nice juicy steak per day), drink plenty of fruit juice for the first three days to keep your blood sugar level, don't skip meals, reduce your caffeine intake by roughly half if you're a big caffeine user, your adventure home could turn out to be the most enjoyable and deeply satisfying experience of your entire life -- even if challenged now and then.
We are what we think. If we think recovery will be difficult then why shouldn't it be? If we believe that the healing happening inside our body is utterly amazing then it is. If we keep telling ourselves we are going to fail are we inviting defeat? If we truly believe that no force or circumstance on his planet can stop our quest for freedom then nothing can. Victory is in the mind.
The Effects of Physical Withdrawal
Anxiety, Anger, Irritability, Impatience and Restlessness
The above are all normal temporary effects of physical withdrawal from nicotine. Our life-long roller coaster cycles of rising and falling blood nicotine levels are now ending. Your mind is in the process of resuming control of the more than 200 neuro-chemicals that nicotine had directly and indirectly taken hostage, including select adrenaline, dopamine and serotonin pathways. In resuming control, the brain is making sensitivity adjustments associated with mood, wanting, stimulation and anxiety. In trying to protect your mind from the neuro-chemical influence of the toxic natural pesticide nicotine, in some brain regions it actually desensitized important neuro-chemical circuits by reducing neurotransmitter receptor sites (down-regulation), in other regions by increasing the number of receptors (up-regulation), and still others by diminishing the number of transporters.
If a nicotine user remains 100% nicotine free for just 72 hours they should begin to notice the underlying current of recovery anxieties begin ever so slowly easing off as brain neurons begin bathing in nicotine-free and oxygen rich blood serum.
The brain's sensitivity adjustments have no choice but to begin bearing fruit. Although our quickly healing body soon becomes 100% nicotine-free and most of the normal symptoms of adjustment quickly reach their peak, it may take 10 days to two weeks before the ongoing process of restoring natural sensitivities reaches the point where you begin to catch whiffs of the flavor of coming home. These are priceless hours and days during which the mind and body are becoming accustomed to functioning without nicotine and other tobacco, NRT or e-cig juice chemicals.
The early healing is rapid. Deep breathing with mind relaxation, together with a bit of physical activity, can help diminish anxieties. Adjustment of caffeine intake and limiting sugars can also have a calming effect. Acidic fruit juices, like cranberry, may help accelerate extraction of the blood's remaining nicotine and decease the maximum of 72 hours required for the body to completely metabolize and remove all nicotine.
There is a detailed cessation effects study by Marcia M. Ward, entitled "Self-reported abstinence effects in the first month after smoking cessation," published in Addictive Behaviors, 26 (2001) at pages 311-327. Its findings are fascinating. For example, it may be difficult to believe but, on average, anxieties peak on day one (within 24 hours) and, for most, within two weeks return almost to pre-cessation levels. Regarding anxiety, be sure you understand why ex-smokers only need half the amount of caffeine as smokers ( discussion link ). Irritability, often anxiety's aftermath, seems to peak at about 48 hours while restlessness peaks at 72 hours. According to the study, both begin hovering back around pre-cessation levels within two weeks.
Anger apparently peaks for the average quitter at about 48 hours (day 2) and within 72 hours is beginning to return to almost pre-cessation levels. Nicotine amazingly had taken command of the mind's adrenaline circuitry and when taking back control anger and fear (fight or flight) are our means of releasing adrenaline. It isn't unusual to find yourself intentionally attempting to induce releases by promoting conflict or feeling fearful about permanently altering your mind's sense of normal from "nicotine normal" back to "you!"
Find ways to vent your frustrations that won't cause needless hurt to family members, loved ones, friends or co-workers. Walk, run, vent into a pillow, find a punching bag, bend a piece of steel, or even bite your lip for the few hours (less than 72) that it will take before you begin to sense the onset of some relief. Talk about your feelings with family, friends or in your support group. Write yourself a loving letter to be read in a year from now that accurately describes what your chemical withdrawal and early psychological recovery experience was like and why you were more than willing to endure it. The mind does not remember pain or the bad times. In fact, your memories of "Glory Week" will rapidly fade within just a few short weeks. Give yourself the present gift of future memory. It may be just the motivation that you'll need to avoid temptation tomorrow.
Occupy your time. Try enjoying your favorite activity, sport or hobby. Celebrate each hour of freedom. Keep a positive attitude and review your reasons for beginning this journey. Clear your mind of all negative thoughts and chatter. Don't allow the seeds of false reasoning to fester and infect your logic or desire. Show yourself courage as you break free from years of slavery to the dictates of your master.
Time Perception Distortion
Nicotine smokers have long known that at times during early withdrawal time itself seems almost to stand still. The first two weeks can seem like some of the longest days of your entire life. A new 2003 study suggests that time perception distortion may possibly be a universal nicotine dependency recovery symptom experienced by all smokers.
Although a subconsciously triggered crave episode will not last longer than three minutes, as you probably already know those minutes can feel like hours. Whether dealing with a subconscious crave trigger or even consciously fixating on a thought of wanting to smoke, be sure and look at a clock or watch so that you can gain honest perspective in helping correct your impaired perception of time.
All of us are capable of handling a few brief moments of anxiety - all of us - but we need help in gaining an accurate estimation of how long we've endured any challenge or this symptom may falsely paint recovery as being beyond our ability to handle. Don't let time distortion deprive you of your dream of again comfortably embracing life as you.
When time distortion is combined with a destructive "big bite" recovery philosophy that insists upon measuring success in terms of quitting forever, it is often a recipe for relapse. Instead, adopt a " one day at a time " philosophy that sees and treats each challenge and each day of freedom and healing as the full and complete victory they reflect. What good is holding a victory party after you're dead? Celebrate life and the victory your latest victory.
Inability to Concentrate or a Foggy Mind
The feeling that your concentration is not as good or that your mind now lives in a fog is experienced, to one degree or another, by almost two-thirds of recovering nicotine addicts. The return of our clearness of mind and concentration levels may seem gradual but within two weeks most begin experiencing concentration levels very close to those of never-smokers.
Poor concentration, focus and thought can also be associated with low blood sugar. It's important to understand that nicotine force-fed us stored fats and sugars with each new puff. It's why so many of us could skip breakfast and/or lunch and yet not feel hungry. Smoking nicotine caused our brain to release adrenaline which in turn prepared us for the "fight or flight mode" by pumping stored fats and sugars into our blood stream (the bad artery clogging fats).
Once we stop putting nicotine into our body the adrenaline fat feedings end. If you continue to attempt skipping meals, your blood sugar will plummet along with your concentration, as nicotine is no longer your spoon. It isn't necessary to eat more food but only to spread your normal daily food intake out more evenly over your entire day. Women would be well advised to put a very small amount of fuel into their stomach about every three hours and men at least every five. During only the first 72 hours (as it can be fattening) natural fruit juices (cranberry is excellent) will not only aid with helping stabilize blood sugar but may actually help accelerate the rate at which nicotine metabolizes just a wee bit. Here is a good discussion thread on the subject.
Even if you can't correct the entire problem by stabilizing blood sugar and you're forced to push yourself a bit more than normal in order to live up to your old expectations, concentration improvement appears to be fairly steady and relief won't be long in coming. You may also want to temporarily reduce or avoid alcohol use, which reduces brain oxygen, and obviously impairs concentration. Brisk walks or other physical exercise and slow deep breathing will deliver additional focus giving oxygen to your mind. Remember, life-giving oxygen is a far healthier brain stimulant than any addictive substance. Trust in you. It's only temporary.
Flash - a new medical study was released in May 2002 indicating that heavy nicotine use may actually destroy brain cells and diminish concentration and memory. Here is a BBC news link and a link to the study abstract. If true, the very temporary concentration effects associated with adjusting to the absence of nicotine might better be seen as a very welcome occurrence.
Feeling Tired or Fatigued
Our body is shedding the effects of being under years of dependence upon a powerful stimulant and the process of withdrawal and readjustment can be physically and emotionally exhausting. We're also experiencing changes in basic metabolism as our heart rate and respiration have rapidly returned to normal. Time distortion, awaiting that next crave episode, using anger or fear to try and generate adrenaline that we sense is missing, possible sleep disruption, it isn't at all unusual to feel a bit drained during the first few days but after that you should begin feeling much better with more energy than you may have felt in years.
Just as recovering from any other illness, the body and mind need time to heal. Moderate exercise can act as a natural pick-me-up and also help us sleep better. We need to allow ourselves additional rest, extended sleep or even a nap. "Glory Week" consumes tremendous energy.
It is not normal to continue feeling tired or fatigued three weeks after starting your journey and there are many potential causes ranging from improper diet, blood sugar problems, medications that may possibly be in need of adjustment (hypertensives, thyroid, depression, blood sugar drugs or asthma medications, among others) upon ending use of the 4,000+ chemicals present in tobacco smoke, an underlying condition that was being masked and hidden by those same 4,000 chemicals, or by other coincidental conditions that just happened to occur and have nothing whatsoever to do with ending tobacco or nicotine use. Also, see depression below.
Trouble Sleeping or Insomnia
Nicotine is a powerful drug that affects subconscious thought, brain waves, the depth of sleep, and can even affect dreams. The disturbance of "normal" sleep patterns can occur during physical withdrawal or new patterns may be established as you return to your body's true level of need. You may find that you don't need nearly as much sleep as you did while smoking. Are you still tired or just sleeping less?
It's important to understand that nicotine smokers need twice the amount of caffeine in order to achieve the same effect as a non-smoker. Nicotine indirectly causes caffeine to metabolize (to be depleted) at a rate twice that of non-smokers. If you're a heavy caffeine user who attempts to continue using caffeine at the same amount as you did while using nicotine, you may find yourself not only having difficulty sleeping but probably climbing every wall in sight. Here's a Freedom message thread discussing the issue in far more depth.
Relaxation through mind clearing and slow deliberate breathing can help induce sleep. Mental relaxation can be as simple as slowly clearing your mind of all other thoughts by focusing exclusively on a single object or color. If your sleep continues to be disrupted and is affecting your health, safety or performance then turn to your physician or pharmacist for assistance. Don't allow sleep to be your mind's junkie excuse to destroy your quest to meet and become comfortable as "you" again.
Chest Tightness
While cessation chest tightness is normal, temporary and should not last for more than a few days, it can also be a sign of life threatening conditons requiring immediate medical attention, including a heart attack. Aside from arising from the tension and stress associated with early withdrawal, it can be a component of normal dependency recovery blues (the emotional loss) or associated with early cleansing, coughing and lung healing.
Any tension or depression induced tightness or muscle stiffness may benefit form relaxation exercises, a warm shower, slow deliberate breathing or moderate exercise. Fluid or ice water may help with minor discomfort associated with tar and mucus removal or irritation due to coughing. Keep in mind that your lungs need moisture to help with healing and flushing.
As a general rule of thumb, normal daily fluid intake should equal a minimum of one-half your body weight in ounces daily. A cool glass of water may not only taste refreshing, it may stimulate a small earned release of dopamine -- that "aaah" sensation. Add in a few deep deep "aaah" breaths and you may just begin to sense the beauty of the gradually emerging "you," as neuro-chemical sensitivity and control again is regulated by life not nicotine.
In that chest tightness could also reflect a life threatening condition, do not hesitate to call your doctor or seek emergency medical treatment if concerned.
Slight Sore Throat
Years and years of smoking while ingesting hundreds and hundreds of chemicals (every twenty to thirty minutes) has irritated our throat, damaged or destroyed millions of cells, has deeply marinated tissues in gobs of tar, and has caused them to become numbed to the tremendous harm being inflicted. As our tissues begin to heal, they may feel temporarily irritated as the cells slowly renew, our tissues begin to breathe and natural moisture levels gradually return. Cool liquids and juices may provide a bit of soothing. Hard sugarless candy or cough drops may also generate moisture, provide soothing or give relief from minor discomfort.
Coughing, Mucus or Nasal Drip
According to the Ward "abstinence effects: study, roughly 60% in recovery reported coughing on day two, 48% by day seven, 33% by day fourteen, and 15% by day twenty-eight. I hope that those still coughing after a month made an appointment to go for a thorough check-up! Our bronchial brushes or cilia are healing and again engaging in cleaning and clearing. Years of tar build-up is loosening itself and must either be expelled or flushed from the lungs. Mucus and coughing are common but as seen from the Ward study many in recovery often experience neither. If you do experience increased coughing that persists, it is highly advisable to see your physician for a complete checked-up as one of the earliest signs of lung cancer or disease is a chronic cough.
Clearly our lungs will benefit from extra fluids to aid with cleansing and healing. Although the 8 x 8 rule is under attack in some literature, many authorities still advocate trying to drink at least eight glasses of water daily. Try ice to sooth and moisten the mouth and possibly lemon for flavoring and a bit more valuable nicotine extracting acid. Cough syrups or decongestants can also bring some temporary relief from coughing or irritation but if your cough should persist don't hesitate to give your doctor a call. It isn't uncommon to see a smoker's lung function improve by almost a third within just 90 days. That's an amazing pace. I couldn't run 200 feet prior to quitting and truly thought I would never would again. Not too far but today these lungs can run like the wind and amazingly not be winded when I stop. I thought I'd damaged them beyond repair. I'm so glad I was wrong.
Bad Breath, Nasty Tastes and Bleeding Gums
Are you noticing the horrible odors rising up from healing lungs as they exhale, cough and flush years of tar buildup within notice of healing taste buds and a more accurate sense of smell? Picturing the slow healing of deeply marinated gum, cheek and tongue tissues impregnated by years of thousands of passing chemicals may be more accurate than you think. Depending on how long we smoked it could take some time for these tastes and odors to totally dissipate. Cell healing, time, oxygen rich blood, and fluids will keep mouth, nasal, throat and respiratory tissues on the road to maximum recovery. Brushing a bit more frequently and mouthwash should help control the odors that will continue to be released from both dead and recovering cells.
As for gum bleeding, it is not unusual to be a bit overzealous and brush too much but also be aware that your gums are experiencing some rather amazing healing all their own and, surprisingly, it is normal for the ex-smoker's gums to be more prone to bleeding during recovery, not less. Nicotine constricts blood vessels diminishing blood flow, which, according to a January 2003 study, may account for smokers having thicker gum tissues. According to an April 2004 study, gingival (gum) blood flow rate was "significantly higher at 3 days" and within 5 days the liquid sticky plasma proteins normally released by healthy gums (gingival crevicular fluid) had significantly increased and within 2 weeks were comparable to those of non-smokers. But if it takes a bit of bleeding to begin gradually reversing the risk of experiencing 240% greater tooth loss than a non-smoker then so be it. If at all concerned give your dentist a quick call.
Changing brain oxygen and chemical levels, added anxiety or tension, possible temporary sleep disruption, increased caffeine levels, or diet changes can all result in headaches. According to the Ward "abstinence effects" study, 33% of smokers reported having headaches immediately PRIOR to quitting. Interestingly, those reporting headaches peaked on day three (72 hours) at 44%, dropped to 17% on day seven, and had declined to a low of just 11% on day fourteen.
Within eight hours of commencing recovery, carbon dioxide levels in our blood and brain return to normal but it takes time to adjust. Relaxation, slow deep breathing, extra rest, mind clearing with thought focusing exercises, a warm bath or shower, or exercise may help relieve tension and often brings relief. Aspirin or other headache relievers are available but shouldn't be taken on an empty stomach. If you are a fairly heavy caffeine drinker make sure you understand that ex-smokers only need half as much caffeine as smokers in order to get the same effect, otherwise your caffeine overdose may actually cause your headache.
Nausea and Vomiting
Nausea was also examined in the Ward "abstinence effects" study. Again, although only averages, 16% of participants reported nausea on day one (as compared to 2% at pre-cessation baseline), 11% on day three, 16% on day seven, 9% at two weeks, and 4% on day twenty-eight.
Nausea is an uneasy or unsettled feeling in the stomach together with an urge to vomit. Nausea can be caused by cessation worry, fear, stress or overeating, which can be exacerbated by heartburn, acid reflux, indigestion, gas or bloating.
Minor symptoms may be controlled with over-the-counter antacids containing calcium carbonate. Although normally not serious, according to the NIH, you should seek emergency medical attention if vomiting lasts lasts longer than 24 hours, if there is blood in the vomit, if accompanied by severe abdominal pain or a headache and stiff neck, or if you experience signs of dehydration such as dry mouth, infrequent urination or dark urine.
In minimizing nausea the NIH recommends sitting quietly while possibly napping but do not lie down, fresh air, drinking 8-10 glasses of clear fluids every day (water is best but you can sip fruit juices, flat soda or sports drinks to replace lost minerals), eating 6-8 small meals throughout the day instead of 3 big meals, eating bland foods (crackers, toast, baked chicken, fish, potatoes, noodles or rice), low-fat dairy products, and eating foods containing lots of water (popsicles or Jell-O).
NIH recommends avoiding greasy, spicy or processed foods, or foods that contain a lot of salt, such as white breads, pastries, doughnuts, sausage, fast-food burgers, fried foods, chips, and most canned foods. Also avoid caffeine, alcohol, carbonated drinks and foods with strong smells.
Constipation, Stomach Pain or Gas
Cessation related constipation was the focus of a November 2003 study. It found that one in six quitters develop constipation and that for one in eleven quitters the problem was severe. The study also found that constipation levels peaked at about two weeks.
According to a 2006 study, nicotine interacts with digestive tract smooth muscle contractions (peristalsis). The digestive system needs time to adjust to functioning naturally without it. But constipation is correctable and we need not suffer. "Magnesium salts are the first-line treatment for this problem. If they fail, neostigmine, an anticholinesterase with parasympathomimetic activity, appears remarkably effective in correcting this disorder."
Aside from adjusting to nicotine's absence, what other factors contribute to constipation? According to the NIH, "the most common causes of constipation are poor diet and lack of exercise." Regarding diet, it's caused by "a diet low in fiber or a diet high in fats, such as cheese, eggs, and meats."
Aside from more fiber, less fats and increased activity, the NIH recommends plenty of water, juice or other liquids free of alcohol and caffeine, which may worsen constipation. "Liquids add fluid to the colon and bulk to stools, making bowel movements softer and easier to pass."
"As food moves through the colon, the colon absorbs water from the food while it forms waste products, or stool," explains the NIH. "Muscle contractions in the colon then push the stool toward the rectum. By the time stool reaches the rectum it is solid, because most of the water has been absorbed."
"Constipation occurs when the colon absorbs too much water or if the colon's muscle contractions are slow or sluggish, causing the stool to move through the colon too slowly. As a result, stools can become hard and dry."
Why extra fiber? "Fiber is the part of fruits, vegetables, and grains that the body cannot digest," says the NIH. "Soluble fiber dissolves easily in water and takes on a soft gel-like texture in the intestines. Insoluble fiber passes through the intestines almost unchanged. The bulk and soft texture of fiber help prevent hard, dry stools that are difficult to pass."
The NIH defines "constipation" as "having a bowel movement fewer than three times per week."
According to the NIH, "some people think they are constipated if they do not have a bowel movement every day. However, normal stool elimination may be three times a day or three times a week, depending on the person." Consult your physician or pharmacist and obtain relief should constipation concerns arise.
Intestinal and bowel movements can be temporarily affected while they adjust to the absence of nicotine. Stress, anxiety or normal sense of loss depression can cause the stomach or GI area to generate pain. Additionally, tissues numbed and deadened by years of nicotine use are healing. So, it isn't uncommon to experience minor temporary discomfort.
We can aid the healing process by drinking at least eight glasses of water each day. Increasing the amount of leafy vegetables, roughage, whole grains, bran or prunes in our diet will aid our intestines in cleansing and in moving things along. Moderate exercise may also help with circulation and movement.
But do remain mindful that there are a host of serious digestive disorders, including cancers, associated with smoking. It's why it's important to consult your physician if symptoms persist.
Gas is normally formed in the intestines when the body digests food, a process increased when fiber is added to our diet. It can make us feel bloated and cause crampy or colicky pains in your belly. If experiencing gas or flatulence the NIH recommends that you relax while eating, chew your food more thoroughly and eat more slowly, that you avoid beans or cabbage, carbonated beverages or chewing gum and that you walk for 10-15 minutes after eating.
Symptoms of Psychological Withdrawal
Cravings, Urges, Yearnings, Desires and Thoughts
The initial powerful cravings that overlay the up to 72 hours of abstinence needed to purge our blood of all nicotine are more creatures of survival pathway conditioning than actual physical withdrawal. Our cravings are the mind's means of warning us that it's time to ingest nicotine to avoid experiencing physical withdrawal (nervousness, irritability, grouchiness, tension, anger, rage, frustration, sweating, jitters, shaking, inability to concentrate and mind fog).
Like Pavlov's dogs, who he conditioned to salivate upon the ringing of a bell, the nicotine addict's mind has been conditioned to expect nicotine as soon as it begins to feel any discomfort associated with the onset of physical withdrawal. In response to falling nicotine levels, the primitive limbic mind has been somehow pre-programmed to intensify "desire" in order to cause us to ingest new nicotine and thereby avoid any discomfort. When we smoked, most of us received a gentle "desire" reminder every 20 to 30 minutes. If not satisfied, the desire would build and escalate in intensity to the point of becoming an influential urge or extremely demanding crave. Our mind has stored the means and manner by which it motivates us to bring into the body another hit of nicotine. Even after all nicotine has left our body (72 hours), our mind's crave generator remains in tact and fully functional.
Our Time Triggers - The foundation for our mind's knowledge of how to escalate the intensity of desire, to cause us to bring new nicotine into our body, is "time." Although the subconscious mind is believed to be incapable of independent reasoning or judgment, our conscious mind has conditioned our subconscious to realize that time depletes our blood nicotine level and that the onset of discomfort can be satisfied with nicotine. When we feel a crave begin to escalate in intensity, it is simply our subconscious turning up the volume control that it has been conditioned to believe will bring the desired result. But in that the subconscious mind is a product of conditioning and not independent reasoning, if nicotine is not ingested after desire's volume or intensity control is increased to maximum, the subconscious simply gives up and quits.
It is extremely important to understand that no subconsciously triggered crave episode will last longer than three minutes. But, as noted above under physical symptoms, time perception distortion appears to be an almost universal recovery symptom and the minutes can seem like hours. It's important to look at a clock in order to reassure yourself, as it may only take seconds to locate a source of nicotine. This time distortion psychological mind warfare is the downfall of many as the rising tide of anxiety has them falsely believing that the only way to end their crave is by means of another fix.
As the body's nicotine level continues to fall during the 72 hours of physical withdrawal, our mind's time trigger will continue to be revisited until all nicotine has left the body. It is then that true and complete reconditioning of our time trigger will occur as our physical symptoms begin subsiding and our mind becomes conditioned to realize that time will no longer produce new nicotine. Withdrawal's peak occurs at the 72-hour mark. The average "starter" will experience approximately six desire attacks or crave episodes on day three. By hour 96 or day four the number of attacks or episodes will diminish to about 3.5. By day ten the average number of daily craves is less than two. In that our time trigger was reconditioned upon depletion of our body's nicotine, we need to explore and understand the reason for our continuing craves.
Overlaying our time trigger atop physical nicotine withdrawal symptoms can, for some, generate a rather intense 72-hour experience. But it's even more complex than that, as habit triggers are being encountered as well. Very few who are willing to attempt recovery lack the basic core dream and desire needed to carry them far enough (72-96 hours) to begin feeling their physical symptoms begin to gradually subside or to watch the number of subconscious crave episodes become reduced by almost half.
With a little self-determination, the real battle against physical nicotine addition is over in a matter of hours. It is hard to believe that drug manufactures have sold so many smokers on their "Nicotine Replacement Therapy" (NRT) gradual reduction approach, when they've done nothing more than repackage nicotine. They are telling smokers that the nicotine patch, gum, lozenge, spray or inhaler will make them more comfortable and they are 100% correct. Nicotine addicts need nicotine to maintain comfort. The question should be, does NRT's gradual nicotine reduction approach help smokers achieve permanent long-term abstinence from tobacco? Sadly, their own studies (the results of which they hide from their public web sites and refuse to share with smokers) show that 93% of over-the-counter NRT users relapse to smoking nicotine within just six months.
Our Habit Triggers - Although our basic time trigger served as our mind's foundation for conditioning it to generate desire attacks, we have also conditioned it to expect new nicotine during certain events, at specific times each day, upon experiencing certain emotions or when we engage in specific activities. The mind is a "steal trap." You may not consciously remember what you were doing, feeling or where you were when you fed yourself nicotine in the past, but those memories have been locked away deep within your subconscious.
Each of these emotions, events, specific times or locations will trigger our mind's crave generator to begin pulsating desire when next encountered. Reconditioning each trigger is a very necessary part of recovery and should not be feared but anticipated. Again, the beauty is that our subconscious mind is not capable of true reasoning and that almost all of our trigger links will be disconnected or reconditioned after just one episode where they fail to produce new nicotine. An additional comforting fact is that over time the power and intensity of our desire or crave generator will diminish to the point of becoming almost insignificant.
Almost like a battery gradually losing its charge, after about twelve weeks or 90 days our once powerful craves start becoming nothing more than ordinary "thoughts." Just like the thought of a "nice juicy steak," you will have total control over when you discard the thought. You may hear those in "cold turkey" recovery discuss long-term "craves" (months or years down the road) but when you quiz them they quickly admit that it was more like dreaming about a "Hot Fudge Sunday" and it came and went almost as quickly as any other normal desire. What's interesting is trying to learn what triggered the desire "thought," as it is usually some activity that was infrequently engaged in but during which the ex-smoker had previously smoked (weddings, funerals, graduations, births, etc.).
Aside from our basic time trigger that has already been reconditioned, most of our psychological or habit triggers need to be encountered and reconditioned before total comfort begins arriving. Our psychological triggers may include such things as the habit of smoking while talking on the phone, driving a vehicle, working, upon waking, before going to bed, when leaving a store, when around other smokers, while drinking, surrounding romance, when alone, after meals, during celebrations, when sad, during stressful situations, during other specific emotions, or upon visiting specific locations (garage, porch, garden, in-laws, bathroom). You may notice a small crave spike on day seven of recovery as you celebrate your first full week of freedom. Almost all of us smoked as part celebrating. Unless you've developed an extremely healthy attitude, up until now you've probably been doing very little celebrating. When you do first celebrate, expect a visit from your joy trigger, your pride trigger and/or your party trigger.
The most serious trigger is a period of extremely "high stress" such as tremendous financial strain, serious family illness, injury, or the death of a close friend or loved one. It's a cold hard fact of life that each of us will experience the death of someone we love. We need to prepare our mind now to cope with our "high stress" trigger, as it is certain to occur for each of us. If it occurs while our desire or crave generator still carries a significant charge (the first few weeks), it can be used as your mind's unjustified excuse for relapse.
Psychological Relapse - Unlike physical withdrawal, psychological withdrawal is 100% mental and greatly within our ability to control. To understand the process can be power in itself. We also need to realize that just one puff of nicotine from one cigarette will revive all memories and conditioning associated with that particular habit trigger and commence the process of re-establishing your full chemical dependency upon nicotine. Whether immediate or gradual, your freedom is over and you're going back to your old level of nicotine intake or higher. Soon, the millions and millions of smoking memories in the recovered addict's mind will make them feel like they've never tasted freedom. Once an addict, even when we do arrest and trade places with our dependency our probation is conditioned on one simple rule - no nicotine, Never Take Another Puff, Dip, Vape or Chew!
Depression and Sadness
Depression can affect our entire being. Sadness, loneliness, disruption of sleep, fatigue, digestion problems, stomach pains, poor memory, an inability to concentrate, a loss of appetite or weight gain, neglect of our appearance, low self esteem, loss of sex drive, irritability, hopelessness, headaches or even a change in bowel habits can and often do accompany depression.
Serious chronic depression is often easily treated but does require medical assistance. That being said, giving up years and years of nicotine dependence is a traumatic event, akin to the death of a close loved one. Quitting smoking is often accompanied by the onset of a temporary state of depression.
Here's the problem. Is the sense of depression felt after quitting being caused by chronic organic depression that was being masked, hidden or diminished by one or more of cigarette smoke's more than 4,000 chemicals (most notably nicotine), or possibly due to smoke's 4,000 chemicals interacting with current medications being taken, or does it reflect the normal and expected temporary sense of loss associated with ending a long and extremely intense chemical relationship?
If you or loved ones are concerned, don't guess as to the cause. Depression can be as life threatening as bleeding. And don't allow other quitters to assure you that it will pass. They have no idea whether its organic or emotionally rooted (link to Freedom discussion on the topic). Although well intended, they cannot possibly know your medical history, the medications you are taking and whether their effectiveness has been altered by the absence of smoke's 4,000 chemicals, or the intensity of the depression you feel. If you or loved ones are concerned about lingering depression it's always best to get seen and evaluated.
As for the normal sense of loss, although nicotine is not a close friend or loved one, over the first 72 hours nicotine, along with 90% of its metabolites (chemicals it breaks down into) exit the body via our urine. As it departs, not only is our mind breaking an extremely dependent psychological bond, studies suggest that nicotine had physically taken select serotonin anxiety busting neuro-circuits hostage. Once the administration of nicotine ends, physical sensitivity readjustment begins as the brain resumes command and control.
Some degree of sense of loss depression is common, and heavy long-term smokers seem to experience it a bit more frequently. It can almost seem like experiencing the death of a friend or loved one, or the end of a marriage or other long-term inter-dependent bond. It is normal to mourn the loss and go through the normal phases of grieving. This article by Joel reviews the normal sense of emotional loss associated with smoking cessation.
As with the end of any long-term relationship, our period of cessation mourning and grieving can be as long or short as we desire. Although it can and often does generate physical symptoms, the underlying conscious thoughts generating those symptoms are very much within our ability to control. A sense of loss can become the recovering mind's primary focus once crave trigger re-conditioning diminishes in frequency to the point where you feel somewhat comfortable in managing or coping with craves. This usually happens somewhere between weeks one and three, but may not be noticed until later if any other symptom is receiving higher priority due to continuing discomfort.
Freedom's "Emotions" message board contains a number of articles on cessation depression, including, as mentioned, a discussion on the basic difference between underlying organic depression and the emotional loss associated with cessation.
In the Ward "abstinence effects" study (Addictive Behaviors, 2001, Volume 26 2001, Pages 311-327) 39% of smokers entering the study reported experiencing depression on the day before quitting compared to only 19% of non-smokers in the control group. On day three after quitting, the percentage in recovery indicating depression peaked at 53 percent. Reported depression had fallen to 33 percent by day seven (6 points below their starting baseline). By quitting day twenty-eight (28) only 20 percent reported depression, just one percentage point above the rate for non-smokers in the control group.
It was once thought that those with depression smoked in order to self-medicate their depression. But new research is beginning to seriously ask, "which came first, nicotine addiction or depression." This thread contains recent medical journal article references and this one discusses the need for possible medication adjustments following cessation.
Education and complete self-honesty are the quickest means of putting those sense of loss nicotine blues behind us. In reality the real quitting occurred when nicotine assumed neuro-chemical control and we lost the sense of normal that defined how and what we felt when interacting with life. You are not quitting "you" but recovering "you." If each reason for believing that we experienced a loss is fully explored we start to realize that nearly all use justifications as to why we smoked were false, that we invented them to try and explain one simple truth, a true drug addict's inability to control the uncontrollable.
For example, many nicotine addicts have convinced themselves that tobacco makes their coffee taste better when in truth their coffee's taste won't change at all. In fact, our healed taste buds and more accurate sense of smell will allow us to enjoy our coffee or tea even more.
Another example is the falsehood that smoking nicotine is a stress buster. Truth is, smoking makes stress worse not better. As this "Why do smokers smoke" video by Joel explains, stress and alcohol cause the smoker's urine to become more acidic. This in turn causes the kidneys to accelerate elimination of the alkaloid nicotine from the bloodstream, throwing the smoker into early withdrawal. Forced to immediately service their addiction and replenish missing nicotine, once replenishment was complete the tire was still flat, the bill still needed paying or the relationship still needed mending.
Once such falsehoods are learned, appreciated and understood it aids in helping realize that nicotine was never our friend. "The truth will set us free."
It should also be mentioned that a physician's depression resources include scores of wonderful non-nicotine and non-addictive depression medications that do not have a carcinogen as one of the metabolites (NNK). Among them is bupropion (Wellbutrin and Zyban). Both Wellbutrin and Zyban are manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline. It is very important in using either of these drugs that you consult and rely upon your physician regarding risks, potential side effects and proper use.
Loneliness or Feeling Cooped Up
Akin to "sense of loss" associated depression, loneliness is natural anytime we leave behind a life-long companion (who in this case was extremely unhealthy and killing us ever so slowly). It's time to recognize a new healing and healthy companion - YOU! We need to climb out of the deep deep smoker's rut that we resided in for years. For far too long we've severely limited many of the activities that as smokers we were willing to engage in either because they might have interfered with our need to obtain our mandatory nicotine fix (every 30 minutes or so) or because our lungs and body did not have the capacity to enjoy them. Start your new life now! Don't wait to gradually learn that you've been missing so much. Alter your outlook, climb from the ditch and open your eyes. One of the interesting parts of recovery is in learning to live life as an ex-smoker. If we want to stay in our rut and keep waiting for something to happen, instead of climbing out and learning to enjoy all that we've been missing, we'll continue to feel lonely. If we don't replace our loneliness with the glory of our wonderful new, emerging, and healthy life, we may eventually talk ourselves into returning to the world we know, a world of fix and fix after fix after fix - until death do we part.
Increased Appetite or Hunger
It's easy to attribute a new found desire to consume large quantities of food to our rapidly healing taste buds and our revived sense of smell. Truth is that many reach for extra calories almost immediately and probably for a combination of reasons. Whether using it as a hand-to-mouth oral crutch or as a replacement feeding for those now absent nicotine induced adrenaline releases that once pumped stored fats and sugars into the blood with each new puff, the net effect is the same - extra body weight. How can the weight gained during quitting be minimized?
Yes, the foundation of our dependency was a nicotine-induced flood of unearned dopamine. Yes, a mouth full of food will provide a small but short-lived burst of dopamine. But whether a brief crutch and coping tool, take extreme care not to condition your mind to use extra food as a substitute for nicotine. Serious weight problems can gradually sap you of your dreams and motivations to the point of making a 50% chance of a losing 14 years of life look more appealing than that next extra pound. If you do find yourself using food as a temporarily early oral substitute (which is NOT recommended) reach for healthy foods like fresh vegetables.
Even if we leave extra food alone it's very common to see some initial weight gain in the first couple of days. Unless you're piling it on, it's usually extra water retention primarily associated with physiological changes. If so, you should see water retention return to normal within two weeks. Minor metabolism changes can account for a few extra unburned calories each day but they can be more than offset by enhanced cardiovascular abilities resulting from up to a 30% increase in overall lung function within just 90 days and general enhanced performance of the entire body. Not smoking nicotine does not cause weight gain, eating does.
We often smoked at the end of meals. It was a conditioned signal to the brain that our meal was complete and our period of eating over. This cue no longer exists. Its absence may lead to continued eating after our normal meal would have ended. If the leftovers keep vanishing you may need to find a new cue that your meal has ended. A toothpick, walk, immediate brushing of your teeth, doing the dishes, a stick of sugarless gum, or even a nice big deep breath may be all it takes.
But accept early on that should they occur, that a few extra pounds are acceptable and try to be patient. It would take an extra 75 to 100 pounds to equal the health risks associated with a single pack of cigarettes. Is your life worth a few temporary pounds? There will be plenty of time to shed them later.
The next few minutes are all that matter and each is entirely doable. There is only one rule - no nicotine today, Never Take Another Puff, Dip, Vape or Chew!
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- WhyQuit.com WhyQuit is the Internet's oldest forum devoted to the art, science and psychology of cold turkey quitting, the stop smoking method used by the vast majority of all successful long-term ex-smokers.
- Nicotine Addiction 101 WhyQuit's guide to understanding nicotine dependency.
- Nicotine Cessation Topic Index An alphabetical subject matter index to more than a thousand nicotine cessation articles, videos and support group discussions.
- Joel's Library Joel Spitzer began presenting stop smoking clinics and seminars in 1976. WhyQuit's education director since 2000, Joel's Library is home to his life's work. It includes Joel's "Daily Quitting Lesson Guide." The Guide walks new quitters through the first two weeks of smoking cessation, recommending daily videos to watch and articles to read. It's also home to more than a hundred original short stop smoking articles, to "Never Take Another Puff," Joel's free ebook, and to his ever growing collection of more than 400 video stop smoking lessons.
- Joel's Stop Smoking Video Index An alphabetical index to Joel's 400 videos. Each link opens a webpage where Joel shares the video together with related articles and links.
- "Freedom from Nicotine - The Journey Home" Written by John R. Polito, a former 30-year heavy smoker and WhyQuit's 1999 founder, Freedom from Nicotine shares the science underlying nicotine dependency and successful abrupt nicotine cessation. Whether hooked on cigarettes, e-cigarettes (e-cigs), bidis, kreteks, a pipe, hookah or cigars, on dip, chew, snuff or snus, or on the nicotine gum, lozenge, spray, inhaler or patch, the book provides a road-map home.
- Turkeyville Imagine surrounding yourself with more than 10,000 cold turkey quitters. Turkeyville is a Facebook support group exclusively for cold turkey quitters. The group's primary focus is helping newbies navigate the first few days. Just that first brave step, yes you can!
- Freedom Freedom was WhyQuit's original 1999 stop smoking support group. No longer accepting members, today Freedom's 453,000 archived member posts serve as a valuable source of recovery insight and understanding.


text:
WASHINGTON (AP) — After growing tired of watching stereotypes of people of color on the screen, Issa Rae created her own vision of reality with "The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl."
WASHINGTON (AP) — After growing tired of watching stereotypes of people of color on the screen, Issa Rae created her own vision of reality with "The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl."
The Web-based show follows J, played by Rae, and her mishaps and successes in work and love.
"The Web series came about because I really didn't see anybody like me on the screen, nobody that I could relate to," said Rae, the show's producer, writer and director. "There's are just so many limited archetypes for black females in particular, and just people of color in general, and it's frustrating to look at the screen and only be able to relate to people like Tina Fey or Amy Poehler, people who don't look like me."
Since the series first posted online in February, the debut episode has garnered more than 240,000 hits. Subsequent episodes have received more than 100,000 hits and 1,000 viewer comments. Nearly 17,000 people are dedicated to the show's Facebook page. Rae said she and co-producer Tracy Oliver are packaging "Awkward Black Girl" as a half-hour comedy to sell to a cable network, but are strongly thinking about keeping it online to build the audience and maintain stronger contact with viewers.
"Social media is what made the show honestly," Rae said. "Had it not been for social media, this show just wouldn't have been what it is today. I couldn't have done this 10 years ago."
Susan Fales-Hill, who produced and wrote for the long-running NBC sitcom "A Different World," called Rae's work fresh, incisive, and non-stereotypical.
"She is showing an educated, African-American woman leading an integrated life and a professional woman with friends of many different nationalities and backgrounds, and just trying to make her way," Fales-Hill said.
She said Rae's guerrilla approach to TV making is brilliant and an inspiration to veterans in the industry like her.
"A lot of us came up during a time when there was a studio system, more jobs and you came up through the ranks," Fales-Hill said. "So for us, it's a culture shock. … I find it very liberating that she has created her own show. She's definitely making a lot of us think about how we can do things and how much more aggressive we should be."
Rae, 26, born Jo-Issa Rae Diop, created the concept for the show two years ago while on a public theater fellowship in New York. A Los Angeles native, she didn't know anyone in New York, and that provided many awkward experiences. After returning to the West Coast, Rae gathered a few friends to help her begin shooting the series with her own camera equipment in January.
"I knew if I didn't shoot it myself it was never going to get done," said Rae, who attended Stanford University and the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles.
Rae recruited her friend Andrew Allan James to star as A, her annoying co-worker and admirer. The diverse cast now includes J's best friend CeCe, an Indian-American, played by Sujata Day, and her love interests White J, played by Lyman Johnson, and Fred, an African-American, played by Madison T. Shockley III.
"Diversity is important to the series just because it exists in my life," Rae said. "In real life, I do happen to have a Bengali-American best friend."
As the show's fan base has grown, so has its production. By episode four, Oliver, who plays J's co-worker and rival Nina, joined in as a producer and helped pull together a full crew for the show. The episodes grew from about four minutes to12.
After episode six, Rae and Oliver, former Stanford classmates, realized they could no longer afford to fund the series. Rae, on a temp salary, said she couldn't cover the 12-hour-day shoots and production costs.
The two had received a couple emails from people offering to donate to the show, so they decided to start an official campaign for viewers to donate through the online fundraising platform Kickstarter.com. By the end of day one, Rae said the show had received $4,000.
"It was just overwhelming," she said. "We just knew that we had something on our hands and that people really believed in our project and that was just extremely touching."
After about a month, the show had more than $56,000 from nearly 2,000 donors.
Since "Awkward Black Girl" launched, Rae has signed with United Talent Agency and 3 Arts Entertainment. She hopes her success will lead to more opportunities for minorities to tell their stories.
"I think it sends a message to mainstream media that we don't have to have these white male and female leads for everybody to relate to them," Rae said. "It's sort of unfair to think that, so I hope that this show influences future casting decisions just based off what we've been able to do so far. "
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)


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ENN's editors summarize the most compelling environmental and sustainable economy themes of the week. In the news June 13 - 17: Higher air quality standards for U.S. parks and wild places, the tsunami's drastic toll on leatherbacks, interim nuclear waste storage plans stall, and strict pollution laws protect Antarctica.
Top Ten Stories of the Week
Sustainable Economy News Roundup
EarthNews Radio Review
ENN Commentary: Who Owns the Earth?
The Week's Top Ten, by Carrie Schluter
In the news June 13 - 17: Higher air quality standards for U.S. parks and wild places, the tsunami's drastic toll on leatherbacks, interim nuclear waste storage plans stall, and strict pollution laws protect Antarctica.
1. On Wednesday, the Senate voted in an energy bill provision requiring refineries nationwide to double the current use of ethanol in gasoline. Hailed by supporters as a means of reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil, the move could tag an additional four to eight cents per gallon onto the cost of gas, the EPA estimates.
>> Senate Approves Ethanol Mandate for Gasoline as Part of Energy Bill
2. Watch out, Yogi, your days of living the good life could be numbered. Plans are in the works at the Fish and Wildlife Service to end Endangered Species Act protections for grizzly bears. Delisting would subject the species to federally approved population control measures at the state level, rather than making them fair game for ambitious hunters.
>> Feds to Seek End of Federal Protection for Grizzlies in Yellowstone Area
3. At least Yogi will be able to breath a little easier. Mid-week the EPA set new rules requiring significant industrial air pollution reductions in specific regions near national parks. According to EPA air quality head Jeff Holmstead, "Some areas will benefit more, because they're more polluted than other areas, but we are predicting improvements in all of them."
>> EPA Sets New Rules for Cleaner Air in Parks and Wilderness Areas
4. The resignation of Philip Cooney, former chief of staff on the White House Council on Environmental Quality, following allegations that he watered down language in administration climate reports made headlines last week. This week, the revelation that Cooney will be reporting for work at ExxonMobil in the fall brought renewed allegations of the Bush administration's inappropriately close ties to the oil industry.
>> Democrats Say White House again Cozy with Big Oil
5. A human disaster of extreme proportion, December's tsunami also took a drastic toll on a species already teetering on the brink of extinction. Several beaches that served nesting grounds of leatherback turtles, the largest marine reptile, were washed away by the tsunami, leaving the turtles with scarce amounts of vital habitat.
>> Tsunami Pushes Leatherback Turtles Towards Brink
6. A message to would-be polluters of the Antarctic: "clean up or pay up." At an Antarctic Treaty meeting in Sweden this week, 45 nations agreed on measures to prevent pollution of the enormous continent, where recent increased human activity makes environmental disaster ever more likely to occur.
>> New Laws Make Antarctic Polluters Liable
7. In Brazil, news that army engineers are poised to divert water from one of the country's largest rivers to the northeast, where drought has left 12 million people in desperate need of water. The project will involve pumping water from the Sao Francisco river through a total of 435 miles of canals, which critics allege are unnecessary and expensive.
>> Brazil Army to Divert River in Disputed Project
8. The ongoing debate over the proposed nuclear waste dump in Nevada hit a bump in the road on Tuesday in the Senate. The House had attempted to provide for the establishment of temporary, back-up storage sites, but the Senate shot the measure down. Said Harry Reid (D-Nev.), "All the House has done has been to stir up members in an unproductive way."
>> Senate Panel Rebuffs House Call for Interim Nuclear Waste Storage
9. An unusually severe toxic red tide outbreak is wreaking havoc on the northeast shellfishing industry, with a new Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries ban on fishing in federal waters. Formerly restricted from fishing within three miles of shore, crews now are banned from activity within 100 miles.
>> Massachusetts Extends Shellfishing Limits to Federal Waters Due to Toxic Red Tide
10. Political banter heated up this week in ENN's Forums, where the "Water Cooler" section features an ongoing discussion about the dichotomies between U.S. political parties. The subject of the pros and cons of hybrid cars spurred some lively debate, and a thought-provoking thread examines a theory about the impact on industrial society on the intellect and the environment. Read all about it here:
>> ENN Forum: Our Readers Speak
Sustainable Economy News Roundup, by Paul Geary
This week in Sustainable Economy, we saw that legal wrangling is often part of the fight to preserve the environment, as is bureaucratic wrangling. Loopholes, rulings, standards, tariffs: They were all represented in stories that we brought you this week about the legal side of environmental protection:
New Report From World Resources Institute Finds Environmental Loophole in Standards for Multilateral Development Banks
Panama Banana Growers Fear EU Tariffs May Spell End
Snowmaking Upheld; Court Fight Next for Arizona Snowbowl
Texas Supreme Court Announces Ruling in Texas Environmental Cleanup Case
There were plenty of business innovations happening while juries and judges deliberated and bureaucrats set tax rates. We covered a number of examples of businesses and businesspeople creating innovations that bode well for a cleaner, cooler future:
Environmental Power Corporation Unveils New Anaerobic Digester Technology; Electricity from Cow Waste
Old Tires Help Produce Cement
C&A Floorcoverings Earns Environmentally Preferable Product Certification for Ethos Brand Carpet Backing
Market Operates in Environmentally Friendly Building
U.S. Microbics Ventures into Mexico, Will Provide Spanish Website
N.H. Firm Carves Niche Selling Pasteurized Chicken Manure as Organic Fertilizer
Businesses that we covered this week were not only innovating, but were also involved in advocacy of sorts. Here are some examples of stories we covered about businesses that aren't just getting the environmental message, but are giving it as well:
Rebates Encourage Businesses to Try Alternative Sources of Energy
Hong Kong Disneyland to Tell Customers about Environmental Harm of Shark Fin Soup
Firm Expands PC Recycling
Dim the Lights and Turn Up the Thermostat
And finally, ENN gets raw! And we're not the only ones:
Raw-Food Fervor Starting to Sprout
Be sure to check ENN regularly to get the latest news about business and the environment. You can find it here on ENN on our Sustainable Economy News page.
EarthNews Radio Review, by Paul Geary
This week EarthNews Radio touched on several topics that are germaine to the onset of summer. (We presume that most of our friends in the Southern Hemisphere are in temperate enough climates to relate!) Jerry Kay's interviews this week touched on food -- seafood in particular, and flowers.
Many of us love not only the flavor but also the health benefits of seafood. Hitting the local clam shack is a staple of summer for millions. But which fish are safe to eat? And what else should you be considering before you choose that fish dinner?
One company is looking to supply institutional eating venues with sustainably grown and harvested food:
Food Services for a Sustainable Future
Not everyone has the luxury of indulging in a seafood dinner though, but one organization is trying to help one urban community to enjoy healthy, affordable food:
One of the inedible joys of spring and summer is flowers. Jerry Kay brought useful information about flowers both wild and organically grown:
Finally, we featured author Robert Glennon last week, but we think that this topic is so compelling as to warrant mention again. Listen to Jerry Kay's interviews with Glennon about America's drying groundwater:
Of course, check back to ENN's EarthNews Radio section often to hear the latest interviews of environmentalists, activists, and businesspeople from Jerry Kay. Also, you can catch up on broadcasts you may have missed.
Who Owns the Earth? -- An ENN Commentary
by Steven J. Moss, San Francisco Community Power
The first time it happened I was on a rafting trip with my wife, Debbie. "What's this," she asked, holding a glass bottle she'd picked out of the rocks. I took it from her, and my heart beat a little faster. It was an antique liquor bottle stamped with the date "1856," a prized artifact from the Old West. "Let me see that," said our guide, who, because of his age and river wisdom, we'd nicknamed "Old Man River." "I've been rafting this river twenty years and I've never seen an intact bottle like this. Must've been dislodged by the rains." He took it from me. "Best to leave it here at the river where other people can come across it," he said, as he squatted down and wedged it between the rocks.
I grimaced at his back "" although my wife had found it, I wanted to take it with me; own a piece of history. As if reading my mind Old Man River stood up, brushed his hands on his shorts, and said to the sky, "a single person can't own history; it belongs to everybody." I thought about what he said for a moment, but still wanted that damn bottle.
The second time I was on a wilderness hike in Mexico with a group of friends. We were sitting on a beach, cleaning the fish we'd caught, when our guide walked up to us with a huge smile and a cylindrical object in his hand. "Look what I found," he said, holding out a small vase-shaped object the color of dull salmon. "I think it's an Indian pot, maybe a few hundred years old." I licked my lips in envy, "what are you going to do with it?" "Give it back to the tribe," he responded without hesitation, "it belongs to them."
The rest of the trip I kept my eyes glued to the ground, searching for artifacts that I could smuggle home, forgetting about the wild beauty around me. I found nothing. Later, after we'd canoed back to the Indian village from which we launched, our guide handed the pot to a tribal elder. He told us, in Spanish, that he'd never seen an object like this; only heard about its use in ancient ceremonies. He thought it might be eight hundred years old. "We'll keep this pot for our children," he said, his eyes moist, "so that they can see how their ancestor's lived." I was glad they had the pot, but knew I wouldn't have given it so willingly.
My internal lust to own old found objects is not altogether different from the external struggles over ownership that define environmentalism. At one end of the continuum, Americans strongly believe in the right to own, and sell, almost everything, from cleaning products that emit health-damaging volatile organic compounds to nature itself, in the form of large tracts of private property populated by wild animals. Where we draw the line between what can be owned and what cannot defines how strongly we feel about environmental protection, and about the common good.
Today we can own gas guzzling heavy-weight vehicles that, depending on how much they're used, emit hundreds of pounds of polluting and greenhouse gas emissions. We can own, and readily discard, mounds of plastic used temporarily to carry around items or to package other commodities. And we can own large sways of acres that, with a few exceptions, we can do pretty much what we want with.
Of course none of these things can really be owned forever. Even the objects that are mine "" my new Mini Cooper convertible; the computer I'm writing with "" are really only temporary companions. We'll part company some day. Which makes our collective lust for objects quixotic. How can I own an object that will last longer than I do? And if that object harms the planet I live on, or puts by daughter's future at risk, who really owns who?
I don't know how I'll feel or act the next time I come across an ancient found object. I hope, though, that if its meaning spans more than a moment that I'll leave it where it lies, or carry it to a place where it belongs.
Steven Moss is the publisher of the Neighborhood Environmental Newswire. He serves as Executive Director of San Francisco Community Power, www.sfpower.org.
Photo: A Loggerhead Sea Turtle at Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge in Titusville, Florida. Credit: Ryan Hagerty/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.


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Kids Craft Ideas From Martha Stewart
Nip Boredom in the Bud With Summer Crafts From Martha Stewart
Nip Boredom in the Bud With Summer Crafts From Martha Stewart
There's no excuse for boredom in the Summer. With long, warm days, there are endless ways to keep lil ones busy while school's out of session. But when rainy days keep them inside or the temperature soars, it's only a matter of time before the dreaded "I'm bored!" comes out of one of their mouths.
According to Jodi Levine, kids director for Martha Stewart Living, the key to avoiding lulls in activity is being prepared. She recommends stockpiling supplies throughout the year in themed bins — think "fashion," "recycled," "cooking," etc. — so there's no need to scramble when the unpredictable weather arrives. Jodi spoke with us about her tips for creating the bins and several crafts that can be made from them. Best of all, the practice also teaches tots the benefits of recycling, as most of these crafting items would have wound up in the trash otherwise!


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Merideth Thompson to Serve on Editorial Board for Leadership Quarterly
Merideth Thompson appointed to editorial board.
Assistant Professor Merideth Thompson has been asked to serve on the editorial board for Leadership Quarterly, an elite academic journal that is nationally known within her field of research.
She said in this capacity she will be asked to review about 10 submissions a year and help the board nominate and choose the best article of the year. Frank Caliendo, associate dean for academic affairs, said the honor and recognition is a significant outside acknowledgment of her expertise in her area of research and is another example of Huntsman professors winning national recognition for their research.


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