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Closely Held Stock
Charitable Giving Strategies for the Business Owner
If you hold stock in a closely held business, you may be able to use that stock as a powerful way to support our future.
Closely held stock* is most often used to support our work in the form of an outright gift. You can make a gift of closely held stock as long as the constituting documentation for the business permits additional owners and it is debt-free. The donation of closely held stock first requires you to value the interest in the business entity.
Review this checklist to see if you may benefit from donating closely held stock. Then, consult your professional legal and tax advisors to see how to maximize the benefits of this tax-efficient strategy for making a difference.
- You are a majority shareholder in a closely held corporation.
- You would like to remove retained earnings from the corporation, without having them taxed again.
- You would like to maintain a controlling position in the corporation's outstanding stock.
- You would like to avoid capital gains taxes on the shares you donate to Murray State University.
- You would like to receive a federal income tax deduction for the full appraised value of the gift.
- You would like to support our mission.
Click on the links below to see the additional ways to fund your gift with closely held stock:
- A gift in your will or living trust.
- A charitable gift annuity.
- A charitable remainder trust.
- A charitable lead trust.
* A gift of closely held stock requires special handling, so you should always consult with your legal or tax advisor first.
Information contained herein was accurate at the time of posting. The information on this website is not intended as legal or tax advice. For such advice, please consult an attorney or tax advisor. Figures cited in any examples are for illustrative purposes only. References to tax rates include federal taxes only and are subject to change. State law may further impact your individual results. California residents: Annuities are subject to regulation by the State of California. Payments under such agreements, however, are not protected or otherwise guaranteed by any government agency or the California Life and Health Insurance Guarantee Association. Oklahoma residents: A charitable gift annuity is not regulated by the Oklahoma Insurance Department and is not protected by a guaranty association affiliated with the Oklahoma Insurance Department. South Dakota residents: Charitable gift annuities are not regulated by and are not under the jurisdiction of the South Dakota Division of Insurance.


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For the third year in a row, the nation's economic recovery has hit a springtime soft spot. Reflecting that weakness, only 1 in 4 Americans now expects his or her own financial situation to improve over the next year, a new Associated Press-GfK poll shows.
The sour mood is undermining support for President Barack Obama's economic stewardship and for government in general.
The poll shows that just 46 percent of Americans approve of Obama's handling of the economy while 52 percent disapprove. That's a negative turn from an even split last September — ahead of Obama's November re-election victory — when 49 percent approved and 48 percent disapproved.
Just 7 percent of Americans said they trust the government in Washington to do what is right "just about always," the AP-GfK poll found. Fourteen percent trust it "most" of the time and two-thirds trust the federal government just "some of the time"; 11 percent say they never do.
The downbeat public attitudes registered in the survey coincide with several dour economic reports showing recent slowdowns in gains in hiring, consumer retail spending, manufacturing activity and economic growth. Automatic government spending cuts, which are starting to kick in, also may be contributing to the current sluggishness and increased wariness on the part of both shoppers and employers.
Overall, 25 percent of those in the poll describe the nation's economy as good, 59 percent as poor — similar to a January AP-GfK poll.
Respondents split on whether this was a "good time" to make major purchases such as furniture and electronic devices, with 31 percent agreeing it was, 38 percent calling it a "bad time" and 25 percent remaining neutral.
The economy's recovery from the severe 2007-2009 recession has been slow and uneven. Even so, most economic forecasts see continued economic growth ahead, even if it is sluggish and accompanied by only slowly improving levels of joblessness. Another recession in the near future is not being forecast.
In the new poll, few say they saw much improvement in the economy in the last month. Just 21 percent say things have gotten better, 17 percent say they've gotten worse and 60 percent thought the economy "stayed about the same." And the public is split on whether things will get better anytime soon, with 31 percent saying the national economy will improve in the next year, 33 percent saying it will hold steady and 33 percent saying it will get worse. Further, about 4 in 10 expect the nation's unemployment rate to climb in the next year.
And the public's outlook for its own financial future is at its worst point in three years. Just 26 percent think their household economic well-being will improve over the next year, 50 percent think it will stay the same and 22 percent expect it to worsen.
About 27 percent of those with incomes under $50,000 are the most likely to expect things for them personally to get worse in the next year compared with fewer than 2 in 10 among those with higher incomes.
Democrats, who typically rate the economy better under the present Democratic president than do Republicans, have become less optimistic about their financial prospects since January. Then, 41 percent of Democrats thought their finances would improve in the next year while only 30 percent feel that way now.
Jeremy Hammond, 33, of Queensbury, N.Y., a Web programmer, says Congress should focus on "the incredible debt and lack of spending control." For instance, he said, it's absurd for Congress to try to force the Postal Service to continue Saturday mail delivery — an effort that has so far failed — when the agency says, "We can't afford it.' Hammond, who considers himself a political independent, said he voted for Obama in 2008 but not in 2012.
Obama's overall job approval in the poll is at its lowest point since his re-election, at 50 percent, with 47 percent disapproving. His approval among Republicans is just 10 percent; among independents, 49 percent disapprove.
But, if it's any solace to the president and his supporters, Congress fared even worse. Thirty-seven percent approve of the performance of congressional Democrats, while 57 percent disapprove. For congressional Republicans, 27 percent approved of their performance and 67 percent disapproved.
The Associated Press-GfK Poll was conducted April 11-15 by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Corporate Communications. It involved landline and cellphone interviews with 1,004 adults nationwide. Results for the full sample have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points. It is larger for subgroups.
AP News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius and writer Charles Babington contributed to this report.
Follow Tom Raum on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/tomraum
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Copyright 2013 Capitol Hill Blue

subset: commoncrawl


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For the last little while I have really been enjoying the peaches; A bowl of sliced peaches and blueberries for breakfast here, a few for a snack there… One thing that I had been wanting to try doing with peaches was grilling them and now seemed like the perfect time. I had some mascarpone in the fridge and I thought that the mascarpone melting on the peaches that were still warm from the grill would be really nice. Mascarpone is generally sweetened with something when used like this and I like to use honey for the extra flavour that it adds. I topped it all off with some balsamic syrup to add some tartness and round out the flavours. The grilled peaches with mascarpone and balsamic syrup took no time at all to whip up and they were really good. I garnished them with some chopped pistachios to add a bit of colour and some contrasting texture.
Grilled Peaches with Mascarpone and Balsamic Syrup
- 1 peach (cut in half and stoned)
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoons cup mascarpone
- 1/2 tablespoon honey
- Grill the peach with the cut side down until soft, about 5-10 minutes.
- Simmer the balsamic vinegar and honey until it thickens, about 5-10 minutes.
- Mix the mascarpone and honey.
- Serve the grilled peaches with topped with the mascarpone and the balsamic syrup.


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This privacy policy ("Privacy Policy") of Apartment Investment and Management Company (collectively, with its subsidiaries and affiliates, "Aimco," "we," or "us") describes the privacy practices for Aimco in connection with information we collect from you online through Aimco's website located at www.aimco.com and through our other online activities, including, without limitation, the Aimco Online Leasing web application (collectively, the "Site"). The purpose of this Privacy Policy is to inform you about the types of information we gather about you, including information gathered when you visit the Site, and information we may receive from third parties or affiliates in addition to that online information, how we may use that information, whether we disclose that information to anyone, and the choices you have regarding our use of, and your ability to correct, the information. Aimco strives to help visitors of the Site protect their privacy while using the Site. By using the Site, you expressly consent to the use and disclosure of information as described in this Privacy Policy.
How We Collect and Use Information
We may collect information in several ways by your use of the Site, as well as from forms you submit to us (such as our "Request a Call" form), personal correspondence, such as emails or letters that you send to us, or any other activity through which you identify yourself. We may ask you to voluntarily provide us with personal information on the Site, for example, by creating an account to pay rent or submit a service request via the Site, by submitting a rental application to a property online or by creating a profile in the Career Opportunities area of the Site. In addition, when you log onto the Site, our servers may log your IP address, the URL of your request and other information that is provided in the HTTP header. Also, our third-party service providers may ask you voluntarily to provide personal information on their websites and may share such personal information with us, as governed by their respective privacy policies. Our use of information received from a service provider will be dictated by the service provider's privacy policies and not this Privacy Policy.
We collect two types of information: personally identifiable information and non-personally identifiable information. Personally identifiable information is information that identifies you or can be used to identify or contact you ("Personally Identifiable Information"). We also may collect information that by itself typically cannot be used to identify or contact you, such as demographic information (such as age, profession or gender), user IP addresses, browser types, domain names, and other anonymous statistical data involving the use of our Site ("Non-Personally Identifiable Information").
Personally Identifiable Information we collect may include your name, email addresses, postal addresses, ZIP code, telephone number, date of birth, marital status, gender, age, user name and password, and other information either desirable or necessary to provide services to our customers and visitors. If you sign up for certain services, complete a rental application, complete an employment application, or choose to pay your rent or submit a service request through the Site, then we may collect financial information (such as credit card information, bank account number and routing information, current employment information–including salary, employer, and job title, information about your current financial obligations, other sources of income, and credit history); information regarding your desired employment with Aimco (such as desired employment position, start date, salary and location, employment, educational and criminal history); information about other permanent residents of an apartment you seek to rent from Aimco–including their social security number and date of birth; additional personal information to allow us to perform a background check or otherwise assess your eligibility to rent an apartment at an Aimco property (such as your social security number, your driver's license number, your passport number, whether you smoke cigarettes, prior addresses and rent paid at prior residences, your history of loan default, and your criminal history); and/or information required of residents of Aimco properties (including information regarding an emergency contact for you–including the name, address, phone number and email address of a relative or other emergency contact, information about your pets and information about your vehicle). We may also collect information about you such as your use of the Site and communication preferences.
To the extent we are able to do so, we may link your Non-Personally Identifiable Information with your Personally Identifiable Information. We may also link information collected online with information we collect offline or information collected online by third parties.
Like many other websites, Aimco may use cookies to customize content specific to your interests and track your use of the Site. "Cookies" are text files that are placed on your computer and may be used to store your personal information. In addition to cookies, Aimco may use other now known or later developed technologies, to assist Aimco in observing the behavior of users visiting the Site. These technologies access individual user information but the information is used only to compile aggregated statistics about the Site's usage.
The Site also uses Google Analytics (and in the future may use other similar sites or services), a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. ("Google"), to better assist Aimco in understanding how the Site is used. Google Analytics will place cookies on your computer that will generate information that we select about your use of the Site, including your computer's IP address. That information will be transmitted to and stored by Google. The information will be used for the purpose of evaluating consumer use of the Site, compiling reports on Site activity for Aimco's use, and providing other services relating to Site activity and usage. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google's behalf. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser. Please note that by doing so, you may not be able to use the full functionality of the Site. The use of cookies by Google Analytics is covered by Google's privacy policy.
Aimco may from time to time use the information collected from you to provide services which you have requested from us; including, without limitation, transmitting your rental application to the property of interest, or allowing you to pay your rent or submit a service request online. We may also use your information to process payments or perform a tenant screening in the event that you apply for residency at one of the properties advertised on the Site or elect to pay your rent through the Site. We may also use your personal information to send you targeted messages, publications, news, and information about events, special offers, promotions and benefits. Aimco may use third-party service providers to send and distribute e-mail and to perform other marketing and support functions. We may use information we collect from you to improve the content of the Site, to enhance users' experiences when visiting the Site, and to customize the content and layout of the Site for each individual user.
Text Messaging. Aimco provides you with the ability to receive information, updates, reminders, and other messages via text message ("Text Message Communications"). Once you have opted-in to Text Message Communications by sending a text to the number provided by Aimco, we will collect, and process personal information that you voluntarily provided to us including your mobile phone number, the content of a message, and other data necessary to provide Text Message Communications to you and improve our services. We may also commingle such information with other information we have collected or that you have provided to us. Our computers may process the information in your messages for various purposes, including formatting and displaying the information to you, preventing unsolicited bulk messages (spam), backing up messages, and other purposes relating to offering you Text Message Communications. We may send you information related to Text Message Communications or our other services.
Sharing of Personal Information
Except as set forth in this Privacy Policy or as specifically agreed to by you, we will not disclose any information we gather from you on our Site. We may share your personal information with our affiliates and with the owners and managers of the properties listed on the Site. We may share your information with other select third parties who offer goods or services we think may be of interest to you. From time to time, we may partner with other organizations or companies to provide co-sponsored or co-branded promotions, services or events and may share your personal information with our co-sponsor. We also may provide your personal information to service providers or contractors to perform functions on our behalf, such as, but not limited to, companies or individuals hired to: communicate news, deliver Aimco's promotional materials via e-mail and direct mail, to develop, enhance, market or provide any of Aimco's products, to process credit card payments or perform tenant screening, and to assist Aimco with sending communications (in the case of Text Message Communications, including, without limitation, to carriers, SMS gateway providers, and other text messaging providers) and performing other marketing and support functions. We also may share your personal information with third-party service providers such as utility, cable, telecommunications, security and banking companies if you request such services through the Site, through Aimco or as part of any unified billing program at your property. Finally, Aimco may use third-party social media platforms, including third-party social media websites, to communicate with you.
We also may share with third parties aggregated demographic and statistical information that is not personally identifiable.
Aimco also may disclose an individual's personal information:
• to a person who in the reasonable judgment of Aimco is seeking the information as an agent of the individual;
• in situations where sharing or disclosing your information is required in order to offer you products or services you desire or request;
• to a third party or parties, where disclosure is required or permitted by law;
• if, in the reasonable judgment of Aimco, it is necessary enforce compliance with our internal policies, a lease, an application for residency or the Terms of Use, in a lawful attempt to collect a debt owned by you, or to protect our Site, customers, or others; and
• to any other entity that acquires all or a portion of our organization by merger, reorganization, operation of law, or a sale of some or all of Aimco's assets.
Aimco may be required to use or disclose your information in connection with a legal action or other proceeding, including without limitation, in response to a court order or a subpoena. We also may disclose such information in response to a law enforcement agency's request.
Through the Site, Aimco may make available areas that allow for user interaction, including blogs, forums, bulletin board services, chat areas or other message and communications features or allow you to connect to Aimco's presence on third party websites or services such as Facebook and Twitter ("Interactive Areas"). Some of these forums may require registration. Please remember that any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes public information, and you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose your personal information.
Children's Information
Aimco does not knowingly solicit or collect personal information on the Site from children under the age of 13 without prior verifiable parental consent. If Aimco learns that, despite these measures, a child under the age of 13 has submitted personally identifiable information to Aimco through the Site, it will take reasonable measures to delete such information from its records and to not use such information for any purpose (except where necessary to protect the safety of the child or others as required by law).
How We Store Your Information
Aimco is committed to protecting the security of any personal information you provide to us. We maintain commercially reasonable safeguards to maintain the security and privacy of personal information that you provide to us. In spite of these protections, Aimco cannot guarantee the security of any data submitted over the Internet. After your information reaches Aimco, however, it is stored on servers (or in the case of information received from you in person, in writing or over the phone, in physical storage areas) protected by procedures and technology designed to block reasonably foreseeable intrusions by unauthorized third parties. After you have submitted your information online to Aimco, we recommend that you end your browser session before leaving your computer.
Third-Party Websites
This Privacy Policy applies solely to information collected by Aimco. This Privacy Policy does not apply to other websites that are accessible through the Site, including but not limited to any third-party websites that process payments or perform tenant screenings on behalf of Aimco. Please be aware that third-party websites that process payments or conduct tenant screenings for Aimco and websites for our advertisers, sponsors, affiliated entities and other third parties that are accessible through the Site may have their own privacy and data collection policies and practices. Aimco is not responsible for the privacy practices of such sites and will not be responsible for any actions or policies of such third parties. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave the Site and to read the privacy statements of each and every website that you visit.
Fair Credit Reporting Act
In some instances, where you have applied for employment with Aimco or have applied for residency at one of the apartments listed on our site, we will provide your information to a screening company in order to obtain a screening report for the property manager or owner. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), you may have the right to access, view and correct credit information relating to you held by a credit bureau by contacting the credit bureau.
Policy Changes
Aimco may amend this Privacy Policy from time to time. Should this Privacy Policy be amended in any way, changes will be posted to this webpage. As we may make changes from time to time without notifying you, we suggest that you periodically consult this Privacy Policy. Your continued use of the Site after the effective date of any modification to the Privacy Policy will be deemed to be your agreement to the changed terms.
Last Updated: 09/11/2018


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tuning -- performance tuning under FreeBSD SYSTEM SETUP - DISKLABEL, NEWFS, TUNEFS, SWAP When using disklabel(8) or sysinstall(8) to lay out your file systems on a hard disk it is important to remember that hard drives can transfer data much more quickly from outer tracks than they can from inner tracks. To take advantage of this you should try to pack your smaller file systems and swap closer to the outer tracks, follow with the larger file systems, and end with the largest file systems. It is also important to size system standard file systems such that you will not be forced to resize them later as you scale the machine up. I usually create, in order, a 128M root, 1G swap, 128M /var, 128M /var/tmp, 3G /usr, and use any remaining space for /home. You should typically size your swap space to approximately 2x main memory. If you do not have a lot of RAM, though, you will generally want a lot more swap. It is not recommended that you configure any less than 256M of swap on a system and you should keep in mind future memory expansion when sizing the swap partition. The kernel's VM paging algorithms are tuned to perform best when there is at least 2x swap versus main memory. Configuring too little swap can lead to inefficiencies in the VM page scanning code as well as create issues later on if you add more memory to your machine. Finally, on larger systems with multiple SCSI disks (or multiple IDE disks operating on different controllers), we strongly recommend that you configure swap on each drive. The swap partitions on the drives should be approximately the same size. The kernel can handle arbitrary sizes but internal data structures scale to 4 times the largest swap partition. Keeping the swap partitions near the same size will allow the kernel to optimally stripe swap space across the N disks. Do not worry about overdoing it a little, swap space is the saving grace of UNIX and even if you do not normally use much swap, it can give you more time to recover from a runaway program before being forced to reboot. How you size your /var partition depends heavily on what you intend to use the machine for. This partition is primarily used to hold mailboxes, the print spool, and log files. Some people even make /var/log its own partition (but except for extreme cases it is not worth the waste of a partition ID). If your machine is intended to act as a mail or print server, or you are running a heavily visited web server, you should consider creating a much larger partition - perhaps a gig or more. It is very easy to underestimate log file storage requirements. Sizing /var/tmp depends on the kind of temporary file usage you think you will need. 128M is the minimum we recommend. Also note that sysinstall will create a /tmp directory. Dedicating a partition for temporary file storage is important for two reasons: first, it reduces the possibility of file system corruption in a crash, and second it reduces the chance of a runaway process that fills up [/var]/tmp from blowing up more critical subsystems (mail, logging, etc). Filling up [/var]/tmp is a very common problem to have. In the old days there were differences between /tmp and /var/tmp, but the introduction of /var (and /var/tmp) led to massive confusion by program writers so today programs haphazardly use one or the other and thus no real distinction can be made between the two. So it makes sense to have just one temporary directory and softlink to it from the other tmp directory locations. However you handle /tmp, the one thing you do not want to do is leave it sitting on the root partition where it might cause root to fill up or possibly corrupt root in a crash/reboot situation. The /usr partition holds the bulk of the files required to support the system and a subdirectory within it called /usr/local holds the bulk of the files installed from the ports(7) hierarchy. If you do not use ports all that much and do not intend to keep system source (/usr/src) on the machine, you can get away with a 1 gigabyte /usr partition. However, if you install a lot of ports (especially window managers and Linux-emulated binaries), we recommend at least a 2 gigabyte /usr and if you also intend to keep system source on the machine, we recommend a 3 gigabyte /usr. Do not underestimate the amount of space you will need in this partition, it can creep up and surprise you! The /home partition is typically used to hold user-specific data. I usually size it to the remainder of the disk. Why partition at all? Why not create one big / partition and be done with it? Then I do not have to worry about undersizing things! Well, there are several reasons this is not a good idea. First, each partition has different operational characteristics and separating them allows the file system to tune itself to those characteristics. For example, the root and /usr partitions are read-mostly, with very little writing, while a lot of reading and writing could occur in /var and /var/tmp. By properly partitioning your system fragmentation introduced in the smaller more heavily write-loaded partitions will not bleed over into the mostlyread partitions. Additionally, keeping the write-loaded partitions closer to the edge of the disk (i.e. before the really big partitions instead of after in the partition table) will increase I/O performance in the partitions where you need it the most. Now it is true that you might also need I/O performance in the larger partitions, but they are so large that shifting them more towards the edge of the disk will not lead to a significant performance improvement whereas moving /var to the edge can have a huge impact. Finally, there are safety concerns. Having a small neat root partition that is essentially read-only gives it a greater chance of surviving a bad crash intact. Properly partitioning your system also allows you to tune newfs(8), and tunefs(8) parameters. Tuning newfs(8) requires more experience but can lead to significant improvements in performance. There are three parameters that are relatively safe to tune: blocksize, bytes/i-node, and cylinders/group. FreeBSD performs best when using 8K or 16K file system block sizes. The default file system block size is 16K, which provides best performance for most applications, with the exception of those that perform random access on large files (such as database server software). Such applications tend to perform better with a smaller block size, although modern disk characteristics are such that the performance gain from using a smaller block size may not be worth consideration. Using a block size larger than 16K can cause fragmentation of the buffer cache and lead to lower performance. The defaults may be unsuitable for a file system that requires a very large number of i-nodes or is intended to hold a large number of very small files. Such a file system should be created with an 8K or 4K block size. This also requires you to specify a smaller fragment size. We recommend always using a fragment size that is 1/8 the block size (less testing has been done on other fragment size factors). The newfs(8) options for this would be ``newfs -f 1024 -b 8192 ...''. If a large partition is intended to be used to hold fewer, larger files, such as database files, you can increase the bytes/i-node ratio which reduces the number of i-nodes (maximum number of files and directories that can be created) for that partition. Decreasing the number of inodes in a file system can greatly reduce fsck(8) recovery times after a crash. Do not use this option unless you are actually storing large files on the partition, because if you overcompensate you can wind up with a file system that has lots of free space remaining but cannot accommodate any more files. Using 32768, 65536, or 262144 bytes/i-node is recommended. You can go higher but it will have only incremental effects on fsck(8) recovery times. For example, ``newfs -i 32768 ...''. tunefs(8) may be used to further tune a file system. This command can be run in single-user mode without having to reformat the file system. However, this is possibly the most abused program in the system. Many people attempt to increase available file system space by setting the minfree percentage to 0. This can lead to severe file system fragmentation and we do not recommend that you do this. Really the only tunefs(8) option worthwhile here is turning on softupdates with ``tunefs -n enable /filesystem''. (Note: in FreeBSD 4.5 and later, softupdates can be turned on using the -U option to newfs(8), and sysinstall(8) will typically enable softupdates automatically for non-root file systems). Softupdates drastically improves meta-data performance, mainly file creation and deletion. We recommend enabling softupdates on most file systems; however, there are two limitations to softupdates that you should be aware of when determining whether to use it on a file system. First, softupdates guarantees file system consistency in the case of a crash but could very easily be several seconds (even a minute!) behind on pending write to the physical disk. If you crash you may lose more work than otherwise. Secondly, softupdates delays the freeing of file system blocks. If you have a file system (such as the root file system) which is close to full, doing a major update of it, e.g. ``make installworld'', can run it out of space and cause the update to fail. For this reason, softupdates will not be enabled on the root file system during a typical install. There is no loss of performance since the root file system is rarely written to. A number of run-time mount(8) options exist that can help you tune the system. The most obvious and most dangerous one is async. Do not ever use it; it is far too dangerous. A less dangerous and more useful mount(8) option is called noatime. UNIX file systems normally update the last-accessed time of a file or directory whenever it is accessed. This operation is handled in FreeBSD with a delayed write and normally does not create a burden on the system. However, if your system is accessing a huge number of files on a continuing basis the buffer cache can wind up getting polluted with atime updates, creating a burden on the system. For example, if you are running a heavily loaded web site, or a news server with lots of readers, you might want to consider turning off atime updates on your larger partitions with this mount(8) option. However, you should not gratuitously turn off atime updates everywhere. For example, the /var file system customarily holds mailboxes, and atime (in combination with mtime) is used to determine whether a mailbox has new mail. You might as well leave atime turned on for mostly read-only partitions such as / and /usr as well. This is especially useful for / since some system utilities use the atime field for reporting.
In larger systems you can stripe partitions from several drives together to create a much larger overall partition. Striping can also improve the performance of a file system by splitting I/O operations across two or more disks. The vinum(8) and ccdconfig(8) utilities may be used to create simple striped file systems. Generally speaking, striping smaller partitions such as the root and /var/tmp, or essentially read-only partitions such as /usr is a complete waste of time. You should only stripe partitions that require serious I/O performance, typically /var, /home, or custom partitions used to hold databases and web pages. Choosing the proper stripe size is also important. File systems tend to store metadata on power-of-2 boundaries and you usually want to reduce seeking rather than increase seeking. This means you want to use a large offcenter stripe size such as 1152 sectors so sequential I/O does not seek both disks and so meta-data is distributed across both disks rather than concentrated on a single disk. If you really need to get sophisticated, we recommend using a real hardware RAID controller from the list of FreeBSD supported controllers.
sysctl(8) variables permit system behavior to be monitored and controlled at run-time. Some sysctls simply report on the behavior of the system; others allow the system behavior to be modified; some may be set at boot time using rc.conf(5), but most will be set via sysctl.conf(5). There are several hundred sysctls in the system, including many that appear to be candidates for tuning but actually are not. In this document we will only cover the ones that have the greatest effect on the system. The kern.ipc.shm_use_phys sysctl defaults to 0 (off) and may be set to 0 (off) or 1 (on). Setting this parameter to 1 will cause all System V shared memory segments to be mapped to unpageable physical RAM. This feature only has an effect if you are either (A) mapping small amounts of shared memory across many (hundreds) of processes, or (B) mapping large amounts of shared memory across any number of processes. This feature allows the kernel to remove a great deal of internal memory management page-tracking overhead at the cost of wiring the shared memory into core, making it unswappable. The vfs.vmiodirenable sysctl defaults to 1 (on). This parameter controls how directories are cached by the system. Most directories are small and use but a single fragment (typically 1K) in the file system and even less (typically 512 bytes) in the buffer cache. However, when operating in the default mode the buffer cache will only cache a fixed number of directories even if you have a huge amount of memory. Turning on this sysctl allows the buffer cache to use the VM Page Cache to cache the directories. The advantage is that all of memory is now available for caching directories. The disadvantage is that the minimum in-core memory used to cache a directory is the physical page size (typically 4K) rather than 512 bytes. We recommend turning this option off in memory-constrained environments; however, when on, it will substantially improve the performance of services that manipulate a large number of files. Such services can include web caches, large mail systems, and news systems. Turning on this option will generally not reduce performance even with the wasted memory but you should experiment to find out. The vfs.write_behind sysctl defaults to 1 (on). This tells the file system to issue media writes as full clusters are collected, which typically occurs when writing large sequential files. The idea is to avoid saturating the buffer cache with dirty buffers when it would not benefit I/O performance. However, this may stall processes and under certain circumstances you may wish to turn it off. The vfs.hirunningspace sysctl determines how much outstanding write I/O may be queued to disk controllers system-wide at any given instance. The default is usually sufficient but on machines with lots of disks you may want to bump it up to four or five megabytes. Note that setting too high a value (exceeding the buffer cache's write threshold) can lead to extremely bad clustering performance. Do not set this value arbitrarily high! Also, higher write queueing values may add latency to reads occuring at the same time. There are various other buffer-cache and VM page cache related sysctls. We do not recommend modifying these values. As of FreeBSD 4.3, the VM system does an extremely good job tuning itself. The net.inet.tcp.sendspace and net.inet.tcp.recvspace sysctls are of particular interest if you are running network intensive applications. They control the amount of send and receive buffer space allowed for any given TCP connection. The default sending buffer is 32K; the default receiving buffer is 64K. You can often improve bandwidth utilization by increasing the default at the cost of eating up more kernel memory for each connection. We do not recommend increasing the defaults if you are serving hundreds or thousands of simultaneous connections because it is possible to quickly run the system out of memory due to stalled connections building up. But if you need high bandwidth over a fewer number of connections, especially if you have gigabit Ethernet, increasing these defaults can make a huge difference. You can adjust the buffer size for incoming and outgoing data separately. For example, if your machine is primarily doing web serving you may want to decrease the recvspace in order to be able to increase the sendspace without eating too much kernel memory. Note that the routing table (see route(8)) can be used to introduce route-specific send and receive buffer size defaults. As an additional management tool you can use pipes in your firewall rules (see ipfw(8)) to limit the bandwidth going to or from particular IP blocks or ports. For example, if you have a T1 you might want to limit your web traffic to 70% of the T1's bandwidth in order to leave the remainder available for mail and interactive use. Normally a heavily loaded web server will not introduce significant latencies into other services even if the network link is maxed out, but enforcing a limit can smooth things out and lead to longer term stability. Many people also enforce artificial bandwidth limitations in order to ensure that they are not charged for using too much bandwidth. Setting the send or receive TCP buffer to values larger than 65535 will result in a marginal performance improvement unless both hosts support the window scaling extension of the TCP protocol, which is controlled by the net.inet.tcp.rfc1323 sysctl. These extensions should be enabled and the TCP buffer size should be set to a value larger than 65536 in order to obtain good performance from certain types of network links; specifically, gigabit WAN links and high-latency satellite links. RFC1323 support is enabled by default. The net.inet.tcp.always_keepalive sysctl determines whether or not the TCP implementation should attempt to detect dead TCP connections by intermittently delivering ``keepalives'' on the connection. By default, this is enabled for all applications; by setting this sysctl to 0, only applications that specifically request keepalives will use them. In most environments, TCP keepalives will improve the management of system state by expiring dead TCP connections, particularly for systems serving dialup users who may not always terminate individual TCP connections before disconnecting from the network. However, in some environments, temporary network outages may be incorrectly identified as dead sessions, resulting in unexpectedly terminated TCP connections. In such environments, setting the sysctl to 0 may reduce the occurrence of TCP session disconnections. The net.inet.tcp.delayed_ack TCP feature is largely misunderstood. Historically speaking, this feature was designed to allow the acknowledgement to transmitted data to be returned along with the response. For example, when you type over a remote shell, the acknowledgement to the character you send can be returned along with the data representing the echo of the character. With delayed acks turned off, the acknowledgement may be sent in its own packet, before the remote service has a chance to echo the data it just received. This same concept also applies to any interactive protocol (e.g. SMTP, WWW, POP3), and can cut the number of tiny packets flowing across the network in half. The FreeBSD delayed ACK implementation also follows the TCP protocol rule that at least every other packet be acknowledged even if the standard 100ms timeout has not yet passed. Normally the worst a delayed ACK can do is slightly delay the teardown of a connection, or slightly delay the ramp-up of a slowstart TCP connection. While we are not sure we believe that the several FAQs related to packages such as SAMBA and SQUID which advise turning off delayed acks may be referring to the slow-start issue. In FreeBSD, it would be more beneficial to increase the slow-start flightsize via the net.inet.tcp.slowstart_flightsize sysctl rather than disable delayed acks. The net.inet.tcp.inflight_enable sysctl turns on bandwidth delay product limiting for all TCP connections. The system will attempt to calculate the bandwidth delay product for each connection and limit the amount of data queued to the network to just the amount required to maintain optimum throughput. This feature is useful if you are serving data over modems, GigE, or high speed WAN links (or any other link with a high bandwidth*delay product), especially if you are also using window scaling or have configured a large send window. If you enable this option, you should also be sure to set net.inet.tcp.inflight_debug to 0 (disable debugging), and for production use setting net.inet.tcp.inflight_min to at least 6144 may be beneficial. Note however, that setting high minimums may effectively disable bandwidth limiting depending on the link. The limiting feature reduces the amount of data built up in intermediate router and switch packet queues as well as reduces the amount of data built up in the local host's interface queue. With fewer packets queued up, interactive connections, especially over slow modems, will also be able to operate with lower round trip times. However, note that this feature only effects data transmission (uploading / server-side). It does not effect data reception (downloading). Adjusting net.inet.tcp.inflight_stab is not recommended. This parameter defaults to 20, representing 2 maximal packets added to the bandwidth delay product window calculation. The additional window is required to stabilize the algorithm and improve responsiveness to changing conditions, but it can also result in higher ping times over slow links (though still much lower than you would get without the inflight algorithm). In such cases you may wish to try reducing this parameter to 15, 10, or 5, and you may also have to reduce net.inet.tcp.inflight_min (for example, to 3500) to get the desired effect. Reducing these parameters should be done as a last resort only. The net.inet.ip.portrange.* sysctls control the port number ranges automatically bound to TCP and UDP sockets. There are three ranges: a low range, a default range, and a high range, selectable via the IP_PORTRANGE setsockopt(2) call. Most network programs use the default range which is controlled by net.inet.ip.portrange.first and net.inet.ip.portrange.last, which default to 1024 and 5000, respectively. Bound port ranges are used for outgoing connections, and it is possible to run the system out of ports under certain circumstances. This most commonly occurs when you are running a heavily loaded web proxy. The port range is not an issue when running serves which handle mainly incoming connections, such as a normal web server, or has a limited number of outgoing connections, such as a mail relay. For situations where you may run yourself out of ports, we recommend increasing net.inet.ip.portrange.last modestly. A value of 10000 or 20000 or 30000 may be reasonable. You should also consider firewall effects when changing the port range. Some firewalls may block large ranges of ports (usually low-numbered ports) and expect systems to use higher ranges of ports for outgoing connections. For this reason, we do not recommend that net.inet.ip.portrange.first be lowered. The kern.ipc.somaxconn sysctl limits the size of the listen queue for accepting new TCP connections. The default value of 128 is typically too low for robust handling of new connections in a heavily loaded web server environment. For such environments, we recommend increasing this value to 1024 or higher. The service daemon may itself limit the listen queue size (e.g. sendmail(8), apache) but will often have a directive in its configuration file to adjust the queue size up. Larger listen queues also do a better job of fending off denial of service attacks. The kern.maxfiles sysctl determines how many open files the system supports. The default is typically a few thousand but you may need to bump this up to ten or twenty thousand if you are running databases or large descriptor-heavy daemons. The read-only kern.openfiles sysctl may be interrogated to determine the current number of open files on the system. The vm.swap_idle_enabled sysctl is useful in large multi-user systems where you have lots of users entering and leaving the system and lots of idle processes. Such systems tend to generate a great deal of continuous pressure on free memory reserves. Turning this feature on and adjusting the swapout hysteresis (in idle seconds) via vm.swap_idle_threshold1 and vm.swap_idle_threshold2 allows you to depress the priority of pages associated with idle processes more quickly then the normal pageout algorithm. This gives a helping hand to the pageout daemon. Do not turn this option on unless you need it, because the tradeoff you are making is to essentially pre-page memory sooner rather than later, eating more swap and disk bandwidth. In a small system this option will have a detrimental effect but in a large system that is already doing moderate paging this option allows the VM system to stage whole processes into and out of memory more easily.
Some aspects of the system behavior may not be tunable at runtime because memory allocations they perform must occur early in the boot process. To change loader tunables, you must set their values in loader.conf(5) and reboot the system. kern.maxusers controls the scaling of a number of static system tables, including defaults for the maximum number of open files, sizing of network memory resources, etc. As of FreeBSD 4.5, kern.maxusers is automatically sized at boot based on the amount of memory available in the system, and may be determined at run-time by inspecting the value of the read-only kern.maxusers sysctl. Some sites will require larger or smaller values of kern.maxusers and may set it as a loader tunable; values of 64, 128, and 256 are not uncommon. We do not recommend going above 256 unless you need a huge number of file descriptors; many of the tunable values set to their defaults by kern.maxusers may be individually overridden at boot-time or run-time as described elsewhere in this document. Systems older than FreeBSD 4.4 must set this value via the kernel config(8) option maxusers instead. kern.ipc.nmbclusters may be adjusted to increase the number of network mbufs the system is willing to allocate. Each cluster represents approximately 2K of memory, so a value of 1024 represents 2M of kernel memory reserved for network buffers. You can do a simple calculation to figure out how many you need. If you have a web server which maxes out at 1000 simultaneous connections, and each connection eats a 16K receive and 16K send buffer, you need approximately 32MB worth of network buffers to deal with it. A good rule of thumb is to multiply by 2, so 32MBx2 = 64MB/2K = 32768. So for this case you would want to set kern.ipc.nmbclusters to 32768. We recommend values between 1024 and 4096 for machines with moderates amount of memory, and between 4096 and 32768 for machines with greater amounts of memory. Under no circumstances should you specify an arbitrarily high value for this parameter, it could lead to a boot-time crash. The -m option to netstat(1) may be used to observe network cluster use. Older versions of FreeBSD do not have this tunable and require that the kernel config(8) option NMBCLUSTERS be set instead. More and more programs are using the sendfile(2) system call to transmit files over the network. The kern.ipc.nsfbufs sysctl controls the number of file system buffers sendfile(2) is allowed to use to perform its work. This parameter nominally scales with kern.maxusers so you should not need to modify this parameter except under extreme circumstances. See the TUNING section in the sendfile(2) manual page for details.
There are a number of kernel options that you may have to fiddle with in a large-scale system. In order to change these options you need to be able to compile a new kernel from source. The config(8) manual page and the handbook are good starting points for learning how to do this. Generally the first thing you do when creating your own custom kernel is to strip out all the drivers and services you do not use. Removing things like INET6 and drivers you do not have will reduce the size of your kernel, sometimes by a megabyte or more, leaving more memory available for applications. SCSI_DELAY and IDE_DELAY may be used to reduce system boot times. The defaults are fairly high and can be responsible for 15+ seconds of delay in the boot process. Reducing SCSI_DELAY to 5 seconds usually works (especially with modern drives). Reducing IDE_DELAY also works but you have to be a little more careful. There are a number of *_CPU options that can be commented out. If you only want the kernel to run on a Pentium class CPU, you can easily remove I386_CPU and I486_CPU, but only remove I586_CPU if you are sure your CPU is being recognized as a Pentium II or better. Some clones may be recognized as a Pentium or even a 486 and not be able to boot without those options. If it works, great! The operating system will be able to better use higher-end CPU features for MMU, task switching, timebase, and even device operations. Additionally, higher-end CPUs support 4MB MMU pages, which the kernel uses to map the kernel itself into memory, increasing its efficiency under heavy syscall loads.
FreeBSD 4.3 flirted with turning off IDE write caching. This reduced write bandwidth to IDE disks but was considered necessary due to serious data consistency issues introduced by hard drive vendors. Basically the problem is that IDE drives lie about when a write completes. With IDE write caching turned on, IDE hard drives will not only write data to disk out of order, they will sometimes delay some of the blocks indefinitely under heavy disk load. A crash or power failure can result in serious file system corruption. So our default was changed to be safe. Unfortunately, the result was such a huge loss in performance that we caved in and changed the default back to on after the release. You should check the default on your system by observing the hw.ata.wc sysctl variable. If IDE write caching is turned off, you can turn it back on by setting the hw.ata.wc loader tunable to 1. More information on tuning the ATA driver system may be found in the ata(4) man page. There is a new experimental feature for IDE hard drives called hw.ata.tags (you also set this in the boot loader) which allows write caching to be safely turned on. This brings SCSI tagging features to IDE drives. As of this writing only IBM DPTA and DTLA drives support the feature. Warning! These drives apparently have quality control problems and I do not recommend purchasing them at this time. If you need performance, go with SCSI. CPU, MEMORY, DISK, NETWORK The type of tuning you do depends heavily on where your system begins to bottleneck as load increases. If your system runs out of CPU (idle times are perpetually 0%) then you need to consider upgrading the CPU or moving to an SMP motherboard (multiple CPU's), or perhaps you need to revisit the programs that are causing the load and try to optimize them. If your system is paging to swap a lot you need to consider adding more memory. If your system is saturating the disk you typically see high CPU idle times and total disk saturation. systat(1) can be used to monitor this. There are many solutions to saturated disks: increasing memory for caching, mirroring disks, distributing operations across several machines, and so forth. If disk performance is an issue and you are using IDE drives, switching to SCSI can help a great deal. While modern IDE drives compare with SCSI in raw sequential bandwidth, the moment you start seeking around the disk SCSI drives usually win. Finally, you might run out of network suds. The first line of defense for improving network performance is to make sure you are using switches instead of hubs, especially these days where switches are almost as cheap. Hubs have severe problems under heavy loads due to collision backoff and one bad host can severely degrade the entire LAN. Second, optimize the network path as much as possible. For example, in firewall(7) we describe a firewall protecting internal hosts with a topology where the externally visible hosts are not routed through it. Use 100BaseT rather than 10BaseT, or use 1000BaseT rather than 100BaseT, depending on your needs. Most bottlenecks occur at the WAN link (e.g. modem, T1, DSL, whatever). If expanding the link is not an option it may be possible to use the dummynet(4) feature to implement peak shaving or other forms of traffic shaping to prevent the overloaded service (such as web services) from affecting other services (such as email), or vice versa. In home installations this could be used to give interactive traffic (your browser, ssh(1) logins) priority over services you export from your box (web services, email).
netstat(1), systat(1), ata(4), dummynet(4), login.conf(5), rc.conf(5), sysctl.conf(5), firewall(7), hier(7), ports(7), boot(8), ccdconfig(8), config(8), disklabel(8), fsck(8), ifconfig(8), ipfw(8), loader(8), mount(8), newfs(8), route(8), sysctl(8), sysinstall(8), tunefs(8), vinum(8)
The tuning manual page was originally written by Matthew Dillon and first appeared in FreeBSD 4.3, May 2001. FreeBSD 5.2.1 June 25, 2002 FreeBSD 5.2.1


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Today's Names to Know: Jeff Francis, Brandon Webb, Mariano Rivera, Jerry Buss, Allan Houston, Kevin Garnett, Rashard Lewis, Vinny Testaverde, Andy Reid, Suzyn Waldman, Michelle Wie, George Gipp and More!
MLB Playoffs: NLCS!
ALCS: Oh, so now LeBron LIKES the Indians. (Allow me to pre-empt the easiest joke: LeBron makes my own fairweatherness look reasonable.)
Torre's Future, Cont'd: Now Mariano Rivera says his future with the Yankees (or lack of one) will be tied to Joe Torre's fate. I wonder if Derek Jeter would be saying the same thing if he was a free agent?
Lakers owner Jerry Buss on
Allan Houston returning to the Knicks? For a team where stupid news comes more frequently than wins, this ranks up there. Why would they entertain this silly charade, when they really should be focusing on their core of young talents? How can any Knicks fan support this (beyond the ironic value the rest of us see)?
KG vs. the T'wolves: 9 points, 6 rebouds, 3 blocks, 2 assists and 2 steals in a Celtics win over his old team. Maybe he took it easy on them out of a sense of nostalgia. (Ray Allen did the damage, with 28 points.)
Magic's Rashard Lewis sprains his ankle: When did you see this coming –the day he signed his mega-deal with the Magic? Oh, yes.
Vinny Testaverde is a Panther: He's 43. He was the No. 1 overall pick of the 1987 draft. Yes: 1987. It was that long ago. And for those of you, like me, who remember it as a memorable moment of early-teen fanhood, yes, you are that old. (Put that in context: No fan under the age of 30 remembers it, and 20-year-old fans were just being born.) I love the fact that a career that was defined as being a huge bust will ultimately be replaced by the fact he had an insanely long career.
Andy Reid denies rumors he's quitting: That doesn't mean he won't be gone as Eagles head coach by the time next season rolls around.
NFL Fantasy: OK, so who has picked up Gus Frerotte as their starting QB?
NFL Expansion: Something to file away --
CFB: The rumor has it that ABC might put Cincinnati-South Florida in primetime on Nov. 3. If both teams are still undefeated, this will have national-title implications. Forget the "names" involved: This would be a unique "Cinderella-ish Bowl" that CFB fans would want to see.
Sports Media: I'm late on this, but what do you think about Suzyn Waldman's on-air crying about Joe Torre and the Yankees? It was shocking because it came from mainstream media, it came from the kind of "homer" announcer fans have always known are anything but impartial and, of course, because it came from a woman commentator.
Gender is the biggest factor in this. I personally think that she seemed more bloggish – more sincerely passionate, devoid of the faux "objectivity" that guts most sports media – than most any other announcer I'd ever seen. It was only shocking because we see sincere emotion from mainstream media so rarely.
Scandal Watch: Should Marion Jones' relay teammates (presumably clean) get to keep their Olympic medals won in the relay? I say yes, though it is murky.
Michelle Wie is 18: You lecherous fans no longer have to hide.
George Gipp's corpse exhumed: Digging up legendary sports heroes is the new hotness! Who's next? Lou Gehrig?


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Nicotine Replacement Therapy for Quitting Tobacco
Generic Name | Brand Name |
nicotine | Commit, Habitrol, Nicoderm CQ, Nicorette, Nicotrol |
Nicotine gum and lozenges release nicotine slowly into the mouth.
Nicotine patches stick to your skin and slowly release nicotine through the skin into your bloodstream.
The nicotine inhaler has a holder that contains nicotine. The inhaler delivers a puff of nicotine vapor into your mouth and throat.
You can buy nicotine gum, patches, and lozenges without a prescription. You do need a prescription to buy nicotine inhalers.
Note: Nonprescription nicotine replacement therapy products cannot be sold legally to people younger than age 18. A doctor may prescribe one of these products if a person younger than 18 is dependent on nicotine.
How It Works
Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) helps reduce nicotine withdrawal and craving by supplying your body with nicotine. It contains about one-third to one-half the amount of nicotine found in most cigarettes.
People become dependent on the nicotine in cigarettes because it increases the levels of certain chemicals, such as dopamine and norepinephrine, in their brains. When people quit smoking, the levels of those chemicals drop. Their bodies react by having nicotine withdrawal symptoms such as grouchiness and hunger.
Nicotine from medicines increases the levels of dopamine and norepinephrine just like nicotine from cigarettes does. Chemical levels in the brain are kept level so that withdrawal symptoms are reduced. This can temporarily replace the nicotine that a person got from smoking cigarettes. Nicotine replacement can be used in smaller and smaller amounts until a person no longer needs it.
When you inhale tobacco smoke, the nicotine in the smoke moves quickly from your lungs into your bloodstream. The nicotine in replacement products takes much longer to get into your system. This is why nicotine replacement medicines are much less likely to cause dependence on nicotine than are cigarettes and other tobacco products.
Nicotine replacement therapy is safe when used properly. Nicotine by itself is not nearly as harmful as smoking. Tars, carbon monoxide, and other toxic chemicals in tobacco cause harmful effects, not the nicotine.
Why It Is Used
Nicotine replacement therapy is useful for most people who are trying to quit smoking.
Nicotine replacement therapy may not be right for you if you are pregnant or have heart disease.
- Pregnancy. If you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant and want to stop smoking, talk to your doctor before you decide how to do it. During pregnancy, most doctors will recommend that you try other ways to stop before they will suggest a nicotine replacement product.
- Heart disease. Nicotine replacement therapy has been shown to be safe in most people with heart disease. But if you recently had a heart attack or if you have serious heart problems, such as an irregular or rapid heartbeat ( arrhythmia ) or chest pain ( angina ), consult your doctor before you use nicotine replacement products.
Doctors do not often recommend nicotine replacement therapy for people younger than 18, largely because the products have been tested only on adults. The side effects of nicotine replacement therapy for young people are not well known. If a teen smokes daily and has had withdrawal when trying to quit, sometimes a doctor will prescribe nicotine products.
How Well It Works
Using some form of nicotine replacement therapy doubles your chances of quitting smoking. footnote 1 All forms of nicotine replacement products appear to be about equally effective when used properly.
Combining the use of the nicotine patch with another form of nicotine replacement therapy, such as the gum, increases your chances of success. Talk to your doctor before you combine NRTs.
Your chances of quitting are best when you combine nicotine replacement therapy with a complete smoking cessation program that includes setting a quit date, having a plan in place for dealing with smoking triggers, and getting support from a doctor, counselor, or support group.
Side Effects
Since all NRTs appear to work equally well, many smokers choose a treatment based on how easy it is to use and what possible side effects it may cause. All forms of nicotine replacement have side effects, but the types of side effects differ across NRTs. Very few people (less than 5%) have to stop using a nicotine replacement product because of side effects.
Stopping nicotine replacement therapy abruptly may cause some of the same withdrawal symptoms that occur when you stop smoking cigarettes. You are less likely to have withdrawal symptoms if you gradually decrease the dose or number of uses of the specific therapy each day.
It is possible for a person to become dependent on a nicotine replacement product, although this is rare.
Side effects of nicotine gum may include:
- A bad taste from the gum. A mint and a citrus flavor are available. And most people find they taste much better.
- A tingling feeling on the tongue while chewing the gum.
- Hiccups.
- Upset stomach (nausea) or heartburn. This is sometimes caused by improper use, such as chewing the gum without "parking" it between your cheek and gum.
- Jaw pain caused by chewing. Nicotine gum is not recommended for people who have problems with the jaw joint (temporomandibular, or TM, disorders).
Side effects of nicotine lozenges may include:
- Upset stomach, especially if you swallow the lozenge.
- Hiccups.
- Heartburn.
- Headache.
- Excessive gas (flatulence).
Side effects of nicotine patches may include:
- A skin rash at the location of the patch. This may be a reaction either to the sticky backing on the patch or to the nicotine. People with sensitive skin or allergies to adhesive should not use the patch. Moving the patch to a different part of your body or using a nonprescription antihistamine cream, ointment, or gel (such as Benadryl) may relieve some of the discomfort.
- Sleep problems when using a 24-hour patch, such as having trouble sleeping or having especially vivid dreams. This is because your brain isn't used to getting nicotine when you are sleeping. Removing the patch a few hours before you go to sleep may help reduce this side effect. If the sleep problem is a nicotine withdrawal symptom, not a side effect, removing the patch may not help. Talk with your doctor if you have sleep problems.
Side effects of nicotine inhalers may include:
- A cough.
- A scratchy throat.
- An upset stomach.
The nicotine inhaler may not be a good choice if you have a breathing problem, such as asthma, allergies, or a sinus condition.
See Drug Reference for a full list of side effects. (Drug Reference is not available in all systems.)
What To Think About
If you slip or smoke a little, don't give up. Talk to someone who has quit smoking or to a counselor, to get ideas for what to do. If you are taking medicines or using nicotine replacement, keep doing so unless you go back to regular smoking. Using nicotine medicines and smoking rarely causes you to use too much nicotine. Symptoms of too much nicotine are headaches, nausea, confusion, and vomiting. If you think you have overdosed, call your doctor right away.
Regardless of the method you use to quit smoking, you may cough more or start coughing for the first week after you quit. This is not a symptom of withdrawal from nicotine. It is the result of your body trying to clear your lungs. This happens whether you use nicotine replacement therapy or not.
With nicotine gum, lozenges, and the inhaler, not taking enough each day is a common cause of relapse.
Avoid drinking beverages, especially acidic beverages (such as coffee, juices, and soda pop) for 15 minutes before and after you use these products. Your body may not absorb the nicotine well because of the acid in these drinks.
Choosing a form of nicotine replacement therapy is usually a matter of personal choice. If you smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day, or you smoke within 30 minutes of waking up in the morning, use the highest dose of a product, whether it is gum, lozenges, the patch, or a combination of NRT.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says it's okay to start using a nicotine replacement product on your quit date, even if you aren't able to stop smoking right away.
If you find you cannot continue to use one form of nicotine replacement because of its side effects, stop using that form and try a different one. Remember, using nicotine replacement products doubles your chances of quitting smoking. footnote 1
Long-term use of nicotine gum has not been found to be harmful.
Nicotine replacement therapy will reduce most but not all of the nicotine withdrawal , craving, and other symptoms associated with quitting smoking.
By the time you finish nicotine replacement therapy, you will have greatly decreased your dependence on nicotine. You also will have started to get used to not smoking at the usual times. This will take longer for people who have smoked for many years. And it may mean using nicotine replacement products for several weeks or months. Stopping nicotine replacement therapy too early is a common cause of relapse. When you finally reduce your nicotine intake to zero, you still may have some symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. But these symptoms won't last. Using nicotine replacement products makes symptoms less severe.
Talk to your doctor before you use two forms of nicotine replacement (such as a nicotine patch and nicotine gum) at the same time.
Using bupropion and nicotine replacement products together may work well for some people who smoke. But it should be tried only under a doctor's care. Your doctor may recommend bupropion alone instead of using two medicines.
Nicotine nasal spray (Nicotrol) is a prescription medicine that delivers more nicotine but often causes side effects. It is not widely used.
Complete the new medication information form (PDF) ( What is a PDF document? ) to help you understand this medication.
Current as of: September 26, 2018
Author: Healthwise Staff
Medical Review: Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine & Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine & Michael F. Bierer, MD - Internal Medicine,


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The following story appeared on Pilot Mom's blog and it's worth sharing with as many people as possible. When we hear God's voice, let's not question Him but obey Him, no matter how foolish it may seem at the time. Check out Pilot Mom (Claire) at: http://www.pilotmom.blogspot.com
Here's the story concerning beloved speaker and writer, Beth Moore:
Beth Moore
Beth Moore,
Apr 20, 2005
Knoxville Airport, waiting to board the plane:
I had the Bible on my lap and was very intent upon what I was doing. I'd had a marvelous morning with the Lord. I say that because I want to tell you it is a scary thing to have the Spirit of God really working in you. You could end up doing some things you never would have done otherwise.
Life in the Spirit can be dangerous for a thousand reasons, not the least of which is your ego...I tried to keep from staring but he was such a strange sight. Humped over in a wheelchair, he was skin and bones, dressed in clothes that obviously fit when he was at least twenty pounds heavier. His knees protruded from his trousers, and his shoulders looked like the coat hanger was still in his shirt. His hands looked like tangled masses of veins and bones. The strangest part of him was his hair and nails. Stringy gray hair hung well over his shoulders and down part of his back. His fingernails were long. Clean, but strangely out of place on an old man.
I looked down at my Bible as fast as I could, discomfort burning my face. As I tried to imagine what his story might have been, I found myself wondering if I'd just had a Howard Hughes sighting. Then, I remembered that he was dead. So this man in the airport... an impersonator maybe? Was a camera on us somewhere?.... There I sat trying to concentrate on the Word to keep from being concerned about a thin slice of humanity served on a wheelchair only a few seats from me. All the while my heart was growing more and more overwhelmed with a feeling for him. Let's admit it. Curiosity is a heap more comfortable than true concern, and suddenly I was awash with aching emotion for this bizarre-looking old man. I had walked with God long enough to see the handwriting on the wall. I've learned that when I begin to feel what God feels, something so contrary to my natural feelings, something dramatic is bound to happen. And it may be embarrassing.
I immediately began to resist because I could feel God working on my spirit and I started arguing with God in my mind. "Oh no, God please no." I looked up at the ceiling as if I could stare straight through it into heaven and said, "Don't make me witness to this man. Not right here and now. Please. I'll do anything. Put me on the same plane, but don't make me get up here and witness to this man in front of this gawking audience. Please, Lord!"... There I sat in the blue vinyl chair begging His Highness, "Please don't make me witness to this man. Not now. I'll do it on the plane."
Then I heard it..."I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to brush his hair." The words were so clear, my heart leapt into my throat, and my thoughts spun like a top. Do I witness to the man or brush his hair? No brainer. I looked straight back up at the ceiling and said, "God, as I live and breathe, I want you to know I am ready to witness to this man. I'm on this Lord. I'm you're girl! You've never seen a woman witness to a man faster in your life. What difference does it make if his hair is a mess if he is not redeemed? I am on him. I am going to witness to this man."
Again as clearly as I've ever heard an audible word, God seemed to write this statement across the wall of my mind. "That is not what I said, Beth. I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to go brush his hair." I looked up at God and quipped, "I don't have a hairbrush. It's in my suitcase on the plane. How am I supposed to brush his hair without a hairbrush?"... God was so insistent that I almost involuntarily began to walk toward him as these thoughts came to me from God's word: "I will thoroughly furnish you unto all good works." (2 Tim 3:17)
I stumbled over to the wheelchair thinking I could use one myself. Even as I retell this story, my pulse quickens, and I feel those same butterflies. I knelt down in front of the man, and asked as demurely as possible, "Sir, may I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?" He looked back at me and said, "What did you say?" "May I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?" To which he responded in volume ten, "Little lady, if you expect me to hear you, you're going to have to talk louder than that." At this point, I took a deep breath and blurted out, "SIR, MAY I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF BRUSHING YOUR HAIR?" At which point every eye in the place darted right at me. I was the only thing in the room looking more peculiar than old Mr. Longlocks.
Face crimson and forehead breaking out in a sweat, I watched him look up at me with absolute shock on his face, and say, "If you really want to." Are you kidding? Of course I didn't want to. But God didn't seem interested in my personal preference right about then. He pressed on my heart until I could utter the words, "Yes, sir, I would be pleased. But I have one little problem. I don't have a hairbrush." "I have one in my bag," he responded. I went around to the back of that wheelchair, and I got on my hands and knees and unzipped the stranger's old carry-on hardly believing what I was doing. I stood up and started brushing the old man's hair. It was perfectly clean, but it was tangled and matted. I don't do many things well, but I must admit I've had notable experience untangling knotted hair mothering two little girls. Like I'd done with either Amanda or Melissa in such a condition, I began brushing at the very bottom of the strands, remembering to take my time not to pull.
A miraculous thing happened to me as I started brushing that old man's hair. Everybody else in the room disappeared. There was no one alive for those moments except that old man and me. I brushed and I brushed and I brushed until every tangle was out of that hair.I know this sounds so strange but I've never felt that kind of love for another soul in my entire life. I believe with all my heart, I - for that few minutes - felt a portion of the very love of God. That He had overtaken my heart for a little while like someone renting a room and making Himself at home for a short while. The emotions were so strong and so pure that I knew they had to be God's. His hair was finally as soft and smooth as an infant's.
I slipped the brush back in the bag, went around the chair to face him. I got back down on my knees, put my hands on his knees, and said, "Sir, do you know my Jesus?" He said, "Yes, I do." Well, that figures, I thought. He explained, "I've known Him since I married my bride." "She wouldn't marry me until I got to know the Savior." He said, "You see, the problem is, I haven't seen my bride in months. I've had open-heart surgery, and she's been too ill to come see me. I was sitting here thinking to myself...What a mess I must be for my bride."Only God knows how often He allows us to be part of a divine moment when we're completely unaware of the significance. This, on the other hand, was one of those rare encounters when I knew God had intervened in details only He could have known. It was a God moment, and I'll never forget it.
Our time came to board, and we were not on the same plane. I was deeply ashamed of how I'd acted earlier and would have been so proud to have accompanied him on that aircraft. I still had a few minutes, and as I gathered my things to board, the airline hostess returned from the corridor, tears streaming down her cheeks. She said, "That old man's sitting on the plane, sobbing. Why did you do that? What made you do that?" I said, "Do you know Jesus? He can be the bossiest thing!" And we got to share.I learned something about God that day. He knows if you're exhausted because you're hungry, you're serving in the wrong place or it is time to move on but you feel too responsible to budge. He knows if you're hurting or feeling rejected. He knows if you're sick or drowning under a wave of temptation. Or He knows if you just need your hair brushed. He sees you as an individual. Tell Him your need! I got on my own flight, sobs choking my throat, wondering how many opportunities just like that one had I missed along the way... all because I didn't want people to think I was strange. God didn't send me to that old man. He sent that old man to me. John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."


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My heart is full... thank you!
In this post I will go back through each photo giving details of the room. I hope to answer all the questions that you asked, but if I miss anything, or you have any additional questions please let me know .
Three of the chairs have antique tapestry pillows.
The fireplace was added during our renovation, the original fireplace (which only opened into the formal dining room behind the kitchen) had major repair issues and was taken down to make a see-thru fireplace between the kitchen and the dining room. The bricks are from the original fireplace. The mantel board was found in the barn.
The 19th c. French painting (in its original frame) above the fireplace was found at Porte de Vanves (a weekend street fare) in Paris.
The doorway to the left of the fireplace takes you to the dining room. The black door takes you outside to the back porch.
The cupboard to the right of the fireplace is original to the house, and has its original iron bin pulls on the drawers. I adore the small panelled door! On the door is an unframed antique bovine painting hung with antique chain and an antique square nail found on the property. I researched the old iron bin pulls hoping to find replicas for the island. I did! I was thrilled, yet they were slightly smaller and the detailing was slightly different. I kept looking. And, then I found exact replicas- exact size and details, but they were in solid brass. I purchased them, and spray painted them a mat black to match the originals. The two iron handles on the island that you see in this photo are from Restoration Hardware.
Closeup of the cupboard.
Antique ironstone, hotel silver, cake stands and my cookbooks fill the shelves. The antique white jardiniere that you see on the edge of the mantle in this photo was found at the Scott Show in Atlanta, it's an unusual piece with the top lip being rimmed in iron.
The wire basket found in France sits on the large hotel silver tray that is the mate to the hotel tray on the dining table. It holds an antique English ironstone ham stand with a small fern, and two topiaries.... one from Snug Harbor Farm in Maine, and the other I have been growing for nineteen years!
The marble on the island is honed Bianco Venatino. I had originally thought I wanted Carrara, but found the slabs at the time of the renovation to be very creamy (instead of white) and to have very little veining. When I spotted this slab at one of the many stone fabricators that we visited I fell in love! I loved the veining and the movement of the piece. I felt the island at a little over 3 feet x 7 feet needed to have a presence, and the movement of the veining gives it that importance in the room.
(To read my post on marble click HERE.)
The countertops are soapstone. I love them! They have a small amount of green veining which I find beautiful. In my research I read that soapstone can be soft depending on where it is quarried. I have not found that to be true of mine, as it is very durable. For the first month I mineral-oiled it once a week, then for the first year once a month, and now just occasionally. If anything scratches it the oil covers the scratch. And, nothing stains it which is really nice. It is also very heat tolerant, so you can sit hot pots/pans directly on it.
(To read my post on soapstone click HERE.)
The hardware on the drawers is polished nickel from Restoration Hardware. I used bin pulls (Gilmore) with handle pulls (Aubrey) in two different sizes (6" and 8", depending on the drawer size) to vary the look.
I designed the kitchen using all drawers. Years ago I found this idea in a magazine and thought it was brilliant! I have one corner cabinet and a cabinet for sheet pans and cutting boards; every thing else is a drawer! I can not tell you how easy it is to just pull open a drawer to find what you are looking for, and to lift up the heavy pots.
Glass front refrigerator is Sub Zero.
The island pendants are turn of the century mill lights found at Smith-Zukas Antiques in Maine.
The light above the sink is from Circa Lighting.
The wood ceiling is 6" v-match tongue-and-groove which I paint with a gloss; a little trick I use all over the house- it makes your ceilings look taller by reflecting the light.
My backsplash is real beadboard, and the floors are random width Eastern white pine from Carlisle which happens to be a local company located 35 minutes from our house. We loved knowing that just as the original floors, the new floors were also from New Hampshire! All the floors in the house are finished with tung oil which is what was used a hundred years ago.
The wood brackets under the glass front cabinets, the large polished nickel silver cupboard clasps (these are much larger than Restoration Hardware's) and the exact replicas for the bin pulls on the island were all found at House of Antique Hardware.
Ella's bed was purchased years ago (actually for her sister Kelsey) and I do not remember from where... sorry.
The glass in the cabinets is original to the house! We took the antique wavy glass from windows which were removed during the renovation and had it cut for the cabinet doors.
The glass front cabinets are filled with ironstone, hotel silver, green yelloware, hotel and vintage bamboo flatware, drinking glasses and crystal, and white everyday plates. While some things, of course, get used more than others I do believe in using all my pieces; I open and use the cabinets daily!
The sink bridge-faucet is a Perrin and Rowe, and the farmhouse sink is a 36" Shaw. I removed the doors I had originally had made for under the sink to soften the long line of cabinets with a linen skirt.
All of the rugs are antique. The one in this photo was found in Portland, Oregon some 20+ years ago for $5! I love the wear on them, and the softness they give a room.
Stack of ironstone, wicker, and wire baskets on a hotel tray with a demijohn bottle and a small lamp made from an old ironstone sugar. The little lead bird in this photo was a turn-key to an old stove, found at Round Top. Several of you commented on the lamps that I use in the kitchen- I have used small lamps in my kitchens since I was in college! There are so many wonderful old items that can be turned into lamps. I really like how they bring you eye down to the counter and highlight the display.
For reference, the kitchen measures 14 feet by 30 feet, and I have 9 foot ceilings on the first floor of the farmhouse (8 1/2' upstairs) which is very rare in antique homes here in New Hampshire! The church window frame came from Fredericksburg, Texas and was given to me by my sister Susan after she could no longer use it.
In the right side of this photo (currently closed off) under the transom window is the entry into the barn room! There are about 4 steps down to get to the room.
Wall color is Benjamin Moore Gray Owl OC-52


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This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Melissa Block.
And I'm Audie Cornish. For years, budget battles have ruled Washington politics: fiscal cliffs, debt ceiling fights and, of course, last fall's government shutdown. But then, in December, the House and Senate agreed on a two-year spending plan and the budget bomb-throwing stopped. Today, it resumed just long enough for the Republican-controlled House to pass a budget.
NPR's White House correspondent Tamara Keith joins us now to talk more about this. And Tamara, you reported on this big agreement in December when you were covering the Hill. Why did the House go through the trouble of voting on its own budget?
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Well, that's the big question here, the Democratically-controlled Senate isn't coming up with its own separate spending plan and there's really no practical reason for the House to do this because of that agreement. But budgets are about message. They're vision documents and what Republicans in the House are saying with this budget is that if they had it their way, they'd set different priorities.
Also, they've made such a deal out of the budget process over the years, they kind of had to do it again. Eric Cantor is the majority leader.
REPRESENTATIVE ERIC CANTOR: We have passed a budget every year since taking the majority. So let's now stand together and fulfill one of the most important duties that we were elected to do and pass a budget that the American people that sent us here can be proud of.
CORNISH: And they did manage to pass it, 219 to 205. Now this is with every Democrat voting against it and 12 Republicans peeling off and voting no. Tell us what's in this budget.
KEITH: It cuts $5 trillion in spending over the next 10 years and it would eliminate the annual budget deficit by the end of that decade. It envisions dramatic changes. It would turn Medicare for future retirees into something more like a voucher system. Medicaid, food stamps, other social safety net programs would take hits and that's what Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi rallied Democrats around as she urged a no vote on the House floor earlier today.
REPRESENTATIVE NANCY PELOSI: In order to finance this special interest privilege that is in the Republican budget is a statement of your values to cut over 170,000 children from Head Start. Is that a statement of our values?
KEITH: It would also repeal Obamacare and calls for an overhaul of the tax system that would lower the top rate for the wealthiest Americans.
CORNISH: Tamara, listening to that last part, sounds very, very familiar. In fact, I feel like you may have said the very same things last year. Is there anything new in this budget?
KEITH: Not much, actually. The changes from year to year, even over the last three budgets, have been pretty minimal. And as with the last three budgets, Democrats hope to make political hay out of all the cuts that this budget envisions and Republicans says they aren't really worried about that because it hasn't hurt them that bad in the past. And come election time, they plan to be able to say, look, Senate Democrats didn't pass a budget and Democrats in the House refuse to support this thing that would've cut the deficit. So could be an election issue or it could just be that they talk about healthcare the whole time, all election season.
CORNISH: That's NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith back in the budget mix today. Tamara, thank you.
KEITH: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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I hold dear and close the big things in life like love, family, friendships, and connections. I also believe they are all enhanced by the little things. The little things in life…Those little trickets or thoughts that we hang onto. They might be in a shoe box in your closet or the attic, they might be on your nightstand. Special paper and photographs in your desk drawers. A dish or an ingredient that you are cherishing to the last crumb.
When I moved to the US, I came with the two suitcases and a few little things that kept me connected to my home. Among those items were "Pipou" a stuffed rabbit that I got when I was born and a tiny porcelain box with my name on it. What was I thinking?. Imagine the first time B. stayed over: "oh and by the way, meet my favorite blankie type thingie, Pipou" Now that a sure way to get rid of your date!! Or was I so afraid to become mute that the box would become another way to give my name out?! Well I know why they came along but retrospectively it could have thrown a few people off. However I did meet a wonderful man who embraced all the crazy little things his crazy expat of a wife enjoyed and needed to stay connected with.
A lot of the little things that bring me a smile on my face are, you can guess, often related to food. I just have to open a jar of Herbes de Provence that I can hear the cicadas and all of a sudden I am home for a brief instant. Open the jar, close the jar. Open the jar, close the jar…..smile. Slicing lemons almost always makes me want to drop a couple of slices in a hot cup of tea, just like Mamie used to do. Within ten minutes, the kettle is singing away. Little things like that make me vibrate, keep me alive, keep me going. We all have our inner batteries, these are mine.
I made a bunch of souffles earlier this month, and for one of them I opened up my last and treasured can of chestnut paste.One of my little things. I kept it waiting on the shelf for a long long time but one souffle I wanted to bake again was my family's Chesnut Chocolate Tapioca Souffles ( you can read the full article in Desserts Magazine). When I served one to B., he exclaimed "Oh my gosh! Did you finally pop that last can open? That's serious!" while my head was screaming "yes I did , so pay attention and eat it slowly!". I did not say it outloud though. I did however scrape that can to the last drop of cream and froze the leftover for a future dessert.
It then hit me that my favorite way to eat it is still the simplest: with a spoon. However, since it is a delicacy after all, to be savoured to the last bit, I decided to give it a more proper farewell than us, our spoons, a tin can and a comfy sofa. I made a verrine layering a simple milk chocolate mousse, a layer of bittersweet chocolate ganache, chesnut cream mousse and a little whipped cream. Delicious! It was winter comfort at its best for me. Now I must remember to ask mom to bring more when they come next month (read this mom?!).
What are your "little things" in life?
Milk Chocolate And Chesnut Mousse Verrines Recipe:
Serves 4 depending on the size of your ramekins or glasses.
Kitchen Notes: you can find "creme de marrons" or chesnut cream online, here for example or make your own. The chocolate painted glasses I used were extras I had prepared for the Daring Bakers challenge last month and did not used and they worked perfectly with this.
For the Milk Chocolate Mousse:
4 oz (120gr) semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons (30ml) whole milk
3 tablespoons (25gr) butter
3/4 cup (175ml) heavy cream, cold
In a bowl set over a pan of simmering water (make sure that the bowl fits snuggly over the pan and does not touch the water), melt together the chocolate, milk, and butter. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. In a mixer, whip the cream to medium peaks and fold it into the chocolate mixture. Pipe or spoon the mousse into ramekins or glasses. Refrigerate.
For the Chocolate Ganache:
1/2 cup (125ml) heavy cream
6 oz (180gr) bittersweet chocolate
In a small heavy saucepan set over medium hight heat, bring the cream to a boil. Place the chocolate into a medium sized bowl and pour the hot cream over it. Let the mixture stand for 2 to 3 minutes. Gently stir the cream and chocolate together with a spatula until the mixture comes togethr and is fully combined. Let cool completely before dividing it on top of the chocolate mousse. Refrigerate.
For the Chesnut Cream Mousse:
3/4 cup (157ml) heavy cream
1/2 cup (125ml) chesnut puree
In a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream to medium stiff peaks. Add one third into the chesnut puree to lighten it and then fold in the remaining whipped cream until combined. Pipe or spoon on top of the ganache layer. Refrigerate.
For the whipped cream:
1/2 cup (125ml) heavy cream
In a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream to medium stiff peaks. Pipe or spoon on top of the chestnut layer and level with an offset spatula.