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Summary Meeting Notes: November 19, 2012 Education and Youth Success PEG Meeting
Summary Meeting Notes
Education and Youth Success Policy Expert Group Meeting #6
Meeting Date: November 19, 2012
Time: 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Attendees: Paul Cathcart, Ernesto Contreras, Karen Fischer Gray, Will Fuller, Douglas Hardy, Mary Richardson, Troy Tate, Stacey Triplett, Helen Ying
Staff / Facilitator: Dante James and Judith Mowry, Office of Equity and Human Rights; Deborah Stein, Bob Glascock, Christina Scarzello, Uma Krishnan, Desiree Williams-Rajee, Bureau of Planning and Sustainability; Clark Worth, Barney & Worth
Public / Guests: None
View the original agenda, including materials, for this meeting.
Welcome and Reflections from Last Meeting
Presenter: Clark Worth
Summary: Self-introductions
Reflections on October 15 meeting highlights: no comments were offered by PEG members.
There were two announcements. Will Fuller summarized a handout on "broadband equity" that he distributed to PEG members. Stacey Triplett announced the upcoming Oregon Sustainable School Awards program. 2013 applications must be submitted by January 14. PEG members can learn more at www.sustainableschools.org/sosi/oregon-award-program.
Meeting Goal: Develop a shared understanding of equity issues and how they apply to the Comprehensive Plan update, with a focus on educational issues.
Equity Fundamentals
Presenters: Dante James and Judith Mowry, Office of Equity and Human Rights
Summary: Highlights of the Office of Equity and Human Rights' presentation
Children of color comprise more than half of Portland students. This change isn't happening—it has happened. Race has an effect on student achievement, community economic well-being and many other measures. On average, students and other people of color are lagging farther behind the white community in terms of educational and health outcomes, income, and other indicators.
A goal is to have race produce no discernible effect on educational outcomes. We all share bias and need to investigate institutional barriers to success. Another goal is to develop a level of comfort talking about race. This is still an uncomfortable topic, more taboo in Portland than in other big cities—why?
Deborah Stein presented information on stark disparities in educational outcomes by race. The data are included in the Coalition of Communities of Color report. These numbers show the achievement gap widens as students move through grades. Discipline is disproportionate by race, and dropout rates are up to twice as high for youth of color. White students are twice as likely to graduate from college.
Comments and questions from PEG members:
- For educators, this information is "preaching to the choir". The data speak for themselves. The key question is what will we do about it?
- The 1980 Comprehensive Plan contains almost nothing related to equity.
Education and Youth Success Issues through an Equity Lens
Presenters: Dante James and Judith Mowry, Office of Equity and Human Rights
Summary: PEG members were divided into two small groups for facilitated discussions.
PEG Discussion:
Questions and observations offered by PEG members and observers following the small group discussion:
- Terminology is a problem. Not everyone understands the planning jargon.
- Policies to achieve equity should "build on the human factor".
Public Comment
No members of the public were present.
Next Steps
Clark Worth announced the next PEG meeting (currently set for December 17) will focus on gentrification and growth scenarios. Deborah Stein mentioned the December and January meeting dates may be rescheduled due to Christmas and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. holidays. PEG members will be surveyed on possible replacement dates. Also, a Working Draft of the Comprehensive Plan is anticipated to be ready for review in late December, and will be the subject of the PEG's January meeting. PEG members asked to see an updated schedule of meeting dates and topics for 2013. Deborah Stein described the role of the PEG going forward: first, help refine the Working Draft and make it respond better to education / youth issues (including policies indirectly related to educational success, such as policies promoting stable housing, transit, public safety, etc.). PEG members will also be asked to help design meaningful questions to elicit effective public participation, and in later phases of the Comprehensive Plan update, review draft land use maps and project lists.
In response to a question, Deborah said there will be 5 or 6 public meetings on the Working Draft held in different parts of the city, plus outreach to organizations interested in specific topics.
Meeting handouts and presentations:
- Draft Comprehensive Plan Goal: Portland's System of Centers (small group exercise)
- PowerPoint
- Maps
- Population Percentage: Persons of Color
- Enrollment Change in Schools and Districts
- 20-Minute Neighborhood Geography
- Sidewalks and Schools
- Institutional, Retail, Commercial Corridors and 2010 Household Density
For more information, please contact either Deborah Stein, Bureau of Planning & Sustainability at 503-823-6991 or email@example.com, or Clark Worth, Facilitator at 503-222-0146 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
Group Discussion – Desiree Williams-Rajee, Facilitator
Question 1
- Some of the terms aren't defined and aren't clear: "e.g., interconnected system of centers and corridors".
- "…health and diverse communities" could be "healthy, diverse communities".
- There are equity implications of dispersed employment centers versus a concentration of jobs in the Central City. This may produce resource inequities.
Question 2
- "An interconnected system of centers"—is that achievable?
- The lack of density and infrastructure in some areas (especially East Portland) thwarts the concept of 20-minute neighborhoods.
- Will the policies encourage schools inside centers, outside centers—or both?
- How can East Portland be retrofitted with infrastructure (sidewalks, parks), services (especially transit), and good, contemporary schools?
- The Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods has a good checklist of quality of life goals and measures.
Question 3
- How could the policies help communities of color?
- How can we assure that all people are served?
- It's nice to have families stay in one place, build roots, reduce student mobility challenges.
- What new policies are needed to positively impact schools?
- Shouldn't every Portland neighborhood have good schools and "the basics": parks, transit, SUN schools, other facilities and services?
- Wouldn't it be better if schools were located in centers? Why can't they be repurposed as "community centers"? Is this possible?
Question 4
- The group ran out of discussion time for this question.


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Singularity University is pleased to present the first program of its kind, the FutureMed Executive Program, an immersive and hands-on experience, to be held May 10th-15th at the NASA Ames Research Campus. FutureMed educates and prepares Physicians, Senior Health Care Executives, Innovators, and Investors to understand and recognize the opportunities and disruptive, game changing influences of exponentially growing technologies within medicine, health care and the biomedical industry in the decade ahead.
Lance B. Becker, MD, is a newly recruited Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Previously Dr. Becker was a Professor at the University of Chicago's Department of Medicine, Section of Emergency Medicine. He was the founder and Director of the Emergency Resuscitation Center at the University of Chicago in Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory, an interdisciplinary team of investigators focused on understanding and treating sudden death from cardiac arrest and from traumatic injuries. He is board certified in internal medicine, emergency medicine and critical care medicine.
Dr. Becker has received numerous national awards and recognition for his work and leadership. He was selected by Emergency Medicine residents as the "Attending Physician of the Year" in 1997, has been awarded the "Time, Feeling, and Focus" award from the American Heart Association, as well as other leadership awards from the National Emergency Cardiac Care Committee of the American Heart Association. Dr. Becker was the National Conference Director for the American Heart Association's Emergency Cardiac Care Evidence Evaluation Conference in September 1999 to create new national CPR recommendations, has served on the National American Heart Association's Basic Life Support Committee and Advanced Life Support subcommittees. He has been a past Chair of the Cardiopulmonary, Perioperative, and Critical Care Council of the American Heart Association and is a past Chairman of the Basic Life Support Committee. He has served as representative to the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation and helped create and continues to Co-Direct the Resuscitation Science Symposium of the American Heart Association, the leading international venue for the presentation of cutting edge science in resuscitation. At the most recent 2005 International AHA Guidelines Conference for consensus on international resuscitation science and new CPR recommendations, he acted as the Chair for the daily "Controversial Topics" sessions that revisited the most challenging resuscitation topics each day. Dr. Becker has worked closely with the NIH as a reviewer, grantee, and in a leadership role as a the Chair of the Myocardial Protection Working group for the NIH NHLBI's sponsored PULSE Conference and PULSE Leadership Group, which is dedicated to support of research funding in resuscitation research. He also served as a member of the Food and Drug Administration Device Evaluation panels and has appeared before the FDA panels as an expert presenter.
Dr. Becker' research interests are very translational and extend across the basic science laboratory into animal models of resuscitation, and to human therapies. He developed the Emergency Resuscitation Center at the University of Chicago to bring investigators from diverse fields together for multidisciplinary resuscitation research and for improved training of young resuscitation scientists. His cellular studies have helped define cellular reperfusion injury mechanisms, mitochondrial oxidant generation, reactive oxygen and nitrogen species responses to ischemia, apoptotic activation following ischemia, signaling pathways, new cellular cytoprotective strategies, and hypothermia protection. Additional studies are ongoing on development of novel human coolants for rapid induction of hypothermia, inflammatory pathways activated following shock and cardiac arrest, improving the quality of CPR, new defibrillator and cardiopulmonary bypass technologies, epidemiology of sudden death, and novel treatments for cardiac arrest.

subset: commoncrawl


text: From their site: This API finds topic-centric experts (such as the names of researchers) and generates their social networks. Developers can use this API to incorporate its search results directly into their web sites or services. KISTI stands for the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information. Learn more at http://www.ksc.re.kr/eng/index.htm.


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Across the Arab world, mass protests have emerged with a ferocity and urgency the world has almost forgotten since the days of the cold war. In Egypt, protesters thronged the streets, defied curfews, and stormed the Interior Ministry building in Cairo, the most powerful symbol of President Hosni Mubarak's control.
While the scale of protests and subsequent government response have differed across countries, one thing has been clear – they all looked to the success of this month's revolution in Tunisia as proof that they, too, could be rid of their own dictators.
IN PICTURES: Egyptian protests
We are at a turning point. The world is changing, and America cannot afford to remain on the sidelines for much longer. The Obama administration appears caught in a precarious balancing act of foreign policy, simultaneously attempting dual responses – one of support for a dictator that has served as a stable US ally in an often unstable region, the other of support for a people's rebellion for freedom and democracy. The mixed messages have left many wondering whose side the United States is actually on. The answer we send to the Arab world at this critical juncture may not only decide our standing in the region, but the future of America's character and constitution.
Protests erupt in defiance of regimes
Sparked by a month's worth of protests by the Tunisian people, which culminated in the exile of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, other Arab states immediately took notice, and began nervous preparations. Some tried to suddenly increase subsidies and lower prices of food and other necessities, in hopes of effectively bribing the discontented. Others geared up police forces and began to anticipate their own uprisings.
Think you know the Middle East? Take our geography quiz.
But protests have still erupted this month in Yemen, Oman, Jordan, Mauritania, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan. In Egypt, as military helicopters and jets screamed overhead, what began as a spontaneous eruption of emotion began to take structure. Formerly-exiled leader and Nobel Prize Winner Mohamed ElBaradei won the support of a coalition of opposition groups and began to speak on behalf of the uprising.
Relics of monarchies
For all their trappings of modern nation-states – embassies, government ministries, tall buildings, and flashy sports teams, we have forgotten that many Arab states remain relics of a time long past – absolute monarchies. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was not a king in title, but what else can you call a man who has maintained a stranglehold on a nation for three decades, with plans (perhaps until last week) to pass power on to his son?
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad succeeded his father, winning over 90 percent of votes in questionable elections twice, both times running unopposed. Across the Middle East and North Africa, with few exceptions, dictators sit on thrones built upon censorship, political prisons, beatings and detention of journalists and dissidents, and severely restrained freedoms of speech, assembly, press, and religion.
And those who have been victim to these systems are reaching the limits of their patience.
'Strategic' interests and mixed messages
Foreign policy is a delicate art, and American "strategic" interests can sometimes call for partnerships with distasteful regimes and foreign leaders, particularly on security matters. But this nation may need to rethink the imagery it is projecting abroad to the masses of people still largely not free.
Though the Egyptian military has vowed not to fire on protesters and the Egyptian police force has withdrawn from the streets, if they were to again fire on protesters, chances are that they will be doing so with guns paid for by the US taxpayer, courtesy of more than $1.3 billion in military aid given to Egypt annually – the majority of its annual military budget. Mr. Mubarak has already sent US-licensed M1A1 Abrams Battle tanks rolling through Cairo, and US-built F-16 fighter jets made low-level passes over Tahrir ("Liberation") Square on Sunday.
Top American leaders so far have said that they managed somehow to be on both the side of the Egyptian people and simultaneously the government, in an appalling indecisiveness that will be costly. President Barack Obama disappointingly refused last week to explicitly take sides, instead asking for both sides to avoid violence. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton stopped at calling for "legitimate grievances" to be addressed, simply calling for "democratic and economic reform."
No administration official went as far as to call for Mubarak to step down. There's no question that there are legitimate concerns that, in a power vacuum, the Muslim Brotherhood may take power in Egypt, and gain momentum in its long push for a Islamist state. But even the Muslim Brotherhood has thrown its support behind the protesters explicitly, rallying behind emerging opposition leader Mr. ElBaradei – and America has not.
US may lose the security it seeks
What all this means is that whether Egyptian people succeed in ridding themselves of their nearly 30-year perpetual president, the people of Egypt will probably not count the Americans as friends – a stark, dramatic, and important point. And ironically, this moral ambivalence in the interests of stability may cost the United States the very security it's seeking to protect.
Many of the dictators who are the targets of protests now have been welcomed in the White House, and honored with state visits, or fat, annual checks courtesy of the people of the United States. That is not to say that the United States should not engage in diplomatic relations at all with nations that have abhorrent human rights conditions. Relationships are necessary to leverage and press for democracy and reform, and economic incentives can help drive those points.
But without strong, concerted, and consistent messaging from the top – that America stands with those protesting because their children are starving and their youth are being beaten, one could not be blamed for thinking America is no longer leader of the free world. Despite being born of revolution itself, America has instead embraced those leaders in gilded palaces and gleaming jets, some of whom were installed by "the West" to begin with. Coupled with lingering doubts about American intentions related to Iraq, Guantanamo, and Abu Ghraib, increasingly it seems we can no longer be certain which team we're playing for.
What does US stand for?
This is an existential question. Does the United States exist as any nation does – simply to protect its own citizens, borders, and strategic interests? Or are we something more – a nation and people that considers, as President John F. Kennedy once said, "the survival and success of liberty" to be a foundational objective?
If we are the latter, it is without a doubt long overdue for America's political leaders and diplomats to name names, and stand overtly with these protesters. Such outspoken solidarity mattered in the 1980s in Warsaw and Bucharest, and matters all the more today, when media can carry the voices of our leaders across the globe instantly.
And these words matter equally for the galvanizing effect they can have on protesters, as they do for the simultaneously dispiriting effect they have on dictators with few remaining friends. Alternatively, indecisiveness in moments of crisis is equivalent to endorsing the status quo.
Message matters
The sad truth is that in the coming weeks, many Americans will probably begin to forget about these brave protesters. We'll focus again on the coming Super Bowl, various movie releases, celebrity scandals, and all manner of distractions that flood our news media. We may find ourselves in a world with new, democratic governments in the Arab world. Or we may count Tunisia as the only survivor, for now.
But what our leaders say, and the message our nation projects abroad, will resonate long after the Super Bowl. The support we lend or withhold to democracy in the Arab world matters – both for the future of the region, and the future of America. What American leaders say, and the support they must give, can mean the difference between success and defeat, or life and death, in the streets of Cairo, Damascus, Sanaa, or Riyadh.
Are you smarter than a US diplomat? Take our Foreign Service Exam.
In 1806, Thomas Jefferson remarked in a letter to James Monroe that, "Political interest [can] never be separated in the long run from moral right." Standing resolutely for these protesters in these struggles may see new, vibrant democracies emerge throughout the Arab world. Sitting on the sidelines in silence may cost us more than our standing in the Arab world; it will come at the cost of our own ideals.
Adrian Hong is the director of The Pegasus Project, a visiting associate professional specialist at the Center for Information Technology Policy at Princeton University, and a senior fellow with TED, a non-profit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading.


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Free shipping over £ 99
Free shipping over £ 99
The roll holder "Barkroll" is the result of a collection designed by Michael Boucquillon and Donia Maaoui inspiered by the trees that surround their house in Lucca. Produced at the factory in Crusinallo, Omegna, the "Barkroll" kitchen roll dispenser is made using a manufacturing process whereby the steel sheet is cut and laser perforated, and subsequently shaped with a series of mechanical processes, and lastly welded. As its name suggests, the "Barkroll" kitchen roll dispenser recalls the bark of a tree: the perforated pattern recalls the knots in wood grain, the cylindrical shape suggests the structure of the tree trunk. The result is a poetic yet functional object which, as its designers state, each time a sheet is torn off reminds the user that paper is made from trees.
Born in Belgium in 1962. In 1988 he won the competition of the CHAMBER OF EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT in Brussels which signed the beginning of his Architectural and Design career. In '2000, he opened a new workshop dedicated to Industrial Design and experimental Architecture in Lucca - Tuscany in his "CASA BOUCQUILLON", extremely experimental place of exploration, meditation, live and work. Michel actually works for the world most famous International Design companies: Alessi, Artemide, Antoniolupi, Serralunga, Martinelliluce. His work is present in several Museums and got many of the main international Awards, recently: Menzione d'Onore Compasso d'Oro 2011, Good Design Award 2008, Design Plus 2006. Donia Maaoui, Michel's wife and an architect herself, works alongside her husband on some of the Alessi and Martinelliluce projects, although her principal occupation is cast bronze sculpture and painting.


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Adam Breneman (right) and Tom Kirchhoff (left), August 2012
Catch The Cure is a fundraising campaign with Penn State football player Adam Breneman to benefit Project A.L.S. Inspired by Adam's close friend, ALS fighter, and former Cedar Cliff athlete Tom Kirchhoff, Catch The Cure has raised nearly $200,000 for A.L.S. research.
Website last edited: August 19, 2014
About ALS:
ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease and motor neuron disease, is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that affects adults of all ages. It is closely related to Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's. ALS targets large brain cells residing in the brain and along the spinal cord called motor neurons. In ALS, as motor neurons get sick and die, a person progressively loses the ability to move: to walk, speak, swallow, and breathe. ALS is usually fatal within 2-5 years of diagnosis.
Catch The Cure Video (Summer 2012):
In just four short months during the 2012 football season, Catch The Cure raised almost $200,000 for Project A.L.S. research! AND WE ARE STILL GOING!
Project A.L.S. and Catch The Cure Video (Fall 2012):
Letter from Adam:
Hey guys!
I'm Adam Breneman. Most of you probably know me as a grad of Cedar Cliff High School and a current Penn State football tight end. While I catch a lot of passes on the football field, I want to talk right now about catching something a lot bigger than just football. Right now, thousands of people in the United States have Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease. It has a fancy long name, but the horror of the story is that ALS is a degenerative disease that kills over the course of a few years, and it has no cure... YET.
This disease hits very close to the Cedar Cliff football family and me. Tom Kirchhoff is a 1989 graduate of Cedar Cliff High School, was the star quarterback of the football team, went on to play at Lafayette College, and had a short stint in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles. He is now married with four great young kids, and an executive of a local business. About two years ago Tom was diagnosed with ALS. Since then, the Kirchhoff family and the Cedar Cliff family have taken the mindset that "We Will Win!" And we need your help. Any donations you make will go to Project ALS, to get the best doctors, researchers, and scientists in the world and help them "catch" the cure for this horrible disease.
Here's how to help: click on the donate tab on the top of the website to get started. Then click on the link, and it will take you to our donation page. Any donation you decide to make can help catch the cure for this horrible disease.
Even the smallest donations can make an unspeakable impact on the thousands suffering from this disease. So what are you waiting for? We need your help. And with it, WE WILL WIN!
Thank you for your help. It truly will make a difference.
Adam Breneman
Adam runs with the ball during a game in the 2013 season.
Adam and Tom Kirchhoff.


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Pope Francis said:
"There can't be peace without dialogue".
In this spirit the Community of Sant'Egidio has invited to Rome religious leaders from every part of the world
The courage to Hope
Days of dialogue and prayer for peace
The event will be live broadcasted in multi-language streaming
Community of Sant'Egidio
piazza Sant'Egidio, 3
00153 - Rome (Italy)
tel. +39.06.899.22.34+39.06.899.22.34
fax +39.06.580.01.97
[email protected]
Follow us on
Other website
www.andreariccardi.it | dream.santegidio.org | nodeathpenalty.santegidio.org | www.sanbartolomeo.org | www.comunitadisantegidio.info | www.vivaglianziani.it | www.wineforlife.com


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Source: Cavs interested in Oden
CLEVELAND -- Greg Oden's next comeback could be with the Cavaliers.
A person with knowledge of Cleveland's interest said the team is exploring the possibility of signing Oden, the former No. 1 overall pick, whose NBA career has been sabotaged by injuries.
The Cavs are doing their due diligence while looking at Oden because the team's interest is contingent upon the center's health.
CBSSports.com first reported the Cavs and Miami Heat were leading the pursuit of Oden, who hasn't played since 2009 and has undergone three microfracture knee surgeries.
Before watching No. 11 Ohio State's 58-49 win over Wisconsin on Tuesday night in Columbus, Ohio, Oden said he hopes to be healthy enough to take another shot at pro ball.
"I don't know when, but I'm taking this year off. I'll play next year," said Oden.
Oden's agent, Mike Conley Sr., could not be reached for comment.
A defensive force during his one college season, the 7-foot Oden was the first player taken in the 2007 draft by Portland, who chose the soft-spoken big man over All-Star Kevin Durant. Oden was limited to just 82 games with the Trail Blazers, averaging 9.2 points and 7.3 rebounds. Oden has not played since 2009, and he had his last operation on Feb. 20 last year.
Portland waived Oden last March, ending a troubled five-year run with a player who entered the league with superstar potential.
Any team that signs the 25-year-old Oden would be taking a risk. But for a rebuilding team like the Cavs, who are looking to add pieces around All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving, the possibility Oden could develop into a productive player is enticing.
Oden said he has no preference on which team he plays for.
"Right now I'm not worrying about where," he said. "I'm only worried about my knee."
-- Associated Press


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affaction necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 120 diseños de 39 diseñadores freelance.
ReverseMortgageInformation.net will be a consumer resource for senior citizens in the United States considering a reverse mortgage as a financing option.
What are Reverse Mortgages?
It is a loan available to seniors using the home equity of the borrower to attain funds as one lump sum or multiple payments. The homeowner's obligation to repay the loan is deferred until the owner dies, the home is sold, or the owner leaves. Many seniors use their equity in their home to get a reverse mortgage to pay for the cost of senior health care or other large expenses.
The site will be an informational resource for seniors, offering various helpful information and tools related to reverse mortgages.
The site will be targeting United States visitors seeking information on reverse mortgages. Typically senior citizens or their adult relatives looking for information on the topic.
Technical Requirements
- Logo should be designed with a white or transparent background.
- Logo needs to be included as a high resolution .jpg, .png, or .psd file.
- Ideal size of logo sized-down would be 300x75.
- Logo should have a clean, professional style that offers a theme of "banking", "home loans", etc.
Design Requirements
- Should contain the text Reverse Mortgage Information .net
- Logo colors should not be overly bright or loud
This is a completely new website, so you have free reign on look and feel. The design should offer a sense of professionalism, security and trust.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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The acronym CAS stands for Clean and Simple.
1. Usually only one layer but can include a simple layer or two.
2. A lot of open space sometimes called "white space" can include subtle color, texture or pattern.
4. Usually no embellishments but can include something minimal. (1 or 2 embellishments)
3. Only one focal point. Embellishments should only support not dominate your card.
(Exception to this rule is that you've made the focal point an embellishment and not an image.)
5. Minimal color palette. (up to 3 colors in general)
6. Simple, uncluttered, quick and easy to create.
The acronym CASE stands for Copy and Share Everything.


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Hangovers suck. Sadly, when the bubbly is overflowing and you're in the company of friends and raucous strangers it's easy to have another glass or three.
We've rounded up a few ways to prevent that nasty New Year's Day hangover and tips for getting back on your feet if you end up feeling like a dozen tiny men are jackhammering a new sidewalk inside your head.
How NOT To Get Hungover
1. Eat something
While eating won't actually prevent you from getting drunk it can slow your body's absorption of alcohol. It's probably why the snack tables at parties are always so popular.
Recent studies also point to asparagus as a possible hangover cure. Sadly, the green stuff might not be easily available at your local greasy spoon.
2. Drink plenty of water
Dehydration is one of the reasons why hangovers suck. Drink plenty of water during the night (try alternating an alcoholic drink with a glass of water or club soda). Definitely have one before you head to bed and keep one on your bedside counter. It'll make staying in bed that much easier.
3. Drink slower
The slower you drink the fewer drinks you'll have. The extra time also lets your body process the alcohol already in your system.
4. Drink clear alcohols
Gin, vodka and other clear alcohol contain fewer impurities and can lead in less severe hangovers. But if you slam back those shots of vodka or have a dozen gin and tonics you're still going to get drunk, got it?
5. Don't drink
Set a limit at the start of the night. Switch to non-alcoholic drinks or simply don't drink. This sounds too simple to say, but if you don't drink alcohol then you won't have that hangover.
Uh Oh. I'm Hungover What Do I Do Now?
1. Water, water, water
After a night of drinking your body is dehydrated. If you didn't leave that glass of water on your bedside table, grab some now. Repeat as necessary.
Energy drinks are also a good alternative. The drinks often contain electrolytes and nutrients which your body will want after a night of hard drinking.
2. Eat something
Your body needs fuel. Pick foods rich in carbohydrates and protein. Yes, that greasy breakfast fits the bill. Eggs in particular are great for hangovers because they contain plenty of cysteine, an enzyme useful in breaking down alcohol. Check out our recipes for the best hangover breakfasts.
Keep in mind your stomach might be sensitive from the night before so consider easing into your breakfast with a cup of soup, a juice or smoothie (water, sugar and vitamins!) or some fruit (bananas are an awesome hangover food) before scarfing down that burrito or omelette.
3. Rest
Have you had that glass of water and a snack or a meal? Doesn't that bed look cozy? What about that couch? Settle in. You'll feel better in a few hours.
4. Juice it up
Too queasy to eat? Consider juices or smoothies.
Coconut water contains plenty of anti-oxidants, sugar and, uhm, water. All three things will help with your hangover.
5. Vitamin B
You can take a vitamin B-complex pill to help replace those vitamins your body has lost. It doesn't hurt to take one the night before as well.
Things to avoid
1. More alcohol
Yes, that bloody mary or caesar sounds like a good idea but all you're doing to your poor liver is delaying the inevitable. Also, note that 'hair of the dog' drinks contain things that actually help in a hangover, tomato juice for example. Our advice? Skip the morning booze.
2. Caffeine
Caffeine can be a diuretic and dehydrate you further. So you may want to avoid that third espresso until you feel a bit better.
3. Acetaminophen
This common over the counter drug (ex. Tylenol) can interact badly with the alcohol in your system and in rare cases lead to liver damage. Acetaminophen can also be found in cold and flu medications. In fact, alcohol and many medications do not interact well. When in doubt read labels carefully.
What are your hangover remedies? Share them with us in the comments.
Also on HuffPost


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Summer is quickly approaching and that means that outdoor concerts are just around the corner. One of the triangle's best summer music traditions, Duke Perfomance's Music In The Garden series, has announced the bands that will play the series in 2011.
The summer music series kicks off June 1 with Steve Riley & The Mamou Playboys. Other bands that will take the stage at Duke Gardens this summer include Chapel Hill's Lost In The Trees, Holy Ghost Tent Revival and local rockers Hammer No More The Fingers. Tickets to all shows are ten dollars. You can check out the full schedule below and for more information visit the Duke Performances website.
6/1 Steve Riley & The Mamou Playboys
6/8 Fight The Big Bull
6/15 The Parkington Sisters
6/22 Hammer No More The Fingers
6/29 Shirlette & The Dynamite Brothers
7/6 Holy Ghost Tent Revival
7/13 Lost In The Trees


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Over the past three years I have been using Stumble Upon as a resource for atheist sites. I have read thousands of blogs and arguments between atheists and "christians." I know how frustrating these debates can be because there is clearly no convincing some christians that what they believe is completely ridiculous. Regardless of how frustrating debates with "believers" can be, my deeper concern is that most of the current population does not have the opportunity for higher education and because of this, most don't have the chance to become critical/skeptical thinkers. Unfortunately, the tenor and attitudes that some in the athiest community have aren't helping this situation. Instead of being open-minded and debating in a civil fashion, many christians are instead ridiculed and berated by athiests—eventually causing many of them to leave these debates feeling "non-bielevers" are rude, hostile, and arrogant. I see this as a missed opportunity.
I work and volunteer with the rural low income populations. Most are christian and probably will never be open to atheists perspectives—but I believe many other may, if presented the right information, in the right way. I believe many of these people are open to skeptical thinking (not towards religion) but towards the system that represses them. People begin to see the injustice around them, and start researching facts in hopes of improving their lives. Learning facts develops leadership and many community groups are being developed by low income people focused on gaining evidence and facts that exposes how they're being exploited or ignored. This type of critical thinking isn't far from the very same skeptical thinking necessary to understand the faults in their religious beliefs.
What I observe in many (but not all) atheist sites is atheists boasting about their high levels of education, and belittling others who don't have the basic knowledge or even education to even understand the argument. I also observe harsh judgment on grammatical errors, this prevents people from asking questions and communicating: and when there is no discussion there is no learning. Because of OUR inability to discuss atheism with those less educated, less fortunate, I believe we miss a great opportunity to show that atheists are NOT snooty and snobby elitists who look down on the dumb and blind masses. I think its time we atheists take a different approach.
Personally, my own transition from catholicism to atheism many years ago was not an easy journey. I spent years in transition, mainly because I wanted to continue a relationship with my family, who are die-hard catholics. Growing up in a very religious, blue-collar town, I did not become an atheist because someone smarter than me explained how ridiculous being catholic was, nor by someone who berated my spelling and grammatical errors; I did not become an atheist because I went to college and became impressed with the minions of intellectualism; I became an atheist because I realized innately (as many do) that something just wasn't quite right about everything I had been told growing up about religion and life. That spark of skepticism led me to research even further. Luckily, I completed this transition to atheism before I ran across any super-elitists bent on pummeling me about my ignorant ways and the stupidity of my improper grammar. Had I been ridiculed and laughed at by a puffed-up atheist interested in his/her own superiority, I may have taken many more years to "open up" to the ideas of atheism.
We as atheists need to ask ourselves who we have turned away and what opportunities we might have lost to open eyes and minds? How many poor, rural Indiana girls have we chased away? You don't have to be a genius to be an atheist or a skeptical thinker. Perhaps its time to re-evaluate our language, intentions, behavior, motives and whether a different approach might have different results.
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I think a key element in a discussion with a 'believer' is the idea that they may not really know very much about their religion. I find that distressing that a person will defend something they really don't understand very well. However, they think they do, so you are fighting two battles at once. 1) the original argument 2) correcting them when they make erroneous quotes concerning their argument.
A great deal of folks I converse with are actually ignorant of their own argument elements. They are, at best, parrots. Seems a LOT of christians do that... the parrot bit. Just keep repeating the same stories across generations. Parrots are especially hard to argue with as they didn't create the original item being argued, so it gets frustrating. They just keep it up and get all angry and stuff when you refuse to buy this faulty line of reasoning. It gets to be the-- "repeat it often enough and it must be true" way of thinking. (A christian favorite... and an ignorance "flag", to me) Folks at that level aren't even fun. I think most of them are lost in rhetoric they'll never comprehend. It's unfortunate they vote, but that's my own opinion.
Heather-- yeah, it gets tough when you see pseudo-science shows where the archeologist sits on a stone bench, in a garden, and says -- "Just think... Jesus may have once sat right here." Ugly stuff... and because they saw it on some 'science/history" channel, they make a connection that this scientist believes Jesus was there, so (obviously) Jesus is real. Think I saw that show several times and still shake my head.
Yes, it's very difficult to speak to a Christian about the historicity of Jesus. It's even more difficult to get them to understand that even assuming that Jesus was an historical figure AND that he performed the described 'miracles', you still haven't said anything that wouldn't equally well apply to Harry Houdini.
Furthermore, I think that it's even more difficult to accept that you've been conned after you've spent years giving 10% of your gross income to the con artist. Just think about how foolish one must feel after spending literally thousands of dollars just to hear the secrets of Xenu! It's would be much easier on your ego to just swallow the lie at that point than admit your foolishness.
I don't believe in religion, but I do believe in brainwashing.
I think you might want to look into how psychologists treat victims of brainwashing and those who suffer from dilusions, and apply whatever knowledge you can gain from that.
Apart from the last part, which seems to be designed only as to exclude religion, the definition of dilusional disorder is eerily close to that of what is observed within a number of the most religious people: "False beliefs based on incorrect inference about external reality that persist despite the evidence to the contrary and these beliefs are not ordinarily accepted by other members of the person's culture or subculture." (http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/292991-overview)


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Processing Code Fragments
File under Someone Had To Do It: Noisebridge logo done in processing (zip file). Requires the minim audio libraries to function correctly. Still needs some work. Looks way better in motion, video forthcoming when I find a good free video capture util for mac. By Steen. Share and Enjoy!
GrowCubes processing sketch(zip file). There are cubes. They grow. This was originally the example that Scott walked me through as an lesson in Object-Oriented programming in processing, so has a pretty easy-to-understand implementation of that (thanks, Scott!). Also includes an example of implementing GL blend modes (which, according to processing.org is not officially supported and may well break in future versions etc but which looks really cool in the meantime). Written by Steen, grow idea and algorithm from ioerror.


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A seven-year ethics truce between congressional Republicans and Democrats has begun to fray under the weight of mounting alleged abuses by House GOP leaders and tensions among Democrats over how aggressively to pursue the matters.
Some Democrats and outside groups think the reported wrongdoings have reached a critical mass that cries out for investigations and reforms. Democratic leaders, however, are wary of breaking the long cease-fire that has protected both parties from the types of ethics charges and countercharges that roiled Congress and toppled two speakers in the 1980s and '90s.
Central to the debate is the House ethics committee, largely dormant since the unwritten truce took effect but rousing in recent days to defend itself against the rain of criticism. Watchdog groups are demanding that the secretive panel show more vigor in pursuing published reports of questionable behavior by lawmakers, and they want an end to the House-approved 1997 rule that bars ethics inquiries based solely on complaints from outsiders.
Some Democratic activists also are seething, convinced their elected officials are letting Republicans flout ethical standards in ways that were unthinkable when the GOP took control of the House in 1994. Republicans had attacked the entrenched Democrats' abuse of the House bank and post office and vowed to end Congress's "cycle of scandal."
The recent allegations touch top lawmakers, including House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and several committee chairmen. They involve suggestions of bribery and threats on the House floor, illegal use of campaign funds, misuse of a federal agency for political purposes, conflicts of interest, and strong-arm tactics against lobbyists and campaign contributors.
Yet prominent Democrats, such as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) -- who this month decried "the fraying of the moral fiber of what goes on here" -- have repeatedly declined to press ethics charges or make them a political priority. Pelosi said she does not think leaders should bring ethics charges against lawmakers from the opposing party.
Outside Congress, some Republicans have joined Democrats in expressing mounting dismay over inaction in dealing with alleged ethics abuses.
"The ethics oversight process in the House is completely paralyzed," said Trevor Potter, a Republican and appointee of the first Bush administration who heads the Campaign Legal Center.
Several analysts and academics say the House must change its self-policing practices, perhaps by having former lawmakers or judges help screen cases or suggest sanctions.
Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), however, thinks the ethics process "works well," and he sees no need to respond to critics, said his spokesman, John Feehery. DeLay, the second-ranking House Republican, has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and accuses political enemies of raising trumped-up charges.
The House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct -- which was in the thick of cases that led to the resignation of Speaker Jim Wright (D-Tex.) and later the political wounding of Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) -- last week defended itself against charges it has been a do-nothing panel. In a four-page letter to House members, Chairman Joel Hefley (R-Colo.) and ranking Democrat Alan B. Mollohan (W.Va.) said, "We are fully committed to pursuing any credible claim that a member or staff person has violated any provision of the House rules." Those rules require, among other things, that members and staffers conduct themselves "in a manner which shall reflect creditably on the House."
In the past seven years the committee has undertaken "informal fact-finding" missions 18 times, the letter said, and "a number of them are ongoing." Most cases were closed with no public indication that anything took place, the letter said.
In a sign that it may pursue some of the pending cases further, the committee last week asked for an equal number of House Republicans and Democrats to be named to a "pool" that can be tapped for investigative subcommittees. In keeping with committee traditions, Hefley declined to say which cases, if any, are being actively pursued.
The 'Ethics Truce'
As for the so-called ethics truce, the committee letter says one briefly existed in 1997 but officially was lifted at the end of that year, which was particularly bitter in terms of partisan accusations. The committee fined and reprimanded Speaker Gingrich, who had led the ethics charge against Wright. Leaders of both parties, fearing the House was verging on an endless round of partisan retaliations, agreed to a cease-fire.
Many lawmakers in both parties say that, in practice, the ethics truce continues. Last week's Hefley-Mollohan letter acknowledged that House members may be refraining from filing legitimate complaints for fear "of retaliatory complaints against members of their own party."
Several Republican senators also are subjects of ethics complaints, and news stories have focused on conflicts of interest by Democrats in both bodies. But the ethics issue is especially poignant for House Republicans, who won a majority in 1994 after campaigning on a "Contract With America," in which they vowed "to restore accountability to Congress."
Former House majority leader Richard K. Armey (R-Tex.), an architect of that victory, says his party has lost its moral high ground. "The Republican majority began with the whole reform movement, going after the House bank and all that," he said. "We were great reformers, we were going to have the ethical standards." Today, he said, "it's not a very pretty picture with the House."
Since 1997, the House ethics panel has remained quiet as:
* A Texas grand jury began investigating a political action committee set up by DeLay.
* Several newspapers described how officers of Kansas-based Westar Energy wrote memos about steering $56,500 to GOP campaigns in return for legislative help from DeLay and Reps. W. J. "Billy" Tauzin (R-La.) and Joe Barton (R-Tex.). Barton later sponsored a legislative exemption sought by Westar, but it eventually was dropped.
* The Washington Post reported that Blunt, the House's third-ranking Republican, tried to slip a last-minute provision into a bill to help a tobacco company for which his son lobbied. Blunt said the measure was meant to combat cigarette smuggling, but a Hastert aide removed it.
* Common Cause, the public watchdog group that helped topple Wright, called for an ethics probe after the Post reported that aides to Rep. Michael G. Oxley (R-Ohio), who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, told a trade group that a congressional probe might ease if the group replaced its Democratic lobbyist with a Republican.
* The Campaign Legal Center and Democracy21.org, public interest groups, charged DeLay's charitable children's organization is improperly soliciting large donations from special interests to finance lavish parties at this summer's Republican National Convention. DeLay says the charity is legal and proper.
Watchdogs Barking
These and other accounts prompted a March 2 news conference in which eight watchdog groups denounced the reported behavior and demanded reforms.
"Rather than change the regime and create a rigorous ethics system as promised, Republicans over the last 10 years have eviscerated the ethics process," said Tom Fitton, president of one of the groups, the conservative Judicial Watch.
Some Democratic loyalists say their party leaders, not outside groups, should make such arguments.
"Why the Democrats are not instigating a full-scale ethics investigation is beyond me," said Leon Billings, a former U.S. Senate staffer and Maryland legislator.
Hefley says one ethics committee tradition -- rarely announcing that an inquiry has been started or finished -- can lead to the false impression that the panel has done nothing on a given issue. "It is a problem," he said. "We can't even really defend ourselves."
Critics say the panel's secrecy is a convenient dodge, making it almost impossible to know when the committee has bothered to take even a cursory look into accounts of possible misconduct. The Oxley-lobbyist episode was reported more than a year ago, they note, and the Blunt-tobacco case was reported nine months ago, yet the committee has said nothing publicly about them.
Last month, under pressure from House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), the committee announced that on Dec. 8 it had quietly "initiated informal fact-finding" into statements by Rep. Nick Smith (R-Mich.). Smith said GOP colleagues had tried to bribe and threaten him into voting for a major Medicare prescription drug bill on Nov. 22. He declined to name the members.
Hastert has said he neither threatened nor bribed Smith during the extraordinary three-hour roll call. Last week, however, he told reporters that he repeatedly pleaded with the congressman that night, begging for his vote. "Probably most of his conversations on the [House] floor were with me," Hastert said. But he said no one from the ethics committee has interviewed him about the Smith case, raising questions about how thorough or prompt the panel's three-month-old inquiry might be.
DeLay in Storm's Eye
Several of the recent ethics controversies center on DeLay, an aggressive, energetic lightning rod for admirers and detractors alike.
Veteran public-disclosure advocate Fred Wertheimer, who now heads Democracy21.org, is calling for ethics committee and Internal Revenue Service investigations into DeLay's charitable organization, Celebrations for Children Inc. The charity's fundraising brochure seeks donations of up to $500,000, which would entitle the contributor to a "private dinner" with DeLay and his wife, tickets to Broadway plays, a golf tournament and other events associated with the Republican National Convention this summer in New York City.
Wertheimer said DeLay is "flagrantly misusing a purported 'charitable' organization for his political purposes and to finance his political operations" at the convention.
DeLay spokesman Stuart Roy said Celebrations for Children is perfectly legal and at least 75 percent of the money it raises will go to charitable groups helping neglected children in Texas and New York.
Also drawing fire from Democrats and watchdog groups is a political action committee closely tied to DeLay: Texans for a Republican Majority, or TRMPAC. An Austin-based grand jury is looking into allegations that TRMPAC illegally used corporate funds to help Texas GOP candidates in 2002. Among those subpoenaed is Danielle Ferro, DeLay's daughter, who was paid by TRMPAC to organize events.
Prosecutors are asking whether TRMPAC laundered $190,000 in corporate donations through the Republican National Committee. Texas law bars PACs from using corporate donations to help individual candidates. Also, outside money and gifts are barred from the race for the Texas House speaker, a focus of TRMPAC's efforts.
Prosecutors have cited documents showing that TRMPAC spent about $400,000 in corporate contributions on political consultants whose work they say was prohibited. DeLay and other Republicans say the services were legal because they did not go directly to GOP candidates. They accuse a Democratic prosecutor of using the grand jury for political purposes.
Researchers Lucy Shackelford, Madonna Lebling and Meg Smith contributed to this report.


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- Home
- Quilt Clips
- Safari
- Jill Zebra Quilt Clip
Product Description
Beautiful quilt clips that transform your treasured baby quilts and comforters into charming hanging artwork for your child's room. Very easy to use.
This quilt clip is perfect for girly safari and jungle themed bedding sets. The hand painted zebra is white with bubblegum pink stripes and fuschia accents. It is also available in custom colors.
The zebra is made of laser cut wood, and measures 3.75 inches x 3.75 inches (at an angle). Price is per quilt clip, allowing you to build your own set.
This shape is also available unfinished so that you can paint it yourself if you would like. Please note that this design is also available in any of our other items - growth charts, peg racks, wall letters, curtain holdbacks, name signs, and more.


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Although the weather in Boston and New York is indeed god-awful as well - it being worse in Boston. Why are these good schools concentrated on the northeast?
btw UBC >? UVic???
Downtown Toronto is fabulous, but so much more is happening in the US. Also, the weather in Toronto has been horrific last year.


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Radio Electronics: Who Really Invented Radio?
The history of electronic radio technology is plagued by controversy over the question of who actually invented the thing. The answer most often given is Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi, but many others made important discoveries that give them good claim to the title.
Here's a rundown on the contenders for the title of The Father of Radio:
Marconi: He was the first person to demonstrate radio successfully and exploit it commercially. In 1901, Marconi sent a message via radio across the Atlantic from England to Canada, though the message was faint, consisted of nothing but the letter S, and reception of the message wasn't independently confirmed. Nevertheless, Marconi's accomplishment was astonishing, and he made many important contributions to the technology and business of radio.
Tesla: In 1943, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that many of Marconi's important radio patents were invalid because Nikola Tesla had already described the devices covered by Marconi's patents.
Tesla was a brilliant engineer who is best known for being the champion of alternating current over direct current for power distribution. He publicly demonstrated wireless communication devices as early as 1893. Tesla believed that wireless technology would be used not only for communication, but for power distribution as well.
Lodge: In England, Sir Oliver Lodge was building wireless telegraph systems in the mid-1890s.
Popov: In Russia, Alexander Stepanovich Popov was demonstrating wireless telegraph transmissions around the same time as Lodge.
Bose: In India, Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose was also demonstrating wireless telegraph transmissions in the early 1890s. Whether these demonstrations occurred before, after, or at the same time as other demonstrations by Lodge, Popov, and others is under dispute.
Many others: The list of names of others who did important research and made important discoveries in the last decades of the nineteenth century is long: Heinrich Hertz, Edouard Branly, Roberto de Moura, Ernest Rutherford, Ferdinand Braun, Julio Baviera, and Reginald Fessenden are just a few of the many individuals who made important contributions.
So it seems that no one person has a clear-cut claim to being the first to invent radio. Work was being done all around the world and discoveries were being made it seems every day.
It may be that the best answer is that no one "invented" radio. Radio is a natural phenomenon. It was discovered, not invented.
What was invented were ways to exploit the phenomenon of radio by building devices that could generate radio waves and modulate them to add information, as well as devices that could receive radio waves and extract the information that was added.


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Memory Lapses: What's Normal, What's Not
Memory lapses can launch us into a panic about what's okay and what's not. We embarked upon a search to find answers.
I'm sitting across from a white-coated woman, struggling to recall whether "apricots" is on a list of random items she's just read to me. I search for clues in her face, but she stares back blankly, just as she did a few minutes earlier as I attempted to recall what a boy had been eating in a picture she'd shown me. Was it salad? Spaghetti? A second glimpse reveals that he wasn't, in fact, eating. Oookaay. This is basically how my morning at a neurologist's office in New Jersey goes. And by the time the three-hour battery of tests I've paid $700 to undergo is finished (and multiple memory lapses along the way), I stumble out utterly convinced that I am in the clutches of early-onset Alzheimer's. Or that, basically, I've become a complete idiot before I've even turned 50.
Not that I didn't already have my suspicions: After increasingly losing track of my cell phone, spacing out on appointments, and forgetting to follow up with friends regarding their recent biopsies, job interviews, and the like, I'd become convinced—actually frantic—that memory loss was settling in and thus scurried off to see a doctor. It's an anxiety, apparently, that's hardly limited to myself and several of my 40- and 50-something friends: According to an international survey administered by the Harvard School of Public Health, people fear Alzheimer's second only to cancer.
One in five women who reach the age of 65 will ultimately develop Alzheimer's, but only 200,000 Americans have early-onset Alzheimer's, which usually appears around age 40 or 50. And believe it or not, middle-aged adults (in their 40s and 50s) worry more about their memory than people in their 70s and 80s do. "This may be because middle-aged adults tend to live complex lives with a lot of things hanging in the balance. It makes the anticipation of losses now or in the future very scary," says Constantine Lyketsos, M.D., chair of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore. He adds another, more philosophical observation: "So much of who we are is defined by what we remember. Losing our memories can feel like we are losing ourselves."
When the results of my tests come in about a week later, I am somewhat surprised by the findings. I scored in the bottom 1 percent on one portion that assessed my attention level. I also didn't do well on a part that tested "auditory processing." In other words, I don't listen very well. Sounds like me in real life. On the other hand, I scored in the top 99th percentile in sections that hinged on language—for example, naming as many items as I could starting with a certain letter. Makes sense—I earn a living as a writer. In the end, the results confirmed what most people close to me suspected: I'm perfectly normal, although I rush a lot and could pay closer attention when people are talking to me. But as I scramble into my car and turn the ignition, my flush of relief is quickly replaced by two unsettling questions: What is normal in terms of sudden memory lapses for a woman my age? And if this is normal, how lame-brained will I be by the time I hit 55? Or 65?
Dealing with Midlife Distractions
Fielding such questions from nervous Nellies like myself is routine for the experts at New York University (NYU) Langone Medical Center's Center of Excellence on Brain Aging in New York City. "Five years ago, most of the people who came for testing were older, 70 and up. But as the baby boomer generation enters into its 50s and 60s, we've seen an increase in the number of people worried about their memory," says managing associate director Karyn Marsh. She escorts me through the enormous building, past a warren of labs, clinics, and offices, to sit down with Susan De Santi, Ph.D., an adjunct associate professor of psychiatry at NYU. De Santi has analyzed thousands of attention and memory loss tests, like the ones I took with my neurologist in New Jersey, as part of her memory research.
"Normal testing range for a woman of 45 barely differs from what's considered normal for a person 20 years her junior," explains De Santi. She's even willing to bet that had I taken this test two decades ago, I'd have performed just about the same. Or worse, because I had less invested. "Very seldom does an adult under the age of 60 come in and we find there is something going on," she continues. "And even then, the problem tends to be related to depression or something other than dementia that can impair memory."
Then why, I ask, are so many of us middle-agers pfumpfering around in search of our keys? Primarily, says De Santi, these memory lapse symptoms are a result of how we have so much more to pay attention to now than we did at a younger age. "When I was 20 I'd study for a few hours and go out and party the rest of the night," says De Santi."I look at my own life today...I'm working 15 hours a day. My efforts as an adult have to be much more directed for longer periods of time. We don't realize how much we are demanding of ourselves and that we burn out after a certain number of hours."
Undoubtedly, the ongoing salvo of information catapulted into our consciousness by iPhones, e-mails, and social apps has only added to our distraction. Diverting our attention to interrupting cell phones not only causes memory loss, it decreases the accuracy of our memory altogether, according to some research. "We don't start seeing significant and meaningful changes in memory performance until the age of 60." And even then, in the absence of illness, that doesn't signify inferior overall ability.
But there's more to it. Much of the reason we start to worry about memory slip-ups after 40 is because, well, we start to give a hoot about these sudden memory lapses. "My daughters are in their 20s, and they sometimes lose their train of thought but think nothing of it. As adults, we notice this kind of thing because we are concerned about getting older and developing a dementia like Alzheimer's," Ralph Nixon, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Center, later tells me over the phone. He also points out that copious media coverage about Alzheimer's and memory problems has added to our generation's elevated anxiety levels. As Nixon talks, my mind wanders back in time to all the hours I spent locked out of my college dorm room because I'd forgotten my key. I recall that year in elementary school when I lost four winter coats. I realize it's true: To some extent, we do idealize what our memory might once have been.
This Is Your Brain. This Is Your Brain at 70.
Reassuring insights, for sure. But a short stroll down the hall to the office of Mony J. de Leon, Ed.D., quickly reveals that things aren't quite so straightforward. Surrounded by models of the brain and colorful pictures of the same, de Leon is a sort of counterpart to De Santi: While De Santi analyzes performance, de Leon uses high-tech imaging tools like PET scans and MRIs to study the actual structure of the brain. And what he tells me is disconcerting: Although tests like De Santi's are very good at detecting disease, they aren't necessarily designed to track how the healthy brain subtly—but definitely—changes as we age.
"You see these structures here," says de Leon, pointing to a pair of kidney-shaped red blobs on the scan of a 20-something adult. "And you see how much smaller they are in a scan of an adult in his 70s?" Those two red blobs, explains de Leon, make up the hippocampus, which acts as a sort of gateway for new memories. As that "gateway" shrinks with age, de Leon explains, it becomes less efficient at dispatching names, faces, smells, and more to other regions of the brain where they are stored as actual memories.
That's not all that slowly begins to shrivel when we hit the age of about 40 (mind you, we're still talking brain here). So, too, does the frontal lobe, says de Leon, as he waves his hand over a large region at the front of a rubbery model brain. "The frontal lobe acts like an index system. It's responsible for retrieving all the memories that are stored elsewhere in the brain," he says. When we find ourselves with a name or a word at the tip of our tongue, it's not due to memory loss, explains de Leon. "It's because the machinery that is supposed to find that word is becoming less efficient," he says.
De Leon goes on to explain that the frontal lobe is also responsible for something else: our ability to pay attention, that all-important piece of the memory puzzle that helps us actually notice where we put our coffee cup or truly hear what someone said her name was. At this point I'm imagining my frontal lobe being the size of a pine nut. "Tasks that demand attention are very vulnerable to age because as the frontal lobe shrinks it has less bandwidth, or capacity to manage information," says de Leon. This doesn't mean, however, that we're doomed to a lifetime of being locked out of our cars. It simply means that as we get older, we have to take an extra second or two to look at where we are putting those keys, so our brains have a chance to grasp the information. One more fascinating fact to consider related to memory loss: Men's brains begin to age earlier than women's, but we do, unfortunately, catch right up. "During and around the time of menopause, chemical and hormonal changes cause the brain to reduce in size. So by the time they are 60 to about 80, men and women are basically going downhill at the same rate," says de Leon. (Discover more about the best ways to improve your own memory.)
With all this shrinking and shriveling, how is it, then, that De Santi's performance tests don't reflect such changes? "Because they don't ask the right questions," says de Leon, almost smiling. Sure, portions of standard evaluations touch on age-sensitive issues like attention. "But if you really want to see how a 45-year-old brain compares to a 20-year-old brain, ask your subjects to perform tests that are speed dependent or that require them to switch back and forth between two tasks. That's where the younger brain will dominate.
But de Leon is quick to emphasize the flip side of this story. Apparently, while we may become less efficient at things like rattling off phone numbers backward, a lifetime of experience gives us tools that our children may lack to cope with and compensate for memory lapses. Aware that we may not remember to call a friend after her doctor's appointment, we get to a place where we write ourselves a note on the calendar to do so. We're not surfing the Internet or watching TV while talking to her on the phone. And, if her news is bad, we know all the right things to say. "That's called wisdom. And in life," says de Leon, "wisdom can take you pretty far."
What to Expect When You're Forgetting
A tool using PET scan technology to detect Alzheimer's could be approved by the FDA this year. But experts debate whether it's definitive and who should be tested. For now, talk to your M.D. and check out this list of signs that nothing's wrong or something's amiss.
- Normal: Misplacing car keys
- Not So Normal: Not remembering what car keys are for or finding them in an odd place like the freezer
- Normal: Worrying about your memory
- Not So Normal: Others telling you they're worried about your memory
- Normal: Periodically forgetting names of acquaintances
- Not So Normal: Struggling to remember names of close friends and associates
- Normal: Forgetting why you walked into a room
- Not So Normal: Difficulty completing everyday tasks, like cooking a meal or making a call
- Normal: Occasionally having trouble finding the right word
- Not So Normal: Searching for names of everyday items, like a vase or a tea kettle
- Normal: At times not remembering where you're going
- Not So Normal: Getting lost in your own neighborhood and not being able to get home
- Normal: Forgetting what you ate while recently out to dinner with friends
- Not So Normal: Not recalling the entire experience
When Memory Loss Is Not Alzheimer's
Don't jump to the dark side just yet. Trouble remembering is most often attributable to a range of less serious—and reversible—causes. If you are concerned about your recall, ask your M.D. if it could be:
- Depression: Considered a major cause of memory loss in middle age, the fog of this mental illness often makes people too unfocused and inattentive to file and recall passing events in and out of memory.
- Menopause: Declining estrogen levels during and around menopause are associated with some decrease in recollection. (Get answers to all of your burning questions about menopause.)
- Hypertension: Untreated, this disease can chip away at your memory by cutting down on blood flow to the brain.
- Diabetes: Poorly controlled glucose levels in patients with diabetes have been shown to impair recollection in the short and long term.
- Sleep Deprivation: Being tired makes it more difficult to pay attention and visually process information, which are key to the creation and filing of memories in the brain. What's more, individuals with sleep apnea—a disorder in which a blocked airway repeatedly halts a sleeper's breathing—show tissue loss in brain regions that help store memories.
- Thyroid Dysfunction: Both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism disrupt a number of key steps in the memory formation and retrieval process.
- A Vitamin Deficiency: Vitamin B12 is crucial to brain health because it helps preserve myelin, the fatty sheath that protects brain cells or neurons. Left untreated, a B12 deficiency can cause permanent neuronal damage, including trouble remembering. (While we're talking vitamins, are you deficient in D? About 50 percent of Americans are!)
- Your Medication: Memory loss is a side effect of several drugs, including some urinary incontinence drugs, over-the-counter sleep medications, certain antidepressants, and some steroidal drugs prescribed for chronic arthritis.
5 Ways to Save Your Brain
Is Alzheimer's preventable? Some experts say yes. Lifestyle changes could reduce the prevalence of the disease by 25 percent, according to research presented at last year's Alzheimer's Association International Conference. And even experts who disagree note that all these behavioral changes are still smart health bets. (See six sneaky signs you—or someone you love—might have Alzheimer's disease.)
- Get head-to-toe healthy. Diabetes, depression, and heart disease have all been linked to increased risk of Alzheimer's. The very same cholesterol plaques and inflamed blood vessels that clog your heart, for example, also clog the arteries that carry blood and oxygen to your brain. "Reduced blood supply to the brain can be a huge determinant of who gets Alzheimer's disease and when they develop symptoms," says P. Murali Doraiswamy, M.D., professor of psychiatry and geriatrics at Duke University Institute for Brain Sciences and coauthor of The Alzheimer's Action Plan. Now's the time to commit to keeping your weight down, your stress in check, and your cholesterol, glucose, and blood pressure at optimal levels by engaging in regular aerobic exercise. You should also embrace a heart-healthy diet that's heavy on fresh produce (like berries, which studies have shown promote brain health), fatty fish (rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which may protect against mental disorders), and whole grains, but light on saturated fats, red meat, and highly processed foods.
- Protect your crown. Alzheimer's disease is believed to be caused by plaques and tangles of protein in the brain, which essentially interrupt brain circuitry and reduce memory function. Injuries to the brain—even microtraumas that may result in only a short loss of consciousness or state of confusion—add further "dead zones" to the brain and make it that much more vulnerable. Bottom line: You, your husband, and the kids should always wear your seat belt and use a helmet whenever you skate, bike, ski, or participate in an activity where head injury is a risk. Enforce those rules with the whole family.
- Step out of your comfort zone. One of the major discoveries in the field of brain science and memory loss is that even as we age, we can stimulate the growth of new brain cells and bolster our brain circuitry. Those extra connections act like a "cognitive reserve" that your brain can turn to when other cells die off or become deadened by injury or Alzheimer's plaques. "To most effectively stimulate and strengthen connections in the brain, you have to engage in activities that are challenging, new, and take you off automatic pilot," says Doraiswamy. If you're a numbers person, consider doing crosswords. If you're a word person, perhaps take up bridge. You might even pick up one of the many software programs, like Brain HQ or Lumosity, that are designed to boost your memory and overall cognitive skills.
- Socialize regularly. In a study of people over 50, those with larger social networks showed smaller declines in memory as they aged. Doraiswamy explains that this may be because social individuals tend to engage in more brain-boosting mental and physical activities and may have stronger brain circuitry, plus socializing may reduce the negative effect of stress on the brain. Even if you're not the belle-of-the-ball type, make an effort to get out with others. Join an exercise class or a book group, or pass up that solitary walk with Rufus for an hour with other pup lovers at your local dog park. (Painting can help prevent memory lapse symptoms, too!)
- Find solutions. Writing lists, using a digital calendar, and slowing yourself down so you can pay attention aren't like wearing a girdle: They don't cause your memory to atrophy by providing support. "Even the best memory champions write things down when they don't want to take the chance of forgetting something," says Doraiswamy. Head to the bookstore to pick up a self-help book that offers memory-boosting strategies.
How to Support the Fight Against Alzheimer's Disease
Considering the number of people Alzheimer's affects—every 69 seconds someone develops the disease—it is grossly underfunded in terms of research for better treatments and support for the millions who are caring for people with the disease. But you can help make a difference.
- Be an agent for change. Check out the Alzheimer's Association website to learn about fundraising opportunities and urge your elected representatives to support and initiate important legislation that could brighten the future for Alzheimer's patients and their families.
- Consider a clinical trial. The Alzheimer's Association's TrialMatch site has information on trials for people with Alzheimer's or related dementia and their caregivers, family members, and doctors. The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative is searching for individuals with normal and impaired cognition who may ultimately help uncover ways to prevent the disease.
Lift someone up. Keeping their loved one safe is a primary goal of any caregiver. But so many other tasks fall on their to-do list that it can be overwhelming, to say the least. Offering to check in on someone suffering from dementia, bringing over a home-cooked meal, or just helping fold laundry could mean the world to a caregiver.


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Timberland Kids Toddler Mad River Sandals Purple YYG-38043656
Product Code: YYG-38043656
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She'll make a splash on the trip to the lake when you slip her feet into the Timberland® Girls' Mad River Sandal. A lightweight upper with three straps ensures a comfortable fit during outdoor activities. The ultra-comfy EVA footbed and rubber outsole utilizes Crash Blaster™ technology, reducing shock on her body while she plays as hard as the rugged lakeside terrain. The Mad River Sandal is a perfect blend of fun and function.
- Synthetic open toe upper sandal style that's safe to get wet
- Two hook-and-loop straps for easy adjustment
- Protective toe strap prevents stubbing and scraping
- Durable EVA footbed provides lasting comfort, optimal cushioning, and prime shock-absorption
- Midsole odor-fighter that won't wear off
- Non-marking Crash Blaster™ rubber outsole is ready for high-impact play by reducing shock on small bodies without compromising lightweight structure
- Style: 3882R
- Timberland
Timberland Kids Toddler Mad River Sandals Purple YYG-38043656


text:
Zleek necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 308 diseños de 54 diseñadores freelance.
Zleek is a collection of virtual photo albums (called Zleek Books) that can be shared with friends, family, or anyone else. You can create stunning page layouts containing your favorite pictures and videos that other people can interact with.
We are set to relaunch Zleek with an entirely different look-and-feel, and we would like a new logo to reflect this.
Friends and families wishing to share photos or videos as a virtual scrapbook. This audience spans all ages, nationalities, and genders.
The logo should be simple, and must contain the text "Zleek" (casing not required). Logos for Yammer.com and Flickr.com, and even 99designs are examples of what we are going for, due to their simplicity. Our tagline is "Simple and Sleek Photo Sharing", and the logo should reflect this. Other possible logo influences are oqodo.com, sumagency.com, and syncplicity.com, for their color schemes rather than the way the letters sit.
The winning entry should provide alternate renderings in PNG format with and transparent background and heights of 50px, 22px, and 17px. In addition, the complete layered image should be provided in PSD format.
For further influence, check out our test site at http://www.zleektest.com/zleek. This will give an example of the "simple and sleek" look we are going for.
Good luck!
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


text:
Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri has reached an initial agreement to import gas from Egypt and is seeking deals to buy oil from Iraq and Iran, a Beirut newspaper reported Tuesday.
Hariri informed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad about the agreement with Egypt during his trip to Damascus on Monday, the pro-Syrian As Safir daily said.
The deal, reached by Hariri during his trip to Cairo last week, stipulates that Lebanon imports gas from the Egyptian coastal city of al-Arish to the port of Tripoli in north Lebanon, before re-exporting it to Syria and Turkey, the paper said.
The daily said Hariri is also seeking another project "aimed at importing oil from Iraq through Syria and from Iran through Iraq and Syria to allow Lebanon to re-export it to world markets."
The Hariri-owned al-Mustaqbal newspaper quoted Egyptian Oil Minister Sameh Fahmi on Monday as saying that Lebanon would "import from Egypt a daily volume of between six and nine million cubic meters of gas worth between 80 and 100 million dollars."
Last week, Hariri said Lebanon was eager to buy gas from neighboring Syria and was seeking plans to reach an agreement to rehabilitate pipelines running from Iraq to Lebanon through Syria.—AFP.
©--Agence France Presse.


text:
JHaswell necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 103 diseños de 33 diseñadores freelance.
We need a hi-res logo design for our "Optional Extras". These Optional Extras are offered on the side in our race competitions which all players can benefit from, at the cost of an additional entry fee of some sort.
The logo should depict the name "Optional Extras" and any imagery of your choosing as long as it is original artwork. We want our users to view an event and see the "Optional Extras" logo and realize immediately that the event has Optional Extras. We are always looking for something clean, sleek, and vibrant. The logo should be a good size and shape to be able to be placed in email headers and such, so no awkwardly wide logos please :)
- Something that depicts Optional Extras as a perk, and will become something people look for on our race events
- Something inconsistent and unidentifiable as a logo
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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Students will be encouraged to develop a practical grasp of all Units 3 and 4 Areas of Study under the new Study Design including; Reading and creating texts; Analysing argument; Reading and comparing texts; and Presenting argument.
This four and a half hour session on Stasiland / Never Let Me Go will focus on section B of the English exam, Paired Comparisons.
This component is worth one-third of the total assessment for the examination and therefore attending this component is critical. In addressing the paired comparison, this session will make detailed reference to the inclusive texts.
Senior VCE Teacher, VCE Author and VCE Assessor
Genazzano FCJ College
Bachelor of Arts (English)
Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary)
Head of VCE, Senior VCE Teacher and VCE Author
Yarra Hills Secondary College
Bachelor of Science (Honours - English Minor)
Master of Teaching (Secondary - English)
Post Graduate Diploma in Teaching (Secondary - English)
Senior VCE Teacher and VCE Author
Exclusive to TSSM
Bachelor of Arts (Honours)
PhD (Shakespeare)
Diploma of Education
Senior VCE Teacher and VCE Assessor
Centre for Adult Education
Bachelor of Arts (Honours)
Master of Arts
Diploma of Education
Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training
Senior VCE Teacher and VCE Assessor
St Helena Secondary College
Bachelor of Education (English)
Senior VCE Teacher and VCE Author
Ashwood High School
Bachelor of Creative Writing (Creative Writing and Theatre) Studies
Bachelor of Teaching - Secondary (English and Drama)
Professional Practice Leading Teacher and VCE Assessor
Wheelers Hill Secondary College
Postgraduate Bachelor of Education (Primary & Secondary)Bachelor of Arts (English Literature, Drama & Theatre Studies)
TSSM's VCE Centre (Level 14, 474 Flinders Street, Melbourne). Specific room details will be provided upon enrolment.
4.5 hours. This includes a 30 minute break.
If you prefer to enrol offline, please download and complete our registration form
and forward it together with your payment to our head office. Please note that you
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