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Blood Test: 17-Hydroxyprogesterone
Article Translations: (Spanish)
What It Is
The hormone 17-hydroxyprogesterone is a building block for producing the hormone cortisol. Cortisol is produced mainly by the adrenal cortex (the outer part of the two adrenal glands, located above the kidneys). Cortisol is called the "stress hormone" because it's secreted in larger amounts as part of the body's response to physical or emotional stress.
Cortisol levels normally vary throughout the day. They're highest in the morning, just before waking up, and lowest at night.
Some people, however, can't make enough cortisol because they lack an enzyme in the adrenal glands that's needed to make it. They'll have a buildup of 17-hydroxyprogesterone in the blood because it's not being converted to cortisol.
In kids, the most common cause of cortisol deficiency, and consequently high levels of 17-hydroxyprogesterone, is one of the forms of the genetic disorder congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH).
CAH can affect both boys and girls. It causes the adrenal glands to make excess androgens (male steroid hormones) and, in some cases, not enough of the hormones that regulate the body's salt balance.
Though treatable, undetected CAH can sometimes lead to more serious symptoms such as dehydration and shock in infants.
Why It's Done
The 17-hydroxyprogesterone test is mainly used to check for the most common form of CAH in infants and children. In some states, it's done as part of a group of routine screening tests done on all newborns to allow early detection and treatment of certain diseases. In other states, it's performed only when symptoms warrant testing or when there's a family history of CAH.
Unless it's severe, CAH symptoms may be hard to spot in infant boys. In baby girls, the most common sign is ambiguous genitalia (a problem with genital development in which the genitals aren't clearly male or clearly female).
In milder forms of the condition, symptoms don't show up until after infancy. These can include early changes of puberty in both males and females, and masculine features in girls.
The test is also used to help doctors monitor the treatment of children with CAH. Kids with any of these symptoms would likely have a 17-hydroxyprogesterone test done, along with other hormone tests to check adrenal function.
No special preparations are needed for this test. Because levels of 17-hydroxyprogesterone vary throughout the day, the doctor may request that the test be performed at a certain time.
On the day of the test, having your child wear a T-shirt or short-sleeved shirt can make things easier for your child and the technician who will be drawing the blood.
The Procedure
A health professional will draw the blood from a vein after cleaning the skin surface with antiseptic and placing an elastic band (tourniquet) around the upper arm to apply pressure and cause the veins to swell with blood. A needle is inserted into a vein (usually in the arm inside of the elbow or on the back of the hand) and blood is withdrawn and collected in a vial or syringe.
After the procedure, the elastic band is removed. Once the blood has been collected, the needle is removed and the area is covered with cotton or a bandage to stop the bleeding. Collecting the blood for the test will only take a few minutes.
What to Expect
Collecting a blood sample is only temporarily uncomfortable and can feel like a quick pinprick. Afterward, there may be some mild bruising, which should go away in a day or so.
Getting the Results
The blood sample will be processed by a machine. The results are commonly available in a few days.
The 17-hydroxyprogesterone is considered a safe procedure. However, as with many medical tests, some problems can occur with having blood drawn, such as:
- fainting or feeling lightheaded
- hematoma (blood accumulating under the skin causing a lump or bruise)
- pain associated with multiple punctures to locate a vein
Helping Your Child
Having a blood test is relatively painless. Still, many children are afraid of needles. Explaining the test in terms your child might understand can help ease some of the fear.
Allow your child to ask the technician any questions he or she might have. Tell your child to try to relax and stay still during the procedure, as tensing muscles and moving can make it harder and more painful to draw blood. It also may help if your child looks away when the needle is being inserted into the skin.
If You Have Questions
If you have questions about the 17-hydroxyprogesterone test, speak with your doctor. You can also talk to the technician before the procedure.
Note: All information is for educational purposes only. For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, consult your doctor.
© 1995-2024 KidsHealth ® All rights reserved. Images provided by iStock, Getty Images, Corbis, Veer, Science Photo Library, Science Source Images, Shutterstock, and Clipart.com


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When a curator decides to pursue an acquisition, in discussion with the director and subject to the approval of the board of trustees, the preparation often includes a complete immersion process. This was certainly the case in the fall and early winter of 2011–12, as I prepared to present for acquisition a period room from eighteenth-century Damascus, Syria. As arcane as the subject might sound, there is quite a bit written on daily life in this time and place that gives a good idea of how Damascenes lived: what they ate, what they wore, and how their homes were laid out, organized, and furnished. Photographs and maps from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries also help in reimaging the architecture and urban setting. But my preoccupation with eighteenth-century Damascus took on a somewhat surreal quality as the current upheaval in Syria slowly transformed into a full-blown civil war and the boundaries between past and present began to blur. The Damascus room came to signify more than the unique opportunity to acquire a rare work of art that would become a destination for museum visitors but the very embodiment of what LACMA is as an encyclopedic art museum. Although the room was removed from Syria nearly thirty-five years ago, the notion that we would be helping to preserve a small part of the cultural history of one of the world's oldest, continuously occupied cities, intensified my interest in bringing the room to Los Angeles so that its story can be told and appreciated in this twenty-first-century city.
Unlike fashionable residences in early modern Europe, the homes of the well-to-do in eighteenth-century Damascus had very plain exteriors, hidden within which were elaborately decorated rooms that faced onto courtyards. Vintage photographs show the ornate stone courtyards replete with citrus trees and fountains, which provided a cooler living space during the hottest times of the year. The lavishly decorated reception rooms opening on to the courtyards would have been used primarily in the winter months. In 1900, nearly 17,000 such courtyard homes still survived. With the modernization and growth of Damascus, most such historic homes were demolished but occasionally their sumptuous rooms were spared. Several have found their way into museums not only in Damascus but in Europe and the United States.
LACMA's acquisition-in-progress is a reception room dated 1766–67 and measuring 15' x 20'. As is typical, the room has colorful inlaid marble floors; painted and carved wood walls, doors and storage niches; a spectacular stone arch that serves to divide the upper and lower sections of the room, which are separated by a single high step; and an intricately inlaid stone wall fountain with a carved and painted limestone hood, which we have recently installed in the Islamic galleries (Ahmanson Building, Level 4). Though the rest of the room is currently dismantled, it is in wonderful condition and is primarily in need of extensive cleaning and some restoration. Once we formally acquire the room, our goal in reassembling it, a two-year project, will be to create an armature to make it self-supporting so that it can be installed in an already-existing space or reinstalled elsewhere. My colleagues and I hope to keep you posted as this exciting project progresses.

subset: commoncrawl


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James Dore' 4 Color Woman's T-Shirt
James Dore' 4 Color Woman's T-Shirt.
Women's American Apparel Fine Jersey T-Shirt Back to basics never looked better. This best-selling women's tee by American Apparel is a versatile must-have for every lady's wardrobe. Wear it to work or play, or dress it up with a blazer or sweater and wear it out to dinner. Super soft and lightweight.


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A fresh — and refreshing — take on iced coffee
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Simply put, I love coffee. My morning coffee is my favorite part of the day. I even travel with a mini espresso maker so that all my mornings can start with a steaming shot of rich, dark coffee.
And last summer I became obsessed with a fresh approach to my favorite beverage — cold brewing. It's no more complicated than it sounds. Instead of running hot water through ground coffee, you use cold. And instead of straining the water through it quickly, you steep the grounds in it for longer, as much as 8 to 12 hours.
The result is a rich coffee concentrate that is so worth the wait. You then dilute the concentrate with either hot or cold water (more on that later) to produce a cup of coffee that is light, yet rich and virtually acid-free. This is because the grounds steep slowly, which is a gentler extraction process than traditional brewing. And it quite naturally makes the most amazing iced coffee, one of my favorite summer drinks.
When I started experimenting with making it at home, I made it in canning jars and old milk jugs. But straining the grounds at the end was always a bit of a hassle. A light went off in my caffeine-charged brain when I thought of my somewhat abandoned French press. The coffee press could brew and filter the coffee in one piece!
Of course, I'm hardly the first person to think of it. In fact, French press maker Bodum even has a model designed for cold brewing. That version comes with a lid for the overnight brew and the plunger part has a locking pourer "spout," which allows you to keep the cold brew in the refrigerator for as long as it lasts. You just clean it and get rid of the coffee grounds when you are ready to make a new batch.
There are a few points to consider when making your perfect brew. For cold-brewed coffee, you must use coarsely ground coffee. If you use a fine grind, it will be difficult to strain the coffee and your iced coffee will be filled with sediment. I use a 4-to-1 ratio of water to coffee. It is easy to remember and makes a good strong coffee "concentrate," but not too strong.
One of the reasons I love to use cold-brewed coffee for my iced coffee is that it doesn't get watered down when poured over ice. Traditionally brewed coffee loses its punch when the ice melts. But if you use the cold-brewed concentrate straight up, it can handle the ice without losing its flavor.
Another iced coffee tip along those lines — whenever you have leftover coffee (no matter how you make it), pour it into ice cube trays and freeze. Then when you make iced coffee, use those cubes instead regular ice. This way as the ice melts, your coffee just gets better and better rather than watered down.
A final note about sweeteners. Anyone who loves iced coffee surely has noticed that granulated sugar doesn't dissolve well in cold beverages. So instead use simple syrup (sugar and water mixed at a 2-to-1 ratio, simmered, then cooled), agave syrup or even maple syrup.
This recipe walks you through prepping the iced coffee and gives you the proper proportions for each serving. Since cream and sweetener are such an individual matter, we leave those to you.
Start to finish: 8 to 12 hours
Servings: 8
4 cups spring water
1 generous cup coarse
ground coffee
In a glass jar slightly larger than 1 quart, combine the water and coffee. Stir well. Cover the jar and refrigerate overnight, or at least 8 to 12 hours.
When ready to strain, uncover the jar and stir. Line a mesh strainer with several layers of cheesecloth, then set it over a large bowl. Pour the coffee mixture into the strainer and let the coffee concentrate drip into the pitcher. Depending on the size of your strainer, you may need to do this in batches. Discard the coffee grounds.
Pour the coffee concentrate into a clean glass jar and refrigerate until ready to drink.
To serve, fill tall glasses with ice and any desired sweetener or cream. Pour 1/2 cup of the coffee concentrate into each glass. Stir and serve immediately.


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The most common stars in the Milky Way go by a less-than-ennobling name: M-dwarfs. You may or may not have heard of them, but you've definitely never seen one — at least not with the naked eye. Even the very nearest M-dwarf is too dim to be spotted without a telescope, so until astronomers began scanning the sky in real detail, nobody had guessed these small, reddish stars even existed. "If the Sun is a hundred-watt bulb," says Harvard astronomer David Charbonneau, "M-dwarfs are Christmas-tree lights."
But M-dwarfs make up for their low wattage with sheer numbers. A whopping 248 M-dwarfs (and counting) are sprinkled right in the Sun's immediate neighborhood, compared with a mere 20 or so Sun-like stars. Now, a new analysis says that at least one of those M-dwarfs is likely to host a habitable, Earthlike planet. Where there is one such familiar world, there are probably more. "The punchline," says Courtney Dressing, the Harvard graduate student who led the analysis, "is that the nearest Earthlike planet should be no more than 13 light-years from the Sun."
Finding a twin of Earth has been the ultimate goal of planet-hunters ever since the very first extrasolar worlds were discovered in the mid-1990's. Until recently, such planets, about the size of Earth, and with a reasonably balmy, life-friendly surface temperature, have been too small to spot. But that changed dramatically in 2009, with the launch of the space-based Kepler Mission, an orbiting telescope that has been staring ever since at a single patch of nearly 160,000 stars, waiting patiently for one of them to wink in a regular rhythm that would indicate that a planet was moving across its face, blocking just a bit of starlight.
(MORE: Life on Billions of Planets? Could Be.)
So far, Kepler has seen not just one, but nearly 3,000 sets of winks, all almost certainly caused by orbiting planets. In more than 300 cases, the amount of light blocked and the speed of the wink suggested Earth-size planets. Significantly, while only a small fraction of Kepler's target stars are M-dwarfs, this is where all of these Earths have been seen. It's no surprise, since an M-dwarf's relatively small size allows even a modest-sized planet to block a relatively large percentage of starlight.
The discovery of an Earth-like world is only the first of many steps to finding Earth-like life. For one thing, most of the candidate planets Kepler has seen to date are so close to their stars that they're much too hot for life. Only three, in fact, appear to be in orbits that make them plausibly habitable. What's more, Charbonneau cautions that M-dwarfs tend to be much more active than the Sun, with lots of sunspots, flares and potentially lethal ultraviolet radiation.
Still, the more such Earth-like exoplanets there are, the greater the odds of finding just the right one. And that's where the new study gets exciting. Since a planet has to orbit edge-on from Earth's perspective for it to pass in front of its parent star in a way that would allow Kepler to notice it at all — and since only a small fraction of planetary systems have that orientation — Dressing, Charbonneau and their collaborators were able to calculate that 6% of red dwarfs are likely to host an Earthlike world, which is actually quite a lot. Spreading the 6% evenly out over the entire galactic population of M-dwarfs is what led to the statistical the conclusion that the nearest one is 13 light years away. "Astronomically speaking," says Dressing, "this is like a stroll across the park."
(MORE: New Planet Found. Could a Super Earth Plus Triple Stars Equal Life?)
That's crucial, since the closer an exoplanet is, the easier it is to study in detail — allowing astronomers to analyze its atmosphere, for example, for telltale molecules such as methane and oxygen that might betray the presence of life. Such analysis of even close-up worlds is not possible today, but when the James Webb Space Telescope goes into orbit in 2018, and when a new generation of giant ground-based telescopes goes on line at about the same time, the study of Earth-like exoplanets in our cosmic neighborhood can begin.
Before that happens, of course, those nearby Earths will have to be found for real — instead of merely statistically inferred as they were in the current study. But the study's estimates of how common the exoplanets are makes the prospect of spotting at least one look better all the time.
Once they are found, there's one more thing that increases the odds that that they could harbor life: M-dwarfs, Charbonneau points out, "are incredibly long-lived." Earth has been habitable for less than five billion years, and has only about another billion to go before it ages to the point at which the Sun gets too hot for comfort. An M-dwarf, by contrast, changes little for tens of billions of years. Given the 13-billion-year age of the universe, it's plausible that we could find a second Earth that has been sitting in its star's habitable zone — and nurturing life — for as much as 10 billion years. And now we know that at least one of them might be right next door.


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AUSTIN, TX. — As many as nine in 10 Texans buying health insurance on the new federally run exchange will get a break on costs, according to federal health officials. Steve and Maegan Wolf won't be among them.
The Wolfs, who live in an upscale area outside Austin, make too much money to qualify for tax credits that will help other people afford coverage. That leaves them wondering how much they'll wind up paying.
Steve Wolf, 50, coordinates stunts and special effects for feature films and TV shows. Last year, he helped the Discovery Channel blow up scale replicas of the Hindenburg. He owns Stunt Ranch, where schoolchildren come to learn about the science and math of movie stunts.
His wife, 34, is a full-time mom who spends many hours each week getting their three boys, 16-year-old Clayton, 12-year-old Paxton and 8-year-old Dashton, to school, swim lessons, speech therapy and math tutoring appointments.
Like many who run family businesses, the Wolfs' annual income varies, but it's typically $115,000 to $140,000. That means they make too much to be eligible for the tax credits that will help some Americans pay for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. They also worry that changes in coverage required by the law will mean their premiums will increase. That includes setting minimum coverage requirements for insurance companies that go well beyond what many offer now and prohibiting insurers from banning those with pre-existing medical conditions.
The Wolfs have purchased their family's health insurance on the individual market for about 12 years, during which time their premiums have risen steadily.
They now pay about $650 a month for insurance. And while their general health is excellent, each of them has had their share of medical expenses. Their policy has a $5,000 annual deductible for each adult, meaning the Wolfs in many years have had to pay $10,000 out of pocket toward medical bills on top of the $25 copays for doctor visits and $20 copays for covered generic medicine.
Next to their mortgage ($2,300 a month with property taxes), their health insurance is one of their biggest expenses. Private school for two of the three boys adds nearly $3,000 per month. One of the boys is both dyslexic and has celiac disease, requiring additional educational and grocery expenses. There also are bills for life insurance, orthodontia, utilities, cellphones, car insurance for a teenage driver, and home and auto maintenance.
"When all is said and done, we live well, but there is no money left over," Steve Wolf said. "Any increase in health insurance costs will create a financial strain.
"But I keep it all in perspective. Unlike most people on the planet, we've never missed a meal, been unable to find safe drinking water, lacked for a home to sleep in or had to go without medical care. So while this pinches us in the pocket, I'm very lucky to have these problems."
Based on the Kaiser Family Foundation's online calculator, the Wolf family's annual premium costs for health insurance would be almost double their current costs if they purchase a benchmark plan through the federal exchange that will be offered to Texas residents.
If a yearly income of $130,000 is assumed, the Wolfs would pay an annual premium of $14,804 for the mid-range insurance plan, called a Silver Plan. Their current annual premium is about $7,800.
Instead, they could buy a less comprehensive Bronze plan for $12,270 a year. Or they would be eligible to purchase catastrophic coverage for even less, although it's not clear how much this type of coverage would cost the Wolfs. A catastrophic plan would cover only preventive care. All the plans would come with an annual cost-sharing limit of $12,700 for the family, meaning they wouldn't have to pay more than that out-of-pocket after paying their premiums.
Many health care expenses aren't predictable and there is risk inherent in choosing a plan with a higher out-of-pocket costs and lower premiums, but the Wolfs are willing to take their chances.
"Despite our experience, we continue to hope that we'll have low out-of-pocket expenses, so we'd rather have a lower premium and the possibility of low costs than to be locked in to higher premiums that cover services that we might not use," Steve Wolf said.
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Step Up Forsyth is a physical activity program provided by the Forsyth County Department of Public Health and the BeHealthy Coalition. September 2013 marked their 10th year of motivating community members to be more physically active!
Step Up Forsyth is a FREE eight-week (on your own) physical activity program, held each year from September – November. The goal of the program is to encourage participants to be physically active for 30 minutes per day, five or more days each week.
This year's theme was "Go Out & Play", and was achieved by promoting local parks, recreation centers and greenways. In addition, new for 2013 Step Up Forsyth offered FREE group exercise classes and cooking classes for participants weekly.
Step Up Forsyth surpassed it's goals, and had 1,117 participants and 45 teams who combined logged over 1,430,749 minutes.
For a complete list of the weekly prize winners, grand prize winner, and team awards, please view the 2013 Success Story.


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Please Stand By
There's nothing more soul-straining than being wide awake, as night stretches open to dawn, while your baby snoozes deeply. Wide awake, and knowing, in your tired, tired bones, that at the precise moment that your eyelids get droopy, hers will snap open and Happy! Busy! Daytime! will commence.
Real blogging will resume after I have caught up on some rest by knocking myself unconscious by smacking my head against the wall.


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A coalition of groups (1), including Slow Food, Friends of the Earth, ActionAid, Birdlife, Biofuelwatch, Compassion in World Farming and European Environment Bureau have united to call for European governments, and the EU as a whole, to reduce Europe's land footprint – i.e. the amount of land it uses each year for food, textiles, wood, biofuels, etc. (2)
Research has shown that the EU is effectively 'importing' 1,212,050 square kilometres of agricultural land to meet its demand for food, textiles and biofuels (3). Even more land is used to produce forest products like paper and for mining minerals and fossil fuels.
This massive import of land is happening at the same time as land is under increasing pressure around the world, with the land grabbing phenomenon taking land away from local communities. In addition, the EU has made the problem worse by adopting ill-advised policies promoting biofuels and biomass burning.
The launch of this coalition comes as the EU is examining how to measure Europe's resource use. We are pushing for land footprint, along with carbon footprint, water footprint and material use, to be the basis for this measurement. By measuring and managing Europe's resource use we will be able to become more resource efficient; reducing waste, the cost of materials and creating jobs in resource efficient industries.
"The classic development model has produced dramatic consequences on the distribution of the planet's resources," said Piero Sardo, president of the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity. "A system based on constant consumption of animal protein and uncontrolled waste is aberrant and is putting unsustainable pressure on the world's water resources and fertile soils."
"Today enough food is produced in the world to feed 12 billion people, but 40% of it becomes waste before even coming close to a table," Sardo continued. "For years Slow Food has been committed to promoting a system of production, distribution and consumption that opposes waste and land grabbing (the acquisition of fertile lands at ridiculously low prices, mostly in the global south, that is threatening biodiversity, food sovereignty and the existence of local communities). We need rapid and incisive action at the community level and on the part of institutions, citizens and civil society."
Individuals and organizations can also do their bit to reduce our land footprint, for example, through:
– avoiding food waste and reducing consumption of animal products (meat and dairy)
– reducing paper use and making sure the paper used is recycled
– making sure clothes are re-used or recycled instead of thrown out, and buying second hand clothes.
[1] The following groups and individuals have signed up to the land footprint coalition:
Friends of the Earth Europe
BirdLife Europe
Compassion in World Farming
Fred Pearce (author)
Dr Ian Fitzpatrick (researcher)
Kenya Debt Relief Network (KENDREN)
Land Magazine
The Land is Ours
London Mining Network / Colombia Solidarity Campaign
ONG Mani Tese
Slow Food
UK Food Group
Les Amis de la Terre France (Friends of the Earth France)
Friends of the Earth Cyprus
Amigos de la Tierra España (Friends of the Earth Spain)
Magyar Természetvédők Szövetsége (Friends of the Earth Hungary)
NOAH (Friends of the Earth Denmark)
Hnuti Doha (Friends of the Earth Czech Republic)
Friends of the Earth (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)
[2] The land footprint coalition statement is as follows:
We call on European countries, and the EU, to:
1) Measure and publicly report on their land footprint, along with their use of other key resources – water footprint, carbon footprint and overall material use.
2) Set targets to reduce their land footprint and other resource use towards sustainable and equitable levels.
3) Create policies to reduce their land footprint, whilst also reducing other resource use, for example through cutting food waste, and changing diets by reducing significantly the consumption of animal products in high consuming populations.
4) Require large companies registered in the EU to publicly report on their land footprint in the context of their overall resource efficiency reporting, and their strategies for reducing this footprint whilst also reducing other resource use.
5) Examine all relevant existing and new policies to identify how they can be modified in order to reduce Europe's land footprint and other resource use, for example policies on renewable energy, biofuels and agriculture.
6) Promote good stewardship of land and livestock, and sustainable farming to protect the planet and its resources.
7) Protect customary and traditional land rights, and promote fair and transparent land governance and genuine land reform around the world.
8) Put in place measures to curb the financing of land grabs through policies that apply to both large scale investments and financial speculation on land.
[3] 'Hidden impacts: How Europe's resource overconsumption promotes global land conflicts', Sustainable Europe Research Institute for Friends of the Earth, March 2013.


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"Questions and Answers" is a weekly feature of the OPC website. At least one new question is posted each week, so there should always be something new here for you to read. (For those people who would like to look at previous questions and answers, they will continue to be available as well.)
The questions come from individuals like yourself. If you have questions about biblical and theological matters, you are invited to send them by e-mail by using the "Pose a Question" link on the OPC home page or by clicking here.
The purpose of the OPC website's "Questions and Answers" is to respond to biblical and theological questions. Matters of church discipline, disputes, or debates go beyond the scope of our work. We recommend that you present your concerns in these areas to the appropriate judicatory. In most cases this will be to a local pastor, elder, or session. We do not want the website to replace personal involvement in, or commitment to. the local, visible church.
While we will respond to every serious questioner, we are not bound to give a substantive answer to every question, should we deem the question to be beyond the scope of our purpose or our own ability to answer.
You will receive an answer by e-mail. Please be patient as many of our respondents are busy pastors. The response to your question may take up to two (2) weeks. Some of the questions submitted will be chosen to be posted here, along with the corresponding answers.
The answers come from individual ministers in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church expressing their own convictions and do not necessarily represent an "official" position of the Church, especially in areas where the Standards of the Church (the Scriptures and the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms) are silent.
Note that the "Questions and Answers" posted on the site have been edited to remove all personal references and to make the questions and answers more useful to a larger audience.
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New text hotline called a 'lifeline' in teens' pockets
Published 10:22 am Thursday, March 14, 2013
ST. PAUL — The name says it all: TXT4Life.
Minnesota lawmakers are moving to add the text message-based suicide prevention program to the existing statewide phone hotline, citing figures from a pilot program in northeastern Minnesota that show teens would rather send a text than make a call for help.
By sending just four letters —"life" — to a special code number, a teen in need starts texting with a counselor who can talk them down, refer them to others who can help or, if necessary, call in emergency help.
More than 600 people in Minnesota committed suicide in 2010, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Esko Democrat Rep. Mike Sundin said he had that demand in mind with his bill, which passed the House Health and Human Services Policy Committee on Wednesday.
Since a TXT4Life pilot launched in seven counties in northeast Minnesota more than a year ago, counselors have texted with more than 400 people a month on average. By comparison, the hotline has received fewer than 15 calls a month from people throughout the state.
Dave Lee called it "a lifeline in (teens') pocket, immediately available when they most need it." As Carlton county's director of Public Health and Human Services, Lee helped set up and run the pilot with a $1.4 million federal grant. Word spread fast. Despite the initial seven-county scope, counselors have chatted with people from 48 Minnesota counties.
To offer services statewide, TXT4Life would need about $2.5 million annually, Lee said. That would fund trips to middle and high schools to teach about the text line and get students to program the number into their phones, just in case. It would also help staff counselors around the clock. The text line currently runs from noon to midnight.
"In that moment of crisis, we know that having someone available to them is the most critical opportunity we have to intervene and save a person's life," said Mark Kuppe, a psychologist who has also helped run the program.
Lawmakers will next take up the question of how much money, if any, the state should provide to fund the program. Sundin said he hopes the health finance committee doesn't lose sight of the importance of saving lives.
"This issue is a lot bigger than just numbers at the bottom of a page," Sundin said.


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LONDON – On the day he went public with an admission of doping after years of denials, Olympic officials disclosed one more embarrassment for Lance Armstrong: He was stripped of a bronze medal won at the 2000 Sydney Games.
The International Olympic Committee sent a letter to Armstrong on Wednesday night asking him to return the medal, just as it said it planned to do last month. The decision was first reported Thursday by The Associated Press.
On Monday, Armstrong taped an interview with Oprah Winfrey for broadcast Thursday and Friday on her network. A person familiar with the situation told the AP that the winner of seven straight Tour de France titles confessed to Winfrey to using performance-enhancing drugs.
The timing of the IOC move, however, was not related to the TV interview.
The IOC executive board discussed revoking the medal in December, but delayed a decision until cycling's governing body notified Armstrong he had been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and all results since 1998. He then had 21 days to appeal.
Now that the deadline has expired, the IOC decided to take the medal away. The letter to Armstrong was also sent to the U.S. Olympic Committee, which would collect the medal.
"Having had confirmation from UCI that Armstrong has not appealed the decision to disqualify him from Sydney, we have written to him to ask for the return of the bronze medal," IOC spokesman Mark Adams told the AP. "We have also written to USOC to inform them of the decision."
Two months after winning his second Tour de France title in 2000, Armstrong took the bronze in Sydney in the road time trial behind winner and U.S. Postal Service teammate Vyacheslav Ekimov of Russia and Jan Ullrich of Germany.
The IOC opened a disciplinary case in November after a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency report detailed widespread doping by Armstrong and his teammates. The report called it the most sophisticated doping program in sports.
The IOC will not reallocate Armstrong's bronze medal, just as cycling's ruling body decided not to declare any winners for the Tour titles once held by the American. Spanish rider Abraham Olano Manzano, who finished fourth in Sydney, will not be upgraded and the bronze medal will be left vacant in Olympic records.
In August, the IOC stripped Tyler Hamilton, a former Armstrong teammate, of his time-trial gold medal from the 2004 Athens Olympics after he acknowledged doping. In that case, Ekimov was upgraded to gold.
The IOC is also investigating Levi Leipheimer, a former Armstrong teammate who won the time-trial bronze at the 2008 Beijing Games. The American confessed to doping as part of his testimony against Armstrong in the USADA case.
The IOC is looking into the details of Leipheimer's admitted doping, including when the cheating took place, before moving to strip his medal. Finishing fourth behind Leipheimer in 2008 was Alberto Contador, the Spaniard who was stripped of the 2010 Tour de France title after testing positive for clenbuterol.


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The fact-checking organization PolitiFact looked into a shocking claim in a political ad. The ad said 85 percent of recent college graduates are moving back in with their parents. There was a reason for the ad to make that claim. PolitiFact found that 85 percent figure has been repeated by CNN, the New York Post, U.S. News, and more news organizations. The number fits the notion of a boomerang generation, thrown back home by the economy.
Yet this constantly repeated number appears to be bogus. PolitiFact found the number came from an organization that no longer exists, whose former leader can't explain where his number came from.
So we contacted Kim Parker to find what the number really is, and what we can learn from it. She's lead researcher for a Pew survey on the boomerang generation. Ms. Parker, welcome to the program.
KIM PARKER: Thank you for having me.
INSKEEP: OK. So there seems to be no evidence for that 85 percent figure. What are the real figures in the surveys and studies that you've done?
PARKER: OK. Well, we've done some analysis of census data, and we've also done our own survey research. And we found that among college graduates ages 25 to 34, about 20 percent - or specifically, 21 percent, say that they're either living with their parents now, or that they moved in temporarily in the last few years because of tough economic times. If you look at all 25- to 34-year-olds, regardless of educational attainment, we found 29 percent. You know, that's basically three in 10, which is a pretty substantial number.
INSKEEP: Now, of course, our colleague David Greene, on this program, has been taking us through a really moving series on multigenerational households, and you get a sense from those stories how complicated these decisions are. They're emotional decisions. They are financial decisions. Is it clear to you that in most cases when young people move back home, it is pretty much a straight financial decision - or are there lots of reasons? Could this just be people, in some cases, choosing to live a different kind of family life?
PARKER: Yeah. I think there've got to be lots of reasons, and it probably varies from one individual to another. We did find something really interesting when we asked about the impact that living back at home with your parents has had on the relationship with the parents. And we found that, you know, the plurality of young people said that it really hadn't made a difference in their relationship, but a quarter said it had actually made their relationship better.
And we also were able to ask young people who were living at home with their parents, and those who were living on their own, how satisfied they were with their living conditions. There was no difference between the two groups. So they were equally satisfied with their living conditions, equally optimistic about their financial future. So I think they see this as - you know, hopefully - a temporary situation, and not something that's going to impact their long-term financial well-being.
INSKEEP: What happens to a family's finances when the young person - college graduate or not - comes home?
PARKER: Yeah. What we found is that it actually can be mutually beneficial for both the parents and the child. Many of the adult children we interviewed - in fact, 48 percent - said that they actually pay rent to their parents; and 89 percent said that they contribute to household expenses. So in these tough economic times, it can actually be helpful to the parents as well, in terms of keeping their own household afloat. And we found that for some young adults, living at home with their parents is keeping them out of poverty. And there's data to show that among 25- to 34-year-olds, those living with their parents are half as likely to be living in poverty as those who are living on their own.
INSKEEP: Oh, and we started this - maybe with the image of a young person coming home to the, you know, well-off for middle-class parents; but there may be a situation where the young person is working, and the parents are in their 40s or 50s and have been laid off.
PARKER: Absolutely. I think that's probably a very plausible scenario. I think there are all different things but, you know, the nice thing was that we found that they are trying to make the most of it - and as I mentioned earlier, extremely optimistic regardless of what their current living situation is.
INSKEEP: Kim Parker of the Pew Research Center, thanks for clearing this up for us.
PARKER: Thank you so much, Steve.
INSKEEP: It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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As construction crews put the finishing touches this summer on Whitman College, the University's newest residential college, workers across Elm Drive started demolishing much of Butler College.
Efforts to raze Lourie-Love, 1922, 1940, 1941 and 1942 halls -- all built in 1964 -- began immediately after Commencement in June. Demolition should be completed by mid-September and will be followed immediately by construction of the new dormitories to replace them, according to Anne St. Mauro, director of design and construction. Wu Hall and 1915 Hall, also part of Butler, remain standing.
The demolition process is expected to produce more than 9,000 tons of material, according to Shana Weber, sustainability manager. All but 400 tons of that material is to be re-used or recycled, including 8,370 tons of concrete, 300 tons of metals and 20 tons of wire and cable.
"Our goal into the future is to find ways to sort the remaining mixed debris more effectively and increase our recycling rate even further," she said.
The Butler project is slated for completion by fall 2009, when the college will join Whitman and Mathey as a four-year residential college. It is part of the University's effort, launched this fall with the opening of Whitman, to revamp its residential system to better serve students as well as to provide them with more options.
The Butler dorms being demolished contained either singles or one-room doubles -- something viewed as not being conducive to today's residential life. A majority of the new rooms will be suites, with two bedrooms each housing two students, a common area and a bath.
The architect for the project is the renowned firm Pei Cobb Freed & Partners of New York. Henry Cobb, a founding partner in the firm, has designed the new dorms. He also was the architect for the University's Friend Center for Engineering Education, which opened in 2001.
The new dorms will comprise slightly more gross square footage -- 112,000 compared to 100,000 -- and will house fewer students -- 289 compared to 375.
The buildings will have two, three and four stories. They will be constructed of a warm-color brick to harmonize with Wu, 1915 and Bloomberg halls with horizontal bands of limestone accenting the design.
More than half of new dorms will have "green roofs," according to University Architect Jon Hlafter. This environmentally friendly feature involves covering the roof with a waterproofing membrane topped by soil and vegetation. It is intended to reduce heating and cooling loads and decrease stormwater runoff. Once the buildings are up, University officials intend to evaluate the difference in performance between the green and conventional roofs, he said.
Other sustainability features incorporated into the project include an energy efficient building envelope that is 30 percent greater than code requirements, natural light to illuminate 90 percent of interior spaces, and the use of low volatile organic compound (VOC) content materials and water efficient plumbing fixtures.
At the lower level, architects plan to fill the space with active communal areas, including a food emporium, common room, classroom and seminar rooms. These spaces will have large windows that look out onto open courts. Student rooms also will look out onto either a campus walkway or a courtyard, one of which will be irrigated using a rainwater capture and storage system. The walkways will penetrate the college buildings and landscape, providing the vistas that are a Princeton trademark.
During construction, Butler College residents are being housed in 1915, Bloomberg and Cuyler halls and continuing to take their meals in Wu Hall. Bloomberg will remain a part of Butler College after 2009, while Cuyler will revert to being an upperclass dormitory.


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The Military Interstate Children's Compact Commission (MIC3), www.mic3.net, website is designed to better inform the public about the Interstate Compact for Educational Opportunities for Military Children and serve the needs of the families of our service men and women. It will also provide valuable resources, news, contact information, links, and recent rulings by the Commission. Military families move between postings on a regular basis, and while reassignments can often be a boon for career personnel, they can be difficult for the children of military families. The average military student faces transition challenges more than twice during high school and most military children will attend six to nine different school systems in their lives from kindergarten to 12th grade. The Compact therefore seeks to make transition easier for the children of military families so that they are afforded the same opportunities for educational success as other children and are not penalized or delayed in achieving their educational goals.
The Compact provides for the uniform treatment of military children transferring between school districts and states. It was developed by The Council of State Governments' National Center for Interstate Compacts, the Department of Defense, national associations, federal and state officials, the Department of Education of each state, school administrators and military families. Thirty-five states have adopted the Compact. The Department of Defense will continue to work with the Commission, Council of State Governments, national organizations, and state leaders to bring the remaining states on board. Member states are beginning to form their State Councils and inform school districts of the terms of the Compact. The Commission has met twice and is working to implement and communicate the requirements of the Compact.The National Guard Family Community Center & Youth Website: www.guardfamily.org This site connects you with a list of the most current resources, training opportunities, and outreach activities available to military families. The State Youth Coordinator is Theresa (Beth) Stoddard. Ms. Stoddard can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com or 410-576-2994.
The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) Educational Partnership website promotes quality education, seamless transitions and deployment support for military students through outreach and partnership development.
The resources are all related to the education of our service members' children. It is an important issue and many of the organization and agency relationships are cultivated to assist our families, commands and education professionals toward that goal.The Military One Source: www.militaryonesource.com This is a 24/7 site that is rich with resources on almost any topic. They can locate counseling services that will provide 6 free sessions per issue and will also provide a one hour session assisting with applications for your college bound student. They provide a tremendous variety of free written and audio visual material. Recently more than 100,000 copies of the Military Child and Adolescent Deployment Support Video Program endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics was made available to schools and military parents. To order a free copy of Military Youth Coping with Separation or Mr. Poe and Friends, call Military One Source at 1-800-342-9647. Click here for sample information about deployment, the new normal, etc. intended to help kids deal with issues of parents in military, etc. including info for parents. Sesame Street DVDs for families with youth ages 2-5. Available for free through Military OneSource (1-800-342-9647) OR http://www.sesamestreet.org/tlc.Free Homework Help for Military ChildrenTutor.com for U.S. Military Families (www.tutor.com/military) provides free, personalized 24/7 online academic support to military-connected children. This Department of Defense-funded program is provided at no cost to grades K-12 children in National Guard, Reserve and Active Duty military families, regardless of the service member's deployment status.The Military Child Education Coalition: www.militarychild.org This organization provides training and resources to aid in developing support systems for military children and youth within the public school system. They have a wide variety of outstanding resources that view military children issues from the Guard and Reserve perspective as well as that of the active duty families.
Recently the National Guard Bureau purchased 75K copies of "Finding My Way" , a book written by Michelle and DeAnne Sherman. "Finding My Way" is described as "A Teen's Guide to Living with a Parent Who Has Experienced Trauma." This guide has been recognized as "an invaluable tool in the hands of those so often forgotten in dealing with trauma: the teenagers who are confused and frightened by what is happening."Our Military Kids, Inc: www.ourmilitarykids.org This organization provides $500 grants for every child who has a parent deployed in support of the "War on Terror". This grant is available to cover fees for a wide range of academic and athletic activities and is provided regardless of income.National Association for Child Care Resource and Referral Agency: www.naccrra.org or 1-800-424-2246 This organization provides childcare subsidies for all Service Members deploying in support of the "War on Terror". If you need assistance or advocacy in getting these benefits contact your State Youth Coordinator at email@example.com Army has funded a program called Operation Ready. One of the OP READY products is a Children and Deployment Handbook. It discusses the different developmental phases and the impact in different age groups. Originally it was intended to be written for parents, and it was later changed to program staff and educators. It contains a list of books and websites both for children and parents. The handbook is also accompanied by handouts that address different age groups. For a copy contact Cindy Enroth at email@example.com National Military Family Association (NMFA - http://www.nmfa.org) provides a comprehensive macro-listing of websites to support families and children of all military members.The Military Impacted Schools Association (MISA) is a national organization of school superintendents. Our mission is to serve school districts with a high concentration of military children. click here. MISA also supports a partnership with The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins Center on School, Family and Community Partnerships that provides a free on-line course for teachers and school personnel intended to increase understanding of the…Military community, lifestyle and culture as the backdrop for your military students' social, emotional and educational needs and challenges of military students including issues of mobility and deployment. Special challenges of youth during wartime including separation, reunion, death and disability, and programs to help students cope with these challenges are addressed. Strategies used by school staff—administrators, support staff and teachers—to improve educational, behavioral and health outcomes for all students are provided. Click here.The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) provides links to numerous resources to support the health and emotional well being of military and veterans children. The AAP Military Youth Deployment Support Website has been designed to support military youth, families, and the youth serving professionals caring for this population. To learn more about what youth serving professionals are doing to help military children and adolescents every day, click here. Coming Home: Adjustments For Military Families and Families In The Military. Youth Coping With Military Deployment: "Promoting Resilience in Your Family" and "Mr. Poe and Friends." American Academy of Pediatrics. Video from Operation Purple summer camp with interviews by kids. Click here.Army-sponsored Operation Military Kids (OMK) is a program in Maryland; it would be connected with Maryland Cooperative Extension. Here is the OMK national website. Also, Young Heroes: Military Deployment Through the Eyes of Youth. 18 minute video created by teens of the New Jersey Operation Military Kids' Speak out for Military Kids Program explaining the deployment cycle: http://www.operationmilitarykids.org/public/somk.aspx
Zero to Three: www.zerotothree.org Just type military in the search box and you will find videos, research, and a variety of print materials that are available to military students. A wide variety of resources for young children is available. Also, Young Children on the Homefront, Military families share their unique deployment experiences and professionals offer tips and strategies for dealing with difficult issues such as grief and loss from deployment and the challenges that often arise upon reunification. Available to view, click here. SOFAR (Strategic Outreach to Families of All Reservists) is a pro bono, mental health project that provides free psychological support, psychotherapy, psycho-educational and prevention services to extended family of National Guard and other Reserve Component families) has provided an excellent overview document (available on their website) for understanding and responding to the needs of military children whose parent (or loved one) has (or will) deploy. Click here. Welcome Back Parenting: A Guide for Reconnecting Families after Military Deployment. www.welcomebackparenting.orgWashington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction: Tackling Tough Topics: An Educator's Guide to Working with Military Kids. Video: When Parents Are Deployed (with Cuba Gooding, Jr). Sesame Street video.National Child Traumatic Stress Network and Defense Center of ExcellenceThe Military Family Knowledge Bank has a series of culturally competent materials for use in educating families, school personnel, and medical professionals about how to better serve military children experiencing traumatic grief. This online database of resources offers a wealth of web resources on family functioning and support, social and government services, PTSD and traumatic stress, Traumatic Brain Injury, and other issues.The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) devotes a special section of its website to military families and children, at this link.A sampling:a.. Traumatic Grief in Military Children: Information for Educators (2008) (PDF)b.. Traumatic Grief in Military Children: Information for Families (2008) (PDF)c.. Traumatic Grief in Military Children: Information for Medical Providers (2008) (PDF) and a link to the Military Families Knowledge Bank (MKFB).


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Wednesday, August 02, 2006
For me, I know that it's a great opportunity to have a conversation with your readers. But, I have to be honest, sometimes I feel funny commenting thinking I might bias the conversation. Or, in the course of my day, I may not have the time to comment as much as I would want.
When I look at some blogs, I see the person respond to each and every comment that is made. I think that's nice and courteous. But, in all honesty, it makes me feel kind of guilty. I'm thinking, "Should I be doing that, too?" Am I a slug for staying out of my own comment section?
Help me out here. I need some advice. What's your philosophy on the comment section? My name is Dr. A, and I'm a blogaholic....
50 comments:
- Lea said...
I second Mary Anne.
I also think that the courtesy of visiting the site of a fellow blogger who posted a comment is appropriate.
One more thought. It is OK to be biased...it is your blog and your opinion. - Wednesday, August 02, 2006 9:11:00 AM
I don't think you have to respond to everything all the time--sometimes there isn't anything to say or enough time to say it. It's nice to comment in your own comments section when you can, and visit the blogs of the folks who comment. That's how we build blog friendships :o)
I tend to do more "blog visiting" than commenting in my own blog, but that is my preference. People may not return to your comments section. - Wednesday, August 02, 2006 10:14:00 AM
- Fat Doctor said...
I usually don't comment on comments, but every now and then someone will misunderstand what I was trying to say, and I feel compelled to explain myself. Just once in a blue moon.
- Wednesday, August 02, 2006 10:59:00 AM
- Mother Jones RN said...
Hello there, Doc....
I don't think many people have time to respond to every comment they receive on their blog, so if someone doesn't respond to one of my comments, I don't get upset. I like to acknowledge my guests when I have time. I like talking to my blogger buddies. When writing becomes a drag, I'll stop blogging.
Mother Jones RN - Wednesday, August 02, 2006 11:46:00 AM
- Cathy said...
I also don't think it is necessary to respond to every comment and I don't expect everyone to respond to all comments. I usually do, because Dr. A. I have all the time in the world to respond. I also LOVE LOVE LOVE the comments. In addition I worry I will offend someone by not responding, but that is just me.
Like Mary Anne says there is one particular site that I have visited regularly for 6 years. I have read every word she has ever written and left little comments many many times. She has not ever responded even once. The good thing about that is that she also has not ever responded to anyone else. So, I really don't take it personally. It is just how she is but, I have to admit I think she is extremely rude!
I'm so happy that someone finds what I say worthy of leaving a comment that I just don't have it in me to ignore it.
The ones that bug me are the ones where all of a sudden the owner of the blog stops responding to you. For no reason that you can fathom they just stop responding. Maybe 5 or 6 people will leave her/him a comment and all of a sudden everyone gets a response except you. Those I take personally and usually stop leaving comments. Not really because I don't want to leave one but because I think they are sick of me and most likely don't want me commenting. Just like real life Dr. A. You go and leave comments where you feel you are wanted.
Waiter rant is a great example of someone who CANT respond. Because it is not unheard of for him to get 300-500 comments per post. His writting is excellent. You can't really ever expect a comment from someone getting those numbers. So he answers noone which is probably a good policy for him.
These are just my ideas Dr. A. - Wednesday, August 02, 2006 11:58:00 AM
- thethinker said...
I respond to comments on my blog just to let the people commenting know that I'm paying attention.
- Wednesday, August 02, 2006 12:01:00 PM
- Dreaming again said...
I tend to comment back sporadically. I wish I did better than I do.
What I have noticed is that the blogs who have high readership (Dr. Deb, Dr. Charles ..especially in the beginning) are the ones who comment to EACH commentor.
Granted, as you get farther and farther along and you start to get too many comments, that gets to be too much ...
Occassionally, you'll have a compelling blog like yours or MammaDocs that manage to get quite a few readers/commentors because you have compelling blogs (how's that for redundancy?) - Wednesday, August 02, 2006 12:07:00 PM
Although I enjoy interacting with everyone by responding to comments, I don't expect everyone else to do the same thing.
I comment on a lot of blogs that never give any feed back. I think it depends on the subject matter ... and the tone of the post.
There are a few recent posts which I made that I didn't want to comment on myself ... because they weren't "social" posts. I was fishing for information.
I like to comment when my friends come over and "sit and chat," though. But I don't feel that it's a necessary thing to do. Lots of people are far too busy to do that on an ongoing basis.
About biasing the conversation ... we visit your blog to see you ... not to hold a political debate. (at least, not yet! ;o)
You wrote the post we're commenting on, for heaven's sake! How can you possibly "bias" the conversation by joining in?!
{{{ blog hugs! }}} - Wednesday, August 02, 2006 1:20:00 PM
- NeoNurseChic said...
I also tend to respond to almost every comment on my blog. There are a few times when I don't get around to it, especially if I'm having a particularly busy time or don't feel all that well. But in all honesty, I try...sometimes with just one big general, "Thanks for all the comments, etc..." I also worry like Cathy and others above that people will get offended if I don't respond to them. And like Lea, I try to check out the blogs of everyone that comments, but I don't always have a lot of time. I also feel incredibly guilty for not updating my blogroll, but I haven't had time!
Now...we each expect individualized responses to each of the comments here! Hurry up and get to it!! (Just kidding...seriously!) :) - Wednesday, August 02, 2006 1:50:00 PM
- the granola said...
I am not very good at replying to comments, though I love my commenters. I try to reply every once in a while, especially if it adds to the discussion.
So for those of us who a) love our commenters who are the visual part of the audience we are craving but b) am not sure how to return the favor...
What should we do? - Wednesday, August 02, 2006 2:04:00 PM
hmmm well i don't have a tremdously high readership so i pretty much comment to all my visiters.. i enjoy it .. sometimes though there is nothing to say so i say nothing ... if it's a new visiter i try very hard to make sure they feel welcome and appreciated:)
I don't expect everyone to comment to my comments on there post though sometimes i enjoy the responses to my responses LOL... it's fun.. sometimes a really good conversation gets started that way..
but when you have a high following *cough* autorgraph please *cough*... you do what you can do...
*phone rings...whisper*
"call me later I'm talking to the DR. A"
And the rest of us will enjoy the rising start LOL... - Wednesday, August 02, 2006 4:13:00 PM
my comment would have been very LONG, so i posted it on my blog instead :)
- Wednesday, August 02, 2006 5:11:00 PM
- HP said...
I try to respond to all comments on my blog but then I don't have the extent of readership that you do, Dr. A!
My thoughts are where people have taken the time to respond to something I've written, then I should acknowledge that because I do appreciate the comments.
Sometimes there's nothing to say and then I'll just leave a general thank you comment.
As for people responding to comments left on their blog, it depends. Sometimes there's nowhere to go with a comment made, sometimes there's a point for further discussion - that's when it's nice to get a further response. Some bloggers never respond to any commenters and I tend to find I lose interest a little then. - Wednesday, August 02, 2006 6:05:00 PM
- Penrick said...
I don't comment on most comments. I visit their blog, drop a comment and move on. I love blogs and it eats up most of my free time.
I use the comments toward creating the next blog. I get cool ideas from the comments. - Wednesday, August 02, 2006 7:39:00 PM
- The Tundra PA said...
For me, it really depends on the comment. When it is a "great post" type comment, I often don't respond, unless it is the first time I recall seeing that commenter; then I'll give a "thanks for visiting" response. If the commenter has said something of substance, I think it is important to respond. Using my own behavior as an example, I think most commenters check back for a while to see if you responded. No response is a bit disappointing when you put some time and thought into the comment. And I think responses from the blogger encourage more people to comment. I just love comments! I want more! But volume becomes an issue too; when each post garners a dozen or more comments, there just isn't time to respond to each one individually. Let me say here, Dr. A, that I have total comment-envy of your blog! Only a month in the blogosphere, and you have many more comments than I do! But perhaps your posts are more "commentable" than mine.
The bottom line is that it is your blog and you do what you like, and what you have time for. Clearly, we're all happy with that! *grin* - Wednesday, August 02, 2006 9:05:00 PM
- It's me, T.J. said...
I don't have the heavy load of commenters on my blog that prohibits me from responding to them.
If there were too many comments, then I might be forced to only acknowledge that I had read everyone's comments. And maybe respond to the one that I feel needs a rebuttal or an answer.
With that being said, I use my comments section as a part of the conversational tone of my blog. My thinking out loud, so to speak.
You can't see my nuances...
a head bob
a shrugged shoulder
a grimace
or grin.
Because of that, I feel compelled to comment.
Because of the comments I feel compelled to respond.
Bottom line:
I don't think that there is a right or a wrong. But I feel there is a rudeness factor for the bloggers who never acknowledge anyone at any time; either by commenting back on their personal blog or on their visitor's blog..
later... - Wednesday, August 02, 2006 9:35:00 PM
- Dreaming again said...
Blogger's Anonymous meeting up and ready to go ...head for the Mountains!
Tomorrow morning, I will fix my links to friends blogs (like this one.)
I had my AOL freeze with only one sentence left! I had to start almost at the top! (I had to the car picture already posted) all over again!
So, in the morning links will be to other blogs! - Thursday, August 03, 2006 1:28:00 AM
- PG said...
As a commenter, I love receiving responses to what I write - whether it be from the blogger or other commenters. Just makes it seem like I'm communicating with real people.
As a blogger, I also love receiving comments. I'm still new to blogging, so I don't get a lot of comments, but I like hearing the feedback. I also write specific questions to readers so that I can hear other perspectives. - Thursday, August 03, 2006 1:13:00 PM
- Sid Schwab said...
I respond to comments on a prn basis: in theory, I'd respond to them all, and at this point I still don't get huge numbers of them. Mostly, tho, I respond when a comment contains a question, or makes a point to which I feel the need...
I'm on blogspot as well: one problem is, despite proper set-up, I rarely get notified of comments. It happens about one in ten times. - Thursday, August 03, 2006 3:40:00 PM
- The Domesticator said...
I try to respond to just about everyone who takes the time to leave a comment on my blog. however, I am not offended if others choose not to do this. I think it is whatever your personal preference is.
- Thursday, August 03, 2006 7:57:00 PM
Dr. A . . .Where are you? Are you in rehab for blogaholics? *wink*
- Friday, August 04, 2006 12:00:00 AM
- Dreaming again said...
Did he get eaten by a BEAR????
- Friday, August 04, 2006 12:59:00 AM
- Jessica said...
I don't get very many comments so I am able to respond to them all, though as stated before sometimes there is no where else to take the convo.
I do think it is rude if a blogger responds to EVERYONES comments but one or two people (unless they were spam or something like that).
As for other people responding to their own comments, it's nice to get a comment back to yourself, but that is unreasonable on larger blogs. Though just a general thank you for the comments, so that we know they were read is nice.
I always tend to check back for a couple days to read up on other comments posted and see if the blogger responded.
But then again I don't have a life so I have time for things like this! lol
drytears - Friday, August 04, 2006 1:12:00 AM
- Dreaming again said...
- This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
- Friday, August 04, 2006 3:15:00 AM
- Dreaming again said...
Dr. A .. we're sending a search party out for you ... checking cars one by one to see if you're safe!
Don't worry, call him Yogi and he'll be fine. Just don't feed him. - Friday, August 04, 2006 3:19:00 AM
At least you have lots of comments in your blog.
Sometimes I think that I'm not doing a good job at mine. - Friday, August 04, 2006 3:45:00 AM
- Clampett said...
Bias: journalism is what it is
Comments: decency is important, there are people behind these little handles. - Friday, August 04, 2006 4:13:00 AM
- Lea said...
Doctor A, are you Okay?
We miss you. - Friday, August 04, 2006 2:37:00 PM
Dr. Anonymous ... I have TWO admissions to make:
1) I am a blogaholic
2) You've been TAGGED!!!! You're IT!
*ducks and runs* - Friday, August 04, 2006 3:14:00 PM
- Cathy said...
Dr. A.
Where, oh where, are you? - Friday, August 04, 2006 5:29:00 PM
- jbwritergirl said...
I believe that comments should only be added when needed and on occassion just to let other bloggers know that there is actually someone there who reads the comments (unless you don't).
I also believe that it is polite to peek at blog sites who have visited yours. Don't need to leave comments because the site tracker can track you down if a blogger wants to know whos looking. - Friday, August 04, 2006 6:49:00 PM
- Krystalline Apostate said...
Dr. A:
Being gregarious, I try to step in & comment (& occasionally, I have to, at my blog, step in & play moderator: people get a little heated at times).
Daily Kos, as I understand it, sometimes just posts a topic, & lets people run amok.
In short, it's your sandbox: it's entirely up to you. - Friday, August 04, 2006 11:27:00 PM
- HP said...
Is this the blogging equivalent of being punk'd? :)
- Saturday, August 05, 2006 2:09:00 AM
- Dreaming again said...
welll ...if it's D ...does he retain his BA status????
G ...he's checked into a REAL BA rehab unit and they've taken away his computer access so he can't blog! ...*GASP* - Saturday, August 05, 2006 1:57:00 PM
Well, if it's F, I feel sorry for him because dating sucks! Hmmmmmm, I hope it's A--dating may suck, but falling in love is wonderful! ;o) [And no, I'M not in love (yet) . . .]
- Saturday, August 05, 2006 2:03:00 PM
H) this one would excuse Dr. A from all sensor... Extremly VIP patient that he has spent the last three days working to save his life and in a bit of heroic ness unique to Dr. A he just barely manged to save said patients life with no devastating consaqueses and has been granted a super dooper wonderful award for dcos and now has gotten bogged down with yet more well wishers and autograph seekers........
*deep breath.. wow that was long*
We hope your ok Dr. A!!! - Saturday, August 05, 2006 2:11:00 PM
- Cathy said...
I think he moved to "Denmark"! Wasn't he just telling us how wonderful life was in Denmark? Yep, he talked himself right into it.
Actually I hope it is "A"...Falling in love. Are you in love Dr. A.? If so, push that woman aside for a moment. We are your fan club and we demand equal time....:) - Saturday, August 05, 2006 3:29:00 PM
- Cathy said...
Also, If I wasn't genuinely worried, I would think it hilarious that he dissapeared, for awhile, after writing "THIS" post.
- Saturday, August 05, 2006 3:31:00 PM
- Dreaming again said...
You know Cathy, I was glad to see Hoping4more put in C ...at least i knew I wasn't the only person genuinely worried about him.
It BETTER not be C!!!!
I'd seriously considered starting something like this last night to try and get my mind off of worrying. - Saturday, August 05, 2006 4:33:00 PM
- Dreaming again said...
Yea. well my blog tag buddy (wanda's wings) is MIA too. grrrr
Dr. A .. I have incredibly good news on my blog! How can I tell you if you won't come out of hiding???? - Saturday, August 05, 2006 7:52:00 PM
ok so maybe we could all dedicate a post ot him on our blogs so taht when he comes back he knows just how missed he was and that he is not allowed to do this again!!!!! and must of course check in even if it is a one liner...t o let us know he is alive and well...
- Saturday, August 05, 2006 7:59:00 PM
- ladybug said...
c'mon, doc!
peek your handsome face in here and say hello and let us know you are OK!
we miss you!!! - Saturday, August 05, 2006 8:20:00 PM
- Cathy said...
- This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
- Saturday, August 05, 2006 11:35:00 PM
- ladybug said...
i'm in for the dedication for the doc!
- Saturday, August 05, 2006 11:39:00 PM
- Anthony said...
Since that I am able to leave a comment at this very moment, I can tell that you have discovered how to utilize the comments. Excellent work!
I love comments. It allows me to know what people think of my writings, and I get a chance to see their blogs also. - Sunday, August 06, 2006 9:37:00 PM
Hello Dr A! I am Angela and my opinion on the comments is: don't think too much...
Nice to meet you , I shall visit again!
Cheerio! - Monday, August 07, 2006 4:53:00 AM
Dr. Anon ... there's been discussion on all of your friend's blogs about what could so suddenly have become of you. We're rooting for you - whatever is going on ... even if you just suddenly felt as if you didn't want to blog anymore.
Do wish, though, if it's possible for you, to let just go squeak ... let us know you're OK.
At this end, we're imagining everything from car wrecks to heart attacks ... :o(
The really scary thing about blogging is that you get to really care for people, and when they suddenly stop blogging and vanish with no warning, you worry even more than if it was a regular friend ... you can find out what happened with a regular friend.
And then, of course, we as your blogging friends ride a fine line between being friendly and worried like crazy about you ... and being over-friendly and pushing up against your privacy.
Whatever - were here, and we miss you ... and we've very, very worried about our friend ... - Monday, August 07, 2006 9:12:00 AM
- Alessia said...
I personnally tend to respond to comments to my blog by going to the person's blog and commenting there, unless the comment was a specific question (and even then I sometimes add the answer in the comment on the other person's blog as well, in case they don't come back). Sometimes if the comment was pertinent enough, I make a whole new post to respond.
- Monday, August 07, 2006 11:09:00 AM
Wow - I'm the fifty-eighth commenter here....All my comments go automatically to my email, so if I answer the comment, it is in an email back to the person who made the comment.
I feel guilty, too, that I don't answer every comment on the blog.
If there is something that I wrote that needs a major clarification, then I will comment on it in the comment section, but mostly I respond by email.
And if the person has a link, I check out their blog and if it is medical/nurse or patient related I'll link to it.
What I feel guilty about is not READING blogs. I spend so much time blogging and writing that my reading goes to heck.
I'm proud to say that I have read almost all my "doctor" links and am going to set up my RSS with all my blogs so I know what's goin' on in the 'hood! - Tuesday, August 08, 2006 12:35:00 AM
- karla said...
blogging person must be patient..
- Tuesday, May 18, 2010 4:20:00 AM


text:
Over the last few weeks the farmers market has been bursting with zucchini and it has been so cheap that I have been picking up a bunch of it every week. I have really been enjoying all of the fresh local zucchini and in particular I have been focusing on the grated zucchini, feta, and herb combination. So far I have made a raw salad and a Greek style phyllo pie with this combo and both turned out really well. While I was dreaming up the previous ideas it also occurred to me that a this combo would go well in a quiche. I pretty much just took the grated zucchini, feta and herb combo and mixed it into a quiche base including eggs and milk. Although a pastry crust would go well with this quiche I enjoyed the brown rice quiche crust that I made last time so much that I decided to use it again this time. The herbed zucchini and feta quiche with a brown rice crust was easy to make and it turned out great! The brown rice crust was slightly crispy on the outside and the slices held together well. I enjoyed the texture that the brown rice crust added to the quiche and it is not as guilty as a full butter pastry crust. The zucchini, feta and herb combo worked really well in the form of a quiche! The quiche was nice and light and moist and it was just packed with flavour. It is amazing how much flavour the feta, dill and mint bring to the table.
Herbed Zucchini and Feta Quiche with a Brown Rice Crust
- 2 cups cooked brown rice
- 1/4 cup graviera (or gruyere, grated)
- 1 egg
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 cups zucchini (grated, squeezed and drained)
- 1/4 cup herbs (such as dill, mint, parsley, chopped)
- 2 green onions (chopped)
- 1 cup feta (crumbled)
- salt and pepper to taste
- Mix the rice, cheese and egg in a bowl.
- Press the rice mixture into a pie plate, about 1/4 inch thick.
- Bake in a preheated 450F/230C oven until the edges and bottom just start turning golden brown, about 5-7 minutes.
- Mix the eggs, milk, zucchini, dill, mint, green onions, feta, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
- Pour the egg mixture into the pie crust.
- Bake in a preheated 375F/190C oven until golden brown and set in the center, about 30-35 minutes.
Kolokithopita (Greek Zucchini Pie)
Greek Style Zucchini Salad
Greek Style Zucchini Fritters
Asparagus, Morel and Ramp Quiche with Brown Rice Crust
Zucchini and Kimchi Quiche with a Brown Rice Crust
Kolokythokeftedes (Zucchini and Feta Balls)
Zucchini and Green Chile Egg Breakfast Casserole
Broccoli and Cheddar Quiche with a Brown Rice Crust
Asparagus and Spinach Quiche
Caramelized Pear and Gorgonzola Quiche
Jalapeño Popper Quiche
Zucchini and Feta Breakfast Casserole
Caprese Frittata
Zucchini Cheese Bread


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text:
A fourth death in Tennessee appears to have brought the toll from severe storms that swept through parts of the Midwest and South on Wednesday to at least 13.
Chrissy Keuper of WUOT-FM in at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville has told our Newscast Desk about the fourth fatality in the Volunteer State.
As we reported yesterday, the hardest-hit location looks to have been Harrisburg, Ill., where at least six people were killed by a tornado with winds as strong as 170 mph. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports this morning that "whole neighborhoods were flattened" in the small city of 9,000 people, about 100 miles southeast of St. Louis.
The Springfield, Mo., News-Leader writes that Branson, Mo., a major tourist draw because of its music theaters, "took a beating when a tornado danced down the Missouri 76 strip early Wednesday. But by midday, officials in the tourism-driven town were saying their prayers and promising a swift return to business."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


text:
WASHINGTON – The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission) announced today the following hearing:
"Escalating Violence Against Coptic Women and Girls: Will the New Egypt Be More Dangerous Than the Old?"
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
2:00 p.m.
210 Cannon House Office Building
The Commission will hold a hearing to examine evidence that, as Egypt's political and social crisis persists, violence against Coptic women and girls is escalating, including kidnappings, forced conversions, and other human rights abuses. According to a new report to be released at the hearing by Michele Clark, at least 550 Coptic women and girls over the last five years have been kidnapped from their communities. The few who have been found suffered human rights abuses including forced conversion, rape, forced marriage, beatings, and domestic servitude while being held by their captors, raising the question whether developments in the new Egypt are leaving Coptic women and their families more vulnerable than ever – and what U.S. policy should be toward the developing situation.
The Following Witnesses are scheduled to testify:
Ms. Michele Clark, Adjunct Professor, Elliott School of International Affairs, The George Washington University
Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, Chair, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
Dr. Walid Phares, Author of "The Coming Revolution: Struggle for Freedom in the Middle East," and Co-Secretary General of the Transatlantic Legislative Group on Counterterrorism
Victim Witnesses, two Coptic women who experienced attempted kidnapping and forced conversion before they found asylum in the United States.
To view the live webcast click here at the start of the hearing.