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I would like to inform all my readers that I have commenced the CCDE Practical Lab Exam Scenarios Bootcamp.
In the CCDE Practical Lab Scenarios Bootcamp, I will share the CCDE Practical Lab scenarios. Four Lab Scenarios will be covered.Of course, these scenarios depict some of the questions in the current CCDE practical exams. They will help you to understand the exam structure, to approach the questions and to pass the exam.
The difference from the regular CCDE Practical Bootcamp (not scenarios specific) is Read more


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The new Rochester Products' Model "B" Carburetor as used on the Chevrolet engines, presents a number of distinct new features, features which show themselves in performance for the car owner and ease of service for the mechanic.
Foremost of the features contributing to the improved performance is the unique design of the carburetor float bowl. The new carburetor has a concentric float bowl as contrasted to an eccentric or one-sided bowl on other type units. This float bowl concentricity in conjunction with the centrally located main discharge nozzle prevents any fuel from spilling from the nozzle on road inclines. Regardless of any angle the car may assume, the fuel level is at all times below the nozzle spill point.
A second feature of the new Model "B" Carburetor is the design of the Main Well support Assembly. This design eliminates any need for an anti-percolator. This assembly contains the Main Metering Jet and Power Valve. It is attached to the Cover and is suspended in the fuel of the Float Bowl.
When the engine is not operating, the rise in heat from the engine manifold is applied to the Float Bowl, causing fuel percolation or boiling. When the main metering jet is attached directly to the Float Bowl, it allows the heat to percolate the fuel in the main passageways. As a consequence, the boiling fuel seeks escape through the main nozzle and into the engine. This often times causes difficult hot starting.
However, in the Model "B" Carburetor, the heat applied to the Float Bowl may cause minor vapors atop the fuel level but the entry to the main passageways through the main metering jet is actually insulated and surrounded by the cooler solid fuel near the bottom of the Float Bowl. This prevents any fuel percolation in the passageways.
For smoother performance at low speeds the new carburetor has been designed to permit a continuous fuel flow to the engine. In conventional type carburetors, there is a distinct transfer point when the direction of fuel flow changes from the idle to the main metering system. This causes a momentary lag in fuel delivery to the engine. The Model "B" carburetor by the design of a common passage for both the idle and main metering systems, enjoys the smoother performance due to this continuous fuel flow from the idle to the main metering system.
During the period of engine warm-up, it is often advantageous to operate the engine with the power mixtures, without advancing the accelerator to the full wide-open position. By the use of a vacuum operated power system in the new carburetor, these power mixtures are readily available. This is due to the ability of the power valve to function at any drop in manifold vacuum below 5" Hg., regardless of the degree of throttle opening. In carburetors which employ a mechanical operated power system, the throttle must be advanced to the full wide open position to obtain the power mixtures.
To prevent poor initial acceleration and to minimize hard starting in hot weather the model "B" unit employs an anti-percolator type of pump plunger. When the engine is not operating, the rise in heat from the engine manifold causes the fuel in the pump system to percolate.

subset: commoncrawl


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Post-NCAA game breakdown: Iowa State
UConn is one win away from the program's fifth Final Four appearance.
Think about that.
When the season started did you really think this team would be playing in the regional finals on Sunday?
Not a chance.
Seventh-seeded UConn disposed of third-seeded Iowa State, 81-76, on Friday in the Sweet Sixteen at Madison Square Garden. The Huskies (29-8) are making their 11th trip to the Elite Eight and first since 2011.
Up next: fourth-seeded Michigan State, which beat top-seeded Virginia, 61-59, in the second game of the doubleheader Friday. It is the Spartans' 12th trip to the regional final.
Game time for Sunday's Elite Eight game is 2:20 p.m.
Here's a post-game breakdown and look ahead:
-- UConn and Michigan State last played in the season opener last season in Germany. The Huskies won, 66-62, giving coach Kevin Ollie's a win his head coaching debut.
-- Junior DeAndre Daniels had a career night, leading the team in points (27) and rebounds (10). He scored 29 points in the previous two NCAA tournament games.
In the second half, Daniels dominated, scoring 19 points. He went 10-for-15 from the field overall.
Daniels has four double-doubles this season.
-- UConn's backcourt of senior Shabazz Napier (19 points) and junior Ryan Boatright (16) helped control the tempo and hit big shots.
The Huskies limited the high-powered Cyclones to just eight fast break points and six 3-pointers.
-- Napier came out firing away from 3-point land, sinking 4-of-5 in the first half. The Huskies went 7-for-12 before intermission and 2-for-7 after from beyond the arc.
-- UConn has won five straight Sweet Sixteen games, improving to 11-6 overall.
-- The Huskies never trailed after taking a 5-3 lead. They had a 36-26 edge at halftime, improving to 24-3 when leading at the break.
They shot 52 percent from the floor overall. It was their highest field goal percentage in an NCAA game since hitting 57.9 percent in a win over Texas A&M in 2009.
-- Some former UConn players were in attendance, including Richard Hamilton, Khalid El-Amin and Jake Voskuhl, three members of the 1999 national championship team.
Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun also was at the game.
"It was great," coach Kevin Ollie said of the former players at the game. "That's the culture that we have around the University of Connecticut. … It's just a family atmosphere."
Ollie thanked the UConn fans who turned out to support their Huskies.
"We can really hear them cheering for us, but then we could also feed off them," Ollie said. "We can also draw off their energy. They just did a wonderful job."
Napier added: "It felt like a home game."
-- Iowa Stateforward Dustin Hogue easily scored inside on UConn, finishing with a career-high 34 points. He went 15-for-19 from the field, the rest of the team hit 17 of 50.
-- UConn freshman Terrence Samuel, a reserve guard from Brooklyn, had quite a homecoming game. He chipped in 10 points, three rebounds and two assists and didn't commit a turnover.
"He stepped up big time," Ollie said.
-- After his team's win Friday night, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo had little to say about facing UConn. He was too focused on preparing to try beat Virginia to think about the Huskies prior to Friday night.
-- Check back tomorrow afternoon when UConn and Michigan State will meet with the media.
Reader Comments
Highlights: Woodstock 1, Plainfield 0 in ECC girls' soccer final
Highlights: Woodstock 2, East Lyme 0 in ECC boys' soccer final
Norwich utilities commission explores options on Bilda's status
Death toll rises in California wildfire, matching deadliest blaze
Somers details her call for overhaul or elimination of CMEEC


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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Workers fired for misconduct would be unable to collect any unemployment benefits under legislation advanced by a Senate panel.
A Senate Labor Commerce and Industry subcommittee on Wednesday approved a bill that would automatically deny benefits for misconduct. Currently, the state's unemployment agency reduces workers' benefits between five and 20 weeks, depending on the type of misconduct and severity.
The Department of Employment and Workforce paid out $50 million in unemployment benefits last fiscal year to fired workers.
Anderson Sen. Kevin Bryant says not paying that money would cut employers' unemployment insurance costs.
State law says workers fired for gross misconduct such as theft can't receive the benefits. But senators heard about a case in which a fired worker received some weeks of pay despite multiple examples of gross misconduct.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Competition in the Web browser market is heating up, and fresh on the heels of Microsoft releasing Internet Explorer 9, Mozilla has set Firefox 4 loose upon the world. Long the number-two browser behind Internet Explorer, Firefox 4 offers to give users a new look at the Web with improved performance and new technology, enhanced security features, and a wealth of customization and personalization options that enable users to make the browser truly their own. However, the stakes have perhaps never been higher for Mozilla, which faces stiff competition from the likes of Google Chrome, as well as Microsoft's brand-new IE9.
Many Web users keep some sites open all the time—like email, social networking, and other services—and in Firefox 4 those sites can be set up as "App Tabs"—permanent icon tabs on users' tab bars. Firefox 4 also offers a tab "Panorama" view that enables users to visually organize their tabs into logical groups. Firefox 4 also sports a new sync feature that enables users to manage their browsing histories, bookmarks, and open tabs across mobile and desktop versions of Firefox. Firefox 4 retains access to the vast array of skins and add-ons that have been developed for the browser, so users can enhance and customize their browsing experience.
Under the hood, Firefox 4 includes support for a number of new technologies, including WebGL 3D graphics, support for open font formats like TrueType, OpenType, and WOFF, substantially improved support for CSS3, support for high-definition video and Google's WebM video format, a new graphics engine that support things like inline SVG graphics—plus Firefox 4 makes audio data accessible to JavaScript, supports Windows 7 multitouch, and an experimental Web console that lets the curious see how the Web operates under the hood.
Firefox 4 also takes steps to improve users' security online: a new "Instant Web Site ID" feature offers one-click access to a site's identity information, including details like how many times a user has visited it. (Hint: if a site claims to be PayPal and you've never been there before, it's not PayPal.) Firefox 4 also offers a Private Browsing mode, a new "Forget This Site" feature that wil remove any trace of having visited, and a new "Do Not Track" feature that tries to tell sites that you don't want to be included in any behavioral tracking they do—of course, sites have to play along with that and actually honor the request from Firefox.
Firefox 4 is a free download for Mac OS X (Intel-based Macs running Mac OS X 10.5 or later only), Windows 2000+, and Linux. And if you're curious about how the Firefox 4 rollout is going, check out glow.mozilla.org.


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At one time the current quandry wasn't the transition to hi-def TV, or television at all for that matter. What's "stereo" mean, sonny?
On the Illinois side of the river was a signal at 1230 AM, the entire run from 1946-1983 is detailed in WQUA: Moline's hometown station. It's a delight to read about a simpler sonic time, when the day (choppy as it may have been formatically) was filled with personalities and public service blasting out of downtown Moline with a mere 500 watts of monophonic glory. Draw your own comparisons to todays offerings.
Toward the end you'll recognize a few names of today's local senior statesmen of radio and television.
Marvel at this 1950's stunt from Ed Grennan's Problems and Solutions program…
"One time a man from the sewer department called and said he had a large quantity of human waste that had been processed into fertilizer. Evidently it was good for gardens. The city was giving it away for free, but the people had to bring their own buckets and shovels. I'm not kidding you…I had 500 people out there shoveling ****."


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posted by David Adams on Sun 2nd Nov 2008 20:59 UTC, submitted by Dirk Sievert
Oliver Hamann released a new version of his futuristic user environment called Eagle Mode. But the most interesting news is probably his project philosophy. There he lists pros and cons for replacing most of today's user interfaces by zoomable user interfaces. But unlike others, he don't want to replace the concept of desktop windows.


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Here Are Your Worst Prom Hookup Failures
Once upon a time at this fair site, we ran a series of posts entitled Drunken Hookup Failure, chronicling sordid tales of young lust gone horribly awry. Today, we've decided to bring DHF back for a special prom-themed edition. Here now are some of our readers' very worst prom failures.


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Favorites by Price
Firelight Glass, the premier design manufacturer of handblown glass oil candles. The Firelight story begins on a kitchen table in 1970, when Karen Boss's love of the craft found her experimenting with glassblowing. Now, 30 years later, we're still experimenting…and still handcrafting each candle at our factory in the Bay Area.
We use old-world hotworking techniques and modern proprietary technology to create sculptural forms available nowhere else in the world. In fact, many of our designs are so unique, they carry patents.
Combining fine art with good function, you'll find Firelight Glass in some very famous settings – from the chapel of a queen's court in Belgium to Star Trek: The Next Generation. And imaginative homes the world over. Homes just like yours!
Designed in a wide array of styles to fit any décor or any occasion, Firelight candles fill the home with the age-old magic of candlelight. And consistently solve the problem of a special gift for a loved one. Of special delight to us, our customers worldwide enjoy the magic of our candles. "Firelight Glass products are elegant, well-crafted and a delight to own. It is for these reasons my wife and I return to Firelight Glass time and again to give them as gift to family across the world."
We hope you'll discover the magic of Firelight too!
Order Information | Dealer Information | Website Issue


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Skip to comments.US Capital Spending Plummets To Recession Levels
Posted on 11/19/2012 10:19:39 AM PST by mojito
U.S. companies are scaling back investment plans at the fastest pace since the recession, signaling more trouble for the economic recovery.
Half of the nation's 40 biggest publicly traded corporate spenders have announced plans to curtail capital expenditures this year or next, according to a review by The Wall Street Journal of securities filings and conference calls.
Nationwide, business investment in equipment and softwarea measure of economic vitality in the corporate sectorstalled in the third quarter for the first time since early 2009. Corporate investment in new buildings has declined.
At the same time, exports are slowing or falling to such critical markets as China and the euro zone as the global economy downshifts, creating another drag on firms' expansion plans.
Corporate executives say they are slowing or delaying big projects to protect profits amid easing demand and rising uncertainty. Uncertainty around the U.S. elections and federal budget policies also appear among the factors driving the investment pullback since midyear.
(Excerpt) Read more at zerohedge.com ...
Guess the gubbermint will just have to confiscate that money and invest it for them /not quite sarc
Going to be another 4 years of "it's Bush's and the House Republican's fault."
Dow Chemical company announced a huge lay off, I think it was 5% of employees worldwide, and closing many plants worldwide.
Dow cutting jobs, closing plants as growth slows
NEW YORK | Tue Oct 23, 2012 11:18pm EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dow Chemical Co, the largest chemical maker in the United States, said on Tuesday it plans to cut 5 percent of its workforce and shutter 20 plants as part of a restructuring program aimed at countering a slowing global economy.
Dow and other chemical companies face slipping demand for products around the world. Rival DuPont slashed its earnings forecast and announced 1,500 job cuts.
"The reality is we are operating in a slow-growth environment in the near-term and, while these actions are difficult, they demonstrate our resolve to tightly manage operations..." Andrew Liveris, Dow's chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.
The company, which hopes to save $500 million a year, said the cuts would result in a loss of around 2,400 positions worldwide.
Among its planned plant closings, Dow will shutter a high density polyethylene facility in Belgium, a sodium borhidrate plant in the Netherlands, and a manufacturing facility in Midland, Michigan.
The company will also take an unspecified charge related to its Dow Kokam LLC assets, reflecting weak demand for lithium-ion batteries.
Dow said it would pare capital spending and investment in programs that are no longer a priority. It said those cuts should save it an additional $500 million.
The company will take fourth-quarter charges of around 50 cents to 60 cents per share for asset impairments and write-offs, severance and other costs related to the measures.
Dow had initially planned to release its restructuring plans along with its third-quarter earnings on Thursday, but the news was inadvertently sent to a reporter at the Bloomberg News, according to a source on Dow's board of directors.
As a result, the company reported third-quarter earnings late on Tuesday and said it would hold a conference call on the results on Wednesday at 9 a.m. ET.
Dow posted a 39 percent fall in quarterly profit to $497 million, or 42 cents per share, hurt by weaker demand and price declines.
That compared with a profit of $815 million, or 69 cents per share in the same quarter last year, or adjusted earnings of $729 million, or 62 cents per share.
Sales were $13.6 billion, down 10 percent, or 7 percent on an adjusted basis. The decline was led by Europe where sales fell 10 percent, also hit by adverse exchange rates.
Analysts, on average, were expecting Dow to earn 37 cents a share, excluding items, on sales of $14.22 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Shares of Dow fell 20 cents to $28.55 after the close of regular trading. The stock fell 4 percent in New York Stock Exchange trading.
(Additional reporting by Sakthi Prasad and Garima Goel in Bangalore, Michael Erman in New York, Braden Reddall in San Francisco, and Nichola Groom in Los Angeles; Writing by Anna Driver in Houston; Editing by David Gregorio and Chris Gallagher)
I saw a list the other day, who is to blame....
all of the above
That is what Obama is selling to the Kool Aid drinkers
I saw someone mention Pepsi was laying off 4,000 worker, a rumor that can be checked out
The FULL STALIN?
Fine lets tax the rich...
How about this tax rate.
99% on all earnings over $10,000,000.
Earn $10,000,000... collect $100,000.
99.9% on all earnings over $100,000,000.
Earn $100,000,000... collect $100,000.
Plus asset seizure.
Also file to take their houses, the cars, etc. etc. etc.
Nothing official or cross check-able yet.
Thanks for the heads up, will continue to look.
My list broke 93,000 last night.
The smart ones knew about it the idiots just looked at the free ride list Obama gave.
Second Term Obama inherited a terrible economy from First Term Obama.
And 91% tax rate would kill off all wealth, retirement, and jobs!
Wouldn't the government only get 99% of all earnings OVER $10,000,000? So, if one earned $11,000,000 the tax rate of 99% would be on $1,000,000 = $990,000.
No one would work for 9% of their salary.
"Just some more terrible economic news that you didn't need to know before the election."
Absolutely; I don't even feel like we lost an election (I know what that feels like). I feel like we were denied the opportunity to hold one...
Tax the rich at 99%. Watch the rich disappear from the country overnight.
Then what? Oh, yes, I forgot ...there will still be a LOT more of us left ...then it will ALL be about "shared sacrifice."
Except it won't be shared. And Obamagov will own it all (because all those evil mean rich people bailed out on us),so you will work for Obamagov and you will share the sacrifice.
But some will still share more than others. We couldn't and won't possibly ask those "others" to share, because they just aren't capable of sharing.
Geez, I think I'll just go jump off a bridge right now.
Krugman left out the other side of the story.
Back when there was a 91% bracket, there were a huge pile of deductions so that the money subjected to the 91% was very small. Today all those deductions are gone thanks to the dimrats. And still he thinks that taxing producers at 91% would work. It might the first year, but after that the producers would quit producing.
Then the obamabots would starve.
"Second Term Obama inherited a terrible economy from First Term Obama."
Yes, I can't wait for Obama to lambaste the clown who handed him the current mess. That clown promised to stop the rising of the oceans, among other grandiose pledges that were flagrantly ignored (if you earn less than $200K your taxes will not go up by ONE DIME!). Sad too that this bozo didn't focus like a laser beam on the economy as he had promised. But, as they say, elections have consequences. Americans made their choice: now they have to live with it.
at the fastest pace since the recession, signaling more trouble for the economic recovery
The recession ended? We're in a recovery?
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Consensus Report
Review of the Worker and Public Health Activities Program Administered by the Department of Energy and the Department of Health and Human Services (2007)Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board
Each report is produced by a committee of experts selected by the Academy to address a particular statement of task and is subject to a rigorous, independent peer review; while the reports represent views of the committee, they also are endorsed by the Academy. Learn more on our expert consensus reports.
Ever since the United States began producing and testing nuclear weapons during World War II, the effects of ionizing radiation on human health and the environment have been a serious public concern. The Worker and Public Health Activities Program was established more than 20 years ago to study the consequences of exposure to ionizing radiation and other hazardous materials from Department of Energy operations to workers and members of the surrounding communities. This report concludes that the program has used sound research methods and generally has enhanced public understanding of the risks involved. However, the report recommends that more two-way communication between the agencies and workers and members of the public is needed. The report explores the ways in which the agencies involved could develop a more coordinated, effective, and thorough evaluation of the public health concerns involved in cleanup and remediation activities at Department of Energy sites.


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Reserve online or call 01993 824 252
Start your shortlist by clicking on the icon next to any property
The Monte Claro community is ideally located, just a short walk from the tennis centre, shops and restaurants. The town houses feature amongst the most popular choices with guests. With a superb community pool and beautiful gardens, they provide an ideal holiday location. This property has modern furnishings and marble bathrooms. The large terraces overlook the pool and gardens, and have stunning views of the resort and the mountains beyond.
This is a beautiful townhouse with views of the community pool. It has a large terrace with BBQ plus a large balcony which leads from the master bedroom and looks over the pool. This small, central community is close to shops and tennis centre. This property also has free wi-fi. Please note that bookings of 7 or more nights only will be accepted in this property. Guests can also enjoy the use of a pool table, located in the property's garage and an XBox.
The kitchen is on the ground floor and is fully equipped with dish washer, microwave, oven, hob and extractor fan, fridge freezer and coffee machine. A door leads out to the rear part covered terrace.
The air conditioned living/dining room is comfortably furnished and has satellite flat screen TV and DVD/CD player. There is also an X-box for guests' use. Patio doors lead to the terrace and garden area, which leads to the community pool. The terrace has a barbeque and outdoor dining facilities. There is also an additional cloakroom facility on the ground floor.
Stairs lead down to the fourth bedroom, which has two single beds which can be made into a double bed if preferred, and an adjoining shower room. Also on this floor is the utility room where you will find the washing machine and a tumble dryer, and the garage where the pool table is located.
On the first floor are three air conditioned bedrooms. The master bedroom has a king size bed, a safe, and an en-suite shower room with twin wash basins and WC. Patio doors lead to a Juliet style balcony. The 2nd and 3rd bedrooms have twin beds and share use of the separate full bathroom. Both bedrooms have patio doors, which give access to a small terrace from the 3rd bedroom.
Outside: Barbeque, terrace area with outdoor dining facilities, great pool and gardens.
Relevant information: In July & August and school holidays please Saturday changeovers only.


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While our closets have plenty in the way of dresses, fripperies, and flounces, our daily outfit MO skews pretty unisex. We've "stolen" so much and so often from the boys that we consider oversized sweaters, work boots, varsity jackets, and baggy jeans more our thing than theirs.
And, judging from the looks at Men's Fashion Week, it seems that they've grown wise to the game and are borrowing heavily from womenswear trends. But, boys, don't forget who's the master of the game. Watch yourselves, because we will steal the (tunic-style oxford) shirt off your back — it's too awesome not to! Check out the 10 looks from Men's Fashion Week we'd rather see on our own racks.


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SAN JOSE — Earthquakes forward Steven Lenhart is expected to miss at least four weeks with a sprained left medial collateral ligament, the club announced Thursday.
Lenhart, 27, who has not scored in three MLS matches this season while logging 258 minutes, went down in the 77th minute of a 2-1 loss to the New England Revolution.
"We'll miss him, but as always with injuries it gives guys an opportunity," coach Mark Watson said. "Alan Gordon, who has been working his way back to fitness, is pretty close. Billy Schuler, Adam Jahn, all the other guys that have been working hard and waiting patiently."
Lenhart also had arthroscopic surgery on the meniscus of his right knee in 2011 and 2012. He scored four goals in 2013 after scoring a career-high 10 times in 2012.
The Earthquakes, after a bye this week, will return to action against the Columbus Crew on April 13 at Buck Shaw Stadium.


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|Version 19 (modified by 13 years ago) (diff),
on the wiki:
- The Control.Concurrency module
Papers and other docs:
- Concurrent Haskell (the original paper, including a semantics)
- Extending the Haskell FFI with Concurrency (a specification of the interaction between concurrency and the FFI, with a semantics)
- A Draft report addendum (a shorter version of the above paper).
- Software Transactional Memory
- Vital for some modern applications and large applications commonly require it.
- Stable
MVarimplementation is well understood and tested.
- Imposes non trivial implementation constraints.
- Providing a 'select' and non-blocking IO would be enough to allow people to implement something like it themselves in haskell and are provided by most systems as primitives.
- Things like the 'poor man's concurrency monad' can achieve some of the benefits
what is provided
At least the following interface will be provided
- Control.Concurrent.MVar - everything except addMVarFinalizer
- Control.Concurrent - ThreadId?,myThreadId,forkIO,yield,threadWaitRead[1],threadWaitWrite[1],threadDelay,threadSetPriority[2],threadGetPriority[2]
the FFI must be able to handle 'concurrent nonrentrant' imports, but not necessarily 'concurrent reentrant' ones.
Progress Guarentee
- if any haskell thread is runnable then at least one thread will be running.
- foreign calls marked 'concurrent' will not interfere will the above rule.
MVar Guarentees
initial proposal is here:
Misc library stuff
yield is guarenteed to choose an alternate thread if another one exists and is runnable.
[2] priorities are advisory, but higher priority threads should be run in preference to lower priority ones.
threadDelay guarentees the thread will wait as long as its argument at a minimum. it may be blocked for longer.
[1] may be moved to another module, routines working on Handles should be added too.
[2] possibly, if we decide to go with priorities
Optional extensions to basic standard
These are optional extensions a compiler may implement. In some implementations they may entail a run-time cost to non-concurrent code or a compiler might need a special option to enable them. However, A compiler is not required to provide more than one concurrency model as long as it can meet the requirements of the standard and any options it claims to support.
If a compiler documents that it supports one of the following options, then it must adhere to the rules of that option as well.
Optional Feature 1 - Preemption
The standard only requires a progress guarentee, that a thread is always running, making progress. If an implementation supports context switching during arbitrary, perhaps even pure, computations and meets the stronger fairness guarentees, then it can be said to support the 'Preemption' option.
Fairness Guarentee
- no starvation
new library calls provided
- mergeIO, nmergeIO
Optional Feature 2 - OS threads
The implementation allows multiple haskell threads to run at once via the operating systems threading service. May take advantange of SMP architectures.
- forkOS,isCurrentThreadBound,runInBoundThread,runInUnboundThread
- bound threads
- concurrent reentrant supported


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what's on
show transcripts
CNN Headline News
CNN International
CNN.com Asia
CNN.com Europe
set your edition
Time, Inc.
Business 2.0
Encore Presentation: Babies on the Brink
Aired February 23, 2002 - 20:00 ET
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Somebody tell that charge nurse we're doing a code.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's alive because of technology. And without major interventions, he would not be with us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were we still in the days where there's no ventilation, many of these children would pass away soon after birth. And so, if God is what would have happened under the natural setting, and then we're definitely interfering with his work.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And (UNINTELLIGIBLE) from 140 to 24.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We should tell parents exactly what the risks are, as we get down to the lower limits of liability, because they were the ones who have to deal with the long-term consequences. And many of these consequences are life long.
AARON BROWN, HOST: Welcome to CNN PRESENTS. I'm Aaron Brown.
There is a moment in every new parent's life when it really hits you. This is real, this is my child. I'm actually a parent. A parent I know once said in that moment so begins a lifetime of worry. But for most of us, the worry doesn't really begin in those first few moments of life. And then, there are those parents whose child is born too early or born sick, and the worry begins in the delivery room if not before, and can and often does last for years.
Their first hope is what's called NICU, or neonatal intensive care unit. And as all those who enter are quick to learn, life in the NICU is drama defined, a rollercoaster miraculous saves and agonizing decisions. It is hope and fear each and every day. "Babies on the Brink" is reported now by Eileen O'Connor.
EILEEN O'CONNOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's 4:00 on a Tuesday afternoon. Hailey Lewis is delivering her baby early. The first signs of labor came at 20 weeks, the halfway point of a normal pregnancy. HAILEY LEWIS: I was a wreck. The neo-natologist said come and talk to me and had told me what would go on with the percentage of, you know, having problems.
O'CONNOR: She and doctors at Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children, outside Washington, D.C., succeeded in keeping her triplets in the womb seven more weeks.
LEWIS: 27 weeks. So it was every encouraging, although every day and every week is better. They were actually breathing and I heard them cry.
O'CONNOR: 13 weeks early and triplets.
LEWIS: They were just little miracles, you know. We're blessed.
O'CONNOR: Each weighs little more than a pound and a half, a bit bigger than a normal loaf of bread. That, and their early arrival, has guaranteed them spots here, in the neonatal intensive care or NICU at Fairfax. One of the most advanced in the country, more than 1300 babies pass through its door every year.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think they're doing pretty good.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pretty good? She's got to breathe in air with a paper tube?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pretty darn good.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's darn good.
O'CONNOR: Their chances for survival, close to 90 percent at this hospital. And if they live, they have the same odds intact, meaning with no lasting physical or mental disability. The next 24 hours will be critical.
Today, cutting edge technology, coupled with advanced research, has given doctors the chance to save more babies, like the Lewises, and those even smaller, babies as tiny as one pound or less and as young as 22 weeks of gestational age.
Some of these children end up with disabilities, but the end result is seldom clear to doctors and parents at birth.
JOYCE STEPHANSKY, BEN'S MOM: And these are his first footprints and first hand prints.
O'CONNOR: Joyce Stephansky and Brian Powilatis are parents to Ben, born more than six months ago.
STEPHANSKY: That's my husband's hand in relationship to his fingers.
O'CONNOR: Ben's stay here has been like many, a journey of ups and downs that everyone calls the NICU rollercoaster. STEPHANSKY: The series of taking two steps forward and six back. And you know, and that's what it's been like for seven months. And it's not easy, you know, but -- so we have our baby, you know.
O'CONNOR: Born at 27 weeks, Ben was actually developmentally. He'd stopped growing in the womb three weeks earlier. Early on, Ben's doctor, John North, warned his parents of the risks associated with treating very premature infants.
JOHN NORTH, PHYSICIAN: The family knew that there was going to be times where we would be faced with decisions about whether to continue with this support or not. The difficulty was in -- as it is with all small babies like this, predicting that point.
O'CONNOR: Nationally, the number of babies born premature is on the rise. It equals about one out of every nine births. The more premature, the less chance for survival. At term, 38 to 42 weeks, the survival rate is greater than 98 percent. At 30 weeks, the rate of survival is 95 percent. Hit 25 weeks, and it is little better than 50 percent. When you reach the limits of viability, 22 to 23 weeks, and a weight of less than a pound, the odds of surviving can be as low as 1 out of 100.
For those smallest babies who beat those steep odds, as many as 80 or 90 percent can have lasting disabilities. Despite the statistics, parents are often compelled to fight for their baby's life, using every means of technology.
STEPHANSKY: He's had nine surgeries. The first surgery at two days old. And he only weighed a pound and five ounces. So he looked like a little baby bird without the feathers, thank God.
O'CONNOR: Ben's lungs also aren't developed enough. So he breathes through a hole in his throat. A ventilator pushing air into his lungs is essential.
STEPHANSKY: Time to sleep little bird, little bird.
O'CONNOR: For moms and dads, it's an overwhelming and often- difficult situation, holding the tiniest infants isn't possible, since they're so fragile. Each day after visiting, parents must return to home without their baby. And friends don't know how to react.
STEPHANSKY: It's hard on other people, too. You know, you have this baby that everyone's saying will not survive. So do you say, "Congratulations" or do you say, "I'm sorry?" Yes, I love you and you love me. You think so? I think so.
O'CONNOR: Ben is not yet breathing on his own or eating solid foods. Yet, there is hope. He may be going home soon, according to one of his doctors.
So you think, so far, so good?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's great, yes. I couldn't be happier.
STEPHANSKY: Like to hear that. Did you hear that? You're doing great.
O'CONNOR: Not every baby that ends up in the NICU is premature. Across the hall is Andrew Abbott. He was born at term, like about half the babies here. Much new technology can help him, as well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, let's see your profile.
O'CONNOR: The pregnancy was perfect.
HEATHER ABBOTT, ANDREW'S MOM: This is the changing table.
O'CONNOR: And like most parents, Andrews planned the perfect, uneventful homecoming.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, you want to announce the name?
H. ABBOTT: I think we have decided on Drew.
O'CONNOR: Andrew should have been fine at birth, but his exterior hid an awful twist.
H. ABBOTT: They took him to the operating room. And that's when they found that all of the large intestine was dead and that about 45 centimeters of the small intestine, which is about a third of it, was also dead.
He's lost all his hair. He's a little Q ball.
ROBERT BECK, INOVA FAIRFAX HOSPITAL: He has what you call short gut. And we've not been able to deliver formula, breast feeding, or breast milk or any kind of material successfully into his gut at this point, but we hope as time goes along, that'll happen.
H. ABBOTT: This is my favorite, you know.
O'CONNOR: He's had three surgeries thus far to cut out the dead tissue in his intestines and connect the remaining pieces that are alive. He's also battling a fungal infection from the feeding lines inserted in his body.
H. ABBOTT: He was more awake today. And his fever's gone. His blood counts were better. He seems a lot happier, which is comforting for me, yes. He doesn't seem so sick.
O'CONNOR: Like many of the smaller babies at Fairfax, nobody knows how long it will be before Andrew is healthy enough to go home.
Meanwhile, another baby is about to board the rollercoaster at Fairfax. Transported in by ambulance, he was born just a few hours ago at 24 weeks. He is tiny, weighing just under 20 ounces. Four months early, his struggle to survive has just begun.
O'CONNOR (voice-over): Born just a few hours ago and transported into Fairfax, Adrian Millisock has the full attention of the staff in the NICU.
Eyes still closed, the 24-weeker is immediately hooked up to feeding tubes, monitors, and a ventilator.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to have to check that way up.
O'CONNOR: Born in another hospital, his parents have yet to arrive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was at (UNINTELLIGIBLE) then transported.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello, is this mom? Mrs. Millisock? Hi, I just want to let you know, I'm one of the neo-natologists at Fairfax and taking care of your son. And he arrived safe and sound. He's looking really very good.
O'CONNOR: 100 years ago, preemies like this were left to die. That was until the invention of the incubator. It cocooned a premature infant in warmth and oxygen. These devices so fascinated the public, that in the early 1900s, German doctor Martin Cooney (ph) sold tickets to see the babies thriving.
WILLIAM SILVERMAN, PEDIATRICIAN: Martin Cooney (ph) was a very colorful pediatrician. And the interesting thing is that his results were quite good.
O'CONNOR: Pediatrician Dr. William Silverman was in medical school at the same time Cooney (ph) slumbering babies were still fascinating. Sold out audiences in Europe and the United States. They even appeared at the New York World's Fair of 1939 and Coney Island. In total, Cooney (ph) cared for 8,000 babies. A whopping 6,500 of those survived.
SILVERMAN: It was an uphill fight. Cooney (ph) could not get doctors in this country interested in keeping very minute infants alive, because they were worried about long-term consequences.
O'CONNOR: Eventually, incubators became more widely accepted, enchanting the likes of Eleanor Roosevelt. But incubators couldn't save every baby.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The dramatic miracle of birth and a fight for life takes place as Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy bears a premature son.
O'CONNOR: The idea of ventilation didn't come to the public's attention until 1963.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As is often the case with premature babies, Patrick had difficulty breathing.
O'CONNOR: That's when President John Kennedy's newborn son, Patrick, died from respiratory complications, following his birth at 34 weeks.
BECK: When you didn't particularly have any kind of tubing to put in the children's throats, to support breathing. We then certainly did not have any kind of pediatric ventilator. Then you would lose these children.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The biggest change that we've had is the way we can breathe for him and the type of ventilators that we can use to treat the infants.
O'CONNOR: Today, there have been numerous other advancements in technology. Incubators resemble space capsules, with tops that pop off and advanced controls that regulate heat and humidity. Food is delivered through tiny tubes. Blood results are shown almost immediately. And machines chart every tiny breath and heartbeat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to be doing an echocardiogram on this little guy. This will give us an ultrasound image of the baby's heart. And I'll be measuring the blood flow going through the chambers. And I should be able to see that with the color flow Doppler that we use.
O'CONNOR: In 1990, the development of a new drug, that mimics a vital substance lacking in the lungs of the smallest preemies, pushed the limits of viability even further. Cultivated from the lungs of calves, surfactant allows babies as tiny to 22 weeks to be saved. Before that, the baby's lungs are too immature to survive.
AMY MCCABE, NURSE: Premature babies don't have as much surfactant intrinsically. And it actually decreases the number of days that they're on the ventilator and allows them to have less basic lung trauma.
O'CONNOR: One baby who has benefited from surfactant is Adrian Millisock. A week after birth, he's stable, yet his parents are cautious.
KENNETH MILLISOCK, ADRIAN'S FATHER: They did an ultrasound on his brain to see if there's any blood on the brain. And that came back negative. There's no blood on the brain. So that's a good sign.
O'CONNOR: Severely premature babies like Adrian have tiny blood vessels, making them more prone to internal bleeds. If it's in the brain, it can be a sign of potential problems down the road. Like mental retardation and cerebral palsy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He'll end up being for a few months, right?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think so.
K. MILLISOCK: We're going to have him for a while, and see how he develops and everything.
O'CONNOR: Down the hall, another baby is using all that technology has to offer.
JOHN ARANEO, JACK'S FATHER: Uh-oh, what did we do?
O'CONNOR: Hym and John Araneo welcomed twins into the world a few weeks ago. Zach is ready to go home, but Jack ended up here in the NICU.
J. ARANEO: You're just like Popeye today.
O'CONNOR: Jack is evidence that multiple births are on the rise. Most are twins, like the Araneo boys. They're numbers increased 50 percent since 1980. Triplets and other multiple births have skyrocketed close to 500 percent.
The leap is often credited to the growing use of fertility drugs and invitro fertilization. Multiples tend to end up in the NICU because of their size and early arrival.
Jack's difficulties began when he stopped growing in the womb. He was half the size of his brother. He also has Down's Syndrome. He's suffering from a bloated stomach. A barium X-ray is ordered to find out why.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold him right there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hold him?
O'CONNOR: The doctors hope the tests will find some blockage, but it doesn't. The result only confirms that Jack's underdeveloped intestines, a common ailment in small preemies, are slowing down his digestion, putting pressure on his belly and causing labored breathing. His parents must wait for him to improve.
Jonathan Dearing weighed the same as Jack Araneo at birth, a little over two pounds. Jonathan's breathing with the help of a sophisticated device, called a C-Pack. It both gently pushes air in and pulls it out, without using a tube in the throat or a ventilator.
Born at about 26 weeks yesterday, he has a better than 80 percent chance of survival. Still, he's already encountered some steep dives.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He came in yesterday morning and did so well from the start. As a 26 weeker, he did very well and did well this morning. And then, he just kind of crashed and burned.
O'CONNOR: An infection is discovered. And it's stressing out Jonathan's system. Premature infants are prone to infections, because their immune system hasn't fully developed yet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything happened kind of fast. We got him back on the ventilator. We did X-rays. So we just have to pretty much (UNINTELLIGIBLE) every act of what he does. He's not supposed to be here yet.
O'CONNOR: With the help of medicine and Jonathan's dad, the infant calms down and starts to fight the infection.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, his color's a whole lot better at this particular point. So you know, I'm pretty happy with him at the moment. And so we'll just, you know, keep giving him breathing help he needs and give his body, you know, the time to mount a good response against this business.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. All right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Reach in there and give him a squeeze, if you want.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, all right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of this happened, really, in the scope of this afternoon. Speaking to these children's fragility and speaking to their tendency to be unstable.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Doing great today. Doesn't he look good?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, he does.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
O'CONNOR: Two days later, Jonathan Dearing, the 26 weeker, successfully battled his first challenge.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean for the most part, he's doing much better.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Much, much better. Doesn't he look much, much better? He really does.
O'CONNOR: But born so young, the fight may not be over.
O'CONNOR (voice-over): Two weeks old, Jonathan Dearing, born 14 weeks early, is experiencing another valley in the NICU. While doing rounds, Doctors Beck and Baker notice some irregular breathing.
BECK: He's making sounds, but he's making gurgling sounds. Something's obstructed. So let's see if we can clean his tube.
O'CONNOR: Quickly, they assess Jonathan's situation.
BECK: Change his tube.
O'CONNOR: And insert a new tube in his throat, so a ventilator can push some air in his lungs. Once he's stable, they move onto the next bed. On any day, close to 60 infants are here in the NICU.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People visit, change a diaper.
O'CONNOR: A baby who has received a lot of attention during the past six months is Ben Powilatis. A glance at his records reveals that he's experienced brain bleeds, seizures, and other potentially other deadly setbacks. Cerebral palsy is suspected.
STEPHANSKY: He's alive because of technology. And without major interventions, he would not be with us. Drawing the line was difficult.
O'CONNOR: During one life-threatening episode, the couple was asked if they wanted to go to extraordinary measures to keep Ben alive. They decided to keep going, unless Ben endured one more complication. If that happened, they would let him go.
STEPHANSKY: It was very difficult decision. It never happened, thank God. And at that moment if it had happened, would we have had said no more? I don't know. I really don't know.
Good boy.
There would be times that I would think he can't take anymore. And he would look at him, "Don't you give up." And that would give me the strength.
ROBIN BAKER, PHYSICIAN, INOVA FAIRFAX: It's a moving target. I mean, what you see when an infant's born may be great. And then at some time, they may develop a -- you know, a severe bleed, a severe hemorrhage, a stroke. And at that time, you know, things change. And your decisionmaking process changes.
BECK: They make their decisions based on a certain element of optimism and a certain element of the unknown. And they're trusting, you know, to a good outcome.
O'CONNOR: And what if the parents in the hospital don't agree on a course of action?
NORTH: If there is a circumstance where a family does not want intervention, but we think that the state of the art, the standard of care involves that intervention, we will go to whatever lengths we need to, to provide that for the baby, because we still do feel like our primary obligation is to the infant.
SILVERMAN: When I was young, I felt that way also.
O'CONNOR: Dr. William Silverman is considered a founding father of neo-natology. He wrote one of the first textbooks on the subject in the '60s. Since then, he has begun to worry about where the field is headed.
SILVERMAN: And I think we should be guided by the parents' decisions, because they're the ones who have to deal with the long- term consequences. And many of these consequences are life long.
: Faith Fallon was born premature at 25 weeks in a South Carolina hospital. Faith's chances for survival were just over 50/50. Yet Christina, her mother, says she was not given the choice to make a decision about whether to keep her child alive with extraordinary means. Fearing the worst, Kristina waited three days before visiting the NICU, afraid Faith would die.
KRISTINA FALLON, FAITH'S MOTHER: I went and saw her finally. They wheeled me down the hall. Then when I first saw her, she wasn't (UNINTELLIGIBLE). She was tiny and red and wrinkly, but she was my little girl. And I don't know, she was beautiful.
O'CONNOR: Today, Faith has cerebral palsy, lung and brain damage, and cannot crawl or walk.
K. FALLON: Breakfast.
O'CONNOR: Most of her food still comes through a tube into her stomach. Yet, she's beaten the doctors' predictions.
K. FALLON: And they said she would pretty much be a vegetable. And because of the ventilator damage to her lungs, she would probably dies by age 2.5 And she would most certainly die by age 5.
O'CONNOR: Faith is now 6 and enrolled in a special needs class at school.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nine, good girl. All right, we're going to go over all the questions, all about you. Tell me, what is your name?
FAITH FALLON: Faith Fallon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's right.
O'CONNOR: She also receives speech and physical therapy several times a week.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come on, Faith. Good girl.
O'CONNOR: Kristina is lucky to have her family nearby. They help care for Faith. Yet she has concerns for the future.
K. FALLON: How do I pick up 100 pound kid?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's push the ball.
K. FALLON: I mean, if she hasn't gained some ability to help transport yourself, you know, from the chair to the bathtub or the couch or to the bed, I mean, how are you going to do all that? I'm worried about her self-esteem, if she gets to be a teenager and all those things. You think about them all the time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You want to see it for a minute?
F. FALLON: Yes.
O'CONNOR: Kristina wishes that doctors in her NICU had informed her more about Faith's chances and listened better.
K. FALLON: I mean, I asked the doctor, "Why are you doing this to my child? You know, "her odds are not good." You know, "and you keep doing this. And I've asked you not to do this." You know, "Don't put her through any more pain." You know, "Why? Who are you to do this?"
And she looked at me and said, "Well, we learn from children like this." And just that tone of voice. And I'm just like -- you know, I just looked at her. I just stood there for a moment because I could not fathom that somebody could take that tone about a human life, you know, and a baby.
O'CONNOR: She was so outraged at her hospital's treatment, that she transferred Faith to another facility. Later, she co-wrote a letter to "The Journal of the American Medical Association" with other parents of low birth weight preemies, demanding that they be involved in all decisions.
The doctors at Fairfax strive to include everyone in the decisionmaking, sharing the concern in these parents.
BECK: For many families, it's a considerable stress to deal with a disabled child. And there are many parents who will write letters into the journals, and say, had I known at the time, you know, my decisionmaking would have been entirely different.
You know, it would be great to have a time machine in the delivery room before birth and take people forward and see how it's going to turn out. Unfortunately, we don't have that certainty.
K. FALLON: I think this is something that everybody has to decide on their own. That's why I'm saying families should have some say. Yes, I mean, the doctor's creed, you know, first do no harm. I can understand they want to save these children, but in the long run, do they do more harm than they did good?
SILVERMAN: I think the word save is -- one of the problems here. The word save sort of implies that everyone lives happily ever after. I think we should talk about prolongation of life and the quality of that prolonged life.
BECK: Were we still in the days where there was no ventilation, many of these children would pass away soon after birth. And so, if God is what would have happened under the natural setting, then we're definitely interfering with His work.
BAKER: And yes, it does put you in untenable situations from time to time, but that, fortunately, is very few and far between.
O'CONNOR: The issue of prolonging life has even fueled some multi million dollar lawsuits. Parents are suing hospitals for saving their child's life, against their wishes.
K. FALLON: If I known what I know now, I don't think I would have ever gotten pregnant. And I don't think I would have went to the hospital that night. She's a wonderful little girl. A lot of days, you know, she'll make you laugh. She's just lights up your heart.
O'CONNOR: To better predict outcomes, Fairfax, along with about 300 other hospitals in the United States and worldwide, compile and share their data about methods of treatments, recovery rates and new techniques.
Over time, some trends have emerged. Generally, the older the baby is at birth, the better his or her chances.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hold you hand. So she can say hi.
O'CONNOR: Girls tend to do better than boys. With small black girls doing the best and white boys, the worst.
FERN LITMAN, PHYSICIAN, INOVA FAIRFAX: We try not to refer to them as wimpy in front of their parents or in front of them. As far as a real reason, it's not there. But female infants to seem to do better. They are definite studies on that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm hiding the bunny. Where's the bunny?
O'CONNOR: Fairfax also tracks the progress of their former patients with developmental appointments at 6, 12 and 24 months.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You got it.
O'CONNOR: Kinds of most problems, like cerebral palsy, impaired vision and learning difficulties won't be seen until age two. That means for parents leaving the NICU with an infant, the future is still unclear. Yet, every family eagerly awaits that departure date. For Ben Powilatis, that day is now just a week away.
BRIAN POWILATIS, BRIAN'S FATHER: Well, there's a lot to do. You know, a little bit anxious, but you know, it's the baby we've been waiting for. So it'll be exciting. It'll be exciting.
O'CONNOR: His mom, Joyce, is getting a crash course in all the essentials.
STEPHANSKY: This is the actual ventilator. It will go on a pole. This is the heating mechanism to give him moisture, so that he doesn't dry out. And this will go underneath the pole. And this is the battery. So that'll go on a pole. And we'll have one set up upstairs and one set up downstairs. And we also will have a suction machine to suction out the traech, which has to be done quite frequently.
So we're wondering if they'll be any room for Ben in his room.
O'CONNOR: Flush with excitement, she enjoys a moment of joy every parent shares and leaves the NICU to print up birth announcements about her son. She's gone for just 10 minutes when Ben takes a turn for the worse.
O'CONNOR (voice-over): Almost seven months into his stay at the Inova Fairfax Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Ben Powilatis stops breathing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The alarm went off. I was just standing outside. And he was just down...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And he dropped his heart rate. And he dropped. He went into a relapse from 140 to 25. And he was blue. I'm going to have try and reincubate him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had to replace his traech.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do some CPR, give him some medication.
O'CONNOR: Within 10 minutes, he is fine. And all his levels are normal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He looks pretty good now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, he does. He's acting like Ben.
O'CONNOR: It is a scare for the NICU staff.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we're not sure why he does this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Brian canceled his trip. He's not going until tomorrow. So he's right behind me.
O'CONNOR: When Ben's parents arrive back an hour later, they are shaken.
STEPHANSKY: What are we going to do? It would kill him. It would kill him. I wouldn't know what to do if this happened. I mean, we don't have epinephrine at home. I just left for a little while.
O'CONNOR: Despite the setback and their fears, Joyce and Brian are committed to caring for Ben.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, if you went home, and you weren't afraid, I'd be worried about you because that's not normal.
STEPHANSKY: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can do this.
STEPHANSKY: OK, I can do it. We can do it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can do...
O'CONNOR: Like Ben's nurse, all the staff gets involved.
STEPHANSKY: The nurses made that for him, actually.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just felt that, you know, in the world today, everybody's a number. And it just kind of personalizes the infant. And it kind of makes it more intimate and more personal for the parent as well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have pictures of these kids on my refrigerator. I have their (UNINTELLIGIBLE). And you know, we get attached to these little guys.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People say to me, "How can you do this?" When you look at this, it's "how can you not do this? How can you, you know, how can you not do this?"
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look at that.
O'CONNOR: One nurse, Renee Greeger, has been helping babies and parents for more than 20 years.
RENEE GREEGER, NURSE: Always part of the first couple of days, the dream is shattered. And now we have to deal with one problem at a time.
O'CONNOR: Often, the problems eventually disappear.
GREEGER: Hope is something we have here within us, a great deal of, I have to say. And we've all experienced miracles.
O'CONNOR: One miracle baby at Fairfax was a little boy named Justin Ilar.
PAM ILAR, JUSTIN'S MOM: I just remember hearing this little "Ah." You know, it was just barely recognizable. And he looked like an embryo, you know.
O'CONNOR: Born at 25 weeks and weighing just 13 ounces, he had little chance of survival.
ILAR: Dr. North came and spoke about what could happen. Babies, you know, don't come in the world this small and not have challenges. And he might not have the fight in him or the will or the strength or you know, he may not make it.
O'CONNOR: Did you ever have a conversation with your husband that said, "OK, if something really bad happens and we get to this point, what are we going to do?"
ILAR: Yes, yes, that conversation. And the conversation goes, "We don't want him to suffer. That's the number one thing. But if he's trying to stay alive, we got to be there." Yet, he's just the strength, you know, to be so tiny and to just hang in there and keep hanging in there and keep hanging in there. If he's going to hang on, we don't have any excuses.
O'CONNOR: Six years ago, Justin Ilar was the smallest baby born at Fairfax to survive. Today, his eyeglasses are the only reminder of this experiences as a preemie.
JUSTIN ILAR: I was faster than you. ILAR: Were you faster than me?
Well, we were lucky, you know? We were lucky, very lucky. But we blessed. I see that now, that we were blessed. It was nothing but God.
BECK: I love the fact, you know, that he's done well and that his mom is as happy as she is and that their family, you know, is really -- has done well with this whole thing. It doesn't really change the uncertain characteristics of this though, because day in and day out, you know, we have our successes. And they are thrilling. And we have our disappointments. And those are devastating.
O'CONNOR: Full term baby Andrew Abbott is hoping to be a miracle, too. But his homecoming date is still unknown. That's because there is little food moving through his remaining intestine. So it's decided to go in and take another look.
BECK: This is recent surgery. He's got a period of time where his bowel is really asleep. And we have attempted to start feedings on him, with continuous drip feedings. He's been throwing them up. Clearly, he's at risk, but he's showing good signs he's going to tolerate the feedings. And so, we're hopeful.
O'CONNOR: Adrian Millisock weighs in a lot less than Andrew. Even though he's only been here a short time, his family already understands the nature of life in the NICU.
KENNETH MILLISOCK, ADRIAN'S FATHER: We go day by day. We pray every night. You see things like this on TV every day, but you never expect it's going to happen to you. You always expect it's going to happen to somebody else, until it really does happen to you. And then, your life changes just like that.
O'CONNOR: And if Adrian ends up having some problems later in life?
K. MILLISOCK: No matter what the outcome's going to be, he's still my son.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The goal now is to get him home. And when I get him home, I'm going to like being like he's any other baby.
O'CONNOR: Before Jack Araneo can go home, the staff would like the tiny, premature twin to breathe on his own. But just as they try to take him off the ventilator, he crashes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will somebody tell the charge nurse we're doing a code? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We tried taking the breathing tube out because he had very low ventilator settings. He was doing most of the work on the ventilator. We tried putting the breathing tube back in, and we were unsuccessful. And that was why we were (UNINTELLIGIBLE) him. And that's why his heart rate dropped. We had to do chest compressions (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
We then were able to get an airway and breathe for him with the ventilator. And that was when we were able to stop the chest compressions. Now his vital signs are stable and his blood pressure's fine.
O'CONNOR: The whole episode with Jack Araneo lasts less than 10 minutes. Still, it takes a toll on his nurse.
What keeps the staff going here is the knowledge that most of these kids are going to recover and go home. Each year, Inova Fairfax invites the past patients of the NICU to a reunion.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my goodness!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're pretty proud.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was a 28 weeker, but he is...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's big, isn't he?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's big. I am a big boy.
O'CONNOR: It's a chance for the caregivers and parents to touch base again.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nice to see you Dr. Beck.
O'CONNOR: And for doctors and nurses to see the progress of their former patients.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good to see you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was born in 1977 and I weighed 2.5 pounds.
BAKER: The reunion is really sort of the icing on the cake. It makes you feel great. Yes, it's really fun.
O'CONNOR: Before any of these Fairfax graduates finally made it home, they endured many weeks in the NICU. For many families, their goal is to attend the reunion next year.
The waiting is the hardest part. And few have waited as long as Ben Powilatis. He is coming home after spending 202 days in the hospital.
STEPHANSKY: I just can't believe it. I just hope we're ready. I think we're ready. It's weird, because I feel a little bit sad, too, because we've -- you know, we have to say good-bye to people who saved Benjamin's life. You know, and how do you say thank you? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bye-bye.
STEPHANSKY: Bye. I don't want to say good-bye.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, we know.
O'CONNOR: Ben's parents, like most of the moms and dads here, participated in his care. Now their care will be essential to his survival. Around the clock nurses will help ease the burden.
It's a happy day, but long-term, no one is sure of his future. The doctors won't give Brian and Joyce a life expectancy until Ben reaches three years old.
BECK: He still has a good deal of respiratory problems to overcome. And his outcome is far from certain in terms of his normal development down the road.
O'CONNOR: Several weeks later, Jonathan Dearing is really to leave the hospital, too. Despite having a tiny brain bleed early in his stay here, he's doing well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Got some nice tone coming in. His head control is starting to kick in.
O'CONNOR: He now gets therapy to help his muscles develop. He's drinking from a bottle. And his parents are taking an all-important CPR class to prepare them for life at home. Four days later, he is out the door.
Back in the NICU, Andrew is waiting his turn.
H. ABBOTT: For the first time in his 95 days of life, he is not attached to anything. So I'm holding him for the first time with nothing. He's doing really well. Still planning to go home next Wednesday.
O'CONNOR: With his bowels finally moving food, he is given a date to go home, too.
ABBOTT: If it happens Wednesday, it'll be -- it will have been 99 days, which I think that's a nice number to go home on. That'll make a good story.
O'CONNOR: Two days before leaving, his plans are scratched. He has developed another massive infection and must wait to recover.
O'CONNOR (voice-over): Three weeks after his arrival at the NICU, young Adrian Millisock was stable enough to be flown close to his parents in Pennsylvania. Three months later, he goes home with only some oxygen support, weighing almost five pounds more than at birth.
STEPHANSKY: And we like to dance with mama.
O'CONNOR: Ben Powilatis has been home for several weeks. His parents are thrilled, yet the reality of their situation is now clear.
STEPHANSKY: I mean, it's wonderful to have him home, but it's incredibly difficult. And as we get through each day, we realize that there are very few people like us. And it's very difficult to let anybody know what we go through, just on a day to day basis.
O'CONNOR: He's also endured a few hospital stays since his first homecoming.
B. POWILATIS (singing): If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands.
By the time each of Ben's medical bills is added up, the sum will easily top $1 million. However, all that money and technology can't guarantee Ben's future. And it's such uncertainty that bothers family and the NICU staff, as they work with each infant.
BAKER: To be honest with you, I'd like to see the children 20 years down the road, because I'd like to make sure that there's nothing I'm doing now that's going to cause them trouble in 20 years. I mean, that's what you just don't know.
O'CONNOR: For Jack Aranio, there are more urgent concerns. After improving a bit, the tiny twin is not thriving. More surgery is ordered. His lungs are so damaged, a tracheotomy is done so he can breathe, a stomach tube is also inserted. But as the doctors and nurses know all too well, even the best care cannot save every child, and Jack, they say, is an unusual case.
A month later, he suffers a massive systems failure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It became obvious that Jack was not going to survive. After a lengthy discussion with the parents and all of those people involved, including nurses and other physicians, it was really decided that the best thing for Jack was to let him die being held by his parents, and with dignity.
O'CONNOR: Jack was just over 5 1/2 months old when he died.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It takes you a long time to get over, but you learn from every child, and you try your best with every kid.
O'CONNOR: Back at Fairfax, Heather Abbott finally hears the good news she has been waiting for. Andrew is being discharged.
H. ABBOTT: And I just burst into tears of just joy. And finally like really believed that this was going to happen.
O'CONNOR: The hope is that soon, Andrew will be eating food, just like everybody else. H. ABBOTT: They told us that in a few years, whatever we eat, he eats. You know, if we have spaghetti for dinner, he has spaghetti for dinner. He should grow and talk and walk and play, just like any other kid.
O'CONNOR: It's a moment for good-bye.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to miss you, though. Yes, we are.
O'CONNOR: And then he's into his new car seat and whisked off.
As Andrew sets off, another baby is coming in, ready to board the NICU rollercoaster. The staff kicks into gear. And like always, no one knows how rocky the ride will be.
BROWN: Quality of life versus the sanctity of life, and that is the dilemma that is only going to grow as medicine advances in the neonatal intensive care units.
But while the public policy debate grows, it remains just that, a public policy debate. For new parents, it's something else. It can be the most gutwrenching dilemma they will ever face in their lives. And in those moments, when a life is threatened, for the families the first question is a simple one: Can this life be saved? With every passing day, more and more, the answer is going to be yes, but then other questions emerge. Like what quality of life will my child have? And questions like that are far more difficult to answer.
That's this week's edition of CNN PRESENTS. I'm Aaron Brown. Thanks for joining us. We'll see you in a week.
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Blackwell, an imprint of leading academic publisher John Wiley & Sons, will next month be releasing a new entry in its Pop Culture and Philosophy series: Game of Thrones and Philosophy: Logic Cuts Deeper than the Sword (Pre-order: US, UK). The book is due to hit shelves on March 13th.
The series uses popular culture to give philosophers a platform to delve into topics of philosophical interest in a way that's relevant and relatable to a general audience. Part of a series edited by William Irwin, editor Henry Jacoby has gathered together twenty essays covering a wide range of topics from a distinguished group of philosophers. Also included? A short foreword from Linda and I, which we were very honored to be asked to provide.
Here's the official description and contents information:
An in-depth look at the philosophical issues behind HBO's Game of Thrones television series and the books that inspired it
George R.R. Martin's New York Times bestselling epic fantasy book series, A Song of Ice and Fire, and the HBO television show adapted from it, have earned critical acclaim and inspired fanatic devotion. This book delves into the many philosophical questions that arise in this complex, character-driven series, including: Is it right for a "good" king to usurp the throne of a "bad" one and murder his family? How far should you go to protect your family and its secrets? In a fantasy universe with medieval mores and ethics, can female characters reflect modern feminist ideals?


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Buffalo ballers sink J's then shake hands at annual Gus Macker
For Taleha Ojeda, it was opportunity to watch the game she described as her "life-saver."
For Jim Salter, it was a chance to cheer for nephews as they played the game he deemed "the best sport ever."
For Devin Lewis, it just added to tradition. The 18-year-old has played in the Gus Macker Tournament since he was eight.
Nearly 3,000 people registered for the weekend three-on-three basketball tournament. Orv Cott, athletic director for the Police Athletic League and event organizer, touted it as one of the nation's largest.
The city rerouted traffic around Delaware Avenue between West Huron and West Eagle streets to make room for the players and crowds.
Saturday's weather made for a warm and dry game day.
The half-court battles featured teams of all ages and experience levels, expected to draw about 40,000 spectators by the end of the weekend.
Rob Redd, 30, said he is drawn by the tournament's competition level.
"My life is amazing when it comes to basketball," he said. "I do it rain, sleet, hail, snow."
Redd, who grew up watching Chicago Bulls duo Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen play, said he would shovel out snow in order to make way for a game. On Saturday, Redd said one of his most convincing plays included freeing himself up for a basket after crossing over an opposing player, who fell backward. Redd apologized after and shook the player's hand, he said.
For the caliber of play and competitiveness, sportsmanship was on full display, said Bernie Cavanaugh, 70, of North Tonawanda.
"You can't even tell who wins or loses," he said. "Everybody shakes hands."
The first-time spectator showed up Saturday to support his 19-year-old granddaughter, Dana, who made the trip from Rochester.
"She's one of my five favorite people in the whole world," he beamed. "She's a great ball-handler."
Cavanaugh was not the only proud family member cheering on a player. The streets were lined with supporters camped out in collapsible chairs and seated along the sidewalk.
Stephanie Anderson, 43, was there for her 19-year-old daughter, who has played in at least the last four tournaments. "This is what she loves to do. This is what brings her joy and happiness. I'm just here to support her," she said.
"If my children are happy, I'm happy," the Cheektowaga resident added.
For Carmen Freeman, it was her son's play that brought her back for the 14th consecutive year. A sizable number of Freeman's family members, including nephews, also played.
"You get to see a variety of age groups in addition to your family," Freeman said as she sat from her seat on the sidewalk, shaded by a tree.
Leaning against a building with his legs sprawled following a win, Terell Henry, 24, said the tournament also helped reunite old friends.
"We should have more of these," said Henry, who counted a fade away three-pointer among one of his best plays. "It brings a lot of people out, and it's a good look for Buffalo."
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A Tribute to Fallen Sodas
A few months back I posted a Top Ten Ghost list in honor of Halloween. Contained in the article was a mention of Slimer, the floating green blob from the Ghostbusters movies. I'm sure it is no surprise for Slimer to appear in such a list. What was a bit of a surprise, at least for me, was how many people clicked on the link for Ecto Cooler in the post. If you're not familiar, Ecto Cooler was the Hi-C tangerine and orange flavored drink featuring a picture of Slimer plastered on each box or can. Unfortunately, it's long since ceased production, or at least ceased to exist under the Ecto Cooler brand. But the reminiscing of all drinks got me thinking, why not profile some of the hits, or more accurately misses, of the drink world? Good or bad, sometimes remembering such things can be fun. So this is a great look back on some of the sodas and soft drinks of years past:
The Pepsi Division
Crystal Pepsi (1992-1993)
I think we'd have to start any kind of discussion about dead soda with Crystal Pepsi (or Pepsi Clear as it sometimes known by). Sparked by a marketing fad that equated clarity with purity, Pepsi decided they wanted in and generated their infamous Crystal Pepsi drink. Dubbed as a caffeine-free "clear alternative" to normal colas, it was backed by a large marketing campaign, including a television advertisement featuring Van Halen's hit song "Right Now" that premiered during Super Bowl XXVII:
Despite initial success, maybe due to the novelty of it all, sales for Crystal Pepsi quickly fell. Was America not ready for clear cola? I remember trying it, and it seemed to taste like flat Pepsi, but maybe I got a bad can? The drink certainly has its fans. Pepsi pulled it off the market, and revamped the soda several months later with a reformulated citrus drink titled "Crystal From Pepsi". Alas, Crystal From Pepsi failed as well. No word on how Crystal Gravy fared.
Slice (1984-2000)
Slice was supposed to be Pepsi's answer to Sprite (at least in the U.S. market where they don't have a license for 7 Up). Although interestingly enough, Sprite was originally Coke's response to the popularity of 7 Up. Every one's imitating someone else, right? The Sprite brand was created in 1961 and took over the number one spot in lemon-lime drinks in 1978 thanks to Coke's market dominance. Pepsi, as Coke's main competitor, decided to branch out beyond cola and Slice was born.
Not that Slice was just lemon lime soda. Varieties of Slice have included Apple, Fruit Punch, Grape, Passionfruit, Peach, Mandarin Orange, Pineapple, Strawberry, Cherry Cola, "Red", Cherry-Lime, Pink Lemonade, and Dr. Slice. But the lemon line version was the original that spawned it all. It existed until it was usurped in most markets by Sierra Mist around the summer of 2000. By 2003, Sierra Mist became a national brand, and the remaining varieties of the Slice line faded away or were replaced by 2006. One exception is Dr. Slice, which can still be found in some fountains.
Josta (1995-1999)
Josta was Pepsi's "high-energy drink" that was predominately fruit and berry like, with a bit of spice, and a touch of the key mysterious ingredient guaraná. The reddish brown drink was introduced in 1995, but pulled from stores due to a "change in corporate strategy" in 1999. Shortly before the beverage was discontinued, an "Association for Josta Saving" was started and the Save Josta Campaign declared April 4, 2007 "National Josta Day" in hopes of resurrecting the dead soda. It hasn't worked, although I will say the use of the panther, the fancy foreign ingredients, and the marketing slogan "Unleash it" gives me flashbacks of Sex Panther. I wonder if guaraná was actually bits of real panther?
Pepsi's Wild Bunch (1991-1991)
Well that didn't last long, now did it? The Pepsi Wild Bunch is actually three different sodas: Strawberry Burst Pepsi, Raging Razzberry Pepsi, and Tropical Chill Pepsi. These were basically test products that were fruit-boosted Pepsi variations. After all, Cherry Coke worked, right? That principle can apply to all fruits with colas, right? To further hurt matters, Pepsi actually sold the new flavors in a boxed three-pack and the Razzberry has been said to not really taste like raspberries. At least it was a good effort.
Pepsi Blue (2002-2004)
Undeterred by the Wild Bunch fiasco, Pepsi was determined to mix a berry-flavor with Pepsi. Granted it took them over a decade to do so, but they got it done. Sort of. Apparently Pespi Blue was the result of taste-testing over 100 flavors spanning a nine month period. It was launched in mid-2002 and designed to compete with Coca-Cola's Vanilla Coke. Pepsi was also riding high on the success of Mountain Dew Code Red. Unfortunately, some consider Pepsi Blue to be the company's equivalent of New Coke. Well, either it or Crystal Pepsi.
So what was the problem? It might start with the fact it really didn't taste like Pepsi. It might have been better marketed as simply a berry drink. Anyone thinking this was going to be like Cherry Coke (i.e. flavored cola) was disappointed. In fact, Coke decided to release their own version of the drink called Fanta Berry. Also, it looked like Windex. That's probably not a good thing. And to top it off, it was tinted using Blue 1, a highly-controversial coloring agent banned in numerous countries at the time. But Pepsi Blue lovers fear not, there is talk of resurrecting the soda in 2009.
Mr. Green (2002-2003)
SoBe is a subsidiary of Pepsi and briefly sold Mr. Green as their first and only soda. It was along the lines of Dr. Pepper, but infused with ginseng. And of course it was green, although it kinda looked like raw sewage. The name comes from the SoBe lizard, which graces bottles of most SoBe products. The marketing force behind Mr. Green was the in-your-face-Xtreme type of advertising that has been used so often during that time (more on this later). And like most SoBe products, there was message under the cap (if you got a bottle) along the lines of: Get a Job, Exercise your Brain, or Brush Your Teeth.
Pepsi Fire & Pepsi Ice
Alright, this one may be cheating a little bit. Yes, these flavors did exist, but you could fill pages upon pages full with weird variants of any soda. Particularly Coke and Pepsi, which have had numerous flavor variations, many of which were only available overseas or for limited times. For example, did you know there was a Pepsi Ice Cucumber? Other odd examples include Pepsi Twist Mojito, Pepsi White (with yogurt flavoring), Pepsi Holiday Spice, and Pepsi Carnival. So why single out these two?
I guess I'm amused with the idea of Pepsi flavors available in the same flavors I can buy mouthwash in. And they taste pretty much the same way. Fire was a cinnamon like drink, ice has that minty flavor. Or maybe I'm fascinated by the simple question, what happens when you combine Pepsi Fire and Pepsi Ice together? Is that like Pop Rocks and Coke? Some things just shouldn't be put together.
The Coca-Cola Division
Coke II (1985-1992)
Let me set the scene for you. Once upon a time, Coca-Cola basically had a monopoly on the soda market. Not that there weren't alternatives, but Coke destroyed them in market share. Along comes Pepsi, which slowly begins to eat away at Coke's dominance. As time passes Pepsi gets bigger and bigger, and by the early 1980s Pepsi had begun to outsell Coke in supermarkets, with Coke managing to maintain its overall edge through fountain sales. Coke executives got worried and believed people wanted a sweeter Pepsi-like soda. Hence "New Coke" is created. This was not a good decision.
Although the product tested well and was liked by more people than history may remember, a number of consumers did not like the New Coke and these people were very vocal. There was a backlash to the new drink and Coca-Cola Classic was revived. Even Fidel Castro, a long time Coke drinker, contributed to the backlash, calling New Coke a sign of American capitalist decadence. I guess we can say that Max Headroom was not able to get consumers to "Catch the Wave".
Coca-Cola executives announced the return of the original formula on July 10, less than three months after New Coke's introduction. On the floor of the U.S. Senate, David Pryor called the reintroduction "a meaningful moment in U.S. history." The new product continued to be sold and retained the name Coca-Cola until 1992, when it was officially renamed Coca-Cola II. The older product was brought back as Coca-Cola Classic and eventually just Coke.
Surge (1996-2003)
It was the mid 1990s and Mountain Dew was very popular. Problem was, Coca-Cola didn't have an equivalent to compete with the Pepsi product. Well, that's not entirely true. Coke had Mello Yello. You might remember it from the movie Days of Thunder, in which Tom Cruise's character, Cole Trickle, drove a Mello Yello-sponsored car to victory in the Daytona 500. As a kid I always loved Mello Yello, it was just that you couldn't really find it anywhere. At least not where I was. That would change when the family would go on vacation. There was always a chance the soda would appear in the hotel vending machines, sort of a soft drink lottery. I often looked forward to the prospect of Mello Yello more than the vacation. Turns out Mello Yello is popular in certain areas of the South, I even saw a Mello Yello Slurpee in Mississippi. It just doesn't have nationwide appeal apparently.
Enter Surge, a citrus soft drink introduced to compete with Pepsi's Mountain Dew. Except it was green, not yellow. It actually first debuted in Norway under the moniker Urge. Not sure on reason behind the name change, but it hit the U.S. backed by a heavy marketing campaign that focused on "extreme" stuff and people yelling "Surge!". Here's an example:
and another…
And then there's this parody:
But like all the beverages on this rundown, it has since ceased production. Coca-Cola now makes Vault, a similar soda that veers a little more towards energy drinks like Red Bull than pure soda. If you're feeling nostalgic, you can visit savesurge.org, or listen to this song, or go to Norway where Urge apparently is still around and kicking.
OK Soda was a soft drink created by Coca-Cola that aggressively courted the Generation X demographic with unusual advertising tactics, including endorsements and even outright negative publicity. There is an OK manifesto, and on each can one of the ten statements from the manifesto was printed around it. Also, the design of the can would be in the style of underground comics. Despite all the "coolness", the soda did not sell well in select test markets and was officially declared out of production by 1995. The drink's slogan was "Things are going to be OK," and you could even call their toll free 1-800-I-FEEL-OK hotline. As an added bonus, here's the whole Manifesto for you:
OK Soda Manifesto
1. What's the point ok OK? Well, what's the point of anything?
2. OK Soda emphatically rejects anything that is not OK, and fully supports anything that is.
3. The better you understand something, the more OK it turns out to be.
4. OK Soda says, "Don't be fooled into thinking there has to be a reason for everything."
5. OK Soda reveals the surprising truth about people and situations.
6. OK Soda does not subscribe to any religion, or endorse any political party, or do anything other than feel OK.
7. There is no real secret to feeling OK.
8. OK Soda may be the preferred drink of other people such as yourself.
9. Never underestimate the remarkable abilities of "OK" brand soda.
10. Please wake up every morning knowing that things are going to be OK.
Citra (1996-2004)
Citra was a grapefruit-flavored soft drink released into by Coca-Cola Company around the same time as Surge. Think of it as akin to Squirt or Fresca, at least foreign Fresca. In the United States Fresca is a diet soda, but not elsewhere. The original marketing campaign had the theme "Curiously crisp Citra". Although not completely dead, Citra was rebranded as Fanta Citrus in 2004. Although finding Fanta Citrus is another endeavor on its own.
Sprite Remix (2003-2005)
We mentioned of few Pepsi's ill-fated attempts at flavor variants, so it's only fair to mention at least one of Coca-Cola's. Although ill-fated wouldn't be the right word to describe the Sprite Remix sodas. They had their fans, particularly the Aruba Jam (Cherry) flavor. You'll also notice Tropical and Berryclear varieties. Granted we could have highlighted Sprite Ice or Sprite on Fire, but we already did those variations with Pepsi and the Remix flavors actually got themselves a following in the U.S. Not only did they work as a soda, they apparently work well in mixed drinks too.
Mr. Pibb (1972-2001)
Mr. Pibb, or Mr. PiBB as it's often spelled, isn't exactly gone, it was replaced by Pibb Xtra in 2001 with a slightly tweaked formula. That hasn't stopped the Internet petitions or an entire episode of American Dad constructed around the soda's disappearance. When Pibb Xtra came out, bottlers were allowed to use up their remaining stocks of real-deal Mr. Pibb. By 2003, all Mr. Pibb was gone and replaced with Xtra. Anything sold as "Pibb" to this day is "Pibb Xtra". That's how Mr. Pibb quietly ended, but let's go back to the beginning. In 1972 Coke came up with the promotional campaign dubbed, "Private Air Force for Mr. PiBB" which came complete with free swag. I guess Coke was trying to "rally the troops" behind it's new creation, their answer to Dr. Pepper.
Of course the later ad slogan became "Put it in your Head". You decided which one is better. Maybe it doesn't really matter, as I'll refer to the late Mitch Hedberg. He once said, "Mr. Pibb is a replica of Dr. Pepper but it's a BS replica because the dude didn't even get his degree. Why'd you drop out of school and start making pop so soon?" Although I will offer a counter argument to Mr. Hedberg, which is: Mr. Pibb + Red Vines = Crazy Delicious.
The Wild Card Division
Hubba Bubba
What? They made a soda based on bubble gum? Yes, Sir! Hubba Bubba Bubble Gum Soda and the diet version were pink soft drinks manufactured thanks to The Wrigley Company, maker of Hubba Bubba bubble gum. The drink was actually the brainchild of Steve Roeder, who came up with the bubble gum soda concept by using snow cone flavoring with soda water. Legend has it that he approached Bazooka gum first, before getting the go ahead from Wrigley. If you're interested in bringing this bad boy back, you can sign the online petition. Or if you're jonesing for bubble gum soda now, you can try and hunt down Bubble Yum soda.
Rondo was a citrus-flavored soft drink available in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Marketing dubbed it a soda which was "blended from fine essences" and also "lightly carbonated". The best part about the soda, its slogan: Rondo, The Thirst Crusher. Its commercials featured people crushing the cans in various ways, something like this:
If that's not enough, there's a parody of the drink in the movie Idiocracy. Instead of Rondo, it is Brawndo: The Thirst Mutilator. That in turn lead to a real Brawndo energy drink and ad campaigns like this:
Red Fusion (2002-2004)
Sporting an alluring red color and the use of a variety of fruit flavors, Red Fusion was a cherry variant of Dr. Pepper. It was also the first new flavor added to the Dr. Pepper family of beverages in the company's 122-year history. Too bad it was more or less cancelled one year into its run, even if it lingered around a little longer. It tasted like a a sweeter, cherry flavored, watered down Dr. Pepper, although some compared it to Cherry NyQuil.
Not too much to say on this one. Kick was RC Cola's attempt at a citrus soda to compete with Mountain Dew. Damn that Mountain Dew, so popular is spawned a couple of imitators. And neither was up to the challenge of taking down the Dew. This version was an even more sugary, syrupy one, with caution tape imprinted upon the can telling me how dangerously ass-kicking it was. In fact, it was the "psycho nitro drink…in a can." The Kick name came from the (also) failed sports drink line, Quick Kick.
Orbitz is not your traditional soft drink. From the Clearly Canadian Beverage Corporation, it's a non-carbonated fruit-flavored beverage. The fact it had no fizz in it is not its most significant feature. That would be the small edible balls floating in it. As you can see above, colored globular gelatin balls are floating in the liquid, and combined with the packaging it gives off the vibe of a Lava Lamp. And who wouldn't want to drink a Lava Lamp? Though I will say that when I see something floating in a drink, I'm reminded of Skittle Bräu. That's not all bad.
Orbitz was introduced around 1996 and came in six flavors: Raspberry Citrus, Blueberry Melon Strawberry, Pineapple Banana Cherry Coconut, Vanilla Orange, Black Currant Berry, and Charlie Brown Chocolate. The latter two were introduced after the initial launch. The marketing campaign went some thing like this, "Set gravity aside and prepare to embark on a tour into the bowels of the Orbiterium." Too bad people didn't want the Canadian drink with slimey balls in it. But it couldn't have just been the balls, people drink Bubble Tea. Either that or Orbitz was a head of its time.
Although Orbitz may be dead, it lives on in a bastardized form.
Lifesaver Drink
Like Orbitz, this may stretch the definition of soft drink a bit. It wasn't carbonated, but it was sure full of sugar. And who doesn't want to drink their Halloween candy? It would be stupid not to do it! I stumbled upon these bad boys in high school, and remember them tasting like drinking an unfrozen Flavor Ice. That may not appeal to many of you, but I wanted more. Unfortunately, as quickly as I found them they disappeared from local supermarkets. Most people I talk to are not even aware they existed. But they did, I have visual proof (and in 5 flavors)!
Super Mario Soda
Nothing is better after a hard session of video gaming then throwing back a cold drink. So why not make that drink Mario related? Shasta Cola thought it was a great idea and made this soda in four different flavors, each featuring a Mario World character on the can. Choices were as follows: Mario Punch, Luigi Berry, Princess Toadstool Cherry (how did this one not become Peach?) and Yoshi Apple (speaking of which, how did Yoshi not get the Berry flavor?). Also goes great with Sonic the Hedgehog potato chips.
7-Up Gold (1988-1988)
7 Up Gold was a Dr. Pepper invention, but was unveiled under the 7 Up brand after the companies merged. It was marketed for a short time in 1988 as a spice-flavored beverage, similar in taste to Vernor's Ginger Ale. It seemed to be quite popular with people who actually tasted the stuff. However, there was a certain amount of irony in 7 Up's marketing slogan of "Never had it, never will". That was pretty much how consumers viewed the product. The slogan was actually made in reference to caffeine, although that didn't make much sense either since 7 Up Gold did list caffeine as one of its ingredients.
dnL (2002-2005)
No, that's not just a 7-Up can that's upside down. It's dnL Soda, a Cadbury Schweppes beverage that was part of the 7-Up family of drinks. Basically it was the polar opposite of 7-Up as it was a caffeinated green drink in a clear bottle (as opposed to a caffeine-free colorless drink a green bottle). Although that didn't translate as well to the can versions. dnL has a citrus-like flavor and was marketed by the slogan, "Turn your thirst upside-down." The story is that dnL is more lime than lemon, hence the green color and hard to pin down taste.
Well, that ends our tribute to fallen sodas. I know there were a bunch that weren't mentioned, particularly flavor variations of established soda, so feel free to chime in with your own favorites in the comments section. (Header Photo : Pax Holley)


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Mumbai: Security has been beefed up across Mumbai on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the 26/11 terror attacks, which comes close on the heels of the hanging of lone caught terrorist Mohammad Ajmal Kasab.
"There is no specific threat but we have been alert for (the) past one week," Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh said.
"Even though there were `threats` to the financial capital but Mumbai Police are well-prepared to tackle any eventuality," he told reporters at a press conference.
According to sources, security has also been tightened after Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan warned of mounting attacks "in India and anywhere" to avenge Kasab`s hanging.
"Such terror groups have always threatened to take some or (the) other action," Singh said in a lighter vein when asked about the threat perception.
Elaborating further, the police commissioner said "there are four points of preparedness. First is that we should be aware if there is any actual threat or not and if there is threat then we should know its source."
If the threat is real, then its roots should be unearthed and it is also necessary to establish who are supporting the terrorists, he said.
"We have progressed in four years in our intelligence gathering skills," he said, adding that specially-trained cells have been formed at the police station level.
Elaborating on the security arrangements, Singh said there were 39 divisions posted in the city and they have First Response Team (FRT) at their disposal besides five regional additional commissioners of police having QRTs. "Other than that we have Force one, ATS etc," he said.
The Police have visited 400 schools and colleges to help form `Mritunjay` clubs in order to make students aware about terrorism. "We also conduct mock drills regularly," he added.
Search operations, nakabandis and combing operations are also being undertaken, he said.
"In a month or two, the Mumbai Police will start the process of installing CCTV cameras across the city," the police commissioner said.