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Our results are only as good as our plan. My mentor Earl Shoaff taught me that it's not what happens that determines the major part of our future—because what happens, happens to us all. Instead, he taught me that the key is what we do about it. If we start the process of change by developing a plan, doing something different the next year than we did the previous year, it won't matter how small those efforts start. Start doing different things with the same set of circumstances—the ones we've always had and cannot change—and see what miracles occur. If we start the miracle process and change ourselves, then everything changes. And here's what is interesting: The difference between failure and success is subtle.
Let me explain by giving you my definitions of failure and success: Failure is a few judgment errors repeated every day. The man says, "Well, I didn't walk around the block today and it didn't kill me, so it must be OK." No, no, it is that kind of error in judgment that after six years has him out of breath and panting as he walks from his car to his office. You can't make those kinds of mistakes. It will cost you. Now, here is my definition of success: a few simple disciplines practiced every day. Do you see the distinction? A few disciplines… Here's a little phrase we've all heard, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." And my question to you is, "What if that's true?" How simple and easy is that plan? The fact is, when you look at successful people, you will almost always discover a plan behind their success. They know what they want, they work out a plan that will get them where they want to go, and they work their plan. It is the foundation for success. As humans, we have the unique ability to affect change in our lives. It is through our own conscious choice when we engage in the miracle process of personal development that we are able to transform our nature and our lives. I want this year to be a success for you—a smashing success—and we know that means you need to have a plan, and then methodically work that plan. The combination of materials, your open attitude toward learning and your diligence to follow a plan that is right for you will make this year the kind of success we know you want it to be. So let me challenge you to be no less sincere, no less committed to the advancement of your philosophy, the set of your sail, your plan. So, what are some good ideas on developing a plan that will work well and take you to the finish line powerfully? Here are the five major points to keep in mind:
1. Develop the right plan for you.
Some people are very detail-oriented and are able to closely follow an intricate plan. Others are less detail-orientated, which is OK, too. So what plan is the right plan? The plan that fits you. Each of us is unique and motivated by different factors and you've got to develop a plan that is right for you and fits you. Some plans will not be as intricate as others, but we all must have a plan, along with goals in that plan, to move us along. If you are a free spirit, don't tell yourself you are going to spend two hours a day with a book and a journal. It probably won't happen and you will just get discouraged. Whatever your personality, your strengths and your weaknesses, develop the plan around them. This is not a one-plan-fits-all proposition.
2. Establish times to spend on it.
It might be every Sunday night. It might be 20 minutes each morning or at lunch at before bed. It might be in the car listening to CDs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Whatever it is, set the times and do it. In your step-by-step plan, put down points that you can accomplish every week. They should be specific and achievable. Develop the discipline and take those steps every day, which will move you closer to your goals.
3. Keep a journal.
Take notes. Mr. Shoaff taught me not to trust my memory, but to write it down, to find one place to gather the information that affects change. And that advice has served me well all these years. Record the ideas and inspiration that will carry you from where you are to where you want to be. Take notes on the ideas that impact you most. Put down your thoughts and ideas. Brainstorm with yourself on where you are going and what you want to do. Record your dreams and your ambitions. Your journals are a gathering place for all the valuable information that you will find. If you are serious about becoming wealthy, powerful, sophisticated, healthy, influential, cultured and unique, if you come across something important, write it down. Two people will listen to or read the same material and different ideas will come to each one. Use the information you gather and record it for further reflection, for future debate and for weighing the value that it is to you.
4. Reflect.
Create time for reflection—a time to go back over, to study again the things you've learned and the things you've done each day. I call it "running the tapes again" so the day locks firmly in your memory and serves as a tool. As you go through the material in this plan, you will want to spend time reflecting on its significance to you. Take a few minutes at the end of each day and go back over the day: who you talked to, who you saw, what they said, what happened and how you felt. Every day is a piece of the mosaic of your life. Next, take a few hours at the end of the week to reflect on the week's activities. Also during that weekly time, take a few minutes to reflect on how this material should be applied to your life and circumstances. Take a half day at the end of the month and a weekend at the end of the year so that you've got it, so that it never disappears, to ensure that the past is even more valuable and will serve your future well.
5. Set goals.
Remember that your plan is the roadmap for how you are going to get to your goals, so you have to have them. Of all the things that changed my life for the better (and most quickly), it was learning how to set goals. Mastering this unique process can have a powerful effect on your life, too. I remember shortly after I met Mr. Shoaff, he asked me if I had a list of my goals, and of course I didn't. He suggested to me that because I lacked a set of clearly defined goals that he could guess my bank balance within a few hundred dollars… and he did! Well, Mr. Shoaff immediately began helping me define my view of the future, my dreams. He taught me to set goals because it is the greatest influence on a person's future and the greatest force that will pull a person in the direction that they want to go. The future must be planned, well designed to exert a force that pulls you toward the promise of what can be.
6. Act on your plan.
What separates the successful from the unsuccessful so many times is that the successful simply do it. They take action. They aren't necessarily smarter than others; they just work the plan. The time to act is when the emotion is strong. Here's what happens if you don't: The Law of Diminishing Intent. We intend to act when the idea strikes us, when the emotion is high, but if we delay and we don't translate that into action fairly soon, the intention starts to diminish, diminish and a month from now it's cold and a year from now it can't be found. So set up the discipline when the idea is strong, clear and powerful—that's the time to work the plan. You must capture the emotion and put it into disciplined activities and translate it into equity. And here's what is interesting: All disciplines affect each other; everything affects everything. That's why the smallest action is important—because the value and benefits that you receive from that one little action will inspire you to do the next one and the next one… So step out and take action on your plan, because if the plan is good, then the results can be miraculous.


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I loaded the activities I've written in the past onto my new G1G1 XO and found that Pointillism probably never worked on any XO but my old one. This is something I probably should have tested.
In addition to actually working, this release has better performance, flips the image horizontally, and lets you save images to the Journal.
Download: Pointillism-2.xo

subset: commoncrawl


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Almost imperceptibly, West Asia has become the new frontline of the current manifestation of cyber warfare with various types of cyber weapons being deployed by parties whose identities can only be speculated upon, but presumed to be state and non-state actors from within the region and beyond. Since the discovery of the Stuxnet malware in 2010, no less than five other "cyber weapons" have made their appearance over the past two years. The two recent attacks on energy companies are particularly worrisome since they represent a relentless and rapid escalation in capabilities and intent on the part of the perpetrators.
Stuxnet was directed against the Iranian nuclear programme, and suspicions of US and Israeli involvement were confirmed by subsequent reports. These suspicions arose in the first place because of the sophistication of the malware, which, experts declared, could only be engineered through the resources available to a nation state. After a lull of a year, the Duqu worm was discovered in September 2011, followed in quick succession by the Mahdi, Gauss and Flame malware. While Flame, Duqu and Gauss were said to share similar digital DNA with Stuxnet, being spread predominantly via USB sticks, their primary purpose seemed to be espionage, with their targets ranging from banking to governmental to energy networks. Flame, in particular, was noted for its modular nature, and its size, averaging 20 MB. Its capabilities ranged from recording Skype conversations and downloading information from smart phones to more mundane activities such as recording audio, screenshots, keystroke and network traffic recording. The Mahdi Trojan seemed to have different godfathers and was spread via phishing emails even though its purpose was also apparently espionage. Infections were reported from Iran, Israel, Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt.
In April 2012, there were reports of a new virus, Wiper, that was much more malicious, and wiped off the data on all computers that it infected. This virus largely affected networks in Iran. Four months later, the Shamoon virus is reported to have wiped off the data from 30,000 computers of the Saudi Arabian State oil company, Aramco, followed a week later by a similar episode on the networks of the second largest LNG company in the world, Ras Gas of Qatar.
In what has become the norm for such cyber attacks, despite intense investigations by anti-virus companies, the origins of the malware have remained largely in the realm of speculation and inference. While ownership of the Stuxnet (and by inference, its cousins Duqu, Flame and Gauss) malware was claimed by the Obama Administration for electoral purposes, the Shamoon virus is speculated to be a reverse-engineered version of the Wipe virus unleashed by hackers loyal to the Iranian regime. Tit-for-tat attacks look set to become the norm as the countries of the region gird up their cyber loins.
Similarly, existing defences appear to be no match for these malware attacks. The countries of West Asia are among the most pro-active when it comes to controlling cyberspace, with Iran going to the extent of decoupling from the Internet and building its own national Intranet. The energy infrastructure companies that were attacked are among the biggest in the field and would no doubt have had many layered defences against such attacks, to no avail. In their defence, the critical infrastructure itself was not affected by the attacks. It must also be mentioned that the behaviour of some of the malware has been akin to sleeper cells, programmed to awaken on command and carry out instructions sent from command and control servers. As in the case of the modularly designed Flame malware, they can be used for multiple purposes, based on requirement.
From India's perspective, there is much cause for concern in these developments. With a substantial part of its oil imports coming from the region, attacks on the global energy infrastructure centred in West Asia could have enormous repercussions on India. Unlike physical attacks which have been held at bay through international pressure, the anonymity of cyber attacks and the absence of norms and conventions make it difficult for the international community to restrain such acts. The sudden loss of petroleum supplies can be cushioned through a strategic petroleum reserve but efforts on to build such a reserve since 2004 are yet to bear fruition. Since gas has become a crucial energy component, the feasibility of establishing a Strategic Gas Reserve could also be considered.
Of more immediate concern are the vulnerabilities in Indian critical infrastructure which could render them vulnerable to similar attacks. While prediction and prevention strategies are all to the good, even greater emphasis needs to be placed on effective recovery strategies. All of this calls for greater coordination between the motley government, public and private enterprises that together run the country's critical infrastructure.
Cyber attacks can have devastating results in terms of loss of livelihood, destruction of the economy and anarchy in society. Loss of life alone can no longer be a barometer of devastation. It is as important to have contingency plans ready to deal with all eventualities, as it is for countries to come together to nip this scourge in the bud, and to call out the rogue actors.


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A study from the journal "Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity" has demonstrated that vitamin E can prevent and treat the loss of muscle mass and strength that occurs as people age. This loss of muscle is known as "sarcopenia".
Regarding the word "oxidative" that is included in the journal name, this refers to the process in our bodies where we process the oxygen we breathe in, and our cells produce energy from it.
This process can become imbalanced and create a state of "oxidative stress" if we don't consume enough "anti" oxidants such as vitamins E, C and A. Besides the body's own natural metabolism functions, sources of oxidative stress can include pollution, medications or drugs, smoke, infection, stress, toxins, or a poor diet.
The researchers explain that vitamin E creates healthy muscles because a reduced level of vitamin E or a deficiency in the body is associated with an increased risk of muscle atrophy (shrinkage). The vitamin can prevent muscle damage and encourage muscle regeneration.
Muscles in the body are particularly susceptible to oxidative damage as these are the site of the highest consumption of oxygen. Vitamin E is a fat soluble vitamin that greatly boosts cellular antioxidant capacity. Because of this, vitamin E can be beneficial for preventing the effects of aging and for also treating infections, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and neurological disorders.
Several studies have demonstrated an association between vitamin E levels and the amount of muscle strength or weakness. One study in Italy was done with 1,156 participants between 65 years old and 102. Knee extension strength tests showed that a daily intake of vitamin E is significantly related to a person's total physical performance and strength.
Another group of scientists proved the beneficial effects of vitamin E in reversing muscle damage during extensive exercise in men. The men took 800 units of Vitamin E daily for 28 days. After a downhill run, their oxidative stress indicators were measured and were shown to be markedly reduced in both the older and younger men.
Vitamin E has many pathways by which it brings its beneficial health effects. In addition to being a powerful antioxidant, it is also an effective anti-inflammatory vitamin. It may halt the overall inflammation in the body by suppressing certain reactive cells of the immune system. These inflammatory responses and cells have a direct affect on muscle strength and mass as well, so vitamin E does its good deeds in benefiting the muscles in this additional way.
Inactivity and immobility can lead to muscle wasting, so the researchers highly encourage low intensity exercises as an effective means to increase muscle strength and performance. This may include walking, lifting light weights, doing squats, etc. This also increases a person's ability to balance and control the body well. Combining a healthy diet with nutrition supplements and exercise is the most highly recommended approach to improved muscle strength.
Vitamin E has also been shown to ease arthritis pain and stiffness. One study showed that pain parameters were significantly decreased after vitamin E treatment when compared with placebo.
This natural health news is provided by Nutrition Breakthroughs, a publisher of nutrition articles and supplier of natural remedies since 2002. Nutrition Breakthroughs makes Sleep Minerals II, the effective natural sleep aid with calcium, magnesium, zinc and vitamin D, and also Joints and More, the natural solution for joint relief, aches and pains, stronger hair and nails and more energy.


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Gloria Miccioli has been a law librarian for 20 years. Her specialty is research. She has worked as Government Documents/Reference Librarian at the Jacob Burns Law Library of the George Washington University Law School; as Senior Research Librarian for Williams & Connolly; and is currently International Librarian for Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue's D.C. office, where she provides expert research services for the firm's overseas offices.
The proliferation of medical web sites is good news for the researcher with a small to non-existent medical collection. Legal researchers often have to consult medical sources, so it is fortunate that the Internet provides free access to a great deal of the medical literature, either in full text or citation/abstract format, and that it offers search capabilities good enough to fulfill most information needs. In addition, public demand for medical information on the World Wide Web is constant. Many professionally-oriented health care sites are evolving to meet consumer needs, and consumer-oriented sites often include professional literature.1
Journals, dictionaries, textbooks, indexes – all can be found on the Net in growing numbers. The sources are varied: publishers, government agencies, professional organizations, and health libraries, to name a few. A simple, if time-consuming, way to find lots of health- related links is to access a general search engine like Yahoo!. Select the category, Science. Click on Medicine and you will pull up almost 100 subcategories, including Libraries, Journals, Booksellers, and Dictionaries. Each subcategory links to various sites, of which some may be useful – or not. Under Dictionaries are links to many medical dictionaries, including one with terms in several European languages. You can also search by subject in an attempt to narrow the number of hits and get the mixed bag that usually results from a web search on a general search engine.
A more specific approach would be to directly access a medical web site.2 But which one? As usual, it depends on what you are looking for. MEDLINE, one of the jewels of medical research, is an electronic index that provides citations/abstracts to some 4200 American and foreign biomedical journals since 1966. As such, it is a mainstay of medical research, especially for current information. It has long been searchable for a fee through commercial databases. It is now available on the World Wide Web. Since it is produced by the National Library of Medicine, a government agency, it is offered at no cost on the Net and is accessible not only from the NLM web site but also from many other sites, such as those of medical libraries and medical associations. But remember: not all MEDLINE sites are the same. Some do not cover the entire MEDLINE database; some do not offer all MEDLINE search features. Read the web site's description, if there is one, to determine exactly how much MEDLINE is offered.
In fact, MEDLINE is available from the National Library of Medicine in different official versions, PubMed, Internet GratefulMed, which is being phased out and has not been updated since December 2000, and NLM Gateway. These web products are both similar and different.
Commercial Web Sites Journals and Textbooks Libraries and Nonprofit Organizations Medical Search Engines and Visual Information National Library of Medicine Databases Physician Information National Library of Medicine Databases
- Internet GratefulMed
- NLM Gateway
- Internet GratefulMed was, and NLM Gateway is, the user-friendly way to search MEDLINE. Both require no knowledge of a search command language. IGM provided access to MEDLINE and 14 other databases that covered specific subjects like AIDS or that covered journals beyond MEDLINE's date range. For example, OLDMEDLINE indexes journal citations from 1958 to 1965. These databases had to be searched separately. Introduced in October 2000, NLM Gateway is a web-based interface that will search its network of NLM databases simultaneously. Right now the situation is somewhat confusing because Gateway is in the process of adding databases to its system. To see the databases currently available, go to http://gateway.nlm.nih.gov/gw/Cmd?/Overview.x. To see a list of GratefulMed databases and how to link to them now, go to http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/jf01/jf01_igm_phaseout.html. For example, TOXLINE, a database on drug toxicity, iw not yet available through Gateway. You can access it at http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov. AIDSLINE has been integrated into MEDLINE and is no longer a separate database on Gateway as it was on GratefulMed.
Despite the confusion during this transition, users will find NLM Gateway a good starting point for MEDLINE research. One of the best features from IGM is still available: the system helps you to find precise medical terminology by allowing you to search for MeSH headings. The National Library of Medicine has developed an extensive controlled vocabulary called Medical Subject Headings (MeSH); using MeSH terms in a search will lead to greater accuracy and relevancy in search results. By entering a term and then clicking on Find MeSH/Meta Terms, you can access NLM's Unified Medical Language System's Metathesaurus. Just browse through a ranked list of terms, MeSH hierarchies, and relevant co-terms, then select terms to be added to your search. You can also designate main headings. Terms will also be automatically "exploded" unless you indicate otherwise; that is, subheadings of a term will be searched along with the main heading. I can't stress enough the importance of using the MeSH function; your results will be more accurate when you use the terms assigned to the article by the indexer. And the non-medical searcher may not be able to guess the correct terms: how many would know that "mad cow disease" is represented in MEDLINE as "encephalopathy, bovine spongiform"?
There is a simple search box. Search results are divided into categories, another nice feature. They include journal articles, books/serials/AV materials (from the NLM catalog), and other collections. For each category you can get search details, i.e., how the terms fit in MeSH, and what databases were searched. Displaying results brings up citations with an option to display abstracts if they exist. You can also ask to see articles related to a particular citation, like the "More" function in Lexis/Nexis. The Limits button lets you narrow your search by document type, English language, and publication year. (GratefulMed offered many more options.) History will show you search statements and allow you to modify them. I recommend you read the FAQ on the left sidebar of the home page for basic search tips and for printing or downloading information. Gateway also links to the full text of articles available online by participating publishers, but retrieval may require a fee or a subscription. It also links to Loansome Doc, the fee-based online ordering system of the National Library of Medicine.
NLM Gateway is easy to use and allows for simultaneous searching of several medical databases. It is intended to be a first step for medical researchers. Those who need more detail and more sophisticated searching should turn to PubMed.
- PubMed
- PubMed is narrower in scope than NLM Gateway but it offers more powerful searching. PubMed was developed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) at the National Library of Medicine in conjunction with publishers of medical literature. PubMed does not include the NLM databases found on the Gateway home page, but it does link to the full text of articles of participating journals. At present there are links to the full text of about 1700 journals (out of some 4200 indexed by MEDLINE). Access to the full text depends on the publisher; some require a fee or subscription. For a list of journals with full- text links, click on Journal Browser on the home page, then on the list of journals with links to full text web sites. PubMed covers only MEDLINE plus links to NCBI's molecular biology databases.
Change is also in the cards for PubMed. A notice on the web site announces "a number of changes in the next few months to the display formats and search options." Click on New/Noteworthy and then on Technical Bulletin for details.
You can enter terms in a simple query box on the PubMed home page, or you can click on Preview/Index for more advanced searches. You can also search by author and journal title. To narrow your search parameters, click on Limits and use pull-down menus to restrict the search by field (such as title, title word, abstract word, MeSH heading, issue, page number and so on) and by language, age, gender, publication type, date range, and more. Read the FAQ (the link is on the left sidebar of the home page) for basic information on PubMed and take the online Tutorial.
The PubMed search engine automatically tries to match search terms, phrases, author names, and journal titles against established lists. Putting a phrase in quotes will prompt the system to search a second phrase dictionary. If a match is not found, the individual terms are ANDed together. It is also possible to search the MeSH headings in PubMed. Click on MeSH Browser on the left sidebar. Enter a term and the system will respond with the correct MeSH heading(s), which can be selected. When I entered "norplant", I got the MeSH heading "levornorgestrel", a short definition, and the term hierarchy, from which more terms could be selected and added to the search.
Search results can be displayed in brief citation format or with abstracts, if they are available. Like Gateway, PubMed allows you to retrieve related articles for most citations, because most records in MEDLINE are linked to other records by a matching algorithm. For the full text of the articles, you can link to a participating journal or order online from NLM through Loansome Doc.
PubMed has several other useful features; links are on the homepage sidebar:
- The Journal Browser lets you look up journal names, MEDLINE abbreviations, or ISSN numbers.
- Single Citation Matcher allows you to verify a single citation.
- The Batch Citation Matcher allows you to verify multiple citations.
- A Clinical Query Form is available to search for the therapy, diagnosis, etiology, and prognosis of a topic
- Cubby is a stored search feature that allows users to store and automatically update searches (like Eclips on Lexis or WestClip on Westlaw). To register for Cubby, click on the button and follow the instructions.
Both Gateway and PubMed are attractive alternatives to fee-based sources of MEDLINE. I am impressed by the ways in which NLM has made its MeSH headings available. My experience has been that using the correct medical vocabulary is the most important factor when looking for medical information. Further, getting the actual articles has always been a
time-consuming process. With the NLM web products, the user merely has to point and click to order articles, some of which may be online.However, both systems take a bit of practice, at least for me. Maneuvering among the MeSH browser, pull-down menus, and various fields – i.e., defining and modifying the query – took time and was hard to keep track of. However, upgrades have made these systems easier to use, and no doubt this will continue. With practice, the user will find that PubMed and GratefulMed are excellent vehicles with which to search MEDLINE.
Before we leave NIH, let me mention MEDLINEplus, NLM's effort to provide consumer-oriented medical information. Launched in the fall of 1998, this system is easy to use and understand. Sources include medical dictionaries, a medical encyclopedia, provider directories, health news and access to health-related government and non- government databases, including a link to PubMed for MEDLINE searching. It would be a good place to get basic information on a disease, medical condition or treatment; you can then turn to the medical literature for more sophisticated information.
If MEDLINE is available in not one, but two, formats from NLM, why would a researcher choose to search it on a non-NLM web site? One reason is convenience, especially if he user is already on another medical site that links to MEDLINE. Often the link is to PubMed. A more compelling reason is that some sites offer MEDLINE searching with a little extra added.
- Medscape
- One such site is Medscape, whose products are "designed to give healthcare professionals and consumers the healthcare information and digital data they need regardless of where or when they need it." This web site combines information from journals, medical texts, medical news providers, medical education programs, and materials created specifically for Medscape. Its real value is not so much access to MEDLINE as it is a collection of 25,000 free, full-text, peer-reviewed clinical medicine articles that are searchable and collected from journals or written for Medscape. Click on Search Medscape on the homepage to bring up a screen for searching MEDLINE, AIDSLINE, Medscape's full-text articles, and several databases such as Drug Information, Patient Information, Medical Images, and a Medical Dictionary. The database called "Clinical Content" contains the articles written for Medscape as well as discussion group archives, treatment updates, conference summaries, textbooks, and practice guidelines. There is so much in Medscape.com that the homepage is a little confusing. A list of links to the resources on this site, found by clicking on Site Map on the top of the screen, makes the site easier to navigate. I often turn to Medscape first when I'm given a medical research question because I can search both MEDLINE and the information produced for and by Medscape itself. As with many medical web sites, Medscape requires free registration.
Medscape's MEDLINE offers two search options: a basic screen that allows for only natural language queries (i.e., fuzzy logic), searching by author and journal, and limiting the search to English, abstracts, review articles, date and to the top 269 ranked MEDLINE journals. The advanced screen includes all this and also offers "concept mapping," i.e., the automatic selection of correct medical terms, plus searching by word variants, and a choice of fuzzy or Boolean logic. It's interesting that Medscape has designed its own search screens rather than default to Gateway's or PubMed's.
Medscape's sister site CBSHealthWatch.com was launched in 1999 and is "geared towards helping consumers manage their healthcare."
- MedicineNet.com
- When I do medical research, I usually try to find a plain English description of the topic before I start to search MEDLINE – and sometimes after. MedicineNet.com is a good place to go for understandable yet in-depth medical information. Produced by a network of U.S. board certified physician writers, this site has hundreds of web articles on diseases, treatments, procedures, tests, and drugs. Click on Health Resources on the sidebar to access the articles, which are arranged by category (e.g., diseases and conditions, medications, procedures and tests, and so on). Select a category and then choose from the detailed alphabetical list. To search by keyword, click on Advanced Search on the left sidebar.
- InteliHealth
- Another site that seeks to make health care information accessible to a wide audience is InteliHealth, a subsidiary of Aetna U.S. Healthcare. It seeks to provide "credible information and useful tools from the most trusted sources, including Harvard Medical School and the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine." Health information developed by InteliHealth is reviewed and approved by medical experts. Over 150 health care organizations, including NIH, are contributors. There is a simple query box on the home page with which to search the site. The sidebar button Health A to Z brings up a detailed alphabetical list of article topics. The sidebar also links to other types of information. For example, click on Drug Search to bring up the Drug Resource Center, with drug information, FDA actions, news, reactions, and more. Condition Center is the link to articles on diseases, conditions, and procedures. You can select from a detailed alphabetical list or a list of broader subjects. Resources links to a physician locator, the NLM site, and TopicDoc, a user-friendly medical literature service that offers a topic- driven approach to MEDLINE. TopicDoc (formerly MedCite) consists of the search results for over 15,000 topics that have been searched by medical research librarians from the Johns Hopkins health science centers. Citations or abstracts to the 50 best articles are immediately accessible for each topic. All TopicDoc searches are updated and document delivery is available. If your topic is covered, it's like having a medical librarian on hand.
- Achoo
- This whimsically named web site is designed as a gateway to health care sites for the medical community and other users interested in health care information. Achoo strives to include web sites that cover all aspects of health care, including business aspects. The home page allows you to select from several categories: Business and Finance of Health, Human Health and Diseases Directory, Organizations and Sources, and Reference Sources. Each category is subdivided. For example, under Reference Sources you will find Databases and Directories (which links to a simple version of MEDLINE), Journals and Periodicals, Statistical Information, and so on. The organization and layout of the categories is user-friendly. You can also choose to search by keyword via the search box on the home page. An advanced search page is available but it is not clearly marked; I found it via random clicking. Select Search on the top of the screen, then click on search Achoo from the list that pops up. The resulting search screen allows you to specify not only keywords, but also geographic location, fields, and type of site producer (e.g., e-journals, associations). A search brings up annotated links to relevant web sites. I would not turn to Achoo for strictly research purposes, but it would be useful to identify medical web sites.
- BioMedNet
- BioMedNet was recently acquired by Elsevier Science; it targets the worldwide biomedical research community. Free registration is required to use the site. I used to consider BioMedNet as one of the premier medical research sites on the web. Although it was a commercial site before ownership changed hands, it seemed to be dedicated to providing expert and free information. Now it seems to be more concerned with finding buyers for Elsevier journal articles. One of its most valuable features, Evaluated MEDLINE, is gone. This feature provided experts' evaluations on selected MEDLINE articles. It was a good reason to search MEDLINE on BioMedNet rather than on GratefulMed or PubMed. The site also used to link to the full texts of 12,000 articles on various topics that were part of BioMedNet's own collection and were available free. Now the user can only search this collection and retrieve abstracts for free; the purchase of the complete text not only incurs a charge but requires a subscription to ScienceDirect, the distributor for the Elsevier Science journal collection.
MEDLINE searching is adequate: there are simple and advanced search screens that allow you to Browse by Journal and Browse MeSH. You can also view, sort, and combine previous searches. Click on History on the MEDLINE search screen to see a list of searches that have been automatically saved. The Books and Labware button allows the user to browse and/or search for medical textbooks and book reviews. Online ordering is possible.
However, there is a redeeming feature: links to over 3500 medical web sites that are annotated and evaluated. Click on Web Links. You can then browse the links or search through them. If the site is even listed, you can be confident
that it is of good quality. The links are rated so you can pick out the best sites, and entries are periodically updated. When I entered "dermatology" in the search box, I got a list of 52 sites. This is a great way not only to identify medical web sites but also to get descriptions and evaluations of them.Libraries and Nonprofit Organizations
- Medical Matrix
- If you need a comprehensive guide to clinical medicine resources on the Internet, run, don't walk, to Medical Matrix. This metasite annotates, evaluates and links to medical sites that are relevant to the clinical practice of medicine. Its target audience is American physicians and healthcare workers. An editorial board reviews and ranks all resources. For example, if you click on MEDLINE on the left sidebar, you will see that Medical Matrix has links to over 10 MEDLINE sites, including Gateway and PubMed and fee and free sites. It also briefly describes each site and links to a very handy comparison chart (click on View MEDLINE entries in a table format). In addition, the sites are ranked by a rating system of stars. PubMed – Advanced has the highest rating, 5 stars. Medical Matrix evaluates an enormous number of sites. For example, clicking on Rx Assist at the top of the home page brought up a rated list of 48 web sites on drugs. These sites (as are MEDLINE's) are grouped by category: searchable databases, patient education, textbooks, educational materials, and so on, so it is easy to see the focus of each site. Furthermore, MedMatrix continuously updates its content. To see an explanation of the rating system, go to http://www.medmatrix.org/info/edboard.asp#Star.
To get an idea of the breadth of coverage available on Medical Matrix, I entered "panic disorder" in the home page simple search box, I got 73 hits. (There is also an option for advanced searching.) Each listing was ranked. Users can also select to search the resources within a specialty or category found on the Home Page, which has 8 broad groupings, among them Specialties , Diseases , Clinical Practice, and Literature, including hypertextbooks, journals, and MEDLINE. Each grouping has numerous subcategories. For example, when I clicked on "Psychiatry" under "Specialties", I got a long list of ranked sites that were displayed by type of information: databases, news, abstracts, texts, major sites, conference literature, directories, practice guidelines, online forums, patient education materials, and organizational resources. Medical Matrix provides the kind of one-stop shopping and searching that we see in FindLaw, with the emphasis on quality as well as quantity.
- MedWeb
- As they have with all types of information, librarians have helped to make medical information more available and easier to search. MedWeb, the medical metasite of Emory University's Health Sciences Library, is impressive for its links to health-related sites located around the world (click on Institutions on the home page). It also has links to a great deal of medical information. For example, if you click on Subject Index on the left sidebar, you will be taken to a long list of medical subjects. Browse and select for relevant links. Medical libraries brings up 347 links to medical libraries around the world. MEDLINE links to various sites that offer MEDLINE searching as well as information about searching MEDLINE. Back on the homepage, the button Publications links to numerous e-publications, including journals, texts, practice guidelines, databases, directories, and encyclopedias. Some are free; some are fee-based. There is also a search box for keyword searching.
- Medical/Health Sciences Libraries on the Web
- Hospitals, medical libraries, and professional associations that have a presence on the Web often provide links to sites that reproduce or index medical literature. In addition, the online catalogs of medical libraries are a window to the world of medical publishing. Medical/Health Sciences Libraries on the Web links to academic, hospital, and military medical libraries and many other medical sites in the U.S. and around the world. The home page also has a link to a selected list of free full-text online electronic medical journals. In addition, this site, produced by the University of Iowa Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, compiles the Hardin Meta Directory of Internet Health Sources, a directory of what it considers to be the best health-related sites on the web. They are arranged by medical specialty.
- Medical Society of Virginia
- The Medical Society of Virginia is good example of a medical association that compiles links to regional medical resources. Click on Links/Resources on the sidebar to see a page of links of Virginia-based health care sites, including state and local agencies, Virginia medical schools, and nonprofit organizations. One such link is to the Eastern Virginia Medical School, whose Medical Library provides links to electronic resources such as its online catalog, PubMed, and a collection of electronic journals (from which the public can only access tables of contents and abstracts).
- HealthWeb
- HealthWeb has links to evaluated, non-commercial, health-related resources on the World Wide Web that are selected by librarians and information professionals at leading academic medical centers in the Midwest. Selection stresses quality and the content is directed toward both health care professionals and consumers. The first screen is a list of medical subjects. For example, clicking on Psychiatry/Psychology yields links to 12 web sites . Searching can also be done by keyword.
- healthfinder
- A product of the U.S. Department for Health and Human Services, healthfinder is a gateway to reliable consumer health and human services information. The medical researcher who clicks on Health Library will be rewarded with links to libraries, dictionaries, online journals, databases (including MEDLINE), foreign language resources, listservs, medical search engines and metasites.
- Simon Williamson
- Birmingham OBGYN clinic that offers free patient resources on various health-related topics, especially for expecting mothers.
- FreeMedicalJournals.com
- For direct access to the current issues of several hundred free, full-text medical journals, go to FreeMedicalJournals.com. This site is somewhat mysterious; there is very little about who owns and maintains it, nor is there a total number of journals that are covered. (I estimate at least 200 titles.) Its goal is admirable: to promote the free availability of full text medical journals on the Web. The journals are sorted alphabetically and by specialty. This site also links to AMEDEO, a current awareness resource. You can enter a topic and a list of journals and you will receive weekly news updates with overviews of the new articles that have been published in the journals subset you have created. Supported by educational grants, this service is free.
- Internet Medical Bookstore
- Often researchers will need to consult medical texts. First, however, they must be identified and obtained. For information about medical textbooks, CD-Roms, and software that are available for sale, visit the Internet Medical Bookstore. Over 30,000 items can be ordered online. Click on Browse Our Store and you can browse by subject or search by keyword. For example, the term "anxiety disorders" brought up 36 titles.
Medical Search Engines and Visual Information
- MedNets
- MedNets uses proprietary search engines to search only medical databases and is international in scope. I could not access the explanation of how it works so I can only tell you what I found by trial and error. The home page allows for searching across the site or by medical specialty by medical professionals or by consumers. It searches the medical literature of a large number of databases, including MEDLINE. Select Research Engines on the home page and you will see a list of medical specialties. If you click on one, you will be taken to a list of databases with information relating to that specialty; each database can be selected and searched individually. However, note that some of the links are not active. You can also search across the MedNets site or within each category by entering a keyword search in the simple search box on the right sidebar. It is also possible to search MEDLINE via PubMed separately using a search form on the right of the screen. There is also a search box for a general literature search. And, unique to my experience is a feature that allows you to get results from within one to sixty seconds. Search results include articles, guidelines, and other types of information.
MedNets also functions as a medical metasite. Hit any of the search engine buttons on the home page and the resulting page will have a detailed sidebar of links to health care-related web sites. These include patient and physician resources, a global list of hospitals and medical associations, medical schools, and a medical bookstore. Although MedNets covers a great deal of information, the site is not well-designed and needs more explanation.
- MedBot
- Another medical search engine that I would like to mention is MedBot by Stanford University. MedBot brings together several types of resources: general search engines, medical indices, news sites, medical education, and medical imaging and multimedia sites. Some of these resources can be combined for a single Super Search; the user selects up to 4 databases to be searched at one time. Or, you can click on each category and search the listed sites one at a time.
The button marked Medical Images and Multimedia underscores the fact that the research of medical sources is often a hunt for visual information. The fact that the Internet is not restricted to textual medical information makes it an extremely valuable research tool. Clicking on that button on the left sidebar brings up query boxes for:
- WebPath, an electronic collection of 1900 images of pathology specimens along with text, tutorials, laboratory exercises, and examination items.
- The Digital Anatomist, a collection of computer-generated images based on cryosection studies
- Virtual Hospital
When I tried to find some images, I was more successful in searching the above web sites directly from their home pages than I was in using MedBot. Entering "stomach" in the MedBot query box for WebPath brought up two hits. Entering stomach in the WebPath search box retrieved 38 items. I could also browse "General Pathology" and "Organ Systems Pathology."
Medscape also has compiled a file of medical images. Its search box allows the researcher to click on Medical Images and search for visual information. I entered "keratosis", which is a skin lesion, and got a thumbnail image. Clicking on the image brought up a screen-sized version with a caption and the source of the image.
Researchers can search a Findlaw database of over 10,000 medical images. The illustrations were developed for legal matters, such as medical malpractice exhibits. Enter a term in the query box or select from an alphabetical list. Selecting "knee caps" brings up 1 anatomical model, 27 stock illlustrations, 4 medifocus guides, and 18 medical exhibits (Findlaw explains each category). Click on an image to enlarge it. Downloading the image, however, incurs a fee.
Researchers often need information on medical providers as well as on medical conditions. Licensing data and educational background are usually available, but the availability of disciplinary information varies from state to state. The watchdog group Public Citizen conducted a survey of Doctor Disciplinary Information on State Medical Board Web Sites in order to determine which states publish disciplinary information on the Internet. It surveyed 51 boards that regulate medical doctors and found that 41 boards name disciplined doctors on their web sites. The earliest information dated from 1996 so this is a relatively new, but very welcome, development. A table at http://www.citizen.org/hrg/PUBLICATIONS/1506uptodate.htm lists the state boards and tells what information is given. It also provides links, if available, to the boards' web sites, which usually also give licensing data and educational background.
If you are not satisfied with what you can find for free with regard to disciplinary actions against doctors, you can use the Federal Physician Data Center, which was launched in early 2001 by the Federation of State Medical Boards, whose membership is comprised of the 69 medical boards of the states, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. The Data Center lists 117,000 state board charges against 35,000 doctors dating back to the 1960s, although some information goes back to the 1940s. The site covers only U.S. medical licensed physicians, osteopathic physicians and physician assistants. To be included in the database, a disciplinary action must be a matter of public record or be legally releasable; there is no information on malpractice claims or settlements. The database, which is updated monthly and quarterly, costs $9.95 per search, whether an action is found or not. Users will learn whether action was taken, what type of action (e.g., license revocation), and the date and reason for the action.
Virginia's Board of Medicine Practitioner Information web site provides an example of the controversy surrounding public access to physician information. In 1998, the state legislature approved the re-design of the web site as a comprehensive source of information on physicians, osteopaths, and podiatrists. The site had its debut in July of 2001. The breadth of information that is supposed to be provided is indeed impressive: office and hospital affiliations, education, board certification, practice areas, honors academic appointments, publications, proceedings and actions and paid malpractice claims. Most of this information is available online. However, emergency legislation was passed in July to bar the posting of certain disciplinary information on the web site, although the information is available to those who write, call, or e-mail the Board. Under the new law, only final disciplinary orders will be on the web site. Pending cases and those that do not result in disciplinary action will not be posted, at least not as of this writing. Nevertheless, it's clear that people want physician information: a Washington Post article notes that over 16,000 hits were recorded within the first 36 hours that the web site was online.3
The Internet has become an important source of information in medicine and the health sciences, as it has in so many other areas. Medical information professionals are at the forefront of the effort to organize this vast, ever-increasing store of knowledge. The sites mentioned above reflect this effort and are meant to be a sampling of the marvelous tools that are now available to the medical researcher. Take some time to explore medicine on the Web; no doubt you'll discover many more.
- 1 For discussion and review of medical information on the Internet, see articles in USA Today, July 14, 1999. Also in USA Today of July 19, 2000, see "Some Useful Web Resources." <back to text>
- 2 I am going to discuss selected web sites. For an excellent, comprehensive introduction to medical research on the World Wide Web, see "How to Search for Medical Information," by Frank Kellerman, Mary Zammarelli, and Robert Balliot at http://188.8.131.52/midlib/www.htm. <back to text>
- 3 See "New Tech, Old Politics: Virginia Doctors Block Web Access to Data Available by Phone, Mail," by Sandra G. Boodman, in Washington Post, July 31, 2001, p. F1, for an analysis of the politics behind the ban." <back to text>


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My starter brewing kit came with 100g of Sodium Metabisulphite for sanitation. It advises to dissolve 1 tsp per pint of water. However there are no futher instructions.
I don't know how long I need to leave it in contact with my equipment and whether I need to rinse everything thoroughly with water after contact with the sodium metabisulphite solution.
I need to sanitise a 23 litre fermenting bucket and around 50 glass bottles, so is it best to make up a full 23 litres of sanitising solution and fill the bucket entirely, or can I just sloosh a smaller amount around in my bucket?


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The month of August is upon us once again, bringing with it humid days and sultry nights for North American observers.
You'll often hear the first few weeks of August referred to as the Dog Days of Summer. Certainly, the oppressive midday heat may make you feel like lounging around in the shade like our canine companions. But did you know there is an astronomical tie-in for the Dog Days as well?
We've written extensively about the Dog Days of Summer previously, and how the 1460 year long Sothic Cycle of the ancient Egyptians became attributed to the Greek adoption of Sothis, and later in medieval times to the 'Dog Star' Sirius. Like the Blue Moon, say something wrong enough, long enough, and it successfully sticks and enters into meme-bank of popular culture.
A water monopoly empire, the Egyptians livelihood rested on knowing when the annual flooding of the Nile was about to occur. To this end, they relied on the first seasonal spotting of Sirius at dawn. Sirius is the brightest star in the sky, and you can just pick out the flicker of Sirius in early August low to the southeast if you know exactly where to look for it.
Sirius lies at a declination of just under 17 degrees south of the celestial equator. It's interesting to note that in modern times, the annual flooding of the Nile (prior to the completion of the Aswan Dam in 1970) is commemorated as occurring right around August 15th. Why the discrepancy? Part of it is due to the 26,000 year wobbling of the Earth's axis known as the Precession of the Equinoxes; also, the Sothic calendar had no intercalculary or embolismic (think leap days) to keep a Sothic year in sync with the sidereal year. The Sothic cycle from one average first sighting of Sirius to another is 365.25 days, and just 9 minutes and 8 seconds short of a sidereal year.
But that does add up over time. German historian Eduard Meyer first described the Sothic Cycle in 1904, and tablets mention its use as a calendar back to 2781 BC. And just over 3 Sothic periods later (note that 1460= 365.25 x 4, which is the number of Julian years equal to 1461 Sothic years, as the two cycles 'sync up'), and the flooding of the Nile now no longer quite coincides with the first sighting of Sirius.
Such a simultaneous sighting with the sunrise is known in astronomy as a heliacal rising. Remember that atmospheric extinction plays a role sighting Sirius in the swampy air mass of the atmosphere low to the horizon, taking its usual brilliant luster of magnitude -1.46 down to a more than a full magnitude and diminishing its intensity over 2.5 times.
This year, we transposed the seasonal predicted 'first sightings' of Sirius versus latitude onto a map of North America:
Another factor that has skewed the date of first 'Sirius-sign' is the apparent motion of the star itself. At 8.6 light years distant, Sirius appears to move 1.3 arc seconds per year. That's not much, but over the span of one Sothic cycle, that amounts up to 31.6', just larger than the average diameter of a Full Moon.
Sirius has been the star of legends and lore as well, not the least of which is the curious case of the Dogon people of Mali and their supposed privileged knowledge of its white dwarf companion star. Alvan Graham Clark and his father discovered Sirius B in 1862 as they tested out their shiny new 18.5-inch refractor. And speaking of Sirius B, keep a telescopic eye on the Dog Star, as the best chances to spy Sirius B peeking out from the glare of its primary are coming right up around 2020.
Repeating the visual feat of spying Sirius B low in the dawn can give you an appreciation as to the astronomical skill of ancient cultures. They not only realized the first sighting of Sirius in the dawn skies coincided with the annual Nile flooding, but they identified the discrepancy between the Sothic and sidereal year, to boot. Not bad, using nothing but naked eye observations. Such ability must have almost seemed magical to the ancients, as if the stars had laid out a celestial edge for the Egyptians to exploit.
You can also exploit one method of teasing out Sirius from the dawn sky a bit early that wasn't available to those Egyptian astronomer priests: using a pair of binoculars to sweep the skies. Can you nab Sirius with a telescope and track it up into the daytime skies? Sirius is just bright enough to see in the daytime against a clear blue sky with good transparency if you know exactly where to look for it.
Let the Dog Days of 2015 begin!


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See the Cast of 'Planes, Trains & Automobiles' Then and Now
'Planes, Trains & Automobiles' was the first John Hughes-directed film to focus on adults, rather than teenagers.
In the 1987 comedy, Steve Martin and John Candy play business travelers with the very adult problem of trying to get home during the crush of Thanksgiving travel. The mismatched pair get into a variety of misadventures during their three day trip from New York to Chicago. When they finally arrive, the film ends on a touching Thanksgiving-appropriate note.
Read on to see what the cast of 'Planes, Trains & Automobiles' are up to these days.
Steve Martin, Neal Page
Then: Martin went the straight man role as Neal Page, an advertising executive who struggles to get home to his family for Thanksgiving. The movie's release was around the apex of Martin's film career, as he had just starred in 'Roxanne' and was about to do 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels' and 'Parenthood.'
Now: These days, the 67-year old is also well known as a best selling author and a Grammy-winning bluegrass musician.
John Candy, Del Griffith
Then: John Candy was well-meaning but obnoxious shower ring salesman Del in 'Planes Trains & Automobiles.' The SCTV alum was one of the bigger comedic movie stars of the '80s, appearing in films such as 'Uncle Buck,' 'Brewster's Millions' and 'The Great Outdoors.'
Now: John Candy died of a heart attack in 1994, during the filming of 'Wagons East.' He was 43. His last film ended up being the Michael Moore-directed 'Canadian Bacon,' which was released in 1995.
Laila Robins, Susan Page
Then: Robins played Neal's wife Susan in 'Planes, Trains & Automobiles.' It was the film debut for the-then 28-year-old, who, despite a long list of TV and movie credits, remains more known as a theater actress.
Now: In 2011, Robins played French finance minister Christine Lagarde in 'Too Big To Fail,' a HBO movie about the financial crisis of 2008. In 2012, she starred in the play 'Sweet and Sad.'
Michael McKean, State Trooper
Then: You may remember McKean for his role as a state trooper in 'Planes Trains & Automobiles.' Mckean had got his big break in 1976 when he was cast as Lenny on the long running sitcom 'Laverne & Shirley.' He was also well known for having played David St.Hubbins in the mockumentary 'This is Spinal Tap.'
Now: The 65-year old has had recent TV guest appearances on "Homeland' and 'Happy Endings.' In May of 2012, McKean was hit by a car in New York City. His injuries caused him to drop out of the Broadway play 'The Best Man' and has required an "extensive" period of rehab.
Kevin Bacon, Taxi Racer
Then: Proving once again that Kevin Bacon is in every movie, the actor has a very brief role as a man who races Neal for a taxi cab. Bacon had made his movie debut in 1978 as Omega pledge Chip Diller in 'Animal House' and got his first major starring role in 1984's 'Footloose.'
Now: Bacon's prolific acting career has led to the game "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon." His latest effort, 2012's "Jayne Mansfield's Car,' gave costars Billy Bob Thornton, Robert Duvall and John Hurt one degree.
Dylan Baker, Owen
Then: Dylan Baker made his film debut as Owen in 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles.' Soon after, he guest starred on shows like 'Miami Vice' and 'Spenser: For Hire.'
Now: You might not know his name, but you probably recognize his face. Baker played Dr. Curt Conners in 'Spider-man 2' and 'Spider-man 3' and has been seen on the TV dramas 'The Good Wife' and 'Political Animals.'
Edie McClurg, Car Rental Agent
Then: In one of 'Planes, Trains & Automobiles' most memorable scenes, Neal profanely dresses down a chipper rental car agent played by Edie McClurg, who responds with some profanity of her own. McClurg was already well-known for playing Mr. Rooney's secretary in 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off.'
Now: McClurg remains a regular TV face, having done episodes of 'Portlandia' and 'Desperate Housewives.' She's has also lent her signature Midwestern accent to the cartoon 'The Life & Times of Tim' and the animated film 'Wreck-it Ralph.'
Matthew Lawrence, Little Neal
Then: 'Planes, Trains, and Automobiles' was the big screen debut for Lawrence, who at the age of seven had already made appearances on TV shows 'Gimme a Break!,' 'Sara' and 'Dynasty.'
Now: Lawrence went on to play the role of Jack Hunter in 'Boy Meets World.' He was also in 'The Hot Chick' and 'The Comebacks.'
Olivia Burnette, Marti Page
Then: Olivia played Neal's cherubic daughter whose pageant Neal misses on his way home. It was an early role for the prolific TV star who went on to star in 'The Torkelsons.'
Now: Burnette has appeared in TV in roles on 'Dexter,' 'Sons of Anarchy,' 'The Closer' and other series. But we're still holding out for a 'Torkelsons' reunion.


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Business After Hours
- Having a sale?
- Offering new products or services?
- Grand opening or anniversary?
- Just looking for a reason to throw a party?
As a member in good standing you are eligible to host this event that will introduce both the Chamber and local communities to your business.
Business After Hours events are highly attended and entertaining.
Call to book it now!
Get on the schedule for 2011! Reserve your space now, call 575-377-6661.


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You will require this approval, prior to registration, if you intend to create, amend, consolidate or cancel a community development scheme. This is part of a two-step approval process for community development schemes, specifically:
The approval in principle of a community development scheme enables the future registration of a community development scheme for the specified property. A community development scheme is a development involving two or more of the following:
Any common property created as part of this scheme is managed by a body corporate. Please consult the Contact Officer for more information.
A licence defines the need to obtain recognition / certification and registration to undertake a certain business activity.
To be eligible for this approval, you must:
Please consult the Contact Officer for more information regarding eligibility requirements.
Fees Details for this service in table format.
Please consult the Contact Officer for information on fees to be submitted.
Strata Titles Act 1998 Tasmania
Southern Midlands Council
Contact Email, Phone and Address Details for this service in simple two column table format, header then data.


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How do you choose what birth control method to use?
Every month, I like to take a new topic and address it every Wednesday. And I realized recently that I had not written about birth control since 2010! Yikes! Especially because it's such a common question I get when it comes to sex in marriage.
So this month I thought I'd dedicate towards talking about how to choose a birth control method that will work for you.
Now, that's opening a huge can of worms. I know that there are some reading the blog who think that any form of contraception at all is wrong. (I will be talking about natural family planning quite a bit, by the way!). I understand, and I respect you for that, and if you don't want to talk about it, it's okay. Just please understand that there are a lot of women who are very eager to hear some of this information.
My own personal view (which is going to come out this month!), is that God gave us certain physical signs so that we would know when we are fertile, so that we would have the ability to make decisions about family size. And family size is a consideration today in a way that it wasn't in biblical times or even 150 years ago. Children born today tend to live to adulthood; they don't die in infancy. And kids aren't necessary for the family's economic prosperity in the way they were many years ago when you needed kids to work on the farm. Instead, they're very expensive (even if you can save money by being smart and thrifty!). Just one simple example: it's hard to get a vehicle that seats more than 8 people, so once you've had 6 kids, you can no longer even travel altogether in one vehicle. Modern life just makes us see family size in a very different way.
At the same time, I don't think that's it's a great idea to mess around with our bodies very much when it comes to our fertility. So I guess I'm one of those people that fits in the middle–I do think it's okay to try to choose when kids come; but I also think we need to be careful with how we do that.
Today I want to give a broad overview of the main methods of birth control, with their pros and cons, and then later in the month we'll look in more detail at The Pill, natural family planning, and what to do about contraception as you get ready for your wedding.
But before we do that, we need to remember one basic truth:
When it comes to birth control, you can't have it all.
You're going to be balancing the side effects and downsides of any method with the risk of an unplanned pregnancy.
There are different risks to each method of birth control: risks to your long term health; risks of an unplanned pregnancy; and (potentially) risks of accidentally causing a conceived baby to be unable to implant in the uterus, causing a spontaneous abortion.
You cannot have sex without dealing with these risks. If you are choosing to have sex, you also must choose how to balance those risks, and deal with the effects of those choices.
In the absence of a medical reason, if a pregnancy would be truly and deeply devastating to you and your spouse and must be avoided at all costs, do not get married–or at least get sterilized. It's really that simple. No method is 100% effective (really except sterilization), and so if you're going to be having sex, you can't then also view a baby as a tragedy.
That being said, with perfect use, birth control methods nearly all perform extremely well.
Effectiveness at preventing pregnancy with all those listed here is in the 95th percentile or above (except diaphragms, which are 92-94% effective with perfect use, and pulling out, which is about 75% effective with perfect use). A rating of 95% effective means that 5 women among every 100 using the method perfectly for a year will get pregnant at some point during that year. To put this in perspective, among women without known fertility problems who are under 37, 85 out of 100 women will get pregnant within a year of unprotected sex.
Perfect use means that you always use it correctly: you always wake up on time to take your pill, take your temperature, or always use a condom. So when you're evaluating different birth control methods, you also have to ask yourself, "am I the kind of person who could use this method perfectly?"
What I don't want to do in writing this series about birth control is to tell you what choices are right for you in your marriage.
Instead, my goal is to give you the information you need to make informed choices. Sex education in Christian families is often really poor (that's why we created The Whole Story!), and we know too many couples who have had unexpected babies. (This isn't to say that an unplanned baby is a bad thing, speaking as the wife of an unplanned baby!). Instead, my hope is that a couple will choose whether they want to be open to an unexpected baby or not.
Another important reason to understand the breadth of birth control options is that the method that works for your marriage and family will likely change in different seasons of your life. Knowing what options are available will help you adjust as life's changes happen.
So let's jump in!
Birth Control Method
The Pill
- Allows for skin-on-skin contact
- Can have sex any time
- Can improve acne problems
- Can lessen menstrual cramps and regulate irregular periods
- Contains hormones
- Can lower libido
- Can cause some women to gain weight
- Cause cause mood changes
- Can interact with other medications
- May be inactivated if you are sick (vomiting or diarrhea)
- Must be taken at the same time, daily, to be effective
- There is often a lag time of several months to a year after stopping The Pill to your body able to become pregnant
- Can prevent a fertilized egg from implanting
- No protection from STIs
- You don't need a prescription to use them
- You can stop and try to get pregnant immediately
- No artificial hormones
- Protects from STIs
- Can have sex any time (as long as one's on hand!)
- Makes clean up afterwards much easier
- Can change how sex feels without skin-on-skin contact
- Has to be used consistently to be effective
- Allows for skin-on-skin contact
- No artificial hormones
- No lag time to get pregnant when stopping birth control
- Can have sex any time (as long as you insert it first)
- Must be inserted correctly to work and can be dislodged during sex
- Less effective than other methods (gynecologists told Rebecca it only has a 75% success rate)
- No protection from STIs
IUD (hormonal)
- Lasts up to 5 years with no maintenance
- Can have sex any time
- Periods may become lighter or even stop completely
- No increase in time to pregnancy over condoms if you want to get pregnant after using it
- Allows for skin-on-skin contact
- Contains hormones
- Must be medically inserted and removed, which can be uncomfortable
- No protection from STIs
- Some studies suggest they can prevent a fertilized egg from implanting
- When pregnancy does happen using an IUD, it's much more likely to result in an ectotopic pregnancy.
- Side effects can include cramping for multiple weeks after insertion and intermittent spotting for 3 months after it is first inserted. Periods can often be lighter, but inconsistent so there's no warning for some women.
IUD (copper)
- More fun than a condom
- Does not require any maintenance, but is very effective
- Lasts for up to 10 years
- Can have sex any time
- Must be inserted and removed by a doctor
- May be uncomfortable when inserting
- Can make periods heavier
- May prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus
- No protection from STIs
Natural Family Planning (Sympto-Thermal Method)
- Allows you to know your cycle and catch hormonal/fertility problems
- No lag time to get pregnant
- No artificial hormones
- Free (ok, you buy a thermometer…)
- Allows for skin-on-skin contact
- Must use multiple methods to be effective
- Must be very vigilant about charting/ checking fertility signs
- Very little room for error
- Many times a month where sex is not possible without using additional contraceptives
- No protection from STIs
Pulling out
- Allows for skin-on-skin contact
- No artificial hormones
- Can have sex at any time
- Free
- Not effective (pre-ejaculate can contain sperm)
- Not considered a birth control method by OB-GYNs
- No protection from STIs
- Reduces pleasure, since the man has to catch himself right at the height of orgasm and stop the natural urge
Vaginal Ring
- Allows for skin-on-skin contact
- Lasts for a month – you don't need to remember it daily
- Can cause lighter periods
- Contains hormones
- Can't be used by all women
- Can interact with other medications
- Some studies suggest it can prevent a fertilized egg from implanting
- No protection from STIs
Birth Control Patch
- Allows for skin-on-skin contact
- Needs to be changed only once per week, not daily like the pill
- Can help to make your period lighter
- Can have sex any time
- Not appropriate for all women
- Can raise blood pressure
- May prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus
- No protection from STIs
Sterilization (Vasectomy)
- Very effective with no maintenance
- Allows for skin-on-skin contact
- Extremely minor surgery–can walk out after
- Can have sex any time
- Can be irreversible
- Is still a painful and vulnerable procedure for the person getting sterilized
- No protection from STIs
Sterilization (Tubal Ligation)
- Allows for skin-on-skin contact
- Can have sex any time
- 100% effective
- May be irreversible
- Major surgery (unless done in concert with a c-section)
- Requires a recovery period after surgery
- No protection from STIs
- Can have long lasting hormonal effects
There you go–the main forms of birth control, with their pros and cons.
Other Posts in the Birth Control Series:
What You Need to Know about the Pill as Birth Control: The Pros and Cons
Birth Control Should Be a Shared Responsibility
How Natural Family Planning Works
Which Birth Control Method Will Work for YOU Personally?
Now let's get the conversation started. Is there a method you LOVE? Is there a method you HATE? Let's talk in the comments!


text:
Build Better Bones
Decrease your risk of osteoporosis now and feel better later in life
By James Rouse, ND
Healthy aging has become somewhat of an American obsession for almost anyone over the age of 20. Although healthy aging means many things to many people, I believe some of us focus too much on the external aspects of aging and overlook one of the most essential characteristics of well-being: bone health. Osteoporosis is a major health threat for more than 44 million Americans. Of the 10 million people currently estimated to have the disease in the United States, approximately 80 percent are women.
Osteoporosis is a skeletal disease that can strike at any age, although it usually occurs in people older than 50. The disease, whose name means "porous bone," is typified by depleted bone mass and structural wear and tear of bone tissue. This leads to bone weakness and an increased risk of fractures of the hip, spine, and wrist. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, one in two women and one in four men older than 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture. A fall or a strain causing a small fracture in the vertebra is usually the first indicator.
Fortunately, osteoporosis is preventable. Avoiding the disease involves not only taking adequate calcium, but also eliminating risk factors, such as tobacco, caffeine, alcohol, a sedentary lifestyle, and too much phosphorus.
Six steps to help prevent osteoporosis.
- Quit smoking.
- Do daily weight-bearing exercises.
- Eliminate caffeine or add milk to caffeinated drinks.
- Eat calcium-rich foods.
- Limit alcohol intake.
- Supplement with calcium (1,000 mg/day), magnesium (600 mg/day), vitamin D (400 IU/day), and vitamin K (10 mg/day).
The average person's intake of calcium is about 450 mg per day. To prevent osteoporosis, I usually recommend at least 1,000 mg of calcium daily; for those diagnosed with the disease, I recommend at least 1,500 mg each day. Because it's hard for most people to get that much in their diets, I suggest a high-quality calcium supplement. Efficient calcium absorption requires an acidic stomach environment. This is particularly true for calcium carbonate (oyster-shell calcium), one of the most widely available forms of calcium. Most of us are unaware of the status of our stomach acid, so it's wise to choose a more absorbable form of calcium, such as citrate or malate. An antacid is not a reliable calcium source because most antacids come in the less-absorbable carbonate form. The antacid also neutralizes the acid in your stomach that is essential for calcium absorption.
In addition to calcium, other key nutrients your bones need to be healthy include vitamin D, vitamin K, magnesium, zinc, copper, and manganese. If you aren't receiving adequate sunlight or eating fatty fish, you may need to supplement with vitamin D, which aids in the absorption of calcium. Vitamin K helps regulate calcium and keep it in your bones. Magnesium can also make a noticeable difference in bone health.
Adding soy to your diet may also help your bones stay strong. Ipriflavone, a naturally occurring isoflavone, has been shown to increase bone density in people taking 600 mg a day. I also recommend a baseline bone scan at around age 40. Additionally, incorporating regular weight-bearing or resistance exercises, such as weight training, walking, running, and yoga, into your daily schedule has also proven to considerably decrease your risk of developing osteoporosis.
James Rouse, ND, is the creator of Optimum Wellness and The Fit Kitchen, seen weekly on NBC's KUSA television news.


text:
Reading 1 Is 11:1-10
A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,
and from his roots a bud shall blossom.
The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:
a Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
A Spirit of counsel and of strength,
a Spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,
and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.
Not by appearance shall he judge,
nor by hearsay shall he decide,
But he shall judge the poor with justice,
and decide aright for the land's afflicted.
He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
Justice shall be the band around his waist,
and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.
Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
The calf and the young lion shall browse together,
with a little child to guide them.
The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,
together their young shall rest;
the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
The baby shall play by the cobra's den,
and the child lay his hand on the adder's lair.
There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD,
as water covers the sea.
On that day,
The root of Jesse,
set up as a signal for the nations,
The Gentiles shall seek out,
for his dwelling shall be glorious.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king's son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
He shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
May his name be blessed forever;
as long as the sun his name shall remain.
In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;
all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
Behold, our Lord shall come with power;
he will enlighten the eyes of his servants.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Lk 10:21-24
"I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows who the Son is except the Father,
and who the Father is except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him."
Turning to the disciples in private he said,
"Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
For I say to you,
many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,
but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it."
For the readings of the Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, please go here.
– – –
Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.


text:
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text:
"The triumph of Everington's first novel is that, while hinting at lofty literary precedents, it cumulatively takes on an unsettling voice all of its own." The Guardian
Sunday 6 May 2012
The Other Room - One Year On...
Fortunately, it's gone far, far better than I ever imagined. I mean, a book that cites Robert Aickman as an influence in its blurb is never going to be the next Twilight but by my own standards The Other Room has sold well, and the responses from readers from been both humbling and exciting. And at least one person let me know in an email that they bought it because of the Aickman reference.
The book also featured in the 2011 Red Adept Reviews Indie Awards short story category.
The Other Room is available on Amazon (UK | US | GE | FR | ES | IT) and Smashwords.
And to celebrate, for the next week it is available for free from Smashwords, if you enter the following code at the checkout: QD54K. If you do pick up a copy, I'd love to know what you think of it.
And a year anniversary is an excellent time to start seriously thinking about what stories to include in a second collection, isn't it? You betcha.
5 comments:
- Elizabeth Twist said...
This is very generous, James! I am looking forward to reading the collection. I usually write up a brief overview / review of the stuff I'm reading. I'll shoot you a link when I post about your book.
Elizabeth Twist: Writer, Plague Enthusiast - 6 May 2012 at 22:09
- James Everington said...
Thanks Elizabeth; hope you enjoy it...
- 6 May 2012 at 22:36
- NXPL said...
Very nice to make it available. I will try to write a review on both Amazon and B&N. Thanks
- 7 May 2012 at 03:19
If James will forgive me using his own blog to link to mine, you can read why I thought that The Other Room was a fantastic read.
And James, a new collection? Excellent news, can't wait. - 8 May 2012 at 22:56
- James Everington said...
It's not ready yet Iain, so there may be a little wait... I still need to pick story order, do author notes, get the odd proofreader on it, and then decide how I want to publish it..,
So actually, might be bloody ages! - 9 May 2012 at 06:59


text:
"I have a joke for you," said Jack. Jack knows that my mirth threshold is at the level of a seven-year old, and that even the stupidest joke can get a rise out of me; I will laugh at jokes I've heard many time before.
"A psychologist working for some company is interviewing some candidates. He says 'there's a cauliflower, a potato and a knife. Which is the odd one?'
The first candidate answers 'the knife. The other two are vegetables.'
The psychologist poses the same question to the second candidate, who also answers 'the knife.'
The psychologist poses the question to the third candidate, who answers 'the cauliflower.'
The psychologist is surprised 'why do you think the cauliflower is the odd man out?'
'Because,' the third candidate answers, 'you can make potato chips with the other two.'"
Predictably, I chuckle. "You know, Jack, that brings to mind a problem I've always had with multiple choice questions on exams and tests. So many times I've found that more than one alternative would have been right, and that every multiple choice question should have a space for an explanation, to show why you picked that specific answer."
Jack said "how do you mean?"
I said "let me give you an example. You know the old game of rock-paper-scissors, right? Now which of the three is the odd man out?"
Jack thought for a few seconds and then said "I'd say paper."
Jack said "because you can crumple paper in your hand, which is not something you can do with the other two."
I said "or maybe because it is vegetable matter, while the other two are mineral."
Jack said "so you agree?"
I said "no, because you can also pick scissors as being the odd man out."
"Why," said Jack.
"Because scissors come in two parts – actually three, if you count the swivel pin. The other ones consist of only one piece."
"What about the rock?" asked Jack.
"Easy, rock is the only one of the three that is not manufactured by man. I bet you could find other reasons why each of those three could be considered the odd one. Scissors have three holes in them, the others have no holes – unless you're talking about microscopic ones, which they all have. Paper can be folded; the others not. You get the idea."
"I get the idea," said Jack.
"Take A, B, and C, for instance." I drew the three capital letters on a paper napkin. "Which is the odd man out?"
"C," promptly answered Jack, "you can make it with one stroke; the others take two strokes."
I said "yes, but A and B can be right too."
"How," said Jack.
"A, on the grounds that it is the only one that has no curves in its shape; B, because it is the only one that encloses two spaces."
"OK," said Jack, "Just to be sure I get the drift of what you're saying, answer this multiple choice question for me: which one of us is the odd man out?"
Sjef Frenken is a renaissance man: thinker, writer, translator and composer of much music. A main interest, he has many, is setting to music the poetry, written for children, during the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Nimble of mind, Sjef is a youthful retiree and a great-grandfather. Mostly he's a content man, which facilitates his relentless multi-media creativity.
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