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- Commentary
By Cody Willard
Here's the transcript of this week's chat from my TradingWithCody.com service (not affiliated with Marketwach). See you next week at 2pm EST at http://tradingwithcody.com/chat for more Q&A where you can ask me anything.
Q. Cody, Yahoo and eTrade are both considered by some to be take over plays. Which of the two do you think is a better buy for the next 6 months to a year? A. There's a lesson that I've learned over the years, best communicated by my old mentor James Cramer back when we used to sit down on a regular basis to go through the positions and strategies in my hedge fund. Almost every time I mention something I learned from Jim Cramer, I get a bunch of angry comments from readers. And let me be clear — Cramer's writings and seeming often daily flip-flopping on his stock picks and market calls and what not drive me crazy too. And Cramer and I don't talk anymore because he got mad when I went to Fox Business and became a TV guy myself. Anyway, I learned a ton of stuff from Cramer (and my entire career was helped tremendously by his time and energy) and I'm not shy about using lessons I've learned no matter where I learned them or from whom I learned them. And Cramer always says taught me that a company being an acquisition target is never enough in its own right to own a stock. It's great to own a stock that is cheap and growing and has other catalysts that is in addition to that, an acquisition target. But even as I do expect Yahoo and ETFC to both get taken out sometime in the next handful of years, I have no idea when or who will buy them and or at what price it will happen at if it does. As for the two individual stocks you just asked about — Yahoo's YHOO just such a crappy company with no growth and no technology path forward for continuing to compete against Google GOOG and Microsoft MSFT not to mention Apple AAPL. I have no interest in trying to game a Yahoo takeover in that context. And ETFC — it's not cheap and it's not got a clean balance sheet and other than being a takeover target, I don't have any interest in that one either.
Q. Cody, if Nuance NUAN is not in iPhone's Siri as much as u like, then who is? A. If Nuance isn't powering Siri, I think Apple's probably just got it figured out with their own software already. Not sure and Apple ain't saying and it's hard as hell to source a software supplier. You can always tear an iPhone apart to see who makes the components and hardware in it. But the software? Unless they tell you "Powered by…" there's no way to know. I just don't think Nuance's growth numbers in smartphones is reflective of the growth that they should be getting were it powering the iPhone 4S and the 40 million plus units it has sold in the last few months. Nuance growth is still nice enough to keep me invested in it for the long-term even as I'm worried about it in the near-term should it be confirmed that it's not powering Siri.
Q. Cody, what do you think of the run in oil, do you think it still has legs? A. Oil's all about the Middle East for now. If Iran and Israel continue to warmonger, I, along with everybody else, would expect oil will continue higher in the near-term. If war actually breaks out with Iran involved, it's like to pop big. I'd probably look to short oil above $130 or so no matter what the geopolitical climate and war status of the Middle East is, but it's not there yet and I don't like the risk/reward as either an oil short or as an oil long as the current set up.
Q. Cody a couple weeks ago you explained you would let go of some shorts because the markets were heading higher in the short term. Can you explain why you're bullish after the markets rallied so much since the middle of December? A. No easy answer to "why I'm still bullish even after this big rally". The short answer would include: *Still so many confident bears and shorts who are sure the market can't break out. *The Fed's still doing everything it can to create as many asset bubbles as it can, and I still think that can and likely will at some point drive a serious echo-techo bubble in tech stocks, which might very well kick off sooner rather than later. *Profit margins, despite being at all-time highs continue to surprise to the upside and the government's doing everything it can to prop up every major corporation it can through any tax break, cut, subsidy, welfare payment it can which can further drive upside margins. *Do you know ANYBODY out there who's actually saying, "Buy stocks, man, we are headed up 20% in the markets this year". I bet you know lots of people saying "Sell stocks, we are headed for a sell off of 10-20% this year." I bet they were saying the same thing 10% lower. I bet they'll stop saying that 10% higher from here. *Smartphone/tablet revolution and huge secular growth of both continue unabated and that's mostly what we own. All that said, I'm worried about that repeated underperformance of the Nasdaq and tech of late. And anybody who's giving a market opinion…can be dead wrong!
Q. Hi Cody, I love your service, thank you for the STX calls with their 500% gains. Is ntap a buy here?? A. That NTAP 3 month chart sure is a buy. But NTAP ain't cheap anymore and I've got no position in it.
Q. What can you tell me about Orbotech (Orbk). It is small, trades thin, has cash and a good product and good management but? A. I have bad news for you. Looking that ORBK over made my skin crawl. Revenues will be DOWN 12% this year and are supposed to bounce back 15% next year. The stock ain't expensive but I can't imagine a scenario where I'd invest in this non-US company. It's hard enough investing in the country I live in, much less trying to game a small cap stock based in Israel whose sales are falling.
Q. General trading question for Cody – when looking to make a trade, how much attention (if any) do you pay to 1) Recent sales and purchases by insiders and 2) Closing share imbalances? A. Alistair, I might, maybe 1 out of 100 times worry about insider sales. I've known insiders at LVLT, MSFT, CSCO and many other places who have unloaded their shares and have regretted it big time as their stocks ran 1000%s afterward. Then again, I've also seen insiders bail just before a horrible quarter portending a huge market problem for their employer on occassion, so you it's not something to entirely dismiss. Never looked or cared about a share imbalance when making a trading decision in my life. How would you game what the share imbalance means for the stock the next day, week or month anyway?
Q. Hi Cody, do you own calls in Apple and FIO? Both are rated high on your list. What is your opinion for June $35 calls in FIO and Oct $550 calls in Apple. Thank you. A. I own just common in Apple from much lower prices and I both common and calls in FIO. The June $35 Fios are going to be wildly risky, as this is a wildly volatile stock that I think might swing between $20 and $50 for months, and who knows where it will be in June of this year. Lower priced or longer-dated are safer ways to buy the FIO calls, but they will be more expensive than higher-priced and shorter-dated calls. And anytime you use options you can lose all of your capital in just a few months, so be careful. Apple October $550s probably are safer, but again, I'd rather just own the common for now. Next time Apple gets crashed for some reason, I might look at adding Apple calls.
Q. What's your take on ENTR. I think it should do well with Apple TV… A. Why would you presume that Apple TV needs anything from this tiny little "Systems Maker", ENTR? It's not a bad company and it's in a growth market (home networking, like you said), but I have no idea if Apple TV will use anything ENTR makes and frankly, I highly doubt that it will.
Q. Cody, greetings. Your thoughts on MT please. A. Greetings back to you. As for MT: "ArcelorMittal operates as an integrated steel and mining company. The company serves global carbon steel markets, including automotive, construction, household appliances, and packaging. It offers commodity steel, long, flat, carbon steel, and alloy products. The company also produces iron ore and metallurgical coal worldwide with key mining activities in Algeria, Australia, Bosnia, Brazil, Canada, Kazakhstan, Liberia, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Ukraine, and the United States. It owns a portfolio of approximately 20 mines in operation and development. The company, formerly known as Mittal Steel Company N.V., was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Luxembourg." Did you see what I wrote earlier about how hard it is to invest in the US much less trying to game a Luxembourg company with operations in developed and war-torn countries around the world? Moreover, I spend 80 hours a week staying ahead of the trends in tech and finance and political forces here in the US to give us an edge in the stocks I trade. I have no edge in gaming the global mining operations of a pure commodity. I wrote an article for the FT back in 2006 about why I'd rather own AAPL than copper-producer Phelps Dodge. Same holds true in 2012 in regards to MT — I'd rather own AAPL.
Q. If you want to buys calls in a stock say 6 months out, does it make a difference if you buy calls that are closer to the asking price but more expensive or further away from asking price but less expensive? I don't have a lot of money to play with so I usually do the later and am wondering if I am screwing myself? A. Great question. Yes, it does matter and here's how. You get more upside leverage when you buy the cheaper calls with the higher strike prices, but there's a lot more risk because the stock would need to rally higher to get past those strikes so that you are in the money. And the longer out the expiration dates, the more "time slippage" you have as you are paying a premium for having a longer time before the options expire, which is obviously valuable because stocks can make a huge move in the extra month or six months or whatever time you're paying up for. Buying a long-dated call with a higher strike price is risky and expensive, so you don't want to risk more money than you can afford to lose of course. On the other hand, if the stock blows past your strike price and you were able to buy a bunch more call options than you would have if you'd bought lower strikes, you'd have much more profits than if you'd just bought fewer of the lower priced call options. Risk and reward are reflected in the costs. So be careful no matter what you do when you use any options ever.
Okay folks, that's a wrap. Thanks for subscribing, thanks for the great questions and I'll see you guys back here at TradingWithCody.com/Chat next Wednesday for more.
Cody Willard writes Revolution Investing for MarketWatch and posts the trades from his personal account at TradingWithCody.com. At time of publication, Cody was long Apple, Google, Seagate, and Fusion-IO.


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subset: commoncrawl


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Saturday, August 26, 2006
"Looking good is the side effect" ~ Thanks Hazel
Thursday, August 10, 2006:I left for LA on Thursday morning. My flight was due to leave at 9:22 a.m., so between traffic and the notoriously bad security lines at Denver International Airport, I had planned to leave my house by roughly 6:45 a.m. You know how they say "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans"? I was in the shower at 6:00 a.m. with shampoo in my ears when Greg (my DH) comes running in a huge panic telling me I have to get my stuff together and get in the car now because there's been a terrorist threat and they've raised the security level to chartreuse and Oh My God, JUST GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!!! (OK, he wasn't quite that panicked, that's more how I felt hearing that news. At least he didn't try to talk me out of going!) So I hurriedly jumped out of the shower, shot the hair dryer in the general direction of my head, crammed all that last minute stuff that you never adequately plan for into my suitcase (oh, the size and weight of that suitcase – it was embarrassing!), quickly stuffed down some breakfast, and was on my way. Amazingly, the lines at the airport, although long, moved quite well, and it only took my 45 minutes to get through security, which is not much longer than it normally takes at DIA – I think the fact that they had every line open and so many people helping direct and channel people really made things move right along. My flight took off within half an hour of its scheduled departure and I was California bound (insert appropriate Eagles tune here).My sister met me at LAX and we drove over to the Hyatt Century City and got me checked in. By that time, it was lunch and so we walked over to the CC Mall just across the street and found the food court. I wish we had a food court like this near me. Not a Burger King or Sbarro's in sight, just lots and lots of very healthy choices (OK, so there was plenty of desserts and a few not so healthy things, but the healthy options were there and plentiful). After lunch (spinach salad with chicken and walnuts and the lightest coating of lemon vinaigrette plus a fruit salad that was to die for, I was feeling so virtuous), we strolled around the mall, which was of the California open-air variety. Somewhere in Macy's, I suddenly started to panic, and I mean real panic of the I'm-starting-to-hyperventilate variety. I don't know why it hit me right then, but it did, and I started toying with the idea of just spending the weekend with my sister, lounging at the pool and shopping. I was trying to rationalize to myself how that way the weekend wouldn't be a total wash and I could just have a nice relaxing mini vacation. I'm a mom, I need that kind of time, right? I'm so going to be the odd woman out in this group that probably exchanges Christmas cards and has known each other via the BB boards forever. Then I remembered that I'd gotten my on-line buddy from Video Fitness, Maria, to sign up for this camp, and she knew even less about BB and Tony than me, so I figured I was going to have to suck it up, and headed back over to the hotel. My sister suited up for the pool and I suited up for a beach workout with Tony! I put on my P90X tank so that JD, who lived nearby and was going to be doing a lot of the driving, including that afternoon, could recognize me in the lobby, and headed downstairs. I found her soon after that, and since everyone else who was going was either already at the beach or had arranged rides, we headed out to find the Santa Monica muscle beach (which I understand is the original muscle beach -- Venice is apparently some kind of copy cat beach and they sniff in its general direction in Santa Monica).JD, like me, grew up in New Jersey, and we became fast friends -- it's so odd (in a good way) at this stage in life to meet someone with whom you just click so perfectly (I hope that didn't sound weird or stalkerish!). Between the directions Traci had given us off Mapquest, the directions JD had written down herself, and the GPS system in her car, we managed to find the beach and meet up with the other campers who had come in early. The beach in Santa Monica is very wide, and the place we were waiting had all kinds of sort of uber-playground equipment – rings and bars and ropes, oh my! We watched several guys swinging and twisting and catapulting themselves around like future Cirque de Soleil performers on the rings and I was sincerely hoping at that point that none of these were among the exercises Tony has planned for us (they weren't, btw).We were sitting on the wall at the edge of the beach watching all this activity and chatting when up walks Tony! He puts out his right hand, puts his left on my shoulder, and says "Hi I'm Tony. Nice shirt" and I feel like a bit of a dork for wearing the P90X shirt until I realize that he's also wearing the P90X shirt and then it's OK (in a dorky sorta way). He tells us that our workout today is going to be push-pull – in other words, Chest and Back Goes To The Beach (OK, I made up that name, but I like it – I think I'm going to copyright it, 'scuze me while I go file my application with the Patent Office. OK, I'm back). We head over to a metal bar that has cross-posts at two different heights for pull-ups. When it was my turn, Tony said "you're looking pretty buff, how many pull-ups can you do on your own?" and I had to truthfully reply "none," because I've never been brave enough to try them without a chair. That little comment would come back to me on Sunday when I had my lightbulb moment, but more about that later. Anyway, I grabbed the bar, said a little prayer that I wouldn't make a complete a$$ out of myself, and managed to crank out three wide grip pull ups all by myself and three more with Tony only pushing my gently in the middle of my back! OMG, I cannot believe I did that – did I just do that? Then Tony had me bend my knees, held my ankles, and I managed another few with the assist. Was I completely pumped? Yes I was. Around this time, Daniel Haas and Scott Fifer showed up, along with a new Sunday workout buddy, Dave. They of course were able to crank out 20+ pullups without hardly breaking a sweat – something to aspire to – but it didn't mess with my good mojo. We headed over to a grassy patch where more contortionists were at work/play, and did as many standard width pushups as we could crank out. I was so pumped from my pullup victory that I set a new PR in pushups – 63! It is amazing how much harder you can work with Tony right there in your ear saying "c'mon work!" Then it was time for the rope. I was really, REALLY dreading the rope. The rope was my personal nemesis. I was getting unpleasant flashbacks to grade school when Alexi Lambros, who could scale all the way to the gym ceiling in about 5 seconds flat, would reduce me to tears because I couldn't even hang on the thing for that long. Tony showed off his cool monkey-boy tricks – sitting on the ground at the bottom and then hoisting himself up all the way to the top while still maintaining a perfect L-position – and we watched Scott Fifer climb the rope upside down (yes, you read that right, it was the coolest thing to see), and then Tony gave us some pointers on getting up the rope. I got maybe half way up the long rope (I didn't mention that there's more than one rope, and one is about 10 feet longer than the other – we were on the long one) and then my mind got in the way (darn mind!) and I just chickened out. Still, I hadn't just hung there like a side of beef on a hook, so I felt pretty good about that as well. More (endless) pushups and pullups ensued, and about halfway through the workout, Traci Morrow showed up. Soon after her arrival, three more campers arrived and joined in. We finished up around 7:00 or so with a round of Ab Ripper X led by Scott, and everyone decided to go back to their respective hotels to freshen up before dinner and meet at Tony's favorite local restaurant, A Votre Sante, around 8:30.After hosing off and changing, we headed back out and found the restaurant. It was a pretty mellow evening – everyone seemed fairly well spent – but the food was delicious and healthy and we got to know each other a bit better. We closed the place down, then stood out in the parking lot talking (Tony did some handstands right there on the asphalt – show off!) for another 20 or 25 minutes before heading back to the hotel.Friday, August 11, 2006:Friday we didn't have anything planned until 2:00 p.m., so I had scheduled a massage at the spa adjacent to the hotel. It was heavenly (Javier, you may not be able to pronounce my name, but you are aces in my book anyway!), and much needed after Thursday's workout. I got done in time to come back to my room, clean up, and get down to the lobby to meet everyone for lunch at the food court. I started to relax a bit more realizing that not all these folks had known each other since nine days before baseball. People had come from all over the country and even from Canada. Then it was time to carpool over to Gladstone's for the Beachbody corporate party. Gladstone's sits right on the beach along the Pacific Coast Highway and yes, it is as gorgeous as that sounds. When we showed up, the DJ was conducting a dance-off, the prize for which was an Ipod. It was kind of a kick to see Carl Daikler and Jon Congdon hanging out in their bermuda shorts. Debbie Siebers came over to say hi and chat, and she was very sweet. She is absolutely the tiniest person I've ever seen -- she has the hips of a 12 year old. We left Gladstone's to return to the hotel for the 5:00 p.m. workout with Tony – the first "official" workout of the weekend. We got our goodie bags and perused the "store" a bit, then it was time for the workout. The schedule called for P90 Fat Burner, i.e., the newest P90 workout that they filmed in Hawaii last year, but Tony wondered if we'd be willing to try something else. He said one of the most frequent questions he gets is about what to do when you're on vacation and want to get a workout in. So we were going to do the impromptu UCML (upper, cardio, middle, lower) workout, roughly a minute a segment, and Tony was going to look to someone in the room to give him a suggestion for each segment. After the warm-up, we started in and got a rockin' workout! My suggestion was for Groucho Walk, and he made me come up to the front to do it with him – how awesome was that?! I love this move and was being silly and teasing "I think I'm lower than you, Tony," so, of course, he had to completely kick my a$$ (to be fair, I totally deserved it – who the heck am I challenging Tony Freakin' Horton? I am so not worthy) – I can't even remember how long that went on, but I could barely stand back up by the time we finished. We did six or seven rounds (my memory is hazy on that point), with Tony choosing the exercises in the last two rounds. As you might expect, those were the most brutal of all. Loved it.After showering yet again (I think I lost a couple layers of skin with how much I showered this weekend, but I'm sure everyone else appreciated it), it was once again time for the food court (thank God for the food court). After dinner and more conversation, it was back to the hotel for the "Circle of Love" (or the Isosceles Triangle of Confusion, as I believe we were calling it by that point). I was nervous about this part, even though I knew it was coming. Tony had asked each of us to tell our story and to explain what we hoped to get out of the weekend (we were limited to 5 minutes apiece). I got a little panicky thinking "why exactly DID I come to this camp?" so I decided to blame mspina (my P90X check-in buddy at VF). I had planned to just tell a very abbreviated version of my story that focused almost exclusively on how I'd found P90X and the circumstances under which I started with it and the results I'd gotten, but instead when I opened my mouth, I heard myself say "Well, I was fat growing up." Ugh. What the hell is wrong with me anyhow? After the ugly start to my personal story, I finally got around to describing what brought me to P90X, the fact that it sat on my shelf for more than a year before I even cracked open the case, and how, after having three miscarriages in 2005, I started the program just because I felt like I needed a prescheduled routine to help me maintain some semblance of a workout program while I got my head back on straight (and my heart back up out of my shoes). Everyone had a very compelling story about their struggles and triumphs and it was fun to see the before pants that two of the guys had brought with them (when Shane showed us his before trousers, I swear, JD and I said at the exact same moment "Pleated pants? Don't you watch 'What Not To Wear?'"). We ended late, and were due for an early morning of rock climbing, so off to bed.Saturday, August 12, 2006:Saturday morning came much too quickly, and JD and I met at the hotel restaurant for an $8 plate of egg beaters and a $4 bowl of sliced banana (and a waitress with a lot of 'tude, and not in a good way). We carpooled out to Rockreation, a local rock climbing gym. The schedule had us down for 2 hours and I figured we'd spend at least half an hour on a safety class so that we'd only have to do one or at most two climbs apiece. Wrong, so wrong (whimper). Tony and four or five of the women who worked in the gym took over all belaying duties, so once we were all harnessed up (and don't you know that harness is the most attractive open-air adult diaper you'll ever have showcasing your butt high above the earth?), we just went for it. My first two climbs were fairly easy and I was thinking "eh, not really my thing." Then they ran a lead line over an arch in the center of the gym so that you had to climb basically like a bug on a wall upside down. That I had to try, and yes, it was as hard as it sounds. Actually, it was pretty much impossible for me, but awesome too. I only made it far enough to unhook the line from the first carabineer (or is the carabineer the thing on your harness? What was that thing on the wall called anyway? And is that really how you spell carabineer? Damn Spell Check – it only really helps if you already know how to spell the word!) and then couldn't figure out how to get any further. After that I attempted one more difficult climb, but my forearms were toasted (and my fingernails were shot, darn it! At least I hadn't bothered with a manicure before camp!). Back to the hotel, for yet another shower before the Tony's 11 Laws seminar. I have got to go back and read these again, because to be honest at the time I thought they all seemed pretty intuitive and not like any great revelation, at least to me, but now I'm thinking I might take more away from them in light of the things I learned about myself later in the weekend.There was a break from a little after 2 to 4 and almost everyone headed for the pool. It was my sister's birthday, and I'd given her a key so she could come use the pool if she wanted, so I went down and found her and introduced her around (Traci's husband and kids had come down as well), including to Tony, who sung "Happy Birthday" to her! I tried later to explain to her there were people in this world who would have done desperate things to have Tony sing to them on their birthdays (not me, I'm not talking about me!) but I don't think she really got it. I sat in the whirlpool even though it was a hot day and the water temp was just shy of boiling – I needed that jet to work out some of the kinks in my back from the rock climbing. Next was the nutrition seminar (I think – my timeline may be a bit out of whack). Tony spoke for a bit, but Traci took over the laboring oar on this one. I really appreciated what she had to say about getting your family to eat more healthfully and later in the weekend, I would come back to some of the things she said and think more deeply about them (still later, after I got back home, I would actually start trying to apply some of them). On to Yoga X. At first, I thought I was the only person in the room who was really looking forward to this workout, but then I realized that it was just the people who disliked yoga who were complaining the loudest (I'm teasing JD! Are you so not speaking to me right now?). I was so glad to have done this one live, because having Tony right there to make those minor little adjustments made a world of difference (my back leg was not entirely straight in the lunge poses – definitely weaker in the back body as compared to the front – and boy howdy, how much harder the poses are once you do them right). It's also nice to be able to practice yoga without the dulcet tones of Sponge Bob Square Pants blaring from the other room (although I did miss my kids' giggles – that's always a nice counterpoint to shavasana).After yet another shower (was this like my third of the day?) we came back down to the conference room for dinner. Tony had invited Daniel Haas, Scott Fifer, Veronica (from P90 Masters), Phil (from P90X), Dan Brown (P90 Masters – there are some pictures of his awesome gymnastics skills over at the camp thread), and, oh be still my heart, Bobby Stevenson (Stephenson? You know, I need to know how to spell that for the wedding invitations – and if my DH is reading this, I am so just kidding). I literally ran into Bobby coming through the door and he said "Oh my God, look at you, you MUST be doing the X?" and I swear I felt like I was 14 and the cute senior quarterback had just paid me a compliment (which never actually happened when I was 14, btw – my life is not a Molly Ringwald movie, for sure). It was probably a good thing that he wasn't seated at my table because I undoubtedly would have made a complete a$$ out of myself with all the drooling and fawning that would have ensued (on my part, obviously, not his – God, I am such a freakin' geek). Instead, I sat with Scott and Veronica and a woman named Louise who worked in finance at BB and had come to several of the workouts, and we got to hear about Scott's plans for building an orphanage in Tanzania. So inspiring. After dinner, the guys and Veronica took pictures with those who wanted them (why didn't I do this? Geez, I could kick myself – I would have been right up there if I'd bothered to have my lightbulb moment before the end of camp! As it was, I was just too shy to do it. Oh well – next year). Then Tony suggested that we got up to the lobby to hang out and play the bag game. This ended up being much more fun to do with random hotel guests wandering through and staring in amusement at a bunch of grown people in dressy-casual clothes hovering inches above the ground like giant birds of prey to devour . . . a paper sack. There was one woman who worked for the hotel there (she seemed like some sort of manager for the lobby bar, maybe) who was just fascinated by what we were doing, and I heard later that she was downstairs at three in the morning practicing her technique! Tony and Traci managed to get all the way down to the very last fold in the bag, but by that point it was after midnight, so we packed it in.Sunday, August 13, 2006:Sunday morning came much, much too early for my taste, but at least I slept through the entire night for the first time since arriving in California. I had breakfast delivered to my room – fruit, yogurt, wheat toast (geez, did I feel virtuous or what?) – it actually arrived on time too (to my surprise – I had just barely made it out of the shower, and yes, I showered before working out – I was not going to let anyone, much less Tony, Phil, Daniel, etc. see me with bedhead). I usually only eat a half of a bar before my morning workouts, but I figured that since we were scheduled for two workouts that would last from 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., I'd do better with something more substantial in my stomach. Luckily, I didn't end up regretting that decision, although with yogurt involved, things could have turned out badly. What that TMI? Think maybe it was.Anyway, we gathered in the lobby and carpooled over to Santa Monica beach (site of Thursday afternoon's workout). There is a square of grass there between the "Strand" and the beach that's maybe, oh, I don't know (I'm bad with spatial stuff) 20 by 20 feet or so that was to the be site of the workout – Plyo Legs. I was stoked because plyo is my "thang" – just love it. Lots of familiar stuff from P90M Plyo Legs and P90X Plyometrics, but so much more fun to do with the sound of the waves in the background and a nice cool California breeze blowing through your hair. To do the "Heisman Plus One," Tony advised us to pick two "targets" a challenging distance apart. I looked down and saw a seagull feather and . . . a band-aid. Ewww. No way was I getting my hand anywhere near that band-aid (doing abs on that patch of grass, by the way, was also an excellent motivator to keep your head and shoulders elevated throughout the exercise!). I just decided to imagine a second target, which worked out fine and carried no risk of contracting any sort of incurable illness. The workout ended all too soon for my taste – we finished with the Egan brothers, moving across that entire huge square of grass and, man, Traci went all the way down and back with her knees way up into her chest the whole time. Studette!We paused for some recovery drink before moving on to the beach workout. First was the rope. Tony had given us each a wrap the night before for our lower legs so we wouldn't get rope burn. Having done the rope on Thursday, I had more problems with the rope burning my inner thigh than my calf, but I wasn't sure they had a wrap big enough for that (and no way in hell was I asking for two!) so I just decided to suck it up. Even though I'd done OK with the rope on Thursday, I was still not looking forward to having to climb it, especially since there were so many more people watching now, so I hung back for quite a while and let some of the other folks have a turn (because that's just the kind of giver I am). Seemed like a lot of other folks on the trip had a "rope demon" like me, and it was great to have everyone there urging the others on and pulling for them to make it to the top. Then it was my turn. Tony had some P90X recovery formula in super-concentrated form in a small GU bottle, and you squirted a little in your hand and let it dry and get tacky to help with traction on the rope. Yes, it is as nasty as you're imagining, but I guess it beats bloody palms. Tony showed me how to wrap the rope around my lower leg (the one with the wrap on it) and then how to pinch the rope with my other foot. You actually use your legs more than your arms to climb, pulling the wrapped leg knee up as high as you can and then pushing up to stand on the rope. Maybe because my upper body was fresher than on Thursday (since this was the first UB of the day) or maybe because my mind was in a better place having seen other people go up or maybe the gods were just smiling on me, but I made it all the way up to the top of the rope! Take that, Alexi Lambros! That was a pretty heady, let me tell you.Next came the parallel bars (OK, to be honest, I've lost track of the order in which we did things, but I'm giving it my best shot – I would make a terrible eyewitness!). Tony did some tricep dips at the end of the bars, then "walked" stiff-armed the length of the bars, more tricep dips, then walked backwards to the starting point. I remember when I first started going to the gym in college (20 years ago next month – yes, I am old(er)), I would watch some of the guys do body-weight dips and think "no way in hell will I ever be able to do that." When my turn came, I admitted to Tony that I'd never been able to do a dip before. He looked me right in the eye and told me he knew I could do it, and right then, I knew he was right. He showed me exactly how to position myself and what it should look like, and I got up there and did three. It sounds like so little, but it was so, so much (geez, I'm getting teary just typing this, but it was so huge for me). Then I started "walking" on my straight arms down the length of the bars. It was ugly and I fell off when my legs got to swinging too much, but by that point, I was so stoked that I just hopped right back up there and made it down to the end. When I got there, Tony said "You ready to go back?" and I immediately said "Heck yeah!" and started backing up. Didn't make it very far in that direction – I couldn't control the swing of my body enough to go all the way back to the start. It didn't matter in the least. I was absolutely pumped. I had tried something new and it had been hard and I hadn't totally sucked at it. Next was pullups. We each tried our hands (backs and shoulders and arms is more accurate) at it – I did three on my own, and maybe 4 or 5 more with Tony just pushing the middle of my back (how in the world will I ever be able to do another pullup without Tony's hand on my mid-back?). Then Tony showed off his fancy pullups – they are hard to describe and even harder to comprehend doing. He started by pulling himself from a full, vertical hanging position into a horizontal position under the bar (so the bar was just above his chest and this legs were out straight in front of him as if he were lying down). Then he swung himself up to vertical again, this time with his chin over the bar, the way you'd be at the top of a regular pullup. Then he reversed the move, going back to horizontal and then all the way back down to a full vertical hanging position. I am so not worthy, but it was an amazing sight to behold. He then had several of the guys come up and try just swinging over the bar, i.e., doing a pullup, then hoisting themselves over until the bar was at the break of the hips, and then doing a flip over the top. While we were watching this, I noticed that Phil, Daniel, Dom, and Dave were over at the parallel bars doing handstand pushups. One of them was standing on one end of the bars, another was behind holding that person's calves to stabilize him, and a third was off to one side to spot the dismount. Then the person whose turn it was would kick up into a handstand on the parallel bars and do as many inverted pushups as he could. I don't know what came over me, but when I saw them doing that, I knew I just had to try it. So when Tony asked who was next for the pullup-flip thingie I asked "Can we try that?" and of course, he said "Sure!" and over we went to give it a shot.I watched a few other people do it first, and was starting to worry that maybe I'd gotten everyone, but especially me, in over our heads because it looked scary and hard (and my girl JD got a big old nasty bruise coming down out of her handstand – I'm still smarting from that one, and I just watched it). On the other hand, I've got Tony to help me get upright and Phil to hold my ankles steady (and Daniel to catch me if I fall – almost would make it worth falling! And again, Greg, honey, if you are reading this I am only kidding and I love you! Geez, give me a break already – just because I'm full from dinner doesn't mean I can't look at the dessert menu, right?) so I think "screw it. I've already done three other things today that I would never in a million years have dreamed I could do, so why not just try?" I get up on the bars (hands chalked up like a gymnast – how cool is that?) in a most unbecoming crouch (think Gollum in Lord of the Rings and you'll be close) and without even thinking, just kicked up. Tony helped push my legs up to vertical (had I shaved that morning? – geez, I sure hope so – glad I didn't think of that at the time) and all of a sudden . . . there I was, doing a freakin' handstand! And holding it! I heard Phil say "that is all you!" in a tone that suggested maybe he hadn't really expected me to be able to do it (but then frankly, neither had I). Then he asked me whether I wanted to do a pushup. Well, dummy me, I let me mind get in the way again and said "NO!" almost in a panic, and soon after that I was on the ground. But . . . Oh. My. God. I'm sure everyone was thankful that I had the presence of mind not to pull a Brandy Chastain and whip off my shirt right there in the sand, but that was how I felt. And so there it was – my "lightbulb moment." When I finished P90X the first time this past spring, I knew I was stronger and fitter than I had ever been in my life. But fit and strong for what? Yes, it is nice to be strong and look good, and to fit into a smaller size of clothing, and to have people I didn't even know come up to me and say "wow, you must work out." But what exactly was I doing with my fitness? I had not managed to take even one tiny step outside my little box. Some of it is a control thing (after all, they don't give you your diploma from law school unless you've been certified anal retentive by a qualified psychologist), but most of it is just plain, stupid fear. Fear of not being good at something I haven't tried before, fear of looking stupid, fear of having to deal with unknown situations and circumstances (not an issue when you're doing a video that you've done a hundred times before). If you want examples, I could give you dozens. Like this: I got my DH a bike for our anniversary in June and he has been riding all summer long and hinting pretty strongly that I should join him, but the truth is, I was afraid to try. The woman who is the director of my son's preschool asked me a few weeks ago whether I was interested in signing up for a sprint triathalon with her, and I just kind of said "yeah, maybe, we'll see," because I was afraid to try. I have lived in Colorado for two years now and haven't even been skiing (and with the winter we had this year, that is a tragedy). I would tell myself that it was because DS was too little for lessons and I didn't want to leave him in daycare and the crowds and blah, blah, blah, but if I were being truly honest, I hadn't gone because I was afraid to try. Well, truthfully, down to the very, very bottom of my soul, I am not afraid now. I hope that doesn't sound overly corny, because it doesn't feel that way. It feels like a revelation. It is a revelation. It is not about looking good – looking good is the side effect. It is about participating fully in your own life. It is about challenging yourself to be better and stronger and more and loving the process because there isn't really an end point on your journey. One end point is just the beginning point for something else.The rest is going to sound anticlimatic after that, but it wasn't. We went back to the hotel for autographs and goodbyes. I had scheduled a massage for 2:00 p.m. that afternoon, but even though I was past the deadline to cancel and would be charged for it anyway, I knew I couldn't let go of the buzz I had going on and went with a somewhat smaller group to lunch at, guess where? – the food court, 'natch. I got three plates of food (all of it healthy, but still) and devoured everything – I guess having a life-altering experience burns a lot of calories (kind of like giving birth – they say that burns like 6000 calories or something, right? Right??!). We came back to the hotel, said our goodbyes to Tony and Traci and headed out to the airport for our flights home.Post-script:Two short(er) postscripts to this story. (1) On the way back home in the plane, I started talking to the guy next to me, which I almost never do – way, way too shy most of the time (plus I had a virgin US Weekly burning a hole in my carry-on). But the confidence of the weekend was still with me, so I struck up a conversation and had the most intriguing, delightful conversation that I've shared with anyone in a long time – it was like a college bull session of old and just left me with so much food for thought. (2) Tuesday (two days after I got home) was my DS's 4th birthday, and we took him to Winter Park to ride the alpine slide. They also have a bunch of other summer activities there – mini golf, a human maze, and . . . a rock wall. Guess who got right out there to climb with her kids? When I came back down, there was a line of moms just standing there watching their kids and one of them said to me "I'm glad you just did that so I didn't have to" and I thought "Me too!" Right next to the rock climbing wall was the bungee jump (the one where they hook you up to a harness and you bounce on a trampoline attached to the bungee cords) (Michelle, I think I got this part of the story confused when I told it to you the other day – sorry, but my mind was racing!). I've never liked trampolines much – they make me feel, for lack of a better word, oogie – but there was one little girl there doing flips all over the place and I thought "why not?" And I did it. I got up there and did back flips. Slow, ugly back flips, but hey, I did them. And it was fun, and darn hard work . . . I was breathing like a pack mule by the end (adult diapers, Gollum, pack mule – I make myself sound like a troll!). After I finished, an older woman came up behind me and as I was putting on my shoes and she was getting hooked up, I heard a bunch of people on the other side of the enclosure start chanting "Grandma! Grandma!" and I started laughing because I just knew – that was going to be me in 20 years. Oh, and I picked up all the information on skiing while I was there. Do you think I'll be there taking a lesson as soon as the snow flies? Damn right.
7 comments:
- psalm9567 said...
As they say in Australia, Hazel:
Way to go, girlie!! I found myself getting prouder and prouder of you the more I read!! And I don't even know you!!
But, hey, like you said: who cares?? Life is too short!
Congrats on an awesome, lifechanging weekend!
- mspina said...
HOLY SMOKES! Featured in Tony's Blog? You are a rock star, my friend!!!!!
I'm SO very glad that you pulled that trigger and went to camp.
- HazelP said...
OMG . . . Tony, I am so honored that you thought enough of my report to reprint it here. Thank you so much -- I am truly humbled ('bout damn time, right?). :)
Camp is the gift that keeps on giving, that's for sure. Ever since getting back, I continue to have lightbulb moments nearly every day . . . it's amazing what comes into your life when you are open to receive it.
The weather here is starting to get cooler . . . I can feel ski season just around the corner . . .
- Mary Mc said...
Hazel--Thanks for letting us live LA camp thru you. You're amazing, girl! I thought I'd gained more confidence from my BB experience, but it doesn't begin to compare to what you've done. WTG!!! This just goes to show you what you can accomplish if you're determined and set your mind to it. Power on!
Mary Mc
- traci morrow said...
She not only is STRONG and a good writer, but she helps me find ways to spend money!! :o) (cool workout clothes!!)
Nice choice, T!
- GreatDane said...
It is so great reliving it all again though your post... and you are so right, it's a gift that keeps on giving... I have had several eye opening moments since I got home from camp... can't wait to do it again next year...
Again a big thank you to Tony and Traci, for everything you did for us that weekend... LA CAMP WAS THE GREATEST!
Doris ;)
- Blogger said...
Anyone else wants a FREE BURGER KING GIFTCARD?


text:
5,000 killed and counting: UN showdown over killing in Syria
Date created : Latest update :
The United Nations Security Council remains squarely divided over Syria despite grim UN figures that point to a 20% spike in killings in just the past ten days. François Picard's panel looks at what might make Russia budge.
- Sadek SALEM, Syrian activist;
- Vincent FLOREANI, French Foreign Ministry spokesman;
- Marietje SCHAAKE, MEP, Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe;
- Katherine VAN DE VATE, US State Department spokesperson.


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Full version, Basic version, Tiny version
Specification link: 5.1 Defining an SVG document fragment: the 'svg' element
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text:
*To catch up on previous clues, click HERE.*
In support of the release of the third Bloodlines book entitled The Indigo Spell, Penguin has organized a "Who Is Marcus Finch?" blog tour. As a blog tour host, over the next fifteen days, I will be revealing clues about this mysterious man and his role in the new book.
To find out more about The Indigo Spell and the prior books, check out any of the sites listed below:


text:
NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. - After her record setting performance this past Saturday at the NEICAAA Championship meet at Boston University, sophomore sprinter Hulerie McGuffie (Lynn, Mass.) has nabbed another Little East Conference Track Athlete of the Week honor, bringing her season total to six, once again setting a new standard for the program.
On Saturday, the All-American sprinter recorded a new program best in the 200 meter dash with her time of 23.18 seconds. She would also finish in seventh place in the 400 meter dash with a time of 56.11 seconds. In the 400 she was the lone Division III sprinter with the other eight competitors representing Division I programs.
To date the Lynn native sits fourth in the country in the 400, while in the 200 she is currently ranked 12th with only one meet left in the indoor season before the National Championship in Nebraska.


text:
Mo. Police: Officer Who Shot Michael Brown Did Not Know Teen Was a Robbery Suspect
The officer who shot the Missouri teen Michael Brown was identified Friday as Darren Wilson.
In a press conference Friday morning, Ferguson, Mo., Police Chief Thomas Jackson said Wilson has been on the force for six years.
According to Jackson, there was a convenience store robbery that occured in the area shortly before Brown was shot.
Wilson, however, did not know about the robbery or that Brown was considered a suspect.
According to the police report, Brown and a friend entered the convenience store and placed several boxes of cigars on the counter. Brown tried to leave the convenience store with multiple boxes of Swisher Sweet cigars before being confronted by the clerk. Brown reportedly grabbed and pushed the clerk away from the door before walking out of the store with the cigars.
Page from police report pic.twitter.com/xcz6nUKqY2— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) August 15, 2014
More from report pic.twitter.com/7OyD2fgrI2— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) August 15, 2014
Police released surveillance photos of the robbery suspect.
Stills from camera pic.twitter.com/FEcmKc3oGr— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) August 15, 2014
Wilson was treated for injuries after the shooting.
Wilson has had no history of disciplinary action taken against him. Officials have moved Wilson and his family out of the town as a safety precaution.


text: If you are what you eat, then Austria is its Sachertorte. Like the famous Viennese chocolate cake, Austria consists of two dense, sweet layers that when combined leave a satisfying, lingering taste for the most diverse of travelers. For the athletically gifted, Austria is a godsend – the Alps make for prime alpine skiing and most of the country is mountainous (the hills are alive!). For the vertically challenged, great bikes, hikes, and baths abound in the gorgeous lake district of Salzkammergut. The brisk air will bring out the ruddiness in your wan, travel-hungry cheeks in no time. The culturally inclined need not worry, either– if you recall, Austria was not only the seat of the Holy Roman Emperor but of the musical greats, such as Mozart, Hayden, Schubert, and Straus! Do as the holy Romans did and visit a spatown (Bad Ischl – chic then, historic now), catch one of the many concerts ,and check out the stunning palaces, cathedrals, and castles that adorn the streets of Vienna and Salzburg. But before you go, make sure to turn off the beautifully paved streets and into the cobblestone alleys. Find yourself a tiny coffeeshop and take an hour (or three) in proper tradition for a Viennese café, full with wiener schnitzel and dessert. And with your first bite into that double decker torte, know that in Austria, you can have it all.


text:
New BYOB DiMeo's in Andorra; romance for the palate
by LEN LEAR
Thanks to its pleasant climate and beautiful location on the Bay of Naples, the city of Naples in southern Italy has been a renowned pleasure resort for more than 2,000 years. In the first century B.C., the greatest Roman poet, Virgil, wrote paeans to the luxurious villas that dotted the coast of Naples. Greek refugees founded the city, but Romans added public baths and aqueducts to improve the quality of life in Naples, which also became celebrated for its many feasts and spectacles and great food.
And thanks to Pino and Lucia DiMeo, treasured Neapolitan imports to the Philadelphia area in the 1980s, we can all savor the finest gastronomic delights from Naples just a few minutes from Chestnut Hill, and we don't even have to pay for parking. In April of this year, the DiMeo family, with their chiseled movie star looks and Old World charm, opened Pizzeria DiMeo's in the Andorra Shopping Center location where Argento's had previously been for many years. (This family should have their own TV reality show. They are a lot better looking than the Kardashians — and they have actual talent!)
I deliberately did not put the word "Pizzeria" in the headline for this article because it would be deceiving. DiMeo's could be called a "New Age Pizzeria" or a hybrid between a Stephen Starr or Marc Vetri pizza palace (Osteria and Stella, for example) and a fine dining Italian BYOB.
Owner Pino DiMeo, now 44, came to Philly in the 1980s and 24 years ago opened Allegro Pizzeria next to the WCAU-TV building on City Line Avenue. He later opened a second operation in Maple Glen, a third in Conshohocken five years ago and a fourth in Wilmington one-and-a-half years ago. But in spite of their success with traditional New York-style pizzerias that depend mostly on takeout business and even on selling pizzas by the slice, Pino's son, Antimo, 19, a full-time student at Drexel University who also works in the family business, was pushing for more authenticity.
"Ever since Antimo was 10 years old, he has said, 'Pop, I want to make the real stuff — true to our roots, Napoletana,'" Pino said. "We tried for two years to get it just right. We used six different tomatoes and different cheeses. We finally added creamy buffalo mozzarella, which comes from the milk of water buffalo, and extra virgin olive oil from Tuscany, and we knew we finally had it right."
Also, unlike most takeout pizzerias where you call ahead and it takes 15 minutes or more to bake the pizza in a traditional gas oven, DiMeo's brick oven is set to at least 900 degrees. No one has to order ahead by phone because it only takes 90 seconds at this temperature to finish the baking. "The 900 degrees blisters the crust and chars it across to give it that chewy touch," said Antimo.
The dough is also made two days in advance of "double zero" flour, yeast and water to get a natural rise. The DiMeos import buffalo mozzarella weekly as well as San Marzano tomatoes and expensive Neapolitan Pasta di Gragnano from Giuseppe Afeltra, which they contend is the best dried pasta in the world. Even the water used to make the dough is imported from Naples. "We made batches of dough with Wilmington tap water and with bottled water from Naples," said Antimo. "It was no contest. It was much better with the bottled water from Naples."
So far most of the comments by customers on restaurant websites like yelp.com and urbanspoon.com have been five-star raves, which one almost never sees for traditional pizzerias. For example, Mary G. wrote on June 4 on urbanspoon.com: "Have eaten at DiMeo's three times. It has gotten better with each visit. Have tried the pasta bolognese (good), chopped salad (very good), pizza with artichokes, mushrooms, prosciutto (excellent). Desserts are different and delicious, but beware, they are huge. Better share them!"
A typical comment on yelp.com is this one from Frank S. on May 14: "I have lived in East Falls/Roxborough for most of my life … I am so thrilled to have found pizza of this caliber (at DiMeo's) 10 minutes from home, with actual free parking! If you are living in Andorra, Roxborough, Manayunk, East Falls or even Chestnut Hill/Lafayette Hill, which are 15 minutes away, and want 'city' pizza without going into the city, I am psyched to tell you it now exists. P.S.: Please eat here because I am so over Papa John's and the other thick, greasy Greek-style nasty pizzas I have been stuck with all these years!"
Although the Margherita pizza ($12) is DiMeo's signature dish, their entire menu does not have a joker in the deck. Some of the other dishes that blew us away were the antipasto with imported Italian cheeses and cured meats ($12); the Fica pizza with fig spread (honest; that is not a figment of my imagination), prosciutto, arugula and truffle oil ($13); Zucca, a bowl of al dente penne pasta with sausage, butternut squash and Italian cheeses ($15); and La Nutella, an outrageously sensual dessert with hazelnutty Nutella spread on pizza dough, cut into chunks, baked in the wood-fired oven and topped with powdered sugar.
For lunch the most popular dish is the $6 pizza for one. "At any conventional pizza place, $6 would only buy you a couple of slices, and here you get a whole pie," said Scott Stein, a spokesman for DiMeo's and a Lafayette Hill resident.
In addition to Pino, his beautiful wife Lucia and Antimo, the DiMeos' daughter with the million-dollar smile, Maria, 18, also works at the Andorra location. During our dinner there last Friday night, Our server, Lynn, who is also a full-time social worker at Hahnemann Hospital (who works nights at DiMeo's), was a delightful and enthusiastic booster of all things DiMeo.
"When the heart and head are together," said Pino, "you can do anything. If it's only for the money, you're going to go down. Our heart and soul and passion are in this food. That's why we love being here, even with all the hours we put in." (I don't know how they find the time, but it is obvious that Pino and Antimo manage to find many hours to workout with very heavy weights at L.A. Fitness.)
DiMeo's has 52 seats inside and eight seats outside, but they have had as many as 400 customers in one night. On one wall are several huge, beautiful vintage family photos from Italy, and on the opposite wall is an artistic image of a volcano. (Naples is situated right next to Mt. Vesuvius, the site of a famous volcano.)
On Father's Day this Sunday, June 17, the restaurant will be giving away Nutella desserts in honor of Lucia's father, Alfonso, who died three years ago of leukemia at the age of 72. They will also be making a donation to the Leukemia Society of America.
DiMeo's is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner. For more information, call 215-621-6134 or visit www.pizzeriadimeos.com


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Bonehedz back in action for Town Party concert on Greenwich Ave
When Jackie Waring became engaged in 1989, she dragged her father to a concert in Port Chester, N.Y., to convince him to hire her favorite band for the wedding.
"He wouldn't believe me that the Bonehedz would be really good," she said. "But when he actually saw them, he was like, `Oh yeah, they were really good!' "
Some 150 people got up to dance at her rollicking wedding reception.
Twenty-four years later, when Waring learned that the Bonehedz will reunite at the Greenwich Town Party's auxiliary stage Saturday, she had another family member to confront: her 14-year-old son.
"I was like, `Do you have a baseball game that day?' " she said. "If so, I'm going to have to miss it."
Saturday evening, Waring will see the Bonehedz for what she guesses will be her 51st time. The band members -- Greenwich natives now scattered across the Northeast and beyond -- will return to their roots to headline the inaugural "GTP Rocks the Avenue" in the Board of Education parking lot. From noon to 6 p.m., the free event open to the public will feature six bands, an array of food and activities for children like face painting, magicians and photo booths.
Famous acts like James Taylor and Blues Traveler may grab headlines down at Roger Sherman Baldwin Park, where Greenwich staples like Local Talent and Billy and the Showmen will play a second stage. But for residents without tickets to the big show and for Bonehedz die-hards -- or "Bonehedz Heads" -- the excitement will peak just after 5 p.m. on Greenwich Avenue.
"It's not just a reunion," said 54-year-old keyboardist George Caravella, who lives in Bethel and works in the corporate relocation industry. "To see the Bonehedz on one venue and Billy and the Showmen on another is really part of the lineage of rock and roll in Greenwich."
From the mid 1980s to mid '90s, Caravella and his Bonehedz bandmates rocked venues across lower Fairfield County and Westchester County such as at Shenanigans in South Norwalk (today the Black Bear), Jimmy's Seaside Tavern and the Terrace Club in Stamford.
Shows featured danceable 1960s and '70s hits with lots of Motown and Beatles.
"We went almost to every place they played," said Libby Cooke, 53, who grew up best friends with Caravella's younger sister, Quinn, and began watching Bonehedz members perform in earlier band iterations back in grade school.
Becoming Bonehedz
The Bonehedz grew out of of youth bands that hailed from all corners of Greenwich. First, Mick Garaffa and Joe Cuzino, today 58 and 60, played in a high school band called Two Bit Friends. Caravella attended one of their shows alongside his then-seventh-grade classmates Mike Keegan and Eddie Skalandunas.
"That's where we were like, `Gee, we want to do what they do,' " Caravella said.
They did. Some 15 years later, the five of them merged with a couple of others to create the new group. They settled on several principles: They wouldn't try to be famous and they wouldn't try to nail a record deal. In fact, it was something of a diversion: They all had full-time jobs, several were married and a few even had kids.
For a while, they couldn't agree on a name. But when someone forgot to bring a guitar to a rehearsal, Mick Garaffa snapped.
"I was like, `You guys are just a bunch of boneheads!' " he recalled. "Then George looked at me and said: `That's it!' "
We're Boneheads!'
Shortly thereafter, a promoter from Jimmy's Seaside misspelled the band's name in a newspaper blurb for an upcoming show. The band members considered the look of "Bonehedz" an improvement, so they adopted it.
It was around Halloween, then. At a local Hallmark store, Garaffa chanced upon hats that had giant bones sticking out of both sides of the head. He bought a bunch of them and quickly penned a theme song for the band, replacing the lyrics of the '60s hit "G-L-O-R-I-A" by the band Them with "B-O-N-E-H-E-D-Z."
"We showed up at the next gig at Jimmy's Seaside with the name, with the bones on our heads and with the new theme," Garaffa recalled. "That's where the tradition was born."
Back on stage
Save for a rushed appearance by several band members at the 30-year reunion of the Greenwich High Class of 1977, Saturday will mark the first Bonehedz show since their brief revival in 2003. It will culminate about four months of preparations.
Rehearsals started in mid-winter, when five of the seven band members -- one is living outside the country and won't be playing -- met at their friend Jeffrey Hahn's house in Armonk, N.Y. Hahn had recently renovated his garage into a studio. Garaffa brought a list of 35 songs and they dove right in. "We kind of smiled, looking around the room," he said. "It all felt good again."
For their second practice, they planned to use the Internet to call up lead singer Mike Keegan, who lives and works in Jackson Hole, Wyo. (His move West was one factor that led to the group dissolving in the mid-'90s.) But Keegan had secretly flown into town and was hiding in a loft above Hahn's garage, waiting for the Bonehedz to begin rehearsing.
"I popped out like a whack-a-mole," he said.
"He just came flying down the stairs and got on the mike," Garaffa said. "It was so perfectly silly that it made perfect sense. We just went full tilt at it as if there had been no time off."
The group's fourth rehearsal took place this past weekend. Keegan flew back east to Boston last Friday for his son's graduation at Boston College. He's planning to come down to Greenwich Thursday for a final rehearsal before Saturday's show.
Garaffa's only wish: that the band could perform for longer than 45 minutes Saturday. He thinks back to when the band was playing regularly, in the early 90s, and Joe Cuzino was approaching his 40th birthday.
"We called him 'Joe Pushin' 40,' " he said with a chuckle. "Well, Joe, you went from pushing 40 to 'Joe pushed 60!' It's going to be fun to see this bunch of old guys doing what we used to do"
firstname.lastname@example.com; twitter.com/timloh; 203-625-4428


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New evidence from University of Texas at Austin researchers posit that the great Mississippi's natural ability to chemically filter out nitrates is being overwhelmed. UT's hydrologists demonstrate the enormity of the filtering process for almost every drop of water that enters into the 311,000-mile long course ending in the Gulf of Mexico.The study found that 99.6% of the water is filtered through bank sediments in the watershed's creeks, streams and rivers. While the intensity of chemical filtration seems like a good thing, the reality is that the river's natural filtration systems for nitrates, which rob the water of oxygen, resulting in algal blooms creating dead zones, appear to be operating at or very close to full capacity. Researchers believe that it is unlikely that the river's natural system can accommodate the high levels of nitrates that have made their way from the contributing farmlands and communities into the watershed.
As a result of its filtration systems being overwhelmed, the river system operates less as a buffer and more as a conveyor belt, transporting nitrates to the Gulf of Mexico. The amount of nitrates flowing into the gulf from the Mississippi has already created the world's second biggest dead zone, an oxygen-depleted area where fish and other aquatic life can't survive.
The research, conducted by hydrologist Bayani Cardenas and Brian Kiel, a Ph.D. candidate in geology, provides valuable information to those who manage water quality efforts, including the tracking of nitrogen fertilizers used to grow crops in the Midwest, in the Mississippi River watershed.
Aaron Packman, Civil and Environmental Engineering professor at Northwestern University says, "There's been a lot of work to understand surface-groundwater exchange; this is the first work putting together a physics-based estimate on the scale of one of these big rivers, looking at the net effect of nitrate removal in big river systems."
The Mississippi River network includes the Ohio River watershed to the east, the Missouri River watershed to the west and the Mississippi watershed in the middle.
Cardenas and Kiel analyzed the waterways for sinuosity (how much they bend and curve); waterway texture materials; the time spent in the sediment (known as the hyporheic zone); and water flow rates through the sediment with the help of ground level data from the USGS and the EPA.
Operating as a chemical filter, microbes in the sand, gravel and mud gobble up compounds such as oxygen and nitrates from the water before the water discharging it back. The more time water spends in the sediment, the more some of these compounds are transformed.
Read more at the University of Texas at Austin.
The Little Missouri River, contributing river to the Mississippi River, image via Shutterstock.


text:
I've been flying my trainer as much as possible. I think I've been running out every time the branches are swaying in a tree behind my house. I'm getting really comfortable flying it, but am wondering if I'm not using the time effeciently and developing bad habits.
I've only flown it maybe 10 times where it was windy enough to park it at the zenith or on the side of the wind window. Usually, I think I'm going out with out enough wind, waiting for a stronger breeze to get it to launch, and then keep it moving and looping it to keep it in the air.
In light wind (can't judge wind speed), should I be able to keep the kite moving on one side of the window? I generally fly it across, and I'm not sure if I'm doing this because I need to, or because it's fun to have the kite yank me around. I think I should stop this as it might be a bad habit, because doing it with a real kite would knock me on my ass, or more likely drag me on my stomach into a rock...
If there is enough wind to launch a kite, it may not be enough to keep it overhead or hovering on the side of the window? This is a matter of physics and not skill, or a combination of both?


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Duplex,' by Kathryn Davis
Time is bending, and robots are moving in next door, in a new novel of kindergarten by a specialist in the banal fantastical. Graywolf Press, Sept. 3.
The Private War of J.D. Salinger,' by David Shields
Shields is so showy and self-deconstructing an essayist it can be unbearable to read him. Salinger was not that. Which might make it an inspired pairing (though it accompanies a breathless Salinger documentary we're less hopeful about). Simon & Schuster, Sept. 3.
The Childhood of Jesus,' by J. M. Coetzee
Our driest Nobelist with his first new novel since 2007 (and be warned: not actually about Jesus!). Viking, Sept. 3.
A House in the Sky: A Memoir,' by Amanda Lindhout and Sara Corbett
Lindhout's harrowing story: kidnapped in Somalia in 2008 and brutally held hostage for 460 days. Scribner, Sept. 10.
Miss Anne in Harlem: The White Women of the Black Renaissance,' by Carla Kaplan
A cultural history through the side door of Harlem in the twenties. HarperCollins, Sept. 10.
Still Foolin' 'Em: Where I've Been, Where I'm Going, and Where the Hell Are My Keys?,' by Billy Crystal
One long, Crystalline riff. Henry Holt, Sept. 10.
Enon,' by Paul Harding
The second novel from the author of tiny surprise Pulitzer winner Tinkers. Random House, Sept. 10.
Nine Inches: Stories,' by Tom Perrotta
Perrotta's stuff is dark, but it goes down so easy, especially when bite-size. St. Martin's Press, Sept. 10.
Subtle Bodies,' by Norman Rush
This novel, just the third from old-fashioned Big Book writer Rush, is short and focused enough to read in one sittinga super-up-close study of male friendship (and envy). Knopf, Sept. 10.
Stay Up With Me: Stories,' by Tom Barbash
An intimate, acute collectionlike they used to make 'em. Ecco, Sept. 10.
Smarter Than You Think: How Technology Is Changing Our Minds for the Better,' by Clive Thompson
It's straw men everywhere in this debate. Mercifully, Thompson always works from data, not straw. Penguin Press, Sept. 12.
Traveling Sprinkler,' by Nicholson Baker
Baker is the sweetest and also possibly the most lewd figure in American fiction. And now: a literary novelist who's actually written a sequel (to 2009's The Anthologist). Blue Rider Press, Sept. 17.
Doctor Sleep,' by Stephen King
Maybe the book world's most reliable pleasure-giver, giving us the sequel to The Shining we didn't even know we wanted. Scribner, Sept. 24.
Levels of Life,' by Julian Barnes
A memoir that is also a biography; a love story that is also a book of mourning for Barnes's late wife, Pat Kavanagh, who died in 2008. Knopf, Sept. 24.
Slimed! An Oral History of Nickelodeon's Golden Age,' by Mathew Klickstein
Double Dare gets its moment in the nostalgia spotlight. Plume, Sept. 24.
David and Goliath,' by Malcolm Gladwell
The business-class nonfiction book of the fall. Little, Brown, Oct. 1.
The Signature of All Things,' by Elizabeth Gilbert
The first novel in twelve years from the author of Eat, Pray, Love (who started out as an extremely gifted writer of fiction before she became a guru superstar). Viking, Oct. 1.
Ian Fleming,' by Andrew Lycett
The life of the man who gave us 007. St. Martin's, Oct. 1.
Dirty Love,' by Andre Dubus III
Linked novellas on love in the time of sexting, from the author of House of Sand and Fog. W.W. Norton, Oct. 7.
The Circle,' by Dave Eggers
A Silicon Valley thrilleryes, that's rightfrom the McSweeney's boss and onetime boy-king of earnest fiction. Knopf, Oct. 8.
Longbourn,' by Jo Baker
The servants take center stage in this retelling of Pride and Prejudicea sort of Wide Sargasso Sea meets Upstairs, Downstairs. Knopf, Oct. 8.
Dallas 1963,' by Bill Minutaglio and Steven L. Davis
Fifty years later, the assassination is still the signal mid-century event to a nation of conspiracy theorists and Greatest Generation nostalgists. Twelve, Oct. 8.
The Double,' by George Pelecanos
The master crime novelist takes on art theft. Little, Brown, Oct. 8.
How to Read a Novelist,' by John Freeman
The departing editor of Granta (and scourge of e-mail) writes about that complicated space between criticism and literary biography where all readers really live. FSG, Oct. 8.
Actors Anonymous,' by James Franco
Forgive us, but we can't look away. Amazon, Oct. 15.
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy,' by Helen Fielding
Time to check in with Bridge. Knopf, Oct. 15.
Johnny Carson,' by Henry Bushkin
Twenty years since retiring and eight since his death, Carson remains the god of late night and the dean of American comedy. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Oct. 15.
Norman Mailer: A Double Life,' by J. Michael Lennon
A man of myth even while alive, Mailer gets his first thorough biography just six years after he died (and 44 since he ran for mayor). Simon & Schuster, Oct. 15.


text:
Opinion: Labor's Fight Club
Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Lorenzo Fertitta on how and why Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver is stopping Ultimate Fighting Championship from coming to New York. Photos: Getty Images
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... I ... while back to Opinion Journal why Mary Kissel ... the alternate fighting Championship is legal in forty eight states ... but not in the great state of New York thanks to one and ... Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver ... Lorenzo for Tita chairman and CEO of ultimate fighting Championship ... is here to explain ... what's going on ... so what is going on what's the home ... well you know we've been ... talking to members of the nursing legislature now for about five years ... we had some success we passed the Senate for years in a row ... actually this year by a very wide margin of forty seven to fourteen with Democratic support with Democratic bike uses a bipartisan support and without without question ... aam when it comes to the assembly we passed out in the upper represent ... Committee a number of times ... however ... we've not been able to get a vote on the assembly for now walking down the holes in it feels like and were very public and we have a broad support ... certainly enough votes to move the bill but not support from a key union which one ... well the issues of the colon or Union local two to six from Las Vegas is our main opposition on this bill I know that sounds ... insane ... it's insane ... but the reason for that is the casino business in me and my brother owned station casinos ... is one of the only non organize casinos in Las Vegas by choice of our key number certainly not us ... aam but in their effort to try to organize our team members ... they have gone on a Friday following us wherever we go when New York right now is another battleground or last and ... trying to prevent us from getting the sport of mixed martial arts legalized in the stake sale to hit the street that bipartisan support the bills passed the Senate in the Assembly several times ... Mr. silver one allow a vote because of a single union what's the economic impact on the state of New York because he's denying this ... well ... we know ... because we've done studies for the events we've done in cities all over the world we estimate conservatively that it's in excess of one of nine dollars a year ... aam were not the only company were the largest company but if this bill passed it would create events all over the state of Orissa maybe fifty plus advance for your receipt all over the state why would it people in upstate New York wanna go see one of these offenses are really true that ... as a buffalo wings ... is straining to see ultimate fighting championship with a puff was a great market we've done our research there the reality is that ... Toronto which is the driving distance away is one the largest markets for our product ... in the war ... aam and we think it were that age or CPA or an half and use our Canadian champion for Montreal and have been headline in Buffalo ... you wouldn't be Obel them it would be sold out hotel rooms ... the rest once would be full ... all from comedians for the most part driving and ... to watch their hero who was named the number one sportsman of Year in Canada well goodness this upstate New York the Phillies the business now ... Cuomo has expressed support but has actually done anything ... I'd to ensure that this gets the vote or is it all off ... well ... so far aam I'm not sure that anything is really been done he has been supportive saying that he believes this can create jobs ... he does like the economic benefits that we do bring ... out we have not been put in the budget ... on for Chile aam and our hope is that if we do get a ball vote in the Assembly ... and that of passes that the government would sign the bill which would become so want to talk to the governor's office but no real health care ... yet with that of the thirty seconds left you get the amateur ... mixed martial arts my team ... is allowed in New York said honey you square that circle I'm not sure that's from Academy square ... aam but that is correct amateurs legal so the state of New York is not allowing professional related and eSmart mixed martial arts where ... the fighters go through pre fight medical testing ... to go through post by medical testing and actually get paid what they allow is for kind of a free for all where promoters have the up to take advantage of fighters ... the fighters are going to test and ... the doctors and the emphasis on at the events ... and to um they're not paying taxes so ... the circle campus Quirk said tens of millions of dollars in potential business and some of the most ... depressed areas of New York ... the key to scuttle shake your head ... of Lorenzo for Tina chairman


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Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express.
Wenger at a loss
Arsene Wenger admitted Arsenal have endured a "terrible" start to the season after the Gunners disintegrated against Blackburn.
Arsene Wenger admitted Arsenal have endured a "terrible" start to the season after the Gunners disintegrated against Blackburn.
Wenger's men had been in control at half-time, leading 2-1 with chances aplenty, before they crumbled to a 4-3 defeat including two own-goals from Alex Song and Laurent Koscielny. It means the Gunners have just four points from five games in the league this season, their worst start since Wenger came to the club in 1996.
Wenger said: "It is terrible, it is just not good enough. Of course we are very frustrated, the spirit in the team is quite willing but if you look at the number of goals we have conceded that is not good enough."
He added: "You cannot come here and concede four goals the way we did today.
"On the other hand I believe that the group will take off but it's important that we get quick results."
For Rovers boss Steve Kean there was the satisfaction of having answered the 200 fans who marched on Ewood Park before kick-off calling for his head.
Kean said: "I have said I was disappointed with that. The most important thing is 99% of the fans didn't demonstrate and hopefully even the 1% that did will go home happy.
"I don't mean to be bullish but I can only reiterate the backing I have had from the owners and the players.
"You don't play like that if you have any type of split or division in the dressing room. We feel the criticism we have had has been a little bit unfair."


text:
1.3 • 24 Sep 2004
Menu item for quick Sharing access.
Developer website: Manfred Lippert
SharingMenu is a menu item that gives you instant access to the Sharing preferences. You can view and change them very quickly at any time. It shows the same preferences that you can see in the "Services" tab inside the "Sharing" preferences inside the "System Preferences" of Mac�OS�X. In addition to it, SharingMenu also gives you access to disable and enable Guest Access to your computer as part of Personal File Sharing.
What's New
Version 1.3:
- In a submenu of "Remote Login" all remotely logged in users are displayed. (Requires Mac OS X 10.3 "Panther" or later)
- The icon signals with its color if there are sharing services activated (yellow) or if other users are remotely logged in (red).
- Guest Access can be turned on and off.
Mac OS X 10.2 or later


text:
Rocket Aldon
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Rocket® Aldon® solutions provide the tools and infrastructure you need to automate everything from the moment a change request comes in until a solution is delivered to production, as well as automate compliance reporting and audit tracking. Keep your software running while using it in new ways and getting more business value from it.
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text: Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums :: View topic - Which is more important, School or Work? Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!" FAQ Search Memberlist Usergroups Register Profile Log in to check your private messages Log in Which is more important, School or Work? Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Opinions View previous topic :: View next topic Author Message Rian Al haqJoined: 05 Aug 2010Posts: 2Location: Bau - Bau, Souteast sulawesi, Indonesia Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2010 12:51 am Post subject: Which is more important, School or Work? Some people in my village looking for a job after graduate the senior high. and some of them (me is one from this group) still continuous studying in university, and take the part time job to help our parents to pay the fee. but know its getting difficult for us, when we want to concentrate to study, but our bos really need us in the office. so which one do you theink is more important????? Back to top AfraJoined: 10 Jul 2013Posts: 131 Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 7:00 am Post subject: School is more important than work. This is because schools provide basic education in some of the fields that are related to your career line. It is also important to balance both of them as you may need to earn an income but an education can last a lifetime, unlike some jobs. .................................... Academic Writing Services | Resume Writing Services Order | 35% Discount | Discount Code: PROMO35 Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Opinions All times are GMT - 8 Hours Page 1 of 1 Jump to: Select a forum Student Forums----------------ComputersCurrent NewsCultureEnglish SchoolsFamilyFilm and CinemaFoodHealth and FitnessHelp CenterHobbiesHolidaysLearning EnglishLiteratureMaking FriendsMusicOpinionsPetsScienceSportsThe Strange and MysteriousTOEFL and Other English ExamsTravel You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum Dave's ESL Cafe is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling. Banner Advertising | Bookstore / Alta Books | FAQs | Articles | Interview with Dave Copyright © 2018 Dave's ESL Cafe | All Rights Reserved | Contact Dave's ESL Cafe | Site Map Teachers College, Columbia University: Train to Teach English Here or Abroad Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group


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Weekend getaways for fall: Central Coast offers events galore
Don't think of September as the end of summer — think of it as the beginning of the year's best weather along the coast, and the season that brings some of the best festivals and events for both fun and enlightenment. Here are some of the most worthy of a place on your calendar.
Sept. 13-15: This 2-year-old annual event from the Old Monterey Foundation brings together the region's deep artistic heritage and its unique history. Paintings and sculptures, many rarely exhibited to the public, are displayed in historic adobes in a four-block area of downtown Monterey. This year's theme is "Artists and Architecture," displaying images of Old World architecture in Casa Serrano, the Cooper Adobe, Casa Gutierrez and Casa Diaz. Photo reproductions of the Rodriguez/Stevenson Adobe, never before seen, will be displayed at Casa Blanca Interiors and Antiquities. $20-$95; children free.
Sept. 20-22: The world's longest continuously running jazz festival claims Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Dave Brubeck and Miles Davis among its pantheon of jazz greats, as well as just about every major contemporary artist. This year's Jazz Legends Gala, at the Intercontinental The Clement, features composer and saxophonist Wayne Shorter. The bill includes George Benson, Bobby McFerrin, Diana Krall, David Sanborn and the Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club. More than 500 performers appear throughout the weekend on eight stages scattered through the oaks at the Monterey Fairgrounds. $50-$580.
Monterey County Artists Studio Tour
Sept. 28-29: Now in its 24th year, this self-guided tour leads visitors to artists' studios all over the Monterey Peninsula to peek in on works in progress and completed pieces that await their unveiling. Participating artists represent a wide range of media and will serve refreshments. Many will also demonstrate their techniques and discuss their work. Download a map and list of artists from the website or pick one up at the Pacific Grove Art Center to locate the studios in Moss Landing, Seaside, Carmel, Carmel Valley, Monterey, Pebble Beach and Pacific Grove. The Pacific Grove Art Center will host a kickoff event Sept. 27, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Sept. 29: The Carmel Mission hosts this annual festival in its lush courtyard, dishing out barbecue and Mexican food to some 2,500 people along with refreshments and live music. An array of juried handmade goods from artisans and craftspeople will be available for sale, and kids will have a special area for their own mini-fiesta. Free.
Butterfly Parade & Bazaar, Pacific Grove
Oct. 5: Local elementary school children metamorphose into black-and-orange winged insects to they parade through Butterfly Town, USA in a welcome for the tens of thousands of monarch butterflies who descend on the town the spend the winter in the pine and eucalyptus trees in the Monarch Grove Butterfly Sanctuary. After the 10:30 a.m. parade, a Butterfly Bazaar is held behind the Robert Down School. Free.
Pacific Grove Historic Homes Tour
Oct. 6: Voyeurs can come out of the closet during this historic home tour, which opens selected Victorian houses, historic homes, bed-and-breakfast inns and churches to visitors. The Chamber of Commerce and the Heritage Society of Pacific Grove, sponsors of the tour, not only encourage you to be nosy, they provide docents to run down the history of each beautiful and unique building. The Heritage Society sponsors a fundraising tour at the Point Pinos Lighthouse the same day. $20
Robinson Jeffers Fall Festival, Carmel
Oct. 4-6: The annual Fall Festival honors the literary legacy of influential poet Robinson Jeffers, who was known for his writings about the Central Coast. His remarkable stone Tor House is kind of a California-style (and very small) Taj Mahal, built for his wife Una; he modeled it after an ancient barn she had seen in England. The festival, whose theme this year is "Robinson Jeffers: The Architect and Builder," begins with a sunset celebration in the Tor House Gardens. Programs at the Carmel Woman's Club will feature prominent scholars and critics, as well as Kathleen Sonntag, Tor House's archivist and docent coordinator. $20.
Halloween Bal Masque, Nepenthe
Oct. 31: Details haven't been set yet, but this annual fundraiser for the Big Sur Volunteer Fire Brigade is the place to be if you are anywhere near Big Sur on Halloween. The restaurant, famous for one of the most transcendent ocean views on the Central Coast, closes for dinner to launch its masquerade ball, with costumed guests dancing to live music. Tickets include dinner; alcoholic drinks are extra. Check the website for this year's details when they become available. $35 adults, $7 children (last year's prices, subject to change).
Oct. 12-13: Celebrating Monterey's — and California's — beginnings, this joint effort of the City of Monterey, the Monterey History and Art Association and Monterey State Historic Park drops you into the Wild West of the 1800s. You can witness the signing of the state's Constitution at Colton Hall and celebrate Columbus Day on the wharf on the same day. Living history re-enactments, tours guided by scholars and other experts, walking tours, music, a treasure hunt are among the activities set among dozens of buildings preserved from California's earliest days. Free.
Former Chronicle travel editor Christine Delsol also writes the Mexico Mix column at sfgate.com/mexico.


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Do you think guns in the home make your children safer? It's usually not the case. Last January, high school student Anthony Krueger locked himself in his room and shot himself under the chin twice after his mother called the police about his drug use. Stories like this highlight that one of the largest risk factors for teen suicide is the presence of a gun in the home.
In Krueger's case, the 17-year-old from Dover, Del. survived, but faces a long slow recovery from his injuries . Without access to a gun, an emotional argument can lead to broken doors and objects, screaming, tears and even a fist fight, but rarely does it end in death. With a gun present, the circumstances change.
Krueger's mother had bought the gun for protection, and allowed him access so he could "protect" his younger siblings while his mom was at work. His suicide attempt was featured in a Wilmington News Journal article earlier this month that looked at an adolescent suicide cluster in the state last year.
The reality is that guns really don't offer any protection. They only offer risk if children are present. Research in several US urban areas indicates that a gun stored in the home is associated with a threefold increase in the risk of homicide and a fivefold increase in the risk of suicide.
If you really want to protect your children from harm, follow the advice of the American Academy of Pediatrics and get rid of any guns at home. It would be a good start. If you can't do that, then lock the unloaded guns in one place and lock the ammunition in another place. That almost makes your kids safe from those guns. Most importantly, never let your kids have access.
The real dangers to children are fire, drowning, and accidents, not armed intruders. We need to teach kids to avoid strangers, call 911 for any emergency, and have a safe haven such as a neighbor's house to run to if they are threatened. Take time to make sure that they know how to swim, not to shoot. They are more likely to get into trouble in the pool, river, lake or shore, and then they are to confront an armed assailant.
Make sure they know basic first aid, and what to do if another child gets hurt. Be certain that your smoke detectors are loaded with fresh batteries instead of worrying about fresh ammo for your handgun. If they need to learn a skill, teach them how to use a fire extinguisher to put out a kitchen fire, after they first call 911.
It's interesting that some parents give their older teens access to guns to protect their families, but these same kids can't swim, won't wear bike helmets or seatbelts, and would be clueless if a fire broke out in the kitchen. A gun won't save them from being burned, drowned or crushed. Other safety training can save their lives.
Guns don't make our children safer, they make their world more dangerous. If you own one or more guns, make them as safe as possible. Give your children safety training to deal with real threats, and not the imagined dangers that those who sell guns talk about.
President Obama's recommendations about guns emphasize the importance of safe gun ownership in a free and open society. He has endorsed ongoing research on gun deaths to help prevent needless tragedy, and endorsed our First Amendment rights, as healthcare providers, to talk to parents who own guns about how to minimize the risks in the home. A national safe and responsible gun ownership plan will go a long way to help families make informed decisions and assure their children's safety.