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Realignment 101: Getting to know the new landscape of college sports
Welcome to July. While you're enjoying all the trappings of American summertime – the pool, the grill, the incendiary devices passed off as patriotic props – college sports is realigning itself some more.
July 1 is when most of the latest conference shuffling becomes official. For example, the Atlantic Coast Conference officially adds Syracuse, Pittsburgh and all of Notre Dame except the part that matters most – football. The new Big East opens for business, if only just barely. And the American Athletic Conference staggers into the new frontier.
You're forgiven if you've lost track of all the announced changes, especially as it trickled down from the big moves by big leagues in recent years to the mid-major and low-major conferences. The new geography will take some getting used to.
In an effort to help, here's a handy realignment reference manual, complete with winners and losers:
Who left: Everyone who could. Specifically, the Catholic Seven skedaddled and took the old league name (Big East) with them. Syracuse and Pittsburgh have run off to the Atlantic Coast Conference, and so has football independent Notre Dame.
Who arrived: The upwardly mobile portion of Conference USA, namely: Central Florida, Houston, SMU and Memphis. TCU, Boise State and San Diego State never showed up.
What's still to come: Plenty. Louisville is ticketed to the ACC next season and Rutgers is taking its dysfunctional self to the Big Ten. The 2014 arrivals will be Tulsa, Tulane and East Carolina. Navy becomes an affiliate football member in '15.
Better or worse? The bombed-out shell of a league is definitely worse, and the deconstruction will accelerate next year. Losing Louisville will cost the American its greatest all-around power, and Rutgers' departure will snip the last tie to New York. A conference that sprawls from Connecticut to Florida to Texas has no identity, and not much in the way of excellence, either.
Winner or loser? Huge loser.
Who left: Nobody yet, but Maryland is in its final season after helping start the league in 1953.
Who arrived: Pittsburgh and Syracuse. They don't help the cause in football, but are great additions in basketball and can keep Boston College company in the northern sector of the league. Notre Dame is in as well in all sports but football, adding significant prestige.
What's still to come: Louisville ships in next year and should provide an instant impact in several sports, including all the major ones.
Better or worse? The league is incrementally better this year and will take another step forward in 2014. But the biggest victory was in retention – commissioner John Swofford got all member schools to agree to a Grant of Rights media deal that solidified the league and helped forestall further national realignment.
Winner or loser? Biggest winner nationally.
Who left: The breakaway basketball group of St. John's, Seton Hall, Villanova, Providence, Marquette, Georgetown and DePaul form the nucleus of the new-era Big East.
Who arrived: Xavier, Butler and Creighton were excellent additions, poached from the Atlantic-10 (Xavier and Butler) and the Missouri Valley (Creighton).
What's still to come: The league has a lot of work to do in a hurry, in terms of creating schedules and an administrative infrastructure. The Big East finally got around to hiring a commissioner last week, tabbing former WNBA commish Val Ackerman. The plodding pace of progress is enough to remind everyone why these schools were marginalized within the old Big East – they sat around letting the football schools make all the decisions.
Better or worse? The league's recreation as a Catholic (plus Butler) basketball coalition absolutely is better than clinging to a bloated, diminished and geographically nonsensical old Big East. It is a welcome return to the identity most of these schools enjoyed before football ruled the Earth. But the inability to get up and running quickly raises concerns about league leadership, and the choice of Ackerman as commissioner falls into the wait-and-see category.
Winner or loser? Solid winner.
Who left: Nobody is leaving this money-making machine. The last school to depart the Big Ten was Chicago University in 1946.
Who arrived: No new arrivals yet. The league stands pat at 14 until 2014.
What's still to come: Maryland and Rutgers arrive next year. They offer nothing of value beyond additional TV revenue opportunities. A conference that has been marginalized in football in recent years gets no better with the addition of those two, and only Maryland basketball is worth getting (moderately) excited about.
Better or worse? No major change.
Winner or loser? Mixed bag. The Big Ten will win financially in 2014, but loses some athletic prestige by bringing in two schools that aren't terribly good in the major sports.
The rumored power play to raid the ACC for North Carolina and either Virginia, Georgia Tech or Duke has not materialized, and in theory the Grant of Rights deal should prevent it for the foreseeable future. That may be a loss for the Big Ten but it's a huge win for college sports as a whole, because it could have triggered another spasm of complete chaos.
Who left: Nobody. After a couple of years of turbulence, the membership has coalesced around the smart leadership of commissioner Bob Bowlsby. Relative calm has returned to the Plains – for now.
Who arrived: Nobody. The last "little" major conference is standing pat at 10 teams, and can make a pretty solid case that smaller is better when it comes to scheduling, being competitive and still commanding big media bucks. West Virginia and TCU got through their inaugural seasons last year with a few bruises to show for it.
What's still to come: Nothing on the immediate horizon, other than monitoring some interesting media ventures within the league. Namely, the progress of The Longhorn Network, and Kansas' recent third-tier deal with ESPN3. The Jayhawks are betting that the rise in Internet video consumption will result in a major payday, and it could be a precursor of what's to come as colleges continue hunting down new revenue streams.
Better or worse? Better with Bowlsby, but otherwise not significantly different. The Sugar Bowl agreement with the SEC will provide a valuable new revenue injection.
Winner or loser? The Big 12 wins because it survived. It also helped enhance national stability by staying at 10 schools and deciding against further acquisitions.
Who left: Nobody. In its growth from the Athletic Association of Western Universities in 1959 to the Pac-8 to the Pac-10 to the Pac-12, there have been zero defectors. Original AAWU members Idaho and Montana were smartly uninvited along the way, while Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah have been added.
Who arrived: Nobody. The league enters Year Three as a 12-team entity, with Colorado and Utah a combined 10-26 in conference play during the first two football seasons.
What's still to come: No changes to the lineup are currently planned. The league says its network had a successful first year and turned a profit, but it still hasn't landed an agreement with DirecTV – a major issue for a lot of Pac-12 fans.
Better or worse? No significant upgrade or downgrade in status from last year. Over time, the conference has modernized significantly under the leadership of commissioner Larry Scott.
Winner or loser? The Pac-12 remains one of the big winners of realignment.
Who left: The SEC has no Grant of Rights in place for one simple reason: it doesn't need one. Nobody wants to leave this league.
Who arrived: Nobody. Year Two begins for Big 12 evacuees Texas A&M and Missouri.
What's still to come: Not much, other than continued attempts at worldwide domination. Creation of the new SEC Network will be a major undertaking over the next year.
Better or worse? No change in top-dog football status, although the theme of SEC dominance is starting to skew toward simply Alabama dominance.
Winner or loser? With the Crimson Tide locking up a seventh straight SEC national football championship, there is no end to the winning. But men's basketball needs a reboot after a miserable season.
Who left: Nobody. Which is a pretty miraculous development for a non-marquee conference. Boise State and San Diego State both reconsidered and were reinstated after signing on with (but never playing in) the old Big East.
Who arrived: Utah State and San Jose State, cleaning out the cupboard in the Western Athletic Conference.
What's still to come: No additions or subtractions are planned, but the Mountain West undoubtedly is keeping its eye on BYU's ongoing independent football experiment. If the Cougars ever pull the plug on it, the league surely would love to have back one of its former flagship schools.
Better or worse? Utah State and San Jose State are coming off bowl seasons, but both lost their coaches and have virtually no heritage of football success. Still, their arrival gives the Mountain West a solid 12 football teams, paving the way for two divisions and the first-ever conference championship game.
Winner or loser? Winner. In spite of losing BYU, Utah and TCU, the Mountain West has come through the throes of realignment over the past three years in better shape than many of its peers.
Who left: Houston, SMU, Central Florida and Memphis all departed for the American Athletic Conference, with more departures to come next year. That hit the league where it hurts in both football (five of the past six division champions are gone or will be gone) and men's basketball (Memphis was the only C-USA school that mattered in that sport).
Who arrived: Plenty of low-major football flotsam, in the form of Middle Tennessee, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Louisiana Tech, North Texas and UT-San Antonio. Old Dominion and Charlotte also join this year, with football to follow in 2014 and '15, respectively.
What's still to come: Western Kentucky joins in all sports next year.
Better or worse? Worse. C-USA got weaker in the key football states of Texas and Florida and lost some major media markets. The programs are largely afterthoughts in places like Houston, Dallas and Orlando, but trading those markets for the likes of Ruston and Murfreesboro is a net loss.
Winner or loser? Loser, but a survivor.
Who left: Nobody. The MAC is doing just fine heading into Year Two without Temple, which put in five seasons with the league before reuniting with the Big East/American Athletic Conference.
Who arrived: Nobody. Massachusetts hopes its second season of FBS competition goes better than last year's 1-11 face plant.
What's still to come: Nothing but another 13-team season of good, old MAC-tion.
Better or worse? The same, though it will be hard for the league to replicate the success enjoyed by Northern Illinois and Kent State (a combined 23-5 last year). Both lost their coaches to bigger jobs, which is the nature of things in the MAC.
Winner or loser? The MAC has won by being able to largely stand still. The fluctuations of sun belt schools (including several Sun Belt Conference schools) have not affected the old Midwestern league much. There's something to be said for relative stability.
Who left: Middle Tennessee, Florida Atlantic, Florida International and North Texas all skedaddled to C-USA.
Who arrived: Texas State wandered over from the disintegrated Western Athletic Conference, and Georgia State joined as attempts to upgrade its infant football program. Texas-Arlington joins as a non-football member as well.
What's still to come: Western Kentucky is out next year. Appalachian State and Georgia Southern, FCS football powers, upgrade and come aboard next year. And orphans Idaho and New Mexico State come back to their former league as associate members in football in '14 as well, after a nine-year absence.
Better or worse? Probably not better, given the poaching from C-USA. But the league has at least maintained quality commissioner leadership in transitioning from the underrated Wright Waters to former WAC chief Karl Benson last year.
Winner or loser? Loser for now, but if the upgrading FCS schools and new football programs pan out this could work over the long haul.
Who left: Every football-playing full member.
Who arrived: A motley assortment of strivers and dreamers from six different states.
What's still to come: Nothing other than perhaps a clearance sale on all WAC football paraphernalia.
Better or worse? That's self-evident.
Winner or loser? When you're out of the football business and have zero basketball clout, you're the biggest loser of all.
Related content from Yahoo! Sports
• Young Clemson fan arrested for vandalism of Howard's Rock
• Pitt, Syracuse, Notre Dame set to officially join ACC
• Andrew Wiggins already a legend at Kansas


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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- On the eve of his next chapter, before he caught a ride to the airport in his high school guidance counselor's car for a flight that would help permanently carve his way out of a rough Philadelphia neighborhood, Sharrif Floyd had a story to tell.
So he and his grandmother, Lucille Ryans, sat down for a conversation neither one has since forgotten. Floyd, a defensive tackle who is now one of the best players in the 2013 NFL Draft class, told Ryans about his hidden past. About the abuse, both physical and mental. About the solitude and anguish of his youth, experienced both at home and during his early years in school.
"Oh, I remember that conversation," said Ryans, 76, who's been living in North Philadelphia since 1975. "I told him he could be better than all of that, to not let any of it stop him."
His grandmother reciprocated with stories of her own childhood, when her mother pulled her from school to pick cotton. Ryans showed him her thorn-scarred fingertips and her dirt-stained knees, two eternal reminders of a tough youth spent in the fields.
We all have scars, she told him. Some exist on our bodies. Some exist in our minds. But none of those scars stopped her. And none will stop him, either, she said.
"I idolized her right then and there," Floyd said last week during an extensive interview with NFL.com. "Even to this day, she's still grinding and working hard to make ends meet. And I think it's about time for her to relax a little bit and enjoy the rest of her days."
It is his life's mission to help her do exactly that -- a goal he can continue to realize Friday at his pro day when he performs for scouts and general managers on the football field at the University of Florida.
Inspired In Solitude
The basement was small, but at least he was alone. His solitude was the blessing and the curse that came with the days he spent down there, where Floyd could escape the man who, he said, made his childhood most difficult.
This is where Floyd lived: in a tough neighborhood, in a tough home, with a tough man who, Floyd would later find out, was not even his biological father. This is where he lived, unaware that his real father had been murdered when he was 3 years old.
Floyd liked being alone, even if it was often forced upon him. He could think and focus; he could cultivate his drive and plan his escape route from the North Philadelphia neighborhood that stained his eyes with shootings and drug deals and impoverished circumstances.
"It was just me, you know?" Floyd said. "And it was great. I mean, I had a lot of time to think to myself. No one really asked how I felt about anything or how I was doing about anything. But if I could change anything in my life, honestly, I wouldn't change a thing."
That's perhaps the best way to explain Floyd. It isn't natural to see the good in the bad or find the right in the wrong. It isn't normal to digest an incomprehensible past and find any positive in the situation.
Yet Floyd found it. He used it. And now, with general managers and scouts across the NFL drooling over his football potential, he is on the verge of making the most of it.
"People want to make excuses, saying some guys are just the products of their environment," University of Florida coach Will Muschamp said. "Sharrif Floyd defies that theory. There is no reason he should be the kid he is right now. His background is as tough as anyone I've been around."
How tough? How challenging?
Not until he was 15 years old -- between his sophomore and junior years of high school -- did he learn the truth: The man who'd scared Floyd through years of harsh rules and harsher punishments was not actually his dad. His mother dealt with a drug addiction. And his real father was dead.
The man Floyd believed to be his father was in and out of jail while Floyd was living in that house. Floyd moved out upon learning the truth, but that man has since attempted to denounce Floyd in the wake of his football success. Those closest to the situation, those who helped Floyd out of it, say they all too often witnessed Floyd's troubling and disparaging past -- a past that somehow still molded a person driven to succeed.
"Through all of it, Sharrif never made excuses," said Andre Odom, a close friend and mentor who also dealt with the hardships that came with growing up in the North Philadelphia area. "He was just a really mature guy who went about his business."
Finding Football
For years during his youth, Floyd's size made him a target for ridicule from fellow classmates. He weighed 160 pounds when he was in the fifth grade. His pants were often missing buttons because they were worn out, and he had no way to replace them.
"I was already at an age where my pants didn't fit around my thighs and hips, so those buttons would break and my pants would constantly be falling down," Floyd said.
Sometimes, he'd skip classes just to avoid the bullying and scorn. Floyd switched schools once, but he eventually ended up back in the same place. He remembers a teacher once calling home to suggest Floyd shower more often.
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But as he grew -- both in age and size -- athletics entered the picture. Floyd started playing basketball, which led to football, which led to a meeting in his coach's office during his freshman year of high school at George Washington.
"My high school coach (Ron Cohen) sat me down and said, 'Pick a number,' " Floyd said. "I asked him, 'What number has nobody done anything with?' He gave me four numbers, and I said, 'Alright, 73.' And that was the number I made mine."
Floyd's ascent was rapid. He began dominating opposing players with his size and power. Suddenly, his life felt different, as if it had more purpose. It was then, Floyd recalls, that he had a momentous revelation: Football might be the answer to his hardships. This might be his way out.
"Growing up, I had a lot of anger inside me and wanted to get rid of it," Floyd said. "But I feel as though everyone has anger in them. What do you do with it? Do you go out and rob a bank? Do you go out and just hit somebody for no reason? That's not what I wanted to do. So I took it to practice."
His love of the game was instant, a bond that, he says, is stronger than everything in his life (well, except for his love of his grandmother).
"I can't get enough of it, even the smell of the grass," Floyd said. "You hit somebody, and they'll slide in the grass. And you'll get up, and you've got mud on your face, and you're just pulling it off. And you want to do that again."
So Floyd did it again. And again. And again.
With The Help Of Many
With his high school career flourishing, Floyd received an invitation to the U.S. Army National Combine -- a rare opportunity for someone from a part of Philadelphia that is not often scouted for its football talent.
Floyd, who had been splitting time between a number of neighborhood homes since moving out of his childhood home, wanted to go, but he knew he didn't have the money to get there.
So Floyd's guidance counselor, Dawn Seger, had an idea: They would sell brownies to raise money for the trip.
"We just started making and baking brownies with the special education kids at the school," Floyd said. "Mixing the batter, cracking the eggs, the whole deal. And we sold them.
"I went to that combine, and I left as the top-rated defensive tackle in the country."
That situation sheds light on perhaps the most important aspect of Floyd's rise through football: It was accomplished with the help of a group of people who, because of his own kindness and work ethic, wanted relentlessly to see Floyd succeed.
Cohen, his high school coach, helped open lines of communication with colleges. He also allowed Floyd to sleep at his house some nights. Other times, he'd drive him wherever he needed to go after practice, whether that meant to his guidance counselor's home, his grandmother's place or somewhere else.
"As soon as he found out that that man wasn't his father, his life changed for the better, but it still required help," Cohen said. "The school rallied behind him. His counselor (Seger) even took him in for a while. He was with the right people."
Another one of those people was Odom, who became a mentor in his life. Yet another was his trainer, Greg Garrett. And another was Kevin Lahn, a multi-millionaire businessman who stepped into Floyd's life at just the right time.
Through a non-profit called the Student Athlete Mentoring Foundation, Lahn helped Floyd find his way to the University of Florida, funding recruiting trips for the impoverished senior in high school.
Lahn was also the man who, after the NCAA stepped in to say he couldn't continue financially assisting Floyd despite his circumstances, legally adopted Floyd so he could continue to make sure Floyd had what he needed to pursue his NFL career.
"He didn't have a sense of family other than his grandmother," Lahn said. "We wanted to show him that as part of our family. And he'll continue to be a part of our family for the rest of his life. He's such an incredible young man."
Paying It Forward
This January, on the heels of his decision to bypass his senior season to pursue his NFL career, Floyd took out a full-page advertisement in the Gainesville Sun to thank the fans who had supported him during his transition to a new life.
Why? For the same reason he also flew up to Philadelphia recently to attend a small ceremony for three players at his high school who signed their letters of intent to play college football. And the same reason that, on the Saturday after last month's impressive performance at the NFL Scouting Combine, he told teams he had to bounce in time to get to a bat mitzvah for Lahn's niece.
"He's only 20, and he's already a mentor to so many young people," Lahn said. "He's always humble, and he's already wanting to give back, talking about setting up scholarship programs for kids with similar backgrounds that he came from."
Floyd says he will never forget his roots; he'll never forget his childhood. He said it would continue to drive him to do good things for people. He learned how to make the right decisions by simply despising all of the wrong he witnessed as a child.
Whether he was watching a person get shot or watching his friends score quick money selling drugs at an early age, whether it was the bullying he took in school or the abuse he took at home, his experiences molded him.
And now, he wants to find ways to replace the hate that he saw with his own love.
"The type of bad that you see on a normal basis is not the normal bad I've seen," Floyd said. "Growing up, I was abused by my father. And now, I can't wait to have kids because I didn't have a father that took me to play baseball or took me to concerts and things that a father should do."
Floyd: 'I Can Be One Of The Greats'
Off the field, Floyd is poised to be a role model. He says he knew he'd find a way out of Philadelphia -- whether through football or another avenue -- and he wants to show others that they, too, can escape their hardships with the right approach.
On the field, however, Floyd is a beast.
"He's the complete package -- a player who has all of the tools to be great in this league," one AFC general manager said. At this year's combine, Floyd ran a 4.92-second 40-yard dash (fast for a defensive tackle) while showing he possesses feet that are quick enough to make him useful all over the field.
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"He has great position multiplicity, meaning he can play in several different places and schemes," said Muschamp, a former NFL assistant. "He's an ascending player, as far as his inside play on the line. He has great initial quickness and great football intelligence."
As a result, it appears he has a very good chance of being selected with one of the first five picks of this year's draft -- there's even been some talk that he could be taken first overall by the Kansas City Chiefs.
But Floyd isn't sweating the outcome. He knows his time is coming. And he believes he's destined for great things when it gets here.
"I think with more experience, more technique, I can be one of the greats," Floyd said. "And that's my goal -- to leave this game as one of the greats. And probably sometime down the line, to be looked at as a legend.
"So I'm just sitting back ready to get started, ready to show what I can do."
Moving On
After Friday's pro day, Floyd needs only to wait until next month's NFL draft to learn his future. He'll be in New York City for the big day April 25; his grandmother has already marked the date on her calendar.
She said she'll make the commute from Philadelphia to New York to be there at Floyd's side. She'll wait for her grandson's name to be called. And then she'll remind him that his scars didn't keep him from reaching his dreams.
Because after all that Floyd has endured, after all he has accomplished, he never let the wrong he witnessed keep him from doing what's right. And soon, he'll be able to buy his grandmother a home away from Philadelphia. She thinks she'd like to move to Atlanta. He doesn't know where he'll end up. But they both know they are on the cusp of getting a fresh start.
It has long been Floyd's mission to help himself and his grandmother leave this past behind. They'll soon accomplish that goal together. Even if they both still know they'll never forget their scars.
"You're put in positions to overcome or see what you do in those situations, and it wasn't a good situation for me and my grandmother," Floyd said. "But we stuck together, you know? How do you come out of those hard times?
"We stuck through it. And now, she's getting ready to get out of Philadelphia real soon."

subset: commoncrawl


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Catholic wedding is different from any typical wedding. It is more of a sacred and formal affair rather than just a celebration. So, the bride and groom need to be dressed in the right manner keeping the etiquette of modest dressing in mind. However, it doesn't mean that you need to be covered from head to toe. All you need is to dress sensibly. For instance, the gown of the bride should have decent cuts and must not be revealing. Likewise, groom should team up tie with the shirt, if not wearing a suit.
Both bride and groom should ensure that whatever they have chosen to wear at their special day should be appropriate for the sacramental ceremony.
First Time Brides – if you are marrying for the first time, you should prefer white gowns. Since catholic weddings are performed in church, revealing and short gowns should be avoided. Bride may go for dresses with laced sleeves which she can remove later, at the time of reception after the wedding ceremony. And if wearing skirt, the bride must ensure that its length is long enough to feel comfortable while sitting or bending.
Second Time Brides – Women getting married for second time should go for either white gowns or dresses in sober shades such as ivory or Champaign green color. The soberness of the gown reflects the sign of pureness in the bride.
Groom's Attire – In case of catholic wedding, traditional suits are acceptable for the groom. The variety may include morning suits, tuxedos and suits in different colors. Clothing such as khakis and jeans must be avoided at the wedding. If there is certain color scheme to be followed at the wedding, the groom may incorporate it in accessories, such as colored ties or waistcoat etc.
The real meaning of Catholic Wedding is nothing but to celebrate a religious union. Therefore the couple should avoid making their attire impart fashion statements rather should dress modestly.
To conclude, Catholic wedding is a semi-formal wedding. Apart from the bride and groom, the guests should also follow a set of dress code. Females should wear something that nicely covers their legs and shoulders. It is in fact better to carry a shawl to cover your head and shoulders. For men it should be a suit, and if not suit then they should go for shirt and a tie. Besides, both the men and women must be careful while choosing colors.


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Here: 10 tips that can help you provide optimal care of your patients with MS.
1. MS is a progressive disease so it is critical that patients adhere to the disease modifying agent (an injection, an oral or intravenous medication) and follow-up with their MS team regularly.
2. Understand the effects of the new emerging MS therapies, which may suppress the immune system and lead to infections or change the immune system in a way that may increase the risk of malignancy. Don't underestimate the importance of monitoring blood tests, such as complete blood cell counts, blood chemistry, and liver profile.
This is an MRI of the brain and spinal cord of a patient with multiple sclerosis of 10 years duration who recently transitioned from a relapsing-remitting course to a secondary progressive course. The FLAIR imaging of the brain shows confluent disease typical for MS, with periventricular and juxtacortical lesions. The spinal MRI shows a lesion in the cervical cord, which is commonly seen in MS. [Images courtesy of Aliza Ben-Zacharia.]
3. Learn the correlation and the paradox of no correlation between MS disease progression and the MRI presentation. Moreover, understand the correlation between MS symptoms and lesions in the spinal cord that usually lead to loss of function.
4. MS symptoms may fluctuate intermittently and patients may have bad days or good days. This does not mean that their disease is progressing. Increased body temperature due to stress, exercise, or illness sometimes will exacerbate patients' symptoms temporarily (called Uhthoff's phenomenon).
5. MS symptoms may create a vicious cycle; you may therefore need to treat original symptoms that cause other symptoms. For example, you may need to address fatigue that may lead to cognitive dysfunction or depression.
6. Not all symptoms are related to MS; check for other causes for the symptoms. For example, patients may be fatigued because of hypothyroidism or anemia.
7. Treat the symptoms with non-pharmacological agents first and then use medications. Refer the patient for rehabilitation and employ other modalities to maintain optimum function and wellness.
8. Always minimize the risk of infection, which can trigger an MS attack. It may be a pseudorelapse or a true relapse. An infection can trigger a true relapse, which requires treating the infection and the relapse simultaneously while monitoring the patient. Patients often have increased symptoms during the infection and return to their baseline after the infection is treated: this called pseudorelapse. Pseudorelapse often occurs with increased stress or exercise and is sometimes related to high fever. (Symptoms in pseudorelapse are related to Uthoff phenomenon.)
Since infections may trigger a true relapse, we recommend that patients receive a flu shot (not the mist) and Pneumovax vaccine if they are at risk (elderly, asthma, etc). "Live" vaccines are not usually recommended, but it is important to discuss future potential required vaccines with the MS team (eg, risk vs benefit if the patient is traveling to an undeveloped country where vaccination is required).
9. Reinforce the importance of a healthy balanced diet and exercise. Advise the patient to gradually increase exercise and activities while cooling body temperature (drinking cold/ice water or using cooling devices).
10. Refer for psychological counseling if patients present with psychosocial/emotional symptoms (common in MS secondary to biochemical changes in the brain, lifestyle changes, and effects of medications).
For More Information
• Agosta F, Pagani E, Caputo D, Filippi M. Associations between cervical cord gray matter damage and disability in patients with multiple sclerosis. Arch Neurol. 2007;64:1302-1305.
• Bastianello S, Paolillo A, Giugni E, et al. MRI of spinal cord in MS. J Neurovirol. 2000;(suppl 2):S130-S133.
• Bitsch A, Bruck W. MRI-pathological correlates in MS. MSJ. 2001;8(3):89-95.
• Fillippi M, Rocca. MRI evidence for multiple sclerosis as a diffuse disease of the central nervous system. J Neurol. 2005;252(suppl 5):V/16-V/24.
• Hyland M, Rudick RA. Challenges to clinical trials in multiple sclerosis: outcome measures in the era of disease-modifying drugs. Curr Opin Neurol. 2011;24:255-261.
• Neema M, Stankiewicz J, Arora A, et al. MRI in multiple sclerosis: what's inside the toolbox? J Am Soc Exp Neurother. 2007;602-617.
• Pender MP. The pathogenesis of primary progressive multiple sclerosis: antibody-mediated attack and no repair? J Clin Neurosci. 2004;11:669-692.


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Hear Lea Michele's Heartbreaking Ode to Cory Monteith
"Glee" star Lea Michele is set to release her debut album, "Louder," on March 4. And there's little doubt that the track that will have everyone talking the loudest is "If You Say So," a haunting ballad about a girl grieving a week after a loved one's death. While Lea's "Glee" co-star and real-life boyfriend, the late Cory Monteith, is never mentioned by name in the positively heartbreaking song, he seems to be the obvious inspiration behind it.
"It's been seven whole days, seven whole days, since you paralyzed me/Seven whole days, seven whole days, since you lost your fight/And I can't get the last words that you said/Can't get those words out of my head," the song begins.
Cory Monteith lost his fight with drug addiction in July last year. Lea reportedly co-wrote this song seven days later.
Later, Lea sings, "It's been seven whole days without your embrace/I want to see your face/I got some things to say/Was just a week ago you said, 'I love you girl'/I said, 'I love you more.'"
The incredibly poignant ballad ends with an especially tearjerking verse: "I can't believe it's true/I keep looking for you/I check my phone and wait to hear from you in a crowded room...I thought we would grow old/Mirrors in the smoke/Left me here to choke."
In a recent interview for V magazine's March music issue, Lea alluded to one particularly personal track on "Louder," saying: "It's the only song that no one's heard. I can't talk about it until people hear it. It's just one of those things where I understand what it means and you can take it or leave it. That song is for me."
Lea Michele's "Louder" is currently streaming ahead of its release on iTunes, you can listen to the full album here.
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Analysis: Hillary Clinton Has the Most to Lose From Obama's Scandals
She'll have trouble distancing herself if his political standing worsens.
Conventional wisdom has long held that Hillary Clinton, if she runs for president, would be the clear frontrunner for the Democratic nomination in 2016. But after a trifecta of scandals buffeting President Obama – fresh questions about the White House's veracity on Benghazi, the IRS's harassment of conservative non-profits and the Justice Department seizure of AP telephone records – Clinton's close connections with Obama could become politically problematic.
Some Republicans believe that revelations about the Benghazi operation could lead to unflattering details that cast questions about Clinton's stewardship at the State Department. If there was any attempt to downplay the details of what transpired for political reasons, the blowback would be serious. But Clinton could have more to lose over the general tenor of scandal that's lately suffused this administration. If the media focus shifts from Obama's second-term legacy to second-term scandal, it would cast a cloud over those looking to capitalize on his coattails.
The last week has been rough for the president. As political analyst Stuart Rothenberg wrote Tuesday, a confident administration now looks "out of touch and unresponsive." He warns if the controversies worsen, "many Americans will start to doubt his administration's veracity and values." The conservative narrative of the Obama White House as hyper-politicized and thin-skinned about its opposition is starting to resemble reality. If that image begins to stick, it will be hard to shake off.
Clinton knows all too well about how scandal can intensify the public's desire for change, both when she ran her first presidential race against Obama in 2008, and at the conclusion of her husband's second term. Public dissatisfaction with George W. Bush made Democratic party voters looking for someone disconnected from the decision to go to war with Iraq. Enter Obama. Nearly a decade earlier, then-Vice President Al Gore awkwardly tried to distance himself from his former boss in the wake of Bill Clinton's sex scandal, despite voters' widespread approval of Clinton's policies.
Until this week, it seemed obvious that the next Democratic presidential nominee would be running on Obama's legacy. He's maintained his popularity with the liberal base. His job approval numbers, despite troubles passing his agenda through Congress, have been decent, hovering around the 50 percent mark. He appeared content blaming legislative gridlock on a GOP-controlled House in the run-up to the 2014 midterms, even repeating that argument at a fundraiser in the midst of the feeding frenzy Monday. Immigration reform could become law, though it will be hard to summon the necessary goodwill with Republicans given what's transpired.
The Clintons expected that voters would welcome the equivalent of a third Obama term. She accepted the job as Secretary of State after a grueling campaign against Obama, recognizing the benefits to her long-term interests. Bill Clinton tirelessly campaigned for Obama in 2012, probably expecting some chits to be repaid down the road. Before leaving, she sat down with the president on "60 Minutes" receiving largely softball questions about her performance at State. Her own approval ratings, at least before the Benghazi hearings, were near all-time highs.
But by being so closely tied to Obama, she could reap some blowback if any of these scandals metastasize. If they do, Democratic voters may be looking for a fresher face, someone who has spent less time in Washington.
To be sure, if she ran, Clinton would enter a 2016 race with numerous advantages. There's a sparse bench of national Democratic prospects behind her, with Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, and New York Gov. Anthony Cuomo among those waiting in the wings. Vice President Joe Biden, whose approval ratings have always trailed the president's, would enter a race with similar baggage if Obama's popularity turned for the worse.
Outside the White House, many Democrats have been frustrated that the president's political operation hasn't spent enough time building up the party during his time in office, focused on his brand over the broader needs of Democrats. Obama-allied groups, like Organizing for Action, have taken up many of the responsibilities the Democratic National Committee normally handles. The historic nature of Obama's presidency hasn't brought a new wave of black Democratic officeholders to Congress, as Politico's Jonathan Martin detailed, despite his coalition's dependence on them.
Clinton, by virtue of her service to Obama, was uniquely-positioned to capitalize on those ties. After a brutal 2008 campaign, she spent her time in Foggy Bottom cultivating an apolitical image – aided by some aggressive political handlers – while benefiting from the president's broad popularity. The unusual void of top-tier Democratic talent made a presidential run all the more enticing.
But with scandal lurking, all those advantages could end up being for naught. Clinton knows something about being embarrassed by a president. Her political hopes may be disappointed by another.


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according answer Apostle appear argument authority believe blessed brethren bring brotherly love called cause character Christ Christian Church consequence consider continue creature dead death directed divine doctrine earth effect election endless eternal evident evil existence faith father favor forgiveness give given glory gospel grace hand happiness hath heart heaven holy hope idea Jesus justice knowledge labors light live Lord mankind means mind moral nature necessary never noticed object opinion particular passage preached preacher present principle produce Prophets prove punishment question reason receive render requires respect reward righteous salvation saved scriptures seen sense sinners sins soul speak spirit sufferings suppose testimony thee things thou tion true truth understanding universal unto verse whole wisdom witness
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«Š'›Õ… 198 - Jesus answered and said unto them : ó ** Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.Ģ
«Š'›Õ… 77 - Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel : Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.Ģ
«Š'›Õ… 195 - And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies : and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.Ģ
«Š'›Õ… 212 - These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them. 37 But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: ^ that the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?Ģ
«Š'›Õ… 72 - Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him...Ģ
«Š'›Õ… 174 - O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out ! For who hath known the mind of the Lord ? or who hath been his counsellor...Ģ
«Š'›Õ… 80 - Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.Ģ
«Š'›Õ… 207 - But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.Ģ
«Š'›Õ… 185 - But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.Ģ
«Š'›Õ… 85 - And they shall be mine, Saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels : And I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, And discern between the righteous and the wicked, Between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.Ģ


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How to Help Those Who Are Grieving
- Dr. Roger Barrier Preach It, Teach It
- 2013 5 Aug
Editor's Note: Pastor Roger Barrier's "Ask Roger" column regularly appears at Preach It, Teach It. Every week at Crosswalk, Dr. Barrier puts nearly 40 years of experience in the pastorate to work answering questions of doctrine or practice for laypeople, or giving advice on church leadership issues. Email him your questions at email@example.com.
Dear Roger,
You have mentioned you lost a child. I am a 42-year-old wife of four years. My now husband lost his daughter in a car accident two years before we met. She was seventeen and I never knew her. He never wants to talk about it but yet the house is full of pictures of her and her room is exactly the way she left it with folded clothes on the bed.
If I bring anything up I feel like I'm trespassing into his life. I have been supportive at graveside visits and have made Christmas Wreaths and have went out of my way to be compassionate. I feel that if he moves on with his life by cleaning out the room he feels like he didn't or doesn't love her. I don't know if he has any unresolved guilt or regrets.
He holds on so tight to her that it paralyzes him in so many ways. As his wife should I step in and clean out the room? To help him the way he is not able to help himself? Or should I just leave it alone and hope eventually it will work itself out?? It has been six years now since her death. Not really sure how to help him.
Thank You! Terry
Dear Terry,
While your husband is acting a little strangely, six years is not a long time to still be dealing with all the emotional hurt and pain. In his case I would recommend not too be in too big of a hurry. Thirty-seven after we lost Jessie I still occasionally see Jessie's picture and think of what she would be like as a young woman and the thoughts bring tears to my eyes.
After Jessie died, my wife Julie did not look at her picture or mention her until 17 years later. One day she just "broke" and out came so much hurt and pain. She wept for over an hour and a half. Seventeen years is a long time to bury such suffering.
The best thing you can do is try to comfort him. Jesus says that those who hurt need comfort (Matthew 5).
Tell him how sorry you are. Tell him that you feel deeply the hurt and pain he is enduring. These are words of comfort.
There are six major stages that your husband will need to work through in order to be fully healed.
The stages are:
1. Shock
2. Denial
3. Grief
4. Anger
5. Depression
6. Resolution
These stages often occur in this order but they don't have to. In fact, they seldom do. We usually are working on one or more simultaneously.
It sounds as if your husband is still in the shock and denial stage. He may be enduring depression as suggested by his behavior. You might ask him about the possibility of depression and get him to take a simple depression test (on line--takes about 3 minutes and instantly scored.)
Many people work through all of the stages and get healed as they pick up the pieces of their lives and move on. Some, unfortunately, never get to step six and thus short circuit the healing process.
My advice is to give him room and time to work through these stages. You might even mention them to him and help him to self diagnose which stage or stages he is in.
You are probably right in some of your wonderings. He may have many regrets. He may struggle with his love for her. Maybe her death had something to do with a divorce. These issues will probably need some personal counseling. Pray that the day will come when he may be willing to deal with these issues in a positive way.
I am sorry for his pain--and yours. I will pray that soon he will be emotionally restored and on the way toward many great days ahead.
Let me know how well you and he are getting along.
Love, Roger
Dr. Roger Barrier retired as senior teaching pastor from Casas Church in Tucson, Arizona. In addition to being an author and sought-after conference speaker, Roger has mentored or taught thousands of pastors, missionaries, and Christian leaders worldwide. Casas Church, where Roger served throughout his thirty-five-year career, is a megachurch known for a well-integrated, multi-generational ministry. The value of including new generations is deeply ingrained throughout Casas to help the church move strongly right through the twenty-first century and beyond. Dr. Barrier holds degrees from Baylor University, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Golden Gate Seminary in Greek, religion, theology, and pastoral care. His popular book, Listening to the Voice of God, published by Bethany House, is in its second printing and is available in Thai and Portuguese. His latest work is, Got Guts? Get Godly! Pray the Prayer God Guarantees to Answer, from Xulon Press. Roger can be found blogging at Preach It, Teach It, the pastoral teaching site founded with his wife, Dr. Julie Barrier.
Publication date:


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Cities change the songs of birds
By studying the songs of a bird species that has succeeded in adapting to urban life, researchers have gained insight into the kinds of environmental pressures that influence where particular songbirds thrive, and the specific attributes of city birds that allow them to adjust to noisy urban environments. The findings, reported by Hans Slabbekoorn and Ardie den Boer-Visser of Leiden University, appear in the December 5 issue of Current Biology.
In the new work, the researchers studied songs of the great tit (Parus major), a successful urban-dwelling species, in the center of ten major European cities, including London, Prague, Paris, and Amsterdam. The researchers then compared these songs to those of great tits in nearby forest sites. The results of the comparison showed that for songs important for mate attractions and territory defense, the urban songs were shorter and sung faster than the forest songs. The urban songs also showed an upshift in frequency that is consistent with the need to compete with low-frequency environmental noise, such as traffic noise.
Anthropogenic Impact on Signals Used by Wild Birds
Earlier work, from Dr. Slabbekoorn and another coauthor, had shown that songs of individual birds were adjusted to local traffic noise conditions. The researchers had shown that great tit males in territories with loud low-frequency noise used fewer low-frequency song notes compared to nearby individuals in quieter territories. That single-population study, in Leiden, The Netherlands, included only urban birds, but territory conditions ranged from very quiet to very noisy. The earlier study predicted the possibility that in general, great tits in noisy cities sing higher than great tits in quieter forests: In other words, songs undergo a habitat-dependent acoustic shift in cities that is driven by traffic noise.
With the new findings, Slabbekoorn and den Boer-Visser confirm this prediction and also identify several additional acoustic features that have diverged between city and forest birds. The findings also offer strong support for a theory known as the acoustic-adaptation hypothesis, which states that some aspects of the vocal variety of animal communication sounds are shaped by the environment. The authors point out that song divergence within a species as a result of such "environmental shaping" could potentially play a crucial role in the process of speciation, although it is not at all clear whether urban and forest populations of great tits are on such a path.
Conservation Implications: Adjust or Leave
Speciation takes place over long, evolutionary time scales, but major shifts in a region's bird population, including extinction, can take place here and now. Urbanization typically leads to a turnover in species composition such that those species occurring in the original habitat are replaced by those that cope well with urban conditions. Many species do not live in cities and do not breed close to highways, and indeed the birds of urbanized areas are highly similar: The same few species become common everywhere, while the area's original species variety is lost. The new study, which focuses on an urban "survivor," provides some insight into the mechanism behind the homogenizing impact of the urban environment. The capacity of great tits to sing within a relatively wide frequency range, and the ability to adjust songs by leaving out lower frequencies, seems critical to the bird's ability to thrive despite urban noise. Species without these capacities may have no other choice than to escape city life.
Citation: Slabbekoorn et al.: "Cities Change the Songs of Birds." Publishing in Current Biology 16, 2326–2331, December 5, 2006 DOI 10.1016/j.cub.2006.10.008
Source: Cell Press


text:
(visited by Angus Rolle, Mark Rolle and Lisa Rolle)
22-Feb-2008 -- We flew close to the confluence on a helicopter delivery trip from Brisbane to Victoria River Downs but time and heavy timber prevented a visit. On the same trip we also visited or passed by 18S-135E, 18S-138E, 18S-139E , 18S-141E, 19S-141E, 22S-142E, 26S-144E and 26S-146E. We thought at least a photo of the area would be better than nothing.


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text: Relax and unwind with the best-in-class LELO Smart Wand™ – the world's premium cordless body massager that takes performance and design to new heights. Travel-ready and surprisingly powerful, the medium Smart Wand™ is perfect for relieving tension and relaxing muscles in the legs, arms, shoulders and neck. Meanwhile, innovative SenseTouch™ technology means vibrations build on skin contact, closely mimicking a professional massage technique. The Smart Wand™ is completely waterproof and rechargeable with 8 individual massage patterns, and covered with a full 1-Year Warranty and 10-Year Quality Guarantee.


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In this month's Scientific American column I drafted a "Cellular Bill of Rights." It documents all the ridiculous ways that cell phone carriers gouge, cheat and double-bill us.
One of the most egregious tactics—one that's bugged me for years—is the 15-second recording that the carrier makes us listen to when we're leaving a voice-mail message. Especially when you're in a hurry, having to sit through these idiotic instructions is deeply irritating. ("You may begin speaking at the tone. When you have finished recording, you may hang up.") It's also expensive; it's using up your airtime minutes and putting, all told, $1 billion a year into carriers' pockets.
Now, there is a "bypass" keystroke. The caller can press a specific key to skip over the inane instructions and jump right to the beep. In fact, it bypasses both the person's own recorded greeting and the carrier's 15-second recording.
But the carriers don't tell you about the existence of this keystroke. Furthermore, the key to press is different for each company. For Verizon, it's *; for AT&T and T-Mobile: #; for Sprint: 1. (At least in most parts of the country. The keystroke isn't even consistent within each carrier.)
See the problem? To bypass the message all the time, you'd always have to know which carrier the person you're calling uses—which is impossible.
The best way to strike back, therefore, is for you to announcethe keystroke to your own callers. Make it part of your greeting. ("Hi, this is David. Press star to leave a message right away.") If enough people do that, we'll gradually erode the voicemail-instruction cash cow for the carriers. And maybe, just maybe, we'll chalk up one item for the "Cellular Bill of Rights."


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What's Your Favorite Halloween Candy? — Survey of the Day
Whether you're trick-or-treating or preparing for trick-or-treaters, Halloween leaves most folks with an abundance of candy.
While it can be difficult to resist any of these tooth-decay-promoting treats, some candy is better than others. According to a survey from Public Policy Polling of 1,200 adults chocolate bars are the Halloween sweet of choice for an overwhelming 62 percent. Next comes candy corn (11 percent), fruit-flavored candy (7 percent) and candy apples (6 percent.)
Twelve percent prefer something else, and 4 percent say they are not sure what Halloween candy is their favorite.


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Exhibit Information
Cleve J. Fredricksen Library has multiple exhibition spaces available for area artists to display their works and for individuals to share their unique collections. Individuals and non-profit groups can promote their art, activities, history, cultural heritage and/or current projects.
Past exhibitors have included:
- Area schools displaying student artwork
- Photographers & photography groups
- Painters, sculpters, textile artists, craftsmen
- Area environmental groups
- Non-profit, support & cultural groups
- Historical societies and community groups
- Collectors of coins, board games, cameras, WWII memorabilia, vintage radios, cameras, model railroads, and other unique collections
Display Policy
The Fredricksen Library encourages exhibits by community clubs, organizations, schools, and individuals.
The library displays materials from recognized non-partisan groups in the community who have cultural, historical, educational, recreational non-partisan purposes with open membership. The content of all exhibits must be appropriate to be viewed by all ages. The library does not promote partisan viewpoints and reserves the right to reject any display that is partisan in nature. The library reserves the right to place limits on location, duration and size of exhibits. Exhibitions do not imply endorsement by the library. Due to the high level of interest in our exhibit space, and to provide a variety of displays, the frequency of exhibits by organizations or individuals is limited to a maximum of once every other year. In-house fundraising and volunteer displays are also scheduled and take priority over outside exhibitors. Typically, the front lobby display case schedule is filled a year in advance with some exceptions, or cancellations.
The library does not allow displays for the sole purpose of promoting commercial businesses/sales. Exhibited items may not be labeled with prices. If items are for sale, the exhibitor may provide a price list complete with contact information, copies of which may be placed on a table in the lobby. The library will not handle any sales transactions or questions.
Fredricksen Library respectfully asks commercial exhibitors (artists with pieces for sale) for a donation of one piece from the displayed work. This donation would then be used in fundraising events such as the Friends Silent Auction. Donated pieces will be recognized as provided by the artist.
The display areas are booked for a one month time period. Bookings may be made up to one year in advance. Installation dates and times must be agreed upon with library staff, and must be flexible depending on incoming and outgoing exhibitors and staff schedules.
All displays are installed and removed completely by the exhibitor. Many choose to bring help for the installation. For the hanging gallery, arrangements can be made for a ladder to be available when you arrive.
All groups and individuals must sign a display agreement. Copies will be signed by authorized library personnel and the displayer and will be kept on file at the library.
The library does not provide insurance coverage for items on display; therefore, it is the responsibility of the person or group displaying the items to arrange for its own insurance coverage if necessary.
Please fill out the interest form and email back to email@example.com
Exhibit Areas and Specifications
Front Lobby Display Case
Case dimensions: 12' L x 3 ½' H X 14" D
9 glass adjustable shelves available
Cork surface backing suitable for tacking covered with black fabric (your own background or fabric may be placed on top)
All tacks, pins, easel stands, tape, etc. must be supplied by the exhibitor. Sliding glass doors with keyed locks with keys kept at Reference. Upon arrival to install your exhibit, the case will be unlocked by staff & locked when you are finished.
Community Gallery (Lower Level)
Total approximate wall space is 30 feet (combination of all walls together). Approximate wall height is 8 feet. Space accommodates anywhere between 15 – 20 artworks depensing on the size. High visibility due to location directly outside of Ruggaber Community Room (where many library programs are held) & Pollock Children's Library.
Arakawa Hanging System
Uses braided wire cables, rail mount tracking for easy movement, and metal hook grippers Gripper hooks attach to cables for smooth vertical mobility and can hang two or three works per cable. Each hook supports 50 lbs of weight, and two hooks can be used per piece to ensure level hanging. Hooks use a mechanical release function to prevent slippage and are very reliable.
Community Bulletin Board Guidelines (Upper Level)
- All items must be placed in the basket in the reference manager's office for review and approval. Sponsoring agency/institution must be non-profit
- Post items that: Advertise community and cultural events
- Items to be posted may be:
- Delivered to the Information Desk
- Sent as an email attachment to the library's mailbox
- Sent via US Mail
- Sent via Fax 717-761-3093
Posted items:
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- Are added once each week
- Are displayed close to the date of the event
- Held at Fredricksen Library by an outside group should have a disclaimer


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7. 24 / 7 / 365 ordering capabilities through www.allbrands.com
8. Next day delivery option available (even on Saturday in some zip codes).
9. A warm, friendly, knowledgeable and LIVE voice every time you call during business hours. As a matter of fact, the customer service representative that you speak with has completed a 2 week training course and knows how to build and repair Jiffy Steamers…they can help you.
10. Should your unit require repair, we have a 24 hour repair turn-around time…your steamer will be repaired and back on a UPS truck within 24 hours after your approval of the repair quote.
11. All our steamers are fully customizable with a host of options for steam head / hose attachments, cord plugs and voltage.
12. Each Jiffy Steamer is handcrafted in our Union City, Tennessee factory. We never compromise on quality, materials or workmanship. Take a look "under the hood" of our products. You will find stainless steel, brass, copper, incoloy and silicone braided color-coded wiring. This quality is simply not found in competitor's products.
13. We have an ultra-low products return percentage. Every unit is 100% tested and steamed before it leaves our assembly line.
14. Our staff is experienced…more than any other garment steamer manufacturer in the world with over 603 years (and counting) of manufacturing knowledge.
15. Our staff is dedicated…with an average tenure of 17 years employment at our company for our associates.
16. It takes, on average, 52 unique stages to build a Jiffy Steamer product within our factory. Care is taken at every step.
17. Use what the professionals use…Jiffy Steamers…our products can be found in over 95% of the chain retail clothing stores.
18. We build commercial-grade units across all of our product lines…travel, residential and industrial categories.
19. A new Jiffy Steamer is put into use, somewhere around the globe, every 6.57 minutes…you are in good company!
20. Not everyone can iron, but anyone can steam! The process is easily learned and mastered.
21. Our products are protected by multiple patents and trademarks.
A Closer Look into Garment Care
Steaming vs. Ironing
Your clothes are an investment. Don't you want to apply the safest, gentlest method for removing wrinkles?
To determine which method of removing wrinkles is the better option for fabric care, steaming and ironing were put to the test.
- Two identical 6" x 6" squares of black wool were purchased from a local fabric store.
- We steamed sample "A" for 1 minute with a Model J-2000 Jiffy ® Steamer.
- Sample "B" was ironed for 1 minute, on the proper heat setting, with a top-of-the-line residential iron.
- We then bagged, labeled, and submitted both samples to MVA Scientific Consultants in Norcross, Georgia for detailed magnification.
The Scanned Electron Microscope (SEM) images show any damage that may have occurred.
|Sample A - Steamed
|Sample A - Steamed
|Sample B - Ironed
|Sample B - Ironed
The fibers in sample "A" are in near perfect condition due to the gentle nature of steam. However, the fibers in sample "B" are clearly distorted. You can easily recognize the damaged fibers caused by just one application of the iron's hot sole plate.
Unlike ironing, steam actually relaxes the fibers rather than crushing them.
Now that you have a closer look into garment care, use what the professionals use…
a JIFFY ® STEAMER!
Steam Kills Dust Mites
Do you or family members suffer from allergies?
A 2003 Environmental Protection Agency report stated that childhood asthma rates are doubling. The EPA report is the agency's second comprehensive look at the environmental hazards to children's health. The finding showed the percentage of children getting asthma has doubled in two decades, rising from 3.6 percent in 1980 to 8.7 percent, or 6.3 million children by 2001. The exact cause for the increase is unknown but researchers state a number of factors have been studied. Those range from exposure to dust mites, cockroaches and pesticides to tobacco smoke, ozone and soot. EPA officials are examining the role of indoor air pollutants, such as dust mites, especially since there have been modest improvements since 1990 in lessening exposure to outdoor air pollutants. The reduction of indoor factors will be the key to reversing this trend. 1
Dust Mites are microscopic creatures related to the spider family. They are invisible to the human eye and are about 0.3mm in length. They live on human skin flakes. They are most prevalent in the bedroom where millions can exist in your mattress, boxspring, pillows and comforters. They are also found in upholstered furniture, carpeting and other fabric items. Dust mites produce 20 or more fecal pellets per day, which is the primary allergen to humans. We inhale these allergens while sleeping and during periods when these particles become airborne such as when vacuuming and disturbing the infested fabrics.
It has been proven that dust mites and their allergen Der p1 are a major factor in allergic reactions. A key to controlling allergic reactions is controlling the dust mite population in your home. Lower mite populations lower the amount of mite allergen, Der p1. Other clinical studies have revealed that avoidance of dust mite allergens in early childhood can prevent the onset of asthma in adults. A study as reported in the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Allergy tested the feasibility and effectiveness of using a portable, domestic steamer for the control of dust mites, its effects on mite populations and concentration of the allergen Der p1.2
A domestic steamer was used to treat carpet squares that were seeded with a known number of dust mites. The number of live mites was monitored for 4 months and in 8 test squares and 8 control squares. Measurement of mite populations and allergen levels were taken before and after steaming with a domestic steamer.
The results showed two significant findings. No live mites were found in any of the eight steam-treated carpet squares. In contrast, the numbers of live mites extracted from the eight-control squares rose from a mean of 11 on day 3 to 185 four months later. The fact that no live mites were found in any of the eight steam-treated carpet squares at any time during the study shows that steaming is a highly efficient method of killing house dust mites. More significant for allergy sufferers is the measurement of the allergen Der p1. There was no difference in the concentration of Der p1 in dust samples of untreated carpets, but in those which had been steam cleaned there was an average 87% fall in the concentration of Der p1.
The study concluded with:
"Steaming requires nothing more than water and heat and therefore is non-polluting compared with mite eradication methods that require the use of detergents and other chemical agents. Furthermore, the design of domestic steamers, [such as the Jiffy® Steamer], renders it safe for domestic use as long as the operating instructions are followed. In addition, we observed no damage, or shrinkage of the fabric, nor discoloration and the carpet dried within a half-hour of treatment. There is no indication of prolonged retention of residual moisture, as with wet-vacuum cleaning which may promote mite population growth.
Finally, steaming as reported herein is the only method of house dust mite control that combines effective killing of mites and substantial reduction in allergen concentrations within a single system. These factors, taken together, render domestic steamers, [such as the Jiffy® Steamer], especially suitable for the management of dust mites and their allergens in the homes of allergy sufferers."
For additional information and reading on maintaining a healthy home, you may want to consider a book by Jeffrey C. May titled "My House Is Killing Me! The Home Guide for Families with Allergies and Asthma".3
Helpful Links for Dust Mite/Asthma Information:
1 As reported by Associated Press February 26, 2003
2 MJ Coloff, C Taylor, TG Merrett. The use of domestic steam cleaning for the control of house dust mites. Clinical and Experimental Allergy 1995 25: 1061-6.
3 May, Jeffrey C(2001). My House is Killing Me! The Home Guide for Families with Allergies and Asthma. John Hopkins University Press.
The steamer must be used in the vertical position only. If the hose is being held correctly and steaming and item in the vertical position, there should be no water droplets. However, as you steam towards the lower portion of a garment, you will need to extend the hose periodically to allow any condensation to go back down from the hose into the steamer base. This will also keep the hose from spitting water as well. When the head is placed in the rod set hook, be sure that the holes are faced upward when not in use.
The steamer I ordered doesn't put out the amount of steam I expected. I have a drapery workroom and I can't use it on the table because of the water spitting. Is there a steamer that will work horizontally and vertically? I have a Reliable boiler iron and am looking for that kind of steam. Can I return this steamer and get something better? Beverly
Jiffy Steamer is intended to be used upright so the steam can rise out of the hose. The steamer, if used horizontally will spit water out. The Jiffy also provides a continuous soft flow of steam, when being used correctly. Jiffy
Thank you for the expeditious delivery for my Jiffy J-2 Steamer which is everything I was looking for.
Rebecca H, Sacramento CA
So glad I found your company I was able to buy all my products needed to help start my new business.
Carol Gonzales, SewForum.com
Hi and thanks all for the help. I am going to order a new one next week-am heading out of town tomorrow. Mine has served me well and is probably easily six years old. I removed all the horrible wallpaper borders that were in the house with it and dewrinkled all of my clothes almost every day of those six years with it. Carol
Natalia, Chihuahua, Mexico
I have my Jiffy Steamer from 15 years ago and still working great, I highly recommend it !!! It´s worth every cent of the investment...
Terri, Kentucky
This was a wedding gift; I think the bride and groom will be happy.
Paul, Florida
I appreciate the good service and price.
Tina, Michigan
You folks have exceeded my expectations! Thank you
Steve, Connecticut
Was referred by member of an upholstery forum. Some said it was not possible to get the J2 for the price you sell (guess they were wrong). I was looking for the J2 specifically because of the quick heat up over the larger model (I did not compare any other products). I am completely satisfied with the product and company. I will be back to buy from you again. Thanks Steve
Phil, Arkansas
I was pleased with the transaction and will use your company if other products are needed.
Ari, Oregon
always great service and prices. THANK YOU !!
Alicia, Texas
Thank you, this product is for my second home, I already have one since many years ago, and I use it every day.....I can´t live without it!!!!
Vickie, Indiana
I was very happy with the price, delivery and quality of product. Thank you very much.
Johnny, California
Over all I'm happy with my purchased, and would even recommend it to friends.
Betsy, Idaho
I am very pleased with my purchase. I called to ask some questions and the customer service was excellent!
Betsy, Idaho
I am very pleased with my purchase. I called to ask some questions and the customer service was excellent!
Stephen, Florida
Great transaction.
Leila, North Dakota
I have ordered from you in the past and each experience has been satisfactory and I would of course purchase from you again in the future. Thank you.
Dane, Wisconsin
I like what you do because you do it well. I'll be back if I ever need a product you carry.
Emily L., Staten Island, NY
I do alot of online shopping, and your website and speed of shipment, along with tracking ability, is much, much better than average. Other companies could learn from you.
Jared C., Washington, DC
This is my third purchase from your company of a Jiffy Steamer and I have been very satisfied each time.
Karen A., Woodbridge, VA
I was totally pleased with the entire experience of shopping with your website. The only thing I missed was having an additionaly 'coupon' to use towards my purchase!
Debbie G, Bonita Springs FLA
It was a pleasant shopping experience. Thanks.
Deborah J, Petoskey MI
I have ordered several products in the past, and I have always received excelent service. I have recommended your company to several of my "machine knitting" friends, when looking for any related products you may carry. Great job, as always! Debbie
Shellita C, New York NY
Good product presentation and information, great price, fast delivery. A pleasant shopping experience indeed.
Coleen R, Bedford TX
Love my steamer! Thank you.
Rebecca D., Spring Hill FL
I've definately bookmarked your site! We purchased a Jiffy Steamer from you, and you were the best price on the internet or elsewhere. And we shopped. Our steamer arrived super fast direct from the manufacturer. Excellent service! Thank You!