text:
Featured Post
Is the new professionalism and ACP's new ethics really just about following guidelines?
The Charter ( Medical Professionalism in the New Millennium.A Physician's Charter) did not deal with just the important relationship of ...
Friday, June 15, 2007
Oncologists accused of giving chemo.for profit not patient benefit
The ones I have practiced with deserve to be called physicians with all the positive connotations that term can garner.
A recent article in the NYT paints a different picture of some oncologists. Here is some background.For a number of years CMT has been given in oncologists offices. The CMS and third party payers fees exceeded the costs to the docs so there is a make up profit involved. Recently, changes in CMS rules have cut the margin .
The gist of the NYT article is that oncologists are making up for the shortfall with an increase in volume of patients treated with CMT implying that some patients are being given CMT inappropriately.
NYT quotes Dr. Richard Deyo ,a professor at the University of Washington,describing him as a"expert in health care spending" as saying:
There's pretty good evidence at this point that there are plenty of patients for whom there's little hope,who are terminally ill,whom chemotherapy is not going to help, who get chemotherapy
That comment, like most of the NYT article, is heavy on accusations and generalizations and light on supporting data and facts. Dr. Deyo may have analyzed numerous cases and determined that in many instances the CMT was inappropriate but if so I would like to see that analysis. What is the nature of the evidence for his statement? I would be very surprised if Deyo's comments are based on patient level data in which cases are analysed by physicians expert in CMT and wherein inappropriate treatment was found in "plenty of patients". I would not be surprised if that type thing has happened in some cases but I doubt that level of data is what Deyo's statements is based on. Broad brush, coarse grain data is the more likely currency for the type outcomes research that Deyo has been known for (and has gained a well deserved reputation for his work in low back pain treatment outcomes). He may have well done some outcomes research in the CMT area and his comments may have based on that but if there is such data he should have made that fact known to the NYT reporter so the article would appear less like a typical drive-by-media encounter. If he does not have that data, then he may have done disservice to the thousands of patients now receiving CMT who may now wonder if it is avarice and not likelihood of benefit that formed the basis of the decision to treat them.
5 comments:
- Anonymous said...
I work in the Oncology field and can attest to seeing first hand how the doctors will prescribe for profit. Look no further than the current Arenesp debacle, and how doctors used EPO's as a main revenue generator. It is no secret in the sales community that ever since reimbursement changed, Oncologist have become business men.
- Greg Pawelski said...
The shift, more than 20 years ago, from the institution-based, inpatient setting to community-based, ambulatory sites for treating the majority of the nation's cancer patients has prompted in large part additional costs to the government and Medicare beneficiaries. The Chemotherapy Concession gave oncologists the financial incentive to select certain forms of chemotherapy over others because they receive higher reimbursement.
This was first brought to attention at a Medicare Advisory Panel meeting in 1999 in Baltimore. There was a gastroenterologist in attendance who complained that Medicare had cut his reimbursement for colonoscopies from $400 to $108 and how all the doctors in his large, multi-specialty internal medicine group were hurting, save for two medical oncologists, whom he said were making a killing running their in-office retail pharmacies.
Typically, doctors give patients prescriptions for drugs that are then filled at pharmacies. But medical oncologists bought chemotherapy drugs themselves, often at prices discounted by drug manufacturers trying to sell more of their products and then administered them intravenously to patients in their offices.
Not only do the medical oncologists have complete logistical, administrative, marketing and financial control of the process, they also control the knowledge of the process. The result is that the medical oncologist selects the product, selects the vendor, decides the markup, conceals details of the transaction to the degree they wish, and delivers the product on their own terms including time, place and modality.
A joint Michigan/Harvard study authored by Drs. Joseph Newhouse and Craig C. Earle, entitled, "Does reimbursement influence chemotherapy treatment for cancer patients," confirmed that before the new Medicare reform, medical oncologists chose cancer chemotherapy based on how much money the chemotherapy earned the medical oncologist. A survey by Dr. Neil Love, "Patterns of Care," showed results that the Medicare reforms still were not working. It was still an impossible conflict of interest.
A patient wants a physician's decision to be based on experience, clinical information, new basic science insights and the like, not on how much money the doctor gets to keep. A patient should know if there are any financial incentives at work in determining what cancer drugs are being prescribed.
It's not that all medical oncologists are bad people. It's just that the system is rotten and still an impossible conflict of interest. Some oncologists prescribe chemotherapy drugs with equal efficacies and toxicities. I would imagine that some are influenced by the whole state of affairs, possibly without even entirely admitting it. There are so many ways for humans to rationalize their behavior.
There is some innate goodness of people who go into oncology. At the time when most oncologists practicing today made the decision to become oncologists, there was no Chemotherapy Concession. Most of them probably had a personal life experience which created the calling to do battle against the great crab. At the time when people make their most important decisions in life, they are in the most idealitstic period of their lives.
The government wasn't reducing payment for cancer care under the new Medicare bill. They were simply reducing overpayment for chemotherapy drugs, and paying cancer specialists the same as other physicians. The government can't afford to overpay for drugs, in an era where all these new drugs are being introduced, which are fantastically expensive.
Although the new Medicare bill tried to curtail the Chemotherapy Concession, private insurers still go along with it. What needs to be done is to remove the profit incentive from the choice of drug treatments. Medical oncologists should be taken out of the retail pharmacy business and let them be doctors again.
- james gaulte said...
I said that I "did not want to believe" that oncologists were so driven by profit as to let their treatment decisions be determined or at least strongly influenced by profit.The above letter and other comments I have come across in other blogs unfortunaely makes me accept the idea that that practice has occured more times than "I wont to believe" Say it isn't so , Joe.
- Anonymous said...
James, I actually felt the same, I didn't want to believe that finances influenced oncologists but I have to say different now since I'm a board certified hospice and palliative medicine physician and work closely with oncologists. There are other reasons why (I believe) and I have posted them on my blog. I have two entries you may find intersting, one is entitled "Letting the Doctor Off the Hook" and "Why Don't They Stop Chemo." I to have seen too many dying patients strapped to hanging bags of chemo. Maybe it's the population I'm exposed to and I don't see the other thousands benefiting from chemo. Anyway, thanks for the blog entry and good posts.
- Anonymous said...
AS a AOCNP, currently not working in oncology, I know without a doubt that oncologist give chemo and EPOs or anything else they can inject for profit. I left my last job because I couldn't sleep at night. The doctor should be in jail. As a drug rep told me off the record 70% of oncologist will choose the drug with a higher profit margin, when other less expensive drugs would do just as well.


text:
Introduction - what is the Golf like?
* Lowdown on Mark V Golf * Cracking second-hand buy * What to look out for...
6 Aug 2008 16:30
Volkswagen Golf
YEARS 2004-present
YOU'LL LIKE... Badge; quality
YOU WON'T... Price; running costs
With Volkswagen revealing an all-new Golf, you're maybe thinking it's time to look at the current model as a second-hand buy.
Read on for the low-down on this great small family car.
What's it like?
Or more accurately, what's not to like? It's nimble, refined and smooth, has room for four adults, and the boot's a good size.
Overall, it's a cut above rivals such as the Ford Focus and Vauxhall Astra and, although it'll cost more to buy, it'll hold on to its value better.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
This clip shows a bunkai drill for the sequence of "blocks" found at the start of Passai / Bassai-Dai. The common explanation as "blocks" fails to explain why the hands on the hip need to be there and why they can't be anywhere else. It also fails to explain why the arms need to come in before moving out, and why you would turn away after doing nothing to neutralise the enemy.
I feel a far more logical and effective application is in response to a grab. The hiki-te locates the enemy's grabbing hand while the other arm strikes the enemy's forearm. This will twist the enemy's torso and open up the following forearm strike to the neck. That hand then moves to the enemy's elbow and pulls across as another forearm strike is delivered to the other side of the enemy's neck. This will normally bring the enemy's head into your chest.
The second "block" is then completed by pulling the enemy's chin around to crank the neck. There is obviously a need to be very careful with that in practise. As shown on the video, we can then finish in a number of ways. However, if we decide to stick with the example of the kata, we take the back foot around pull the enemy's chin toward the hip (the function of the hiki-te). The next "block" can then be used to spike the enemy, and provide extra encouragement to drop, should they have managed to keep their feet or if they are taller than the person executing the technique.
This clip was filmed at a seminar in Bradford, Yorkshire on Sunday. It was a very hot and humid day and hence the camera lens misted up briefly during filming. You can still see what it going on and the lens quickly clears.
I hope the clip is of use to you and that you find it interesting.
All the best,
PS If you prefer to watch the video on YouTube please click HERE
- 7681 reads


text:
I've just read a post on a blog that has comments switched off. I noticed this particularly because the topic was one that could cause some questions, debate or discussion.
This made me wonder why someone wouldn't want comments on their blog posts. I came up with these:
- I'm worried that comments could be offensive or cause arguments.
- What I've said is final/right. It shouldn't be questioned; there is no room for debate.
- I want to tell you what I think but I don't want to hear your opinion.
- I'm too scared that someone might disagree with me.
To me, out of these, the first one is a fair concern, however, you've always got the option of moderating comments.
If numbers 2-4 are the reasons, then you're not willing to be questioned, challenged, or to learn.
If you want to speak with authority, then you need to show you're willing to back up your argument by allowing for questions and discussion, and be willing to hear alternative points of view.
Image in the public domain


text:
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Driving in the Midwest, one cannot help but be impressed at the vast expanses of seemingly endless terrain on the prairie where heaven and earth meet without a tree or a structure separating them. You can drive for miles and look with wonder at the emptiness of it all - a strange beauty all its own. Only occasionally, the scene is interrupted by silos - tall, monolithic structures that stretch perpendicular to the horizon as they punch through the sight line to touch the clouds. Beautiful in their own right, they help interrupt the monotony of the drive but are only seen rarely, making their presence all the more appreciated.
The silos house grain that has been carefully gathered by the farmers and stored to later sell at market or to feed the livestock, especially in leaner times. Not only do they house the grain, they also permit it time to dry properly for later sale on the commodities market. Silos serve as an invaluable resource to farmers and cost them a hefty investment to install.
Eventually, though, the grain must leave the silo on its way to the commodities markets or to the cattle to ready them for the next batch of grain. The strategically-placed silos efficiently fill the train cars or trucks parked before them. In good times, the farmer can make a hefty profit from his grain and reinvest it into more fields and building another silo, usually near the last. If the farmer works hard and remains profitable, a cluster of silos eventually appears. Through such acquisitions the farmer's profits grow. Eventually, however, the farmer's land expands to touch a neighboring farm with its own shining silos.
To continue to grow, competition for land becomes paramount to survival for grain is the commodity that generates the capital required for growth. Either one farmer must buy the land of his competitor or a large fence must be erected between properties as each farmer weighs his options.
But what if a cow on one side of the fence closest to the competing farm wanted some of the grain from the silo of a neighboring farm? Could he get it?
Not easily. The silos have come too valuable to each farmer as they raise their separate herd of cows. Sprinkling grain across the fence would place one farmer at a distinct disadvantage over the other. But the reason the competing cows are told they cannot get the grain? Because the grain's privacy might be compromised and if it touched the ground it might not be safe to eat.
And so, the competing cows are left to create their own new grain to be grown on their own side of the fence.
And so it is with our current iteration of developing electronic medical records: huge information silos of vital information hoarded by the farmers and never simply shared with neighboring cows.
Photo by Cindy47452.
3 comments:
Good analogy Wes. One wonders when we will move to the next stage of having medical records shared in a data base accessible and added to by all providers. This is when improvements and eoonomies will be realized from medical records.
Then HIT folks can create products designed for specific specialties which will work more efficiently for that specialty rather than these giant all inclusive EMRs that are designed for big integrated health care providers who are the only ones who can afford them. They will likely cost much less as well.
- Sat Dec 27, 08:26:00 AM CST
- Lisa said...
You have so eloquently given a voice to the frustration that I have had over the last five years of trying to navigate medical care with multiple co-morbidities.
- Sun Dec 28, 08:24:00 PM CST
- Bryan Vartabedian said...
Holy Toledo, Wes. Deep.
- Mon Dec 29, 10:38:00 PM CST
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
A collection of scholarly works about individual liberty and free markets. A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.
The discussion about the ideal political community is not a normal debate which is located in particular date, place, and historical context. Rather it is a theoretical "debate" which has engaged thinkers across time and geography ever since the beginning of formal political philosophy with the ancient Greeks. The name given to an ideal political community, "Utopia", comes from Thomas More's work Utopia which was published in Latin in 1516. What is interesting about many conceptions of utopian communities is that the authors assumed that without free markets and private property there would be an absence of conflict and greater prosperity. There have been a few dissenters to this tradition, namely Voltaire and Molinari who envisioned utopian-like communities which were based upon these very two principles. Hayek in an essay "The Intellectuals and Socialism" published in 1949 calls for "true liberals" to dare to be Utopian as their 19th century socialist counterparts had been.
For further reading on this topic see:


text:
Finding system integrators in Dubai
Anything not related to Battlefleet Gothic: Armada.
1 post • Page 1 of 1
Finding system integrators in Dubai
System integrators are organisations implementing Enterprise applications within business and corporate organisations to integrate new functionalities. The system integration process builds computing systems for clients by combining hardware and software products from multiple vendors. It also ensures that the components function together. The system integrators identify, analyze, design and deploy complex IT solutions. System integration is evolving as an important concept to most entrepreneurs and a new concept to fewer entrepreneurs. The concept of integration involves using cheaper and pre-configured components and available software to achieve business goals. System Integrators Dubai are offering consulting services to maximum business and corporate organisations. There are system integrators improving the functioning of organisations in Dubai. The system integrators optimise resource utilisations and helps functional organisations minimise their expenditure on new components. Many entrepreneurs are seeking the services of the system integrators to manage more products and improve their functioning easily. These system integrators are able to provide new advantages to business and corporate organisations and helping them manage their workflow easily. System integrators are becoming important in Dubai while most entrepreneurs are developing their businesses and lowering their expenses. The advantages of system integrations are increasing its relevance across the globe while maximum organisations deploy it. There are skilled System integration engineers qualified to introduce system integration in organisations planning to maintain their budget yet boost their performance. System integrators are useful to maximum organisations and they are already benefitting plenty of business and corporate organisations in Dubai.
1 post • Page 1 of 1
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 5 guests


text:
Collection & Exhibitions
From an initial gift of 4,500 works of art from Mrs. Charles Montague Cooke in 1927, the Honolulu Museum of Art's permanent collection has grown to more than 50,000 objects. The collection is at the heart of the museum's mission to collect, preserve, interpret, and teach the visual arts for future generations. It represents all the major cultures of Hawai'i and spans 5,000 years, from ancient times to today.


text:
Guicing Up Your Testing
In what I hope will be the first of several articles about Guice, a new lightweight dependency injection container from Bob Lee and Kevin Bourrillion from Google, this article examines the simplest and most obvious use case for the Guice container, for mocking or faking objects in unit tests. In future articles I will examine other, more ambitious areas where it can be used, including dependency elimination in large code bases.
If you are familiar with the idea of mock or fake objects, this article may seem like slow going (apart from the Guice parts, hopefully). However, if you have not used mock or fake objects before, this article will not only cover their use, but demonstrate how these techniques go hand-in-hand with dependency injection.
The Test Case
To illustrate the use of Guice, you need an example unit testing setup. I settled on something pretty simple—an invoice class that uses a sales tax rate manager (another object) to look up a sales tax percentage for a customer. The invoice then adds it on to the total sum of the line item costs in the invoice.
The twist is, you are going to pretend that the tax rate manager looks up the tax rate for a customer based on the customer ID (say it varies depending on their state, which is information that the tax rate manager gets from the customer ID). You'll also throw in there that the poor old database backing this tax rate lookup is overloaded, and takes around five seconds for any query or update operation (this really isn't much of a stretch for a large and heavily used database—believe me).
Your test objects might look something like this:
public class Invoice { /** A Simple public inner and immutable class to hold line items * for the invoice, including the title, description and cost */ public class Item { private final String title; private final String description; private final BigDecimal cost; .... (constructors and getters here) } private final Customer customer; private List<Item> lineItems; private final DbTaxRateManager taxRateManager; public Invoice(Customer customer) { this.customer = customer; // set up the line item list this.lineItems = new ArrayList<Item>(); this.taxRateManager = DbTaxRateManager.getTaxRateManager(); } public void addItem(String title, String description, double amount) { lineItems.add(new Item(title, description, amount)); } private BigDecimal getTotal() { BigDecimal runningTotal = new BigDecimal(0); for (Item item:lineItems) { runningTotal = runningTotal.add(item.cost); } return runningTotal; } public BigDecimal getTotalWithTax() { BigDecimal total = this.getTotal(); // now find the tax rate for the customer BigDecimal taxRate = this.taxRateManager.getTaxRateForCustomer( customer.getCustomerId()); // and calculate the taxed total BigDecimal multiplier = taxRate.divide(new BigDecimal(100)); // Boy, Big Decimal might be accurate, but it certainly is // ugly to do math with... return total.multiply(multiplier.add(new BigDecimal(1))); } }
The rest of this class, along with the supporting object classes, can be seen by downloading the project zip file.
Take a look at this implementation. From the constructor, observe the line:
this.taxRateManager = DbTaxRateManager.getTaxRateManager();
This is getting the tax rate manager instance from a pretty standard mechanism in many modern implementations: a singleton. I personally believe the singleton pattern, at least in the way most people implement it (using a static getter method and a single private internal instance) to be one of the most harmful patterns from the Gang of Four book (and the numerous other patterns authorities out there). A singleton implemented this way is particularly harmful because it is very easy to grasp, and very seductive, but results in unintended consequences in many different areas.
In this particular case, the singleton implementation of DbTaxRateManager means that any time you create an invoice, you are bound to that implementation of the tax rate manager. This is the point of a singleton—it makes it dead easy to get the tax rate manager and use it, but beyond that it pretty much sucks.
For example, when you want to test this simple invoice class, that test is going to use the DbTaxRateManager implementation. This means it is going to hit the database, and with your stated database performance, this means about 5 seconds per update or query.
Further down, in the GetTotalWithTax method, you see the following usage:
BigDecimal taxRate = this.taxRateManager.taxRateForCustomer(customer.getCustomerId());
That's 5 seconds gone right there in that one lookup. Now, if you look in the test class:
private static final int CUST1_ID = 12341234; private static final int CUST2_ID = 43214321; @Before public void setUp() throws Exception { // set up a couple of customer IDs with tax rates we can use DbTaxRateManager taxRateManager=DbTaxRateManager.getTaxRateManager(); taxRateManager.setTaxRateForCustomer(CUST1_ID, 5.5); taxRateManager.setTaxRateForCustomer(CUST2_ID, 6.25); }
Here, you have set up a couple of fake customer IDs and put them into the database with two different tax rates. Two updates, another 10 seconds.
So, by running this test, best case (doing only one tax lookup and the two rate assignments), the test is going to take over 15 seconds to run. Imagine a thousand unit tests that take 15 seconds each; you are going to be waiting a while.
That singleton is killing you performance-wise. There are all sorts of schemes to improve this situation. Some people recommend running some kind of alternative, lightweight alternative database and changing the database connection details (for example, for some functional testing, Derby or JavaDB are becoming a popular option).
Page 1 of 5
This article was originally published on June 21, 2007


text:
The clock is ticking on the 2012 MLB season.
With that, time is running out for this year's MVP and Cy Young Candidates to make cases for themselves. All four races look to be highly contested and full of tough decisions for voters.
Let's dive in and look at these races in each league.
Main Candidates: Mike Trout, Miguel Cabrera
With Josh Hamilton really falling off the table since the All-Star break batting average wise, it now looks like Mike Trout and Miguel Cabrera make up the two-horse race for the American League MVP.
How in the world do you decide between the two?
We all know that since Mike Trout joined the Angels, they've taken on a different identity. However, it's hard to ignore the .325-36-177 line of Miguel Cabrera, even with Prince Fielder hitting behind him.
In my opinion, It's really almost impossible to determine. However, if Detroit can overtake the White Sox in the AL Central, I think that will be the determining factor.
Barring a collapse from both Texas and Oakland, Trout's Angels look too far away from a division title. A wild card berth could be in the team's future, but it remains to be seen how big of an accomplishment the voters will view that as now that there is a second wild card team.
I think it comes down to which one out of Cabrera and Trout make the playoffs. If they both or neither of them make it, the vote should be an interesting one.
Main Candidates: Buster Posey, Andrew McCutchen, Ryan Braun
The voters have shown with the MVP race that a high premium is placed on whether or not your team makes the playoffs. Given that assumption, Buster Posey is the favorite at this point, and it gives him a great chance to win both the MVP and Comeback Player of the Year awards for the National League.
However, the statistics for Andrew McCutchen and Ryan Braun are much more eye popping.
Recently, Jayson Stark from ESPN.com posted an article handicapping the odds of these three players, giving Braun the worst odds to win the MVP at 50-to-1. Yes, a big issue with Braun is the mysterious overturned drug test, but I think that that is more of an issue with the fans than the voters. I could be kidding myself, but I really do not think that's going to be a big factor for Braun when the ballots are cast.
If the Milwaukee Brewers can find a way to sneak into that second wild card spot, I have a feeling Braun will get a ton of support because of the way he was able to lead that offense without Prince Fielder.
As far as McCutchen goes, I don't think there is any doubt that out of all three of these guys, he is the most valuable to his team. He put up just downright scary numbers the first four months of the season, and when he started to tail off (which, for him, is apparently to a .340 batting average), so did the team.
It's obvious that the Pirates sink or swim with McCutchen, so wouldn't that define what an MVP is? The issue is that everybody has a different definition of an MVP, and if McCutchen's Buccos do not separate themselves from the Giants or Brewers by becoming a playoff team, it's going to make it that much harder for McCutchen to win the award.
Main Candidates: David Price, Chris Sale, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Jered Weaver, Felix Hernandez
I do not ever remember any award race being as wide open as this season's AL Cy Young.
I don't think it is a stretch by any means to think that all six of the guys mentioned above will receive at least one first place vote.
The question that will determine which player wins the award is probably which one is more consistently amongst the tops in all major statistical categories: innings pitched, strikeouts, ERA, WHIP, and record.
Voters have shown in the past that a pitcher's win-loss record doesn't really sway them one way or another when it comes to the Cy Young Award, as evidenced by Felix Hernandez winning the award in 2010. That's why I think that as it stands right now, Hernandez and Justin Verlander are the two leaders in the clubhouse for the award.
All the other guys in the running are outside of the top five in certain categories. Chris Sale, Jared Weaver and David Price aren't there in innings and strikeouts, and Max Scherzer isn't there in innings, ERA and WHIP.
King Felix and Verlander are the only two that are there in all the categories, so I think that the voters will take notice of their consistency across the board despite not having the records of the other pitchers.
Main Candidates: R.A. Dickey, Clayton Kershaw, Gio Gonzalez, Johnny Cueto, Kyle Lohse
Much like the AL, the NL Cy Young race is also an interesting one. The most interesting aspect of this race, though, is not the stats but the stories of some of the candidates.
The R.A. Dickey phenomenon is well-documented, but Kyle Lohse is also a guy who was overlooked by more than a few organizations before catching on with the Cardinals. Also, for Gio Gonzalez, he was a guy who didn't get much attention in Washington with Stephen Strasburg being there. However, he's outperformed him in many ways this year.
With that said, I think it boils down to Dickey and Clayton Kershaw.
Like Hernandez and Verlander in the AL, they separate themselves from the pack because they are more consistently at or near the top in all categories. It will make for a very interesting dynamic: the knuckleballer vs. the overpowering Kershaw.
Who do you think will win each race? Make your predictions below.


text:
Here's the latest article from the Sewing site at BellaOnline.com.
How to Sew a Men's Shirt - Preparing the Pattern
In this lesson on learning how to sew a men's shirt, we will go over the process of preparing the pattern pieces.
Please visit Sewing.bellaonline.com for even more great content about Sewing.
To participate in free, fun online discussions, this site has a community forum all about Sewing located here -
I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I thrive on your feedback!
Have fun passing this message along to family and friends, because we all love free knowledge!
Tamara Bostwick, Sewing Editor
One of hundreds of sites at BellaOnline.com


text:
Aikman addresses controversial documentary on concussions
Troy Aikman, suffering the damaging affects of a horrible concussion, asked the same questions over and over again. He was hospitalized, having been knocked out of the 1994 NFC championship game.
It wasn't the only concussion the former Dallas Cowboy and Hall of Famer would sustain. It just might have been the worst.
STEELE: NFL, worth billions, loses little in concussions settlement | Gruesome injuries
Still, he'd do it all again, he told Sporting News' Rayven Tirado after watching his tale and many others on the PBS documentary, "League of Denial."
"I would," Aikman said of playing in the NFL. "The answer for that is because I haven't had any symptoms since retiring from the game. I've gone and I've seen specialists. I've been tested extensively and everything has checked out just fine...As I sit here today, no I wouldn't change anything."
The NFL and thousands of players who sued the league for concussion damages reached a $765 million settlement. Players accused the league of withholding information about the dangers of concussions.
Despite a greater level of scientific research being devoted to concussions, Aikman said if he had a son, he wouldn't push him into the game. Today, he is healthy and says he has none of the symptoms that he knows so many others are living with.
Nevertheless, he has continued concerns and has said in the past that he would like to know exactly what the NFL knew.
"I do not have a son; if I had a son, I wouldn't necessarily discourage him from playing football, but I don't know that I would encourage him to play either," he told SN.
He added: "I don't know what the data show, but I haven't sensed there's been a reduction in head injuries. With that in mind, that's concerning. As long as we're having contact and as long as there are collisions, there's going to be head injuries.
"What the long-term consequences are of that, we're beginning to learn and that definitely will have an impact on the game as we know it."


text:
Still not known whether sweaty armpits are setting off false alarms
Steve Watson
October 26, 2011
Trials of invasive full body scanning machines in Australia have revealed that the technology has a huge error rate of up to 40%, yet government officials want to roll out the technology in airports anyway.
The Australian Office of Transport Security announced this week that of 23,500 scans carried out at Sydney and Melbourne airports during August and September, between 20 and 40% of alarms raised were done so in error.
Worse still, it is not even clear what caused the machines to set off false alarms.
As we reported in August, it is suspected that perspiration on passengers is a leading cause of the errors, though this still remains unconfirmed.
Despite the results, Office of Transport Security executive director Paul Retter told a recent Senate estimates committee hearing that the technology was improving "on a weekly and monthly basis".
Despite repeated warnings from security experts that the machines cannot even detect explosives effectively, Retter maintained that the technology provides "the best chance in the world today to detect explosives, including home-made explosives".
Retter also stated that though the government has not yet made a decision on whether to fully adopt the technology, he will recommend "a progressive rollout at eight international airports".
"We would envisage that the rollout will start to occur from the early part of 2012," he said.
- A d v e r t i s e m e n t
- {openx:74}
Prior to the Australian trials, the German government decided to completely scrap plans to use the scanners after police described radiation-firing full body scanners as "useless", following a 10-month trial.
According to a German federal police report, 35 percent of the 730,000 passengers checked by the scanners set off the alarm more than once despite having nothing prohibited about their person whatsoever.
The report noted that an alarm was set off without reason in roughly seven out of every ten cases, adding that the scanners struggled to cope with layers of clothing, boots and zip fasteners, and even the posture of passengers passing through.
The report concluded that the machines are too sensitive to movement and operate too slowly to be of any practical use.
Despite all these findings, the Department of Homeland Security in the US continues to roll out hundreds more of the scanning machines into airports across the country, claiming that the machine have passed rigorous safety and efficiency tests, in statements we have repeatedly highlighted as highly questionable at best.
Steve Watson is the London based writer and editor for Alex Jones' Infowars.net, and Prisonplanet.com. He has a Masters Degree in International Relations from the School of Politics at The University of Nottingham in England.
The Emergency Election Sale is now live! Get 30% to 60% off our most popular products today!


text:
TxDMV Learning Center
Welcome to the TxDMV Learning Center. We are committed to supporting our county partners with an expanding online training program.
Basic and advanced title and registration training is available online to TxDMV employees, county tax assessor-collectors and staff.
Technical Note: Your RTS workstation may not be configured to operate properly with the TxDMV Learning Center. Please use broadband Internet access to access the Learning Center.
We hope the course offering and features of the Learning Center provide value for your team and we look forward to your ideas.


text:
I love to write fan fiction, but I'm not very good with bios, so I'm just going to wing it.
I strongly support these theories: Severus isn't evil, Sirius isn't dead, and Trelawney isn't a complete fraud.
I support/like these ships: Ron/Hermione, Harry/Luna, Neville/Ginny, Severus/Lily, Remus/Lily, Sirius/Remus, James/Lily, and Draco/Myrtle.
My favorite characters include Sirius, Luna, Ron, Trelawney, Fleur, Neville, Snape, Draco, and Oliver.
Other things that I love: cheesecake, Jayness, Evan, Moralis, Karen, Kelsey, and all the other boardies. ^__^


text:
QRG Remodeling has been offering state of the art services for home remodeling in Fairfax Station VA since 1985. We help customers in achieving their dreams of bathroom remodeling and kitchen remodeling in style. We offer expert advice in the selection of flooring, wall covering, woodworks, shower doors and many more to the residents of Fairfax Station VA. In order to provide our customers with rich options, we carry latest products of leading manufacturers. Cost friendly solutions and modern technology are the hallmarks of our success. Nothing is too big or too small for our technicians as they are specialized in their respective domains. Our goal is quite simple. We want every client loving everything of their homes. We are one of the premiers design build firms specialized in delivering quality craftsmanship and turnkey services. In order to complete every job smoothly and effectively, our team of designers and architects work closely with all the customers during all the phases of project. Custom designed bars and other custom home design offer numerous options for custom home renovation in Fairfax Station VA. Our painters are experts at converting your ordinary places into eye catching places with supreme interior painting and exterior painting in Fairfax Station VA. Whatever the nature of your requirements, we offer the highest level of satisfaction and customer services.
Luxurious ceilings work always adds appealing look to our interiors and exteriors in Fairfax Station VA. Combined with custom millwork and ceilings design, it offers extremely easy installation of suspension systems. Patented joint technology provides strong platform to milled joint.
Are you looking for wide array of high class custom closet cabinets in Fairfax Station VA? Perfect. You have reached to a place where you will get personalized styles and patterns. Whether it is a matter of constructing new home or home restoration anywhere in Fairfax Station VA, QRG Remodeling will be the second to none.
From colorful door handle, locks, cabinet hardware, lighting and hinges, we offer all kinds of home additions and home accessories to our respected residents of Fairfax Station VA.
We suggest updating your kitchens with latest designs and trends of the industry to not only add a shining look but also increase their resale value. We offer rich choices of marble tops and countertops to meet the requirements of kitchen renovation or kitchen design in Fairfax Station VA.
Our professionals offer customized solutions to add a new look to your baths. We offer wide range of services that include but not limited to vinyl flooring, granite tiles, custom shower doors, pool rooms and closet designs in Fairfax Station VA.
Flooring not only adds elegance but also give us an ideal place to spend a spare time with our friends. We offer exotic flooring service in every corner of Fairfax Station VA. Either you prefer laminate flooring or hardwood flooring, QRG Remodeling will be your ultimate choice in Fairfax Station VA.


text:
In 2005, I set out to photograph my home state of South Dakota, a sparsely populated frontier state on the Great Plains with more buffalo, pronghorn, coyotes, mule deer, ring-necked pheasants and prairie dogs than people. It's a landscape dominated by space and silence and solitude, by brutal wind and extreme weather. I was trying to capture a more intimate and personal view of the West. I was trying to capture what all that space feels like to someone who grew up there. A year into the project, however, everything changed. One of my brothers died unexpectedly. For months, one of the few things that eased my unsettled heart was the landscape of South Dakota. It seemed all I could do was drive through the badlands and prairies and photograph. I began to wonder: Does loss have its own geography?
That first year of grieving was a blur of motel rooms, back roads, and dreams of my brother. I still remember, however, one particularly elusive, haunted, dreamlike image. One overcast day on a deserted country road in the Missouri River valley, I was startled by a flock of some thousand blackbirds. I was mesmerized by how the birds flew through the stormy, unsettled Western sky as if they were one huge, dark, undulating, ravenous creature, picking clean the remains of the corn and sunflower fields in the last days of autumn.
For days when I'd least expect it, I'd see the blackbirds descend upon a field. It didn't seem to matter how quickly I stopped the car and raised the camera to my eye. Inevitably, the dark flock vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
For at least a week, I kept dreaming about those blackbirds. Finally, one afternoon near the small town of Gray Goose, South Dakota, I saw the flock hovering over a field of sunflowers. This time I was somewhat more prepared—I had my camera around my neck, and, thanks to the dirt road's wide shoulder, I could quickly pull over and rush toward the field, crouching low to keep from scaring off the skittery birds. I remember wondering what I'd say to the farmer if he caught me trespassing on his land.
Then something happened that I wasn't expecting—the flock lingered in the field. Were there more seeds than usual to feed on? Were the towering sunflowers hiding me from the skittish birds? Slowly I inched closer until I was standing directly behind one of the tallest sunflowers in the field. Beneath its large bowed head, I clicked the shutter again and again until the dark flock vanished once more into the cold, grey, blustery November sky.
They say your first death is like your first love—and you're never quite the same afterwards. After my brother died, my photographs started to change. They were more muted, often autumnal. I remember saying to the writer, Linda Hasselstrom at her ranch house near Hermosa, South Dakota, where I did much of the writing for the book, "I see summer, fall, and winter, in the photographs, but not spring."
"When you're grieving, there isn't any spring," Hasselstrom replied.
Looking again at the work now that My Dakota is finally a book, I realize that I was photographing this particularly dark time in my life in order to try to absorb it, to distill it, and, ultimately, to let it go. Not only did my first grief change me, but making My Dakota changed me as well, both as a human being and as a bookmaker.
Rebecca Norris Webb is a New York-based photographer. More of her work can be seen here. My Dakota (Radius Books) will be launched at the International Center of Photography in New York City on May 24. There will be an exhibition of the work at the Dahl Arts Center in Rapid City, South Dakota, from June 1 through October 13.
- America
- Arles
- Book
- Brooklyn
- Dahl Arts Center
- Dakota
- death
- Family
- Hermosa
- International Center of Photography
- Linda Hasselstrom
- Missouri
- Missouri River valley
- My Dakota
- New York
- New York City
- Out There
- Painting
- Paul McCartney
- photography
- Photoville
- Plastic arts
- Rapid City
- Rebecca Norris Webb
- Rebecca Norris Webb
- South
- South Dakota
- South Dakota
- Sunflowers
- Van Gogh Museum
- Visual arts


text:
New Schedule DOA?
At the very least, it's on life support.
- The finger pointing has started and no one wants to look like the bad guy, but it looks like it's coming from city hall. City hall decided to take a look at it a little closer and found out that we like it so now they are having second thoughts. If it does get the ax the word is the pilot programs that are going on now will continue.
Don't forget to circulate those petitions.
Labels: city politics, we got nothing


text:
Little String Stars Twinkle
The All Island Winter String Concert for students in grades one through 12 is set for Tuesday, Jan. 15th from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center at Martha's Vineyard Regional High School. Admission is free.
One of the high points of this concert will be the combined elementary, junior high and high school orchestras performing Kings of Stone, a piece for mixed level ensemble inspired by Tolkein's Lord of the Rings. The high school and junior high groups also will perform independently.
The beginners on violin, viola and cello have been working hard to get up there and twinkle with all the other "little stars." In all, a group of approximately 160 string students will be together on the stage.


text:
Here's a not very complicated idea. A new trailer comes out. It's cool. Someone makes some GIFs out of it. The newest member of our team, Gergő Vas, figured he'd start us off with yesterday's trailer for Cyberpunk 2077, the new game from CD Projekt, makers of The Witcher.
Enjoy this look at our possible sci-fi future.
G/O Media may get a commission


text:
By continuing to browse this site, you are agreeing to the use of cookies. Click here to learn about cookie settings.
This style fits true to size therefore we recommend taking your actual size.
True fit; take your normal size.
If we do not have your half size available, please buy the full size up and add an insole in the same size as the shoe. This will reduce the size by a half size.
This product fits true to size
You will be emailed when ready to collect from our Mayfair or Notting Hill store
3-5 business days
Will require a signature on delivery
Orders placed before 12pm Monday to Friday will be delivered the following business day
(Please note that orders placed over the weekend will be delivered on Tuesday)
3-7 business days
Will require a signature on delivery
(Please note VAT will be removed at checkout and goods will be shipped duty unpaid)
In the event that you are not completely satisfied with your order, we will offer a full refund if the order is returned within 21 days
SALE/Discounted orders muct be returned within 14 days
The Dandy Slipper - so named in honour of Oscar Wilde, the orginal dandy, know for his flamboyant dress and decadent ways, has become an androgymous classic in the Penelope Chilvers collections. Handcrafted on a leather sole, in khaki velvet, featuring exquisite acorns with oak leaves. They have a classical yet contemporary charm.
Our Dandy slippers are named in honour of Oscar Wilde – the quintessential dandy on so many levels – sartorially, artistically and intellectually.
Spanish velvet upper with grosgrain trim. Leather lined with a full leather sole. Made in Spain.
TEXTILE CARE: Use KIWI Aquastop to protect. To enhance the pile, hold at a distance over steam from a kettle and brush. Store in the dustbag provided.


text:
One of my favorite color schemes is a red + aqua, and I think it is perfect for a whimsical baby shower (a fitting combo for gender neutral showers too)! So when Rosenberry Rooms shared their Lollipop Bodysuits with me, I instantly knew they would make a darling baby shower centerpiece! Shaped like lollipops, they unfold to cute ONESIES! Love! This is the perfect way to decorate and give a gift to the mom-to-be!
The cute "onesie" lollipops come in baby blue, baby pink, and red! I set up a centerpiece with the red suits using a gold planter leftover from the holidays. A quick spray paint using a bright aqua color turned my chipped gold planter into the perfect baby shower centerpiece! Then I filled it with floral foam and stuck 3 red lollipop onesies down into the foam. Covered with a krinkle paper to hide the floral foam and tied the planter with a wide aqua + red polka dot ribbon. Tie your baby shower theme together by using the ribbon to decorate store-bought red cupcakes! My local grocery store made red cupcakes for me, and I simply added a ribbon bow for a cute accent.
When gift time comes around, your cute "lollipops" become sweet baby onesies! Decorate your baby shower table with lollipops and cupcakes topped with lollipops. Mom-to-be will love the sweet decorations for her sweet baby!
To buy these cute LOLLIPOP ONESIES, visit Rosenberry Rooms! You can also visit their Facebook Page for updates, news, and special sales! Also, follow Rosenberry Rooms on TWITER too!
*This is a Sponsored Post – All opinions are our own*


text: Damo R. Veteran Share Posted December 16, 2010 A UFC 128 title fight between light-heavyweight champ Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (19-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) and Rashad Evans (15-1-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC) now will take the main-event slot of a UFC 129 show expected to take place in New Jersey. Additionally, a lightweight bout between local fighter Kurt Pellegrino (15-5 MMA, 7-4 UFC) and Gleison Tibau (21-7 MMA, 7-5 UFC) is in the works for the show. Although not officially announced by the organization, UFC 129 is expected to take place March 19 at the Prudential Center in Newark and air on pay-per-view. Initially, UFC 128 was expected to take place March 12 in Adu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. But as MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) cautioned, officials hadn't been able to secure a venue and hinted that the show could move. On Tuesday, sportsnet.ca first reported the rescheduling of "Shogun" vs. Evans to the UFC 129 slot, and today, Pellegrino announced via Twitter his fight with Tibau. Sources close to the event today confirmed both bookings. Additionally, as MMAjunkie.com first reported, officials initially planned to host a March 12 event overseas (the potential Abu Dhabi show) and a March 19 event in the U.S. But the shows now could be combined into a single event, so the currently titled UFC 129 event could become UFC 128. Rua, a longtime star with the now-defunct PRIDE Fighting Championships, is 3-1 since his promotional-debut loss to Forrest Griffin. The lone defeat came to Lyoto Machida in their first meeting, and many in the industry panned the unanimous decision and felt Rua won the fight. Seven months later in the rematch, he needed less than a round to score a knockout and win the belt from his fellow Brazilian. He's now recovering from a knee injury. Evans earned another shot at the title with a May win over rival Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in the main event of UFC 114. Although he said he'd be open to an interim-title fight if Rua were to experience a lengthy layoff, he later said he'd prefer to wait for the champion. Evans, who also has defeated Thiago Silva since losing his belt, now will have a yearlong layoff while waiting for his shot to reclaim the title. Pellegrino, meanwhile, recently saw a four-fight win streak snapped with a unanimous-decision loss to George Sotiropoulos back in July. Prior to the loss, Pellegrino, who's been sidelined by his recovery from knee surgery, posted submission wins over Rob Emerson and Fabricio Camoes and decision victories over Thiago Tavares and Josh Neer. Tibau entered the title picture with a recent 4-1 run in the UFC that saw wins over the likes of Jeremy Stephens, Caol Uno and Neer. But in his most recent bout at UFC Fight Night 22, the American Top Team product suffered a decision loss to division standout Jim Miller. In addition to those bouts, a fight between Tito Ortiz (15-8-1 MMA, 14-8-1 UFC) and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (19-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) also is expected to move from UFC 128 to UFC 129. Link to post Share on other sites


text:
Viewing articles tagged 'backupcp'
How can I install the backupCP script on my own domain?
If you do not wish to enter your cPanel or Amazon S3 login info on the backupcp portal you can...Can I try BackupCP and what if I am not happy with backupcp?
You get 30 days free trial (with no credit card details asked) in which you can configure upto 3...Do I need root access to setup backupCP?
NO, you don`t need server root password to setup BackupCP. You can backup all your and your...How can I configure Dropbox as my backup destination?
Please refer the follow link for tutorial on adding dropbox as backup destination in...How can I configure Google Drive as my backup destination?
To upload backup file to GoogleDrive we need to create a Google (Drive) Service Account. 1) You...How to setup BackupCP from "Configure On Portal"?
This help video explains you How to setup BackupCP from "Configure On...What is BackupCP?
BackupCP is a web based tool to backup your cPanel user accounts and also all the accounts under...
Powered by WHMCompleteSolution


text:
Aix's Interesting Christmas Festival: The town of Aix-en-Provence has an interesting Christmas festival. Each year in December, the Festival of New Oil takes place at the "Place de la Rotonde" to celebrate the season's new olive oil and fresh truffles. The first pressing of the year's olives … [Read more...]
You are here: Home / Archives for aix en


text:
Judge orders sheriff, county board to solve health care crisis at jail
Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke and the Milwaukee County Board were ordered Tuesday to come up with a solution to a health care crisis at the Milwaukee County Jail -- soon.
A report obtained by WISN 12 News details issues with the health care provided at the county jail, calling it "a system that puts sick prisoners in serious jeopardy." Now the county has less than two months to fix it.
The stalemate between the county and the sheriff has the attention of a county judge.
For more than a decade, a court-approved monitor has overseen health care and overcrowding at the Milwaukee County Jail. While overcrowding is no longer an issue, in a recent report, the monitor found the county is non-compliant and cited severe problems in providing adequate health care for inmates.
In court late Tuesday, the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee testified something has to be done.
"There have been medication delays. We have an infirmary that's not in compliance, and I assume the court has read the report. There's some pretty scary incidents," said Peter Koneazny of the Legal Aid Society.
As Clarke clashed with the county board over who has ultimate authority over the jail operations, the health care leadership positions at the jail have gone unfilled in some cases for years. It's a situation Judge William Brash ordered must end.
"The court is ordering them to comply with the agreement and do so in all haste," Brash said.
The judge shot down Clarke's effort to bypass the county board and hire a private firm on his own to run the health care operations, saying the two sides have 60 days to correct the problems at the jail.
"To move beyond this stalemate, the parties will have to communicate, cooperate and perhaps compromise," Brash said.
The sheriff's attorney said, after the hearing the sheriff's plans to hire a private firm, that could still be the best solution and called on the county board to agree to the move, at least on an interim basis.


text:
Return to Index
Discography is an imaging test. It involves injecting a contrast material into a disc in the spine and taking an x-ray . An x-ray is a test that uses radiation to take a picture of structures inside the body. The contrast material helps the disc appear more clearly on the x-ray.
|Herniated Lumbar Disc
|Copyright © Nucleus Medical Media, Inc.
Reasons for Test
This test is used to detect if a herniated disc or otherwise abnormal disc is a source of pain. Discs are small, circular cushions between the vertebrae (bones) in the spine. A herniated disc occurs when a disc in the spine bulges from its proper place. Herniated discs can press on the nerves and cause severe pain. In some cases, they can cause pain themselves, but often an abnormal disc is not painful.
Possible Complications
Problems from the procedure are rare, but all procedures have some risk. Your doctor will review potential problems, like:
- Disc degeneration
- Infection
- Nerve injury
- Injection of dye into the wrong area
- Bleeding
- Allergic reaction to the contrast agent
What to Expect
Prior to Test
Your doctor may do the following:
- Physical exam and medical history
- Determine if you have any allergies
- Pregnancy test—this test is not usually needed on pregnant women
Before your test:
- Arrange for a ride home and for help when you return after your procedure
- Remove any metal objects from your body, such as jewelry, hearing aids, or dentures
Description of the Test
You will lie on your abdomen or side on a table. A technician will help place you into position. You may be given antibiotics through an IV. You may receive an injection of local anesthetic into the skin on your back. This will be done to reduce pain from the needles.
Your doctor will use an imaging test called fluoroscopy. It combines x-ray technology with a TV screen to help guide needles into the discs. A contrast dye will be injected into the center of each disc. If the disc is normal, the liquid will remain in the center of the disc. If it is abnormal, the x-ray will detect any spreading or leaks.
During the exam, you will be asked to rate any pain that is associated with the injections. This can help your doctor find out if it is the abnormal disc that is causing pain. After this test, your doctor may do a CT scan to see the extent of spreading of the contrast dye.
After Test
You will be monitored in a recovery room while the sedation wears off.
How Long Will It Take?
About 30-60 minutes (an additional 30-60 minutes if a CT scan is also done)
Will It Hurt?
You may have pain from the contrast dye. Pain can last for several hours.
The results will be given to your doctor. Your doctor will talk to you about the results and treatment options.
Call Your Doctor
It is important to monitor your recovery. Alert your doctor to any problems. If any of the following occur, call your doctor:
- Signs of infection, including fever and chills
- Severe pain
- Numbness in your legs
- Trouble urinating or moving your bowels
- Symptoms of allergic reaction—hives, itching, nausea, swollen or itchy eyes, tight throat, or difficulty breathing
- Symptoms worsen
If you think you have an emergency, call for medical help right away.
North American Spine Society
Ortho Info—American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
Canadian Orthopaedic Association
Canadian Orthopaedic Foundation
Carragee EJ, Don AS, et al. Does discography cause accelerated progression of degeneration changes in the lumbar disc?: A ten-year matched cohort study. Spine. 2009;34(21):2338-2345.
Discography (discogram). Radiological Society of North America Radiology Info website. Available at: http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=discography. Updated April 11, 2016. Accessed November 10, 2017.
Modic MT. Diskography: Science and the ad hoc hypothesis. AJMR Am J Neuroradiol. 2000;21(2):241-242.
Stout A. Discography. Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am. 2010;21(4):859-867.
Revision Information
- Reviewer: EBSCO Medical Review Board Warren A. Bodine, DO, CAQSM
- Review Date: 11/2018
- Update Date: 12/20/2014


text: The best projects start with the best products. Start your projects with our high-quality cardstock, formulated especially for discerning crafters. The ultrasmooth surface is ideal for stamping, so you get clean, crisp images. And it's dyed with pure color all the way through so there's no white core. * 24 sheets* Blueberry Bushel* 8-1/2" x 11" * Acid free * Lignin free


text:
Dunebrook's Playgroups are open to the public. Parents with children Birth to 5 years old are welcome to join us for an hour of songs, stories, crafts and more!
December PlaygroupPlaygroups, Dunebrook Calendar, Community Events
03 Dec 2020
monthly, craft, stories, songs, family fun, school age, Michigan City, La Porte County, Playgroup, fun


text:
Many people may not have made up their minds about how active they want to be in the green movement. For those, we offer the following list of simple steps if you want get involved in protecting the environment. The order is not important, but the impact you make could be.
Many people may not have made up their minds about how active they want to be in the green movement.
For those, we offer the following list of simple steps if you want get involved in protecting the environment. The order is not important, but the impact you make could be.
1. Change your light bulbs
A standard soft white light bulb, or incandescent lamp, may be cheaper, but it has a shorter lifespan than compact fluorescent bulbs, or CFLs. The old bulbs must therefore be replaced about 10 times in the time it should take one CFL to burn out.
On www.gelighting.com and www.energystar.gov, the efficiency of CFLs is clearly stated. Energy Star states that if every American changed a single indcandescent light bulb in their homes to a CFL, America would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year.
General Electric's Web site contains a chart that estimates the cost of a 13-watt Spiral Bulb, a CFL made by General Electric. This chart estimates that the cost of this bulb would be $3.77 at the counter with $12 of energy costs for its lifespan. On the other side, a 60-watt incandescent would cost 27 cents at the point of sale, but cost $50.16 with energy and replacement costs included.
2. Stop buying bottled water
According to the Food and Water Watch, the U.S. is the world's largest consumer of bottled water, investing in 37 billion bottles in 2005. Bottled water not only hurts our pocket books, but also the environment. It wastes fossil fuels and water in production and transportation.
It takes more than 47 million gallons of oil to make plastic water bottles for Americans yearly. That would be like taking 100,000 cars off the road and 1 billion pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
Not only is bottled water more expensive than tap water, it also clogs up the landfills. Breaking down these plastics can take thousands of years. Meanwhile, their components will seep into our water supply.
While bottled water is bad for the environment, it may also be more harmful for your body. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, there are very relaxed testing requirements for bottled water. They are only required to be tested for contamination during the bottling process. Water treatment plants are required to test tap water for contaminants several times a day. Water treatment experts recommend not refilling water bottle containers with fresh tap water. Plastic bottles may leak toxic chemicals into the water as the bottle ages.
A safe and more cost efficient alternative to bottled water is a reusable container that you can fill from the tap. The Food and Water Watch web site offers a Take Back the Tap Pledge. On this Web site you can join their campaign to eliminate your use of bottled water.
For more information, go to www.foodandwaterwatch.org/water/bottled.
3. Conserve water with a rain barrel
Rain barrels also play a big role in conserving water. Barrels capture and hold water during storms and can be attached to the spouts of gutters on the house.
"You can capture 50 gallons of water during a rain event," said Lynee Hinkle, a founder of Kansas City initiative to build more rain gardens and rain barrels. "You can then water your plants later. Plants seem to do better with rain water instead of tap."
Rain water is "soft water." It contains no chlorine, lime or calcium and fewer sediments and dissolved salts than municipal water. It is ideal for watering vegetable gardens, raised planter beds and containers or indoor tropical plants like ferns and orchids. Rain water is perfect for automobile washing and cleaning household windows.
By saving the water in rain barrels you can conserve water at home, thus save on your water costs, and helping to avoid using municipal water supplies, which are becoming more depleted for sources as population increases.
For other ideas with rain barrels look on www.rainbarrelguide.com.
4. Wear organic cotton clothing
According to the Organic Trade Associate, organic cotton is different from regularly produced cotton because it is "grown using methods and materials that have a low impact on the environment." Organic cotton production replenishes and maintains soil fertility and reduces toxic pesticides and fertilizer use.
Stores such as Target and Macy's, as well as other department stores, sell organic cotton products, from baby clothes to bedding. Even Wal-Mart is joining in on the act.
While buying anything organic can cost a little extra, customers can find organic cotton products at fairly reasonable prices. A set of organic cotton sheets at Target or Wal-Mart cost about $50. Solid-colored organic tees can cost as little as $5.
5. Use natural cleaning supplies
The next wave of green products is cleaning supplies.
A variety of companies sell organic or all-natural products, including Seventh Generation, Mrs. Meyer's and Method. Green Works is a line of natural cleaning products introduced in late 2007, made from ingredients derived from coconuts and lemon oil. The company defines natural as having ingredients that are plant and mineral based as well as having a petrochemical content of less than 1 percent.
All of the products – from an all-purpose cleaner, glass and surface cleaner and toilet bowl cleaner to a natural bathroom cleaner and dish washing detergent – are biodegradable, non-allergenic and packaged in bottles that can be recycled. They are not tested on animals.
In addition, the Clorox company is working to conserve energy and water while reducing the packing of its products and using more recyclable and renewable materials. While Green Works might be one of the newest all-natural product lines, Shaklee has been around for more than 50 years with a line of organic, natural and biodegradable cleaning supplies. As early as 1960, Shaklee made one of the first biodegradable household cleaners and are the first company in the world to obtain a climate-neutral certification from the Environmental Protection Agency. The certification means that the company has zero impact on the environment.
None of Shaklee's products have chemicals found in other household cleaners such as kerosene, hydraulic acid, phosphoric acid, lye, ammonia or formaldehyde. For more information on the company, visit its Web site at www.shaklee.com.
6. Let your lawn go natural
Though treating a lawn with chemicals six or seven times a year may make it the greenest plot in the neighborhood, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency suggests limiting the use of such chemicals, as they are often harmful to the environment.
More preventive care can cut chemical use, but to eliminate chemicals, the Missouri Department of Conservation suggests revolutionizing your yard by introducing plants that grow naturally in your particular climate. Many lawns feature non-native plants, which require a lot of maintenance and often a large amount of chemicals. Native plants require less maintenance and no fertilizers and pesticides because they are far less vulnerable to the area's insects and diseases.
According to the MDC and the Missouri Department of Agriculture have come together to form a program called Grow Native! to encourage conservation and the use of native plants. The Web site, www.grownative.org, lists native plants and describes the places in which certain plants will best thrive.
7. Use natural organic cosmetics
Synthetic makeups are petroleum-based, a depleting resource, and must be processed, using more energy and creating unnatural, potentially harmful chemicals.
According to the Nature Conservancy, more than 50 chemicals put into American makeup and body-care products have already been banned in Europe. Research there has shown some of these chemicals cause cancer and other ailments.
More than 100 eco-beauty lines have been developed over the last few years. Such cosmetic and beauty products are made of organic ingredients and without pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and fertilizers.
Look for products labeled "100 percent organic." Those must legally contain all-natural ingredients. To be labeled "organic," products must have 95 percent organic ingredients. Those products with 70 percent or more organic ingredients can use "made with organic ingredients."
A cosmetic safety database, www.cosmeticdatabase.com, allows anyone to search for a product or company to check on the ingredients in various cosmetics.
One example of eco-friendly makeup is from Cargo Cosmetics, which has a lipstick line called Plant Love that offers more than just different shades for your lips.
The box the lipstick comes in contains wildflower seeds, so after you take the lipstick out of the box, add water and plant it in your backyard to grow beautiful flowers. When you are finished using your lipstick, don't worry about harming the environment by throwing away the case, because it is made from corn, so it is biodegradable.
8. Invest in Socially Responsible Funds
The relatively new idea of green investing stems from an older philosophy of social responsibility based upon religious and then political beliefs. More than 50 years ago, a mutual fund began to avoid alcohol and tobacco company stocks. Other funds since have sworn off investing in those plus defense-related and other controversial companies.
But the green movement is not so much about avoiding companies as a positive focus upon firms dedicated to environmentally clean practices and purposes. Because of the newness of this industry, there are no long track records for these company stocks.
Mutual funds have generally been safer vehicles for investing than individual stocks and there are plenty of opportunities to use them with the green purpose too. Families of Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) managed funds include Ariel, Calvert, CSIF, Domini, Dreyfus Premier Third Century, Gabelli SRI, LKCM, MMA Praxis, Parnassus, Pax World, Utopia, Walden and Winslow.
For a relatively easy way to examine and compare these managed offerings, check out www.socialfunds.com. Although it includes some of the newer green funds, it serves the worthwhile function of providing a look at the actual performance of almost all SRI funds over various periods of time. Recent academic studies also conclude that SRI constraints do not detract from investor returns as they might have many years ago.
As always, remember that values of all investments ebb and flow in wave patterns within broad trends. Currently the broad trend for stocks continues to be downward.
9. Sack the plastic bags
Most sackers at grocery stores still ask the proverbial question of shoppers in the check-out: "Paper or plastic?"
Since their introduction about 25 years ago, plastic bags have dominated the market as the easiest-to-use, cheapest-to-produce option for bagging groceries.
But they are also bad for the environment, according the Environmental Protection Agency. They are made from petroleum. Between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide each year, accounting for 60 million to 100 million barrels of oil.
Most plastic bags take anywhere from 400 to 1,000 years to biodegrade. They are also being blamed for the yearly death of thousands of marine turtles and other sea animals that mistake them for food.
Shoppers have another choice – reusable, "green" bags made of recycled paper.
The Examiner


text:
|"Are you a wizard or not?"
The title of this article is conjectural. Although it is based on canonical information, the actual name is a conjecture and may be supplanted at any time by additional information released from canonical sources. If this occurs, please move this page to the appropriate title.
This small sweet shop was founded and operated by Mr and Mrs Granger, after they moved to Sydney, Australia due to a new desire to live there incurred by having their memories modified by their daughter in 1997.[1]
Behind the scenes
- Had it been included, its appearance might have been intended as irony, as both Mr and Mrs Granger were dentists.
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (Mentioned only) (Cut from final film)
Notes and references
*Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, Fandom will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.


text:
Study to look at impact of legal alternatives to illegal drugs
The use of legal substances that mimic the effects of illegal drugs appears to be on the rise in Australia, yet little is known about their long-term impact on users.
Deakin University health researchers, in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Tasmania and the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at the University of New South Wales, are running a study to better understand Australian's experiences of using these substances, referred to as emerging psychoactive substances.
"There has been a lot of research conducted in Europe and the United Kingdom looking at why people take these substances and the harm they report experiencing as a result. However, there is relatively little information from the Australian perspective," Deakin public health expert Matthew Dunn said.
"In Australia we do not have a good understanding of who is using these substances, and we have no knowledge as to why they are using them. Are they people who are already using illegal drugs, such as ecstasy and cocaine? Are they people who have never used an illegal drug in their life?
"These are important questions when considering how we respond to these emerging substances, as well as how we design and disseminate education and harm reduction messages to those who may use these substances."
The researchers are calling on people to share their experiences, good and bad, of using legal and illegal drugs through an online, anonymous and confidential questionnaire.
There is a wide range of substances on the market that mimic the effects of cannabis, stimulants like methamphetamine or cocaine, ecstasy and psychedelics like LSD. Some of these are sold online as legal alternatives to illegal drugs, yet many are in fact illegal in Australia, Dr Dunn explained.
"With the UK experiencing a rise in harm attributed to emerging psychoactive substances and research indicating that efforts to make them illegal is not seriously dissuading use, we need to take a thorough look at the situation here to be sure our response to these substances is appropriate in the Australian context," he said.
"There is a gap in our knowledge of who is using these substances and why, and what impact this is having on their wellbeing. The results of our study will go some way to filling these gaps."