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- / World & News
- / Countries of the World
- / Lithuania
Facts & Figures
President: Dalia Grybauskaite (2009)
Prime Minister: Algirdas Butkevicius (2012)
Total area: 25,174 sq mi (65,200 sq km)
Population (2014 est.): 3,505,738 (growth rate: –0.29%); birth rate: 9.36/1000; infant mortality rate: 6/1000; life expectancy: 75.98
Capital and largest city (2009 est.): Vilnius, 546,000
Monetary unit: Litas
- Lithuania Main Page
- Lithuania Embarks on Independence and Democracy
Lithuania is situated on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea and borders Latvia on the north, Belarus on the east and south, and Poland and the Kaliningrad region of Russia on the southwest. It is a country of gently rolling hills, many forests, rivers and streams, and lakes. Its principal natural resource is agricultural land.
Parliamentary democracy.
The Liths, or Lithuanians, united in the 12th century under the rule of Mindaugas, who became king in 1251. Through marriage, one of the later Lithuanian rulers became the king of Poland (Ladislaus II) in 1386, uniting the countries. In 1410, the Poles and Lithuanians defeated the powerful Teutonic Knights at Tannenberg. From the 14th to the 16th century, Poland and Lithuania made up one of medieval Europe's largest empires, stretching from the Black Sea almost to Moscow. The two countries formed a confederation for almost 200 years, and in 1569 they formally united. Russia, Prussia, and Austria partitioned Poland in 1772, 1792, and 1795. As a consequence, Lithuania came under Russian rule after the last partition. Russia attempted to immerse Lithuania in Russian culture and language, but anti-Russian sentiment continued to grow. Following World War I and the collapse of Russia, Lithuania declared independence (1918), under German protection.
The republic was then annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940. From June 1941 to 1944, it was occupied by German troops, with whom Lithuania served in World War II. Some 240,000 Jews were massacred in Lithuania during the Nazi years. In 1944, the Soviets again annexed Lithuania.
The Lithuanian independence movement reemerged in 1988. In 1990, Vytautas Landsbergis, the non-Communist head of the largest Lithuanian popular movement (Sajudis), was elected president. On the same day, the Supreme Council rejected Soviet rule and declared the restoration of Lithuania's independence, the first Baltic republic to take this action. Confrontation with the Soviet Union ensued along with economic sanctions, but they were lifted after both sides agreed to a face-saving compromise.
Lithuania Embarks on Independence and Democracy
Lithuania's independence was quickly recognized by major European and other nations, including the United States. The Soviet Union finally recognized the independence of the Baltic states on Sept. 6, 1991. UN admittance followed on Sept. 17, 1991. Successful implementation of structural and legislative reforms in Lithuania attracted greater direct foreign investments by the mid-1990s.
In late 2002, Lithuania was accepted for membership in the EU and NATO, and it joined both in 2004. In Jan. 2003, Rolandas Paksas defeated the incumbent, Valdas Adamkus, in the presidential election. It was a surprising upset, given that Adamkus had helped bring about his country's entry into NATO and the EU. In April 2004, President Paksas was removed from office following his conviction for dealings with Russian mobsters. It was Lithuania's worst political crisis since independence from the Soviet Union. In July 2004, Valdas Adamkus was again elected president.
On Oct. 12, 2008, parliamentary elections turnout was 48.5%. The Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats won 19.7% of the vote (18 of 70 seats). The National Revival Party came in second with 15.1% (13) of the vote, and the Order and Justice was third with 12.7% (11) of the vote.
Dalia Grybauskaite, the European Union budget commissioner, was sworn in as Lithuania's first female head of state in July 2009. Grybauskaite won presidential elections in May with 68% of the vote.
In Oct. 2012, Lithuania's conservative Homeland Union lost parliamentary elections to the Social Democrats and Algirdas Butkevicius. The left-wing parties will most likely continue the successful policies of Andrius Kubilius. While painful, the strict austerity measures he imposed have borne fruit: Lithuania's economy is growing again; GDP showed 2.5% growth for 2012, with 3% expected in 2013.
In the first round of 2014's presidential elections, incumbent Dalia Grybauskaite (independent) won 46.6% of the vote, Zigmantas Balcytis (Social Democratic Party) 13.8%, Arturas Paulauskas (Labour Party) 12.2%, Naglis Puteikis (independent) 9.5%, Valdemar Tomasevski (Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania) 8.4%, Arturas Zuokas (Homeland Revival and Perspective) 5.3%, and Bronis Rope (Lithuanian Peasant and Greens Union) 4.2%; turnout was 52.1%. In the May 25 runoff, Grybauskaite won 59% of the vote and Balcytis 41% with voter turnout at 47.3%.
See also Encyclopedia: Lithuania .
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes: Lithuania
Statistics Lithuania http://www.std.lt/web/main.php .


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Nobody loves Albert Haynesworth like Jim Washburn loves Haynesworth.
But that doesn't mean the Eagles defensive line coach is bringing his former pupil to Philadelphia.
"He calls me every night and says, 'Hey, Wash, it's your big black son'," Washburn told reporters this morning. "I think he's finished. His back's degenerative."
The Eagles could ostensibly use someone at defensive tackle, with Mike Patterson on the shelf for at least "a couple months," but Haynesworth's apparently not in the plan. He's been unemployed since the Buccaneers cut him in February.
Washburn coached Haynesworth during his best years in Tennessee (two Pro Bowls), and while many have no time for him, Washburn has a different view he joked that Haynesworth helped pave his driveway, by playing well enough that Washburn earned a raise.
"Everybody hated him, but I liked him," Washburn said. "He's one of my favorite guys."
That may call Washburn's skills as a judge of character into question, but hey, he got a driveway out of the deal.

subset: commoncrawl


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Ordinarily, the idea of someone or something being "cursed" is reserved for those who think The Flintstones was based on a true story and baseball writers. But this? This is almost too much to bear, even for people with brains.
Poor Tony Romo just cannot catch a break. He literally breaks his back willing the Cowboys to victory not three weeks after vaunted cursers Sports Illustrated runs a cover story about why you should unconditionally love him. Now Kyle Orton will take the Cowboys on an improbable run deep into the playoffs, only made possible by Tony Romo. This is his fate.
h/t @RapSheet


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People with Last Names of Singhisen
USA-People-Search > People Directory > S > Singhisen > Page 1
Were you trying to locate someone with the last name Singhisen? Our results below show that there are many people with the last name Singhisen. You can refine your people search by selecting the link that contains the first name of the person you are looking to find.
Once you do click through you will be offered a list of people with the last name Singhisen that match the first name you are looking for. In addition there is other data such as age, known locations, and possible relatives that can help you identify the right person.
If you have some info about the individual you are seeking, like their last known address or telephone number, you can add that to the search box and improve your search results. This is definitely a fast way to find the Singhisen you are seeking, if you know a lot about them.


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Around the NBA: Patience with Youth
Memphis coach Lionel Hollins looks around the locker room and sees a bunch of players that could be his sons.
He is coaching one of the youngest teams in the NBA. Memphis has 11 players that are 24 years-old or younger. And with that comes the ebb and flow and growing pains of players looking to find their way in league where experience is vital.
"Well, it's not just basketball, it's about life," Hollins said. "It's about growing up and being professional, handling your responsibilities, accountability, the maturity level. It's really like when you have kids and you're raising your kids because it's not just what they do on the court. It's the full package."
Still, winning is the name of the game and the Grizzlies likely won't do a lot of that this season. But the Grizzlies are fast and athletic and competitive.
Hollins wants his bunch to crawl before they walk.
"Forget winning, just learning how to play," Hollins said. "You have to worry about learning the NBA game, NBA lingo, how the game is played, how it's refereed, all the different rules. They have none of that. Then they don't know the pro sets because they haven't been in that setting long enough in college to understand the UCLA cut, hawk cut, 1-4 set, floppy set, all these sets. So you're teaching everything that with more veteran guys they've gotten because they've been in the league. So, it's a challenge every day."
Memphis is off to a 1-2 start, with a loss to the Nuggets on Sunday night. They finished with 24 wins last season.
"The challenge is our focus can sometimes not be too good," guard O.J. Mayo said. "But just for us to always stay focused together and understand we're in it together and that if our team does well then all of will do well individually. So that's the main thing, just our focus."
HAPPY RETURNS?: It's so far so good for Washington's Gilbert Arenas, San Antonio's Manu Ginobili and Boston's Kevin Garnett after each missed large portions of last season with major injuries. Each made it through the first week of play with no setbacks. Agent Zero, who has played in just 15 games since 2007, has been particularly good, ranking in the top 10 in scoring at 28.5 points per game for the 2-1 Wizards.
The news isn't as good for Milwaukee's Michael Redd, who left his team's game on Saturday night after feeling pain in the same left knee that caused him to miss the last 35 games last season with torn ligaments.
Basketball is being slowly revived in Milwaukee, and Brandon Jennings is at the center of the resurrection.
Ok, it's early.
But in just one week, the rookie point guard has taken the city by storm with function and flair. Jennings, who played last year with Lottomatica Virtus Roma in the Italian league, averaged 20.5 points, 6.0 assists and 5.5 rebounds last week. He nearly missed a triple-double in his debut, and his 24 points, three assists and three steals in a win over Detroit on Saturday had coach Scott Skiles raving about him to reporters.
"He came out in the third quarter and gave us a huge lift, got in a zone for a little while and showed us a whole other element to his game," Skiles told reporters. "I told him I thought that was one of the most impressive first games I've ever seen by a rookie last night since I've been in the league."
And Skiles, a point guard himself when he played, ought to know. He still owns the NBA record for assists in a game with 30.
CLEVELAND CONCERNS: The season started with two losses, but I wouldn't worry much about Cleveland's slow-ish start. Chemistry is the Cavs' biggest issue, with the influx of new talent on the team. Shaq, LeBron, Mo Williams, Jamario Moon, Delonte West and Anthony Parker all have to learn to co-exist, and that doesn't lend itself to winning right away all the time. Particularly when the opponent out of the gate is the Boston Celtics. But it will. The Cavs are too good and too well-coached to slip slide away.
Chris Dempsey: email@example.com


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This might be a silly question, but does anybody happen to know the implications of posting details about a project that may be patentable? In other words, I have a project that I think is really cool and I *might* be able to patent it, so I'm wondering if someone else could see my idea and try to beat me to the patent office. I thought I read somewhere that by making it public, nobody else can patent it because it's public knowledge that they are not the inventor and only the inventor can patent the item.
Forgive me if this is in the wrong place or I sound smug thinking my idea is so cool as to justify a patent. I don't know if it does, but I thought I'd throw the question out here anyway.
Thanks guys!


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Old Armand, a Paris hobo, finds three children huddled in his hideaway under the bridge & befriends them.Carlson, Natalie Savage is the author of 'Family Under the Bridge', published 1989 under ISBN 9780064402507 and ISBN 0064402509.[read more]
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Information Aesthetics Showcase
|Full Conference
|Basic Conference
Special Thanks & Acknowledgements
Rooms 274-277
|Monday, 3 August
|9 am - 6 pm
|Tuesday, 4 August
|9 am - 6 pm
|Wednesday, 5 August
|9 am - 6 pm
|Thursday, 6 August
|9 am - 6 pm
|Friday, 7 August
|9 am - noon
The emergent field of information aesthetics combines a rich variety of technical and artistic disciplines. Designers and new media artists are joining scientific visualization, informatics, and medical imaging specialists to create purposive, predictive, and creative representations of information. SIGGRAPH 2009 is highlighting this field in recognition of the increasingly prominent role that information visualization and data graphics are assuming in our digitally mediated culture.
The Information Aesthetics Showcase includes 2D and 3D prints, interactive and presentational screen-based works, multimodal installation environments, and physical objects that reveal information. In keeping with this year's theme, Networking the Senses, the works shown here engage not only the visual, but also auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile modalities. The relationship to information expressed in these exemplary pieces ranges from straightforward visualization of data to fanciful re-invention and transformation of it. Presenters include computational journalists, visual and material artists, biological researchers and neuro-scientists, graphic designers, scientific visualization developers, historians, cultural theorists, and digital media center collaborators.
Related sessions:
Keynote Speaker: Steve Duenes, Graphics Director, New York Times
Wednesday, 5 August | 10:30 am - 12:15 pm | La Nouvelle Orleans Ballroom
Panel: The State of Aesthetic Computing or Info-Aesthetics
Monday, 3 August | 3:45 PM - 5:30 PM | Auditorium B
Talks: Information Aesthetics: Designing Interactions
Monday, 3 August | 8:30 AM - 10:15 AM | Auditorium B
- siggraph by focus
- First-Time Attendees
- New for SIGGRAPH 2009
- Art & Design
- Education
- Games
- Music & Audio
- Production/VFX
- Professional Development
- Research
- Students
Listen to some of the city's finest music, then download the entire album for $9.99. Proceeds from album sales go to support the Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong Summer Jazz Camp.
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Magnetic Ballast, 215 Max. Lamp Watts, 277 V, Rapid Start, No Dimming
- Item # 6V916
- My Part #
- Mfr. Model # VC-2S102-TP
- Catalog Page # 475
Using 360° Viewing:
- Rotate: Use top-to-bottom, side-to-side by use of mouse arrow.
- Zoom In: Double click on image.
- Zoom Out/Reset: Put photo at full zoom & then double click.
CAD Downloads
- Shipping Weight 12.05 lbs.
Product Details
Technical Specs
- Item Ballast
- Ballast Type Magnetic
- Ballast Start Type Rapid
- Ballast Lamp Type T10HO,T12HO
- Ballast Max. Number of Lamps 1
- Ballast Voltage 277
- Min. Starting Temp. -20 Degrees F
- Input Watts 241
- Ballast Max. Lamp Watts 215
- Ballast Item Magnetic Ballast
- Ballast Dimming No
- Ballast Dimming Type No Dimming
- Ballast Factor 0.87
- Power Factor 0.85
- Length 14-5/16"
- Width 3-3/16"
- Height 2-5/8"
- Number of F42T12 Lamps 1 or 2
- Number of F48T12 Lamps 1 or 2
- Number of F60T12 Lamps 1
- Number of F64T12 Lamps 1
- Number of F72T12 Lamps 1
- Number of F96T12 Lamps 1
Compliance and Restrictions
Alternate Search Terms
Electronic Ballasts (366)
Fluorescent Ballasts (348)
Magnetic Ballasts (123)
Rapid-Start Ballasts (83)
Customer Reviews
Product Reviews Disclaimer:
Grainger is neither responsible for, nor does it endorse, the content of any product review or statement posted. Any statements posted constitute the statements of the poster and are not the statements of Grainger. The statements posted by Grainger employees with the Grainger employee badge represent the views of such employees and are not the statements of Grainger. Grainger makes no representations as to the appropriateness, accuracy, completeness, correctness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any product review or statements posted, including those posted by employees with the Grainger employee badge, and is not liable for any losses, injuries or damages which may result from any such product review or statements. Use of any linked web site provided in a product review or post is at the user's own risk.


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On this day, 149 years ago, my 2nd great grandparents, Hienrich and Eliese (Schroebke) Heinke along with their 2 daughters, Caroline and Amelia, arrived at Castle Garden in New York City. The ship's record indicates that they had been living in Bretwisch (West Pomerania) Prussia (later, part of East Germany) before traveling to Hamburg to board the ship, "Deutschland". E. Wesselhöft was the ship's master.
The Heinkes arrived in Eldorado Twp., Fond du Lac Co., WI in the fall of 1860. Three more children, Laura, Elisabeth, and Reinhard were born to them while living there. In 1879, they settled on the farm in Royalton Township. The location of their farm can be seen on this 1890 plat map.
This Heinke Rd. sign marks the way to the former location of the Heinke farm.
In 1883, their daughter, Laura, married Frank Weller, who had a farm nearby.
Heinrich and Eliese Heinke are both buried in Little Wolf Cemetery, Manawa, Waupaca Co., WI


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10 Year Anniversary Logo Design for the Ryerson Commerce Society
Held by: Amir Golbazi (agolbazi)
Last rated:
Contest Statistics
Scores (82 total)
5 1
4 14
3 27
2 17
1 23
This Project 33
Average 1
This Project 83
Average 112
Logo design created by professional graphic designer Les-Graphistes
Entry designed by:
$25,295.00 earned, 76 projects done
"Les Graphistes" is a modern Creative Company that marry The European touch with an Oriental one, to create unique Identites and Visuals, worldwide known.
More entries from this contest:
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Banner Ad Design, Twitter Page Design, Clothing Design, Button & Icon Design, and more!


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Ideas & Instructions: 9 Woody DIY Headboards
I once had to make a headboard for a photo shoot and found it surprisingly easy. I just ordered the wood from the local hardware store in the width and height that I needed (standard widths: twin: 38 inches; full: 54; queen: 60; king: 76). I then purchased some batting and fabric to cover the board and staple-gunned away like I was wrapping a gift.
Lately, I've been wanting a modern wood/no frills headboard, which set me on the path to these tree-derived DIY ones. With some basic tools, these are easy to create and a lot cheaper than ones you'd find in stores. Plus, you can modify size and color/stain to whatever you suits your needs.
Have you ever created a DIY headboard? Share your experience below!
- Salvaged Wood Headboard, Bows & Sparrows
- Rope Design Headboard, Real Living Magazine
- Woven Wood Headboard, Curbly (inspired by old Dwell Studio design)
- Love Headboard, House Tweaking
- Pegboard Headboard, Sugar & Cloth
- Book Headboard, Design Everyday
- Barn Doors, Sweet French Toast
- Floating Headboard, Apartment Therapy Archives
- Wood Canopy, House to Home
(Images: as linked above)
Apartment Therapy supports our readers with carefully chosen product recommendations to improve life at home. You support us through our independently chosen links, many of which earn us a commission.


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sparrowandvine necesitaba un nuevo diseño de impreso o envases y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 49 diseños de 16 diseñadores freelance.
The Skinny
I am a wine producer and retailer creating hand crafted wines for specific target markets, places, people and situations.
This is primarily for a single white wine, 2010 Hunter Valley Semillon. though may have some other extensions into red and rose. So "The Skinny" is the brand, Hunter Valley Semillon 2010 the style.
The name has 2 meanings, one referring to the low alcohol, the other a pun on the term "the skinny" meaning "having the inside info". E.g.: "I'll give you the skinny on this great wine".
The wine style is one that has a strong following amongst the winemaking community but has a problem translating to the general market where the wine has an old fashioned reputation and sales are difficult. Hence the "insider info" meaning.
It is also a style that is traditionally and naturally lower in alcohol than most other white wines. It also has the ability to develop well with age.
It is a style that has the potential to be the "next big thing".
The target audience is those looking for a light, dry food friendly white. Mostly women, 25 – 50.The aim to sell into retail and also to a few restaurants and cafes as a low alcohol, lunchtime drink.
I am trying to communicate the fact that it is crisp, clean, quite serious, dry white wine that has an almost cult like following amongst wine industry types - and a sign that the target purchaser has some inside knowledge and is obviously more "wine aware" than most consumers.
The low alcohol component is a hook, but also a pleasant bonus. (and there is a move in the market for lower alcohol wines, so this is a "cool" thing too?
Label look and feel should use the idea of cleaner lines, lighter colour and a single 'wraparound"' label.
I'd like "The Skinny" to be the focus as the brand (in view of other wines joining) but it almost as is important that the region and wine are easily identifiable too.
In small font (about 5) there needs to be legal text "11% alc, 6.5 std drinks, pres 220 added. Wine of Australia 750ml"
Here's some other text to add too:
"A traditional Hunter Valley style, unwooded, early picked and naturally low in alcohol. It's light in body and brimming with the lemony tang and gentle herby flavours that make it the perfect marriage with grilled seafood. And only 11% alcohol means reaching for another glass is almost guilt free!"
As mentioned above, ideally a single label that would have main name and brand on one half with the other half containing additional text. (eg: 80/90mm high, 140mm wide).
Could also be front label with main info and a back with legal and additonal text. Size (and shape) flexible.
What we don't want:
No gold, no silver. Needs to be CMYK colours.
Final artwork as EPS files or .ai saved as illustrator 3 or earlier. I'll need to add description text to individual wines.
Please don't hesitate to contact me directly if you have further questions.


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New and Improved Fire Hand
This is a new variation on my "Fire Hand" demonstration. I never did like the size of the methane bubbles that were produced, so I got an idea from a Mythbusters' segment on methane bubbles. They used a tube with many small holes to create the small methane bubbles. I decided to to do a variation of it using aquarium tubing. The result is a bigger handful of methane bubbles which means a bigger flame!


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Event Information
Vineyard Farmers Market
Vineyard Farmers Market
Blackstone & Shaw Fresno, CA 93721
About This Event
Vineyard Farmers Market provides the finest quality, locally grown, fruits and vegetables direct from the grower and is dedicated to providing your family with a healthy grocery experience - year round!
Vineyard Farmers Market conducts it's business onsite during regular market hours. Market hours are Saturdays from 7am to noon and Wednesdays from 3 to 6 PM. Felix Muzquiz is the Owner/Operator and can be reached at email@example.com
All other inquiries: email@example.com
Phone: 559-222-0182
Hours of Operation
Wednesdays: 3PM - 6PM
Saturdays: 7AM - Noon
Year Round - Rain or Shine
More Information
|Event Website:
|Ticketing Website:
Event Map
Listing Information
|Last Updated:
|27-Nov-2018 03:34 PM
|Information Update:
|Contact our web content team to update this listing.
|Visitor Note:
|Please mention that you found this event through PlayFresno.org.


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and 1 other
This is an informal group of female developers in Austin, representing a wide variety of languages, backgrounds, and niches. We meet once a month or so to share information, do some coding, and hang out and talk. Bringing your laptop, your vexing technical problems, and your expertise is highly encouraged! We've had some members volunteer to give short presentations on various technologies, and we've also been lucky enough to have awesome sponsors who've provided beer, wine, and snacks. This is still a relatively new group, so if you have ideas for its future direction, you're definitely invited to help shape it!You should join if A) you're a woman, B) you like writing code in any language, and C) you think a change of scenery might be kind of fun.NOTE: Men and non-developers, such as recruiters or marketers, can only attend our meetings by invitation. To be invited, you can sponsor a meeting. This would involve providing food and drinks, and would give you an opportunity to make a presentation about yourself, your company, product, or services. We are always looking for sponsors! But please don't assume that you can come uninvited, i.e. don't just RSVP "Yes" to a meeting.By the way, we have a generous definition of what a developer is. As long as you are learning programming, or are interested in learning it, you are a developer for our purposes, no matter what your current profession is. Please come to learn/talk about software development, just don't come with an explicit purpose of recruiting or pitching your product (for that you need an invitation).
Patchwork Coworking


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Your children's health and safety are of utmost concern to you. As they get older, they go off to school and play, and you cannot always be there to protect them. Naturally, you worry about them getting hurt. The best way to ease your worries and increase your children's safety is to teach them to be cautious and safe pedestrians.
One of the biggest safety threats to children is moving vehicles. Teaching your children about pedestrian safety at a young age can help to decrease their risk of being involved in crashes as a pedestrian.
Elementary School Children at Greatest Risk
Elementary age children are at greatest risk for vehicle-pedestrian crashes because of their limited developmental skills. Children in this age group:
- Have a field of vision that is narrower than an adult's
- Are less able to determine the direction of sounds
- Cannot accurately judge the speed or distance of moving vehicles
- Lack the ability to understand how much time and distance is needed for a vehicle to stop
- Overestimate their abilities
- Are easily distracted, tending to focus on one thing at a time, like a ball or a friend
- Are easily hidden by bushes, parked cars, and other objects
- Often imitate inappropriate behavior
What can you do to protect your child against injury or death resulting from a pedestrian accident? Here are some guidelines.
General Safety Tips
- Children under age 10 should not cross the street on their own. Provide proper supervision and teach your children traffic skills.
- Hold young children's hands when you are near traffic.
- Make sure that children get in and out of the car on the curb side.
- Require children to wear reflective materials and carry a flashlight at dawn and dusk.
- Only allow children to play in designated areas, such as playgrounds or fenced in yards.
Do not allow children to play in areas like:
- Driveways
- Unfenced yards
- Streets
- Parking lots or parking garages
Teach Your Child Traffic Skills
- Teach children how to cross the street safely. Walk with them. Take the time to explain the rules as you are walking. Be sure that you are demonstrating the proper traffic skills.
- If there are no sidewalks, pedestrians should walk on the left side of the road. Teach children to keep far to the left, away from traffic.
- Before crossing, children need to look left-right-left again. Be sure that they are really paying attention. Are they looking carefully and listening for approaching vehicles?
- When crossing in front of a bus, children should be at least 10 feet in front of the vehicle. Teach children never to cross behind the bus.
- When crossing at intersections:
- Encourage children to be especially careful at intersections. Teach them to look over their shoulders in case vehicles are turning.
- Even if there is a stop sign or red signal light, children should still be aware. Drivers may not pay attention to the traffic signs.
- Before crossing the street, children should wait until the vehicle is at a complete stop.
- Teach children to always look for approaching vehicles before stepping into the crosswalk. Even if the "Walk" signal indicates that it is safe to cross, drivers may be distracted and not see pedestrians.


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|Samarkand, Uzbekistan
|High School:
|School #51
A strong player and a strong student, Alex has been an
outstanding leader for the Golden Eagles during his
career...two-time all-OVC selection...winner of the Johnny Donnelly
Maverick Award as a junior and team MVP as a sophomore...will
continue to play at the top of the lineup in 2012 for the Golden
Eagles...his success on the tennis courts has continued to improve
every season...a competitor who won't back down...determined player
who gives a monumental effort every time on the court..heads into
the spring schedule with a 39-36 career record in singles
AT TECH -- In Fall 2011 (Senior): Alex continued to gain valuable, top-notch experience during fall tournament play, posting a combined 6-7 record including 3-5 in singles action and 3-2 paired with Syrym Abdukhailikov in doubles...earned a tough singles win against Eastern Kentucky, along with wins against Louisiana-Lafayette and Lipscomb.
In 2010-11 (Junior): Alex continued to play at the top of the lineup for Tech and was an inspirational leader for the team...earned second-team all-OVC honors...captured the Johnny Donnelly Maverick Award for his determination...despite the death of his father just days before the OVC Tournament, he chose to stay and play...won his doubles match, then won his singles contest to break a 3-3 tie and clinch a victory for Tech in the opening round to allow the team to advance....enjoyed outstanding success in the spring season, posting a 9-5 singles record in dual matches, including a 4-2 record against the OVC...earned a 9-4 record at No. 1 singles...finished the year strong by going 7-3 in his final 10 outings...was 5-10 overall in doubles drills during the spring, including a 3-4 mark when paired with Kirstein...during the fall season managed a 2-7 singles record... ...battled out a three-set victory in the UNCG Invitational as well as a backdraw win at the USTA/ITA Regional Tournament...teamed with Justin Kirstein in the fall and finished the season with a 2-2 record..the two had a successful tournament at the UNCG Invitational where they reached the semi-finals of Flight A.
2009-2010 (Sophomore): Playing the top spot for Tech all season, Alex finished the year with a 16-10 overall singles record... helped his team accomplish a second-place conference finish with a 6-1 singles record in OVC matches, as well as 3-3 doubles record..teamed with various partners thoughout the year, Alex held a 9-12 record for the season in doubles...his success earned him the MVP award and first-team-all-conference honors...Alex posted a 5-6 record in singles play during the fall and went 3-4 in doubles...won four singles matches in a row in mid-season, including his lone contest against an OVC foe, downing Morehead State's Greg Anderson in straight sets.
In 2008-2009 (Freshman): Alex split his time between the No. 2 and No. 3 spot in the singles lineup...posted a 9-9 overall singles record...earned wins against two ranked teams, including a 6-2, 6-2 straight set victory over 50th ranked Patrick Bateman of West Florida...was 5-3 during the season against OVC foes...was 5-9 overall in doubles play for a combined mark of 14-18 for his rookie season.
Before Tech: A highly touted recruit who was ranked in the top 200 ITF rankings as a junior...earned an ITF Junior ranking of 155 in the world...won Grade 3 and 5 ITF Tournaments, both singles and doubles...won six ITF Tournament doubles titles...has international playing experience that will help the young Golden Eagle squad this spring... has a strong serve and a powerful ground-stroke attack...was highly recruited by ACC and Big Ten programs... played in several high-profile junior tournaments including Junior Worlds in New Zealand... played at No. 1 for the Junior Davis Cup team for Uzbekistan for several years.
Personal: Aleksandr Chen is the son of Sergey Chen and Irina Minasova of Samarkand, Uzbekistan and has one older brother, Pavel Chen who is getting his major in Computer Science in Sweden ... Alex was born January 8, 1991... majoring in business and currently owns an impressive 3.4 GPA.


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Romantic bedroom lighting ideas you will totally love 30
It's from Roundecor, and we're' really concern to Provide . We Are Gathering and Collecting photos from lot of source on internet. If some of them are yours please don't be shy to contact us immediately, we are so pleased to add some credit to them.


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Robel Phillipos of Cambridge freed on $100,000 bond pending trial on charge of lying to Marathon probe investigators
With the mother of the 19-year-old Cambridge man looking on, a federal magistrate judge today ordered Robel Phillipos released on bail while awaiting trial on a charge that he lied to federal agents investigating the Boston Marathon terror bomb attacks.
Phillipos was arrested by federal authorities last week, along with two men from Kazakhstan, as investigators continued to probe the movements of suspected bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Phillipos and the two Kazakh men were friends with Tsarnaev at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
Phillipos appeared before US Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler this afternoon wearing the bright orange jumper of a pretrial detainee from the Essex County sheriff's department, and appeared calmer than when he first appeared in court last week. At that time, he was wearing a blue-and-white-striped T-shirt, glanced anxiously around the courtroom and was admonished by Bowler at one point for not paying attention to her.
Bowler approved an agreement between US Attorney Carmen Ortiz's office and Phillipos's attorney, Derege B. Demissie, requiring Phillipos to be under home confinement at a home other than his own, wear a monitoring ankle bracelet, and post a secured bond worth $100,000.
Phillipos is accused of lying to federal agents when they questioned him about the disposal of items from Tsarnaev's dorm room in the days after the April 15 bombings that killed three people and wounded more than 260.
Federal prosecutors said last week they wanted to detain Phillipos because they believed he posed a serious risk of flight, but they changed their strategy after a weekend of negotiations with Demissie, according to court records.
While supporting Phillipos's release, federal prosecutors still held firm to their belief that the slightly built Phillipos violated federal law. "The government stands by its allegations and is confident it can prove them beyond a reasonable doubt,'' Assistant US Attorney John A. Capin said.
The document also suggests that a quick resolution of the criminal charges could be in the offing. Both sides asked for a probable cause hearing to be changed to May 16 so they can "confer about how this matter should proceed.''
In court documents filed Saturday, Phillipos's lawyers and supporters said he was the only son of Genet Bekele, a domestic violence specialist who moved to the state in 1981 and has since earned three college degrees: an associate's degree, a bachelor's degree in political science from Northeastern University, and a master's degree in social work from Boston University.
According to the defense filing, Phillipos is bilingual in Amharic and English but is fully integrated into American life, having been raised here. In affidavits, friends and his attorney described Phillipos as a conscientious and civic-minded man who was "frightened and confused'' when questioned about Tsarnaev after the bombings.
In court today, Bowler acknowledged supportive comments filed with the court this weekend by Phillipos' backers, but she also noted that most of those filing paperwork were familiar with his mother, not Phillipos himself.
"The individuals do not have much involvement with the defendant at all,'' she said.
The two Kazakh men, Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov, were also charged last week with conspiring to obstruct justice for allegedly taking a backpack, emptied-out fireworks, and other items from Tsarnaev's dorm room that night. The three friends then returned to the Kazakh men's off-campus apartment in New Bedford.


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PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest
2015 Contest Winners
Please join us in congratulating these local winners!
First Place Winners
Kindergarten: "Butterfly's New Friend" by Kerala Morehouse, Evington, VA
First Grade: "The Speedy Car Who Bragged" by Addison McSorley, Christiansburg, VA
Second Grade: "Fairy Flies" by Olivia Niemiera, Blacksburg, VA
Third Grade: "Help!" by Ayden Young, Roanoke, VA
Second Place Winners
Kindergarten: "The Big Brown Bear" by Shiloh Gregory, Roanoke, VA
First Grade: "The Nut Job" by Zachary Bocock, Salem, VA
Second Grade: "The Magic Pool" by Lauren Claud, Roanoke, VA
Third Grade: "The Special One" by Theo Villanueva, Blacksburg, VA
Local support for the 2015 PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest is provided by:
Thank you!
For more information about PBS KIDS GO! programming and activities, please visit http://pbskids.org/go/


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Personally, I will wait with bated breath for the HD pictures to be released by China, before I believe this one. Too much trickery on YouTube.
Views: 467
As usual, unsupported anecdotal evidence. Who knows what this guy saw 45 years ago? The video graphics are clearly unrelated or at least, undocumented so that we can't go check the images independently. The last time I saw a documented case, examination of original Lunar Orbiter images did not confirm the highly image processed interpretation. Lets see some LRO images of these sites and when they show the base, I might believe them.
I have not watched it yet in case I get disappointed. I will wait for the Chinese to do their thing first.
Don't be disappointed - they don't even mention the Chinese spacecraft in here. False advertising all around.
So this guy was an airman, second class, in 1965 - yet his vocabulary strongly suggests he was born after 1970 and his voice as well gives his birth as after 1970. Is this supposed to be one of your 'science' posts, Michael?
The latest addition to the long list which includes alien autopsies, alien abductions, chupacabra, bigfoot, the hollow earth, astral projection, and other such nonsense. I laugh at anyone who takes this even halfway seriously.
Obvious troll is obvious
I've got some land in Florida I'd be willing to sell ya at a bargain.
The thing which come to mind when I watch this video is something basic about the moon.
Now this is the side we always see..
Which is in direct contrast to this..
Which is the backside of the moon. As you can see it is obviously more craterous. It's estimated there's a 30% increased risk of the far side of the moon getting hit with an asteroid or other space debris than the side facing us. That being said.. do you really think that anyone would want to risk that when building structures on the moon? I know I wouldn't..
The voice over is snipped from an existing video already posted on Youtube. This reinforces my suspicion that this is completely contrived. My grain of salt is now the size of the Moon. Only a China release will save this questionable offering.


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A federal lawsuit alleges that police in Ferguson and St. Louis County used excessive force and falsely arrested innocent bystanders amid attempts to quell widespread unrest after the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown.
The five plaintiffs in the suit filed Thursday include a clinical social worker who says she and her 17-year-old son were roughed up and arrested after not evacuating a McDonald's quickly enough. A 23-year-old man says he was shot multiple times with rubber bullets and called racial slurs while walking through the protest zone to his mother's home. And one man says he was arrested for filming the disturbances.
The lawsuit seeks $40 million in damages. Attorney Malik Shabazz said it could be broadened to include additional plaintiffs. Officials in Ferguson and Clayton declined comment.


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Sunday, September 11, 2011
Goodbye to Yoda
3 comments:
I'm very sorry.ReplyDelete
It's nice you were able to share many years with him, and that Yoda had a such a wonderful family.
What a blessed kitty to have shared his life with you.ReplyDelete
Farewell, Yoda! 18 years is a great life length and I am happy you got to journey many of those years together, Uma.ReplyDelete
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Post-operative management
From SurgWiki
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[[Category: Wound healing]]
[[Category: Wound healing]]
[[Category: Thrombo-embolism]]
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Revision as of 16:51, 10 March 2011
Good post-operative management will have started before the procedure with appropriate counselling and preparation (see Pre-operative management). This preparation will have included an assessment of fitness for the procedure and identification and management of any risk factors. The patient will have been provided with a clear explanation of the procedure (emergency or elective), the risk-benefits and the likely outcome. This will have included a description of what the patient should expect in terms of short- and long-term recovery from the procedure, possible complications and the necessity for any drains, stomas, catheters or other bits of tubing, normally alien to most of the population. The patient will have been reassured about pain control measures and, perhaps most difficult of all, the doctor will have tried to ensure that the patient's expectations match those of the health professional.
This chapter will focus on the care of the patient in the immediate post-operative period, up until the time of discharge from hospital. The immediate and short-term needs of the patient and care to be provided will depend on the magnitude and type of surgery.
Immediate management of the patient
Pain management
Pain relief is of paramount importance (see Anaesthesia and pain management) and an appropriate drug regimen will have been prescribed by surgeon and/or anaesthetist by the end of the procedure. In checking the charts of the patient after the procedure, care will be taken that these and any other medications required are prescribed and administered. These may include antibiotics prophylactic or therapeutic), sedatives, antiemetics and anticoagulants.
Depending on the nature of the procedure and the underlying state of health of the patient, the vital signs (blood pressure, pulse and respiratory state) will be measured and recorded regularly. If an arterial catheter has been inserted, blood pressure and pulse readings can be observed on a monitor constantly. The intensity and frequency of monitoring will be maximal in the recovery room and this level of scrutiny maintained if the patient is in an intensive care or high dependency area.
Measurement of the central venous pressure may be required for patients with poor cardiorespiratory reserve or where there have been large volumes of fluid administered or major fluid shifts are expected.
The patient chart will also record all fluid that has been given during and since the operation, together with fluid lost. Ideally, these figures will have been balanced by the end of the procedure, so that the duty of the attending doctor will be to monitor ongoing losses (digestive and urinary tracts, drains, stomas) and replace these. The normal daily fluid and electrolyte requirements will also be provided. If there has been major fluid shifts or if renal function is precarious, a urinary catheter will be inserted and regular (hourly) checks made of fluid losses. Serum electrolytes and haematological values will be checked frequently, again the frequency depending on any abnormalities present and the magnitude of any fluid and electrolyte replacement.
Early mobilisation is encouraged. Unless there are specified orders to the contrary, all patients are encouraged to get up and move around as much as their underlying condition will allow. Obvious exceptions to this policy include patients with epidural catheters and those with severe multiple injuries. The aim of early mobilisation is to encourage good pulmonary ventilation and to reduce venous stasis. For those who cannot mobilise, physiotherapy should be provided to help with breathing and measures taken to either increase venous flow (pneumatic calf compression devices) or reduce risks of deep vein thrombosis (heparin). The timing of any planned heparin administration will depend on the nature of the procedure and the risks of haemorrhage from that procedure.
Most patients will seek some form of reassurance in the immediate post-operative period. They will want to know how the procedure went and how they are progressing. They will also want reassurance that all the tubes, lines and equipment to which they are attached are quite normal and not an indication of impending disaster. Any unexpected finding or complication encountered during the procedure should be discussed with the patient. The timing and detail of this discussion is a matter of fine judgement and may be best done in the presence of the patient's relatives.
Further care in the post-operative period
This covers the time from recovery from anaesthesia and initial monitoring to discharge from hospital. Wound care is discussed in Chapter 4.
Respiratory care
In the otherwise fit and healthy patient, maintenance of respiratory function is usually not a problem, particularly if there is optimal management of pain. Even with upper abdominal or thoracic procedures, most patients will require little respiratory support provided they are able to mobilise themselves and breathe unimpeded by pain. When assistance is required simple breathing exercises, with or without the help of a physiotherapist, is usually sufficient. Mechanical ventilation may be required in the early phase of recovery from a particular procedure. This can vary from prolonged endotracheal intubation, to intermittent positive pressure ventilation, to supplemental oxygenation by facemask or nasal prongs. In these instances the patient may require prolonged monitoring in an intensive care or high dependency unit with regular assessment of oxygen saturation (pulse oximetry and arterial blood gas analysis).
For less fit patients, and particularly those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the risks of respiratory failure will be considerable and measures such as epidural local anaesthesia will be employed. Control of pain, attention to regular hyperinflation (inhalation spirometry and physiotherapy) and early mobilisation are the keys to preventing respiratory complications.
Fluid balance
The three principles of management of fluid balance are:
- correct any abnormalities
- provide the daily requirements
- replace any abnormal and ongoing losses.
Ideally, any abnormalities will have been identified and corrected before or during the surgical procedure. In the calculation of a patient's fluid requirements, there is a distinction to be made between the volume required to maintain the body's normal functions and that required to replace any abnormal losses. The normal maintenance fluid requirements will vary depending on the patient's age, gender, weight and body surface area.
Basic requirements
The total body water of a 70-kg adult comprised 45–60% of the bodyweight. Lean patients have a greater percentage of their bodyweight as body water and older patients a lesser proportion. Of the total body water, two-thirds is in the intracellular compartment and the other one-third is divided between plasma water (25% of extracellular fluid) and interstitial fluid (75% of extracellular fluid). Therefore, a lean individual weighing 70 kg would have a plasma water of 3 L, an interstitial volume of 11 L and an intracellular volume of 28 L, making a total volume of 42 L.
The normal daily fluid requirement to maintain a healthy 70-kg adult is between 2 and 3 L. The individual will lose about 1500 mL in the urine and about 500 mL from the skin, lungs and stool. Loss from the skin will vary with the ambient temperature.
The electrolyte composition of intracellular and extracellular fluid (ECF) varies (Table 6, "Electrolyte concentrations"). Sodium is the predominant cation in ECF and potassium predominates in the intracellular fluid (ICF). The normal daily requirements of sodium and potassium are 100-150 mmol and 60-90 mmol, respectively. This will balance the daily loss of these two cations in the urine.
|Extracellular fluid (mmol/L)
|Intracellular fluid (mmol/L)
If an otherwise healthy adult is deprived of the normal daily intake of fluid and electrolytes, suitable intravenous maintenance must be provided. One relatively simple regimen is 1 L of 0.9% saline and 1–2 L of 5% dextrose solution.
Both these solutions are isotonic with respect to plasma. The electrolyte solution contains the basic electrolyte requirements (154 mmol/L of sodium and 154 mmol/L of chloride) and the total volume can be adjusted with various amounts of dextrose solution. Potassium can be added as required. Other solutions (e.g. Ringer's lactate) may contain a more balanced make-up of electrolytes, but are rarely needed for a patient who is otherwise well and only requires intravenous fluids for a few days.
In the immediate post-operative period there is an increased secretion of antidiuretic hormone, with subsequent retention of water. In an adult of average build, maintenance fluids can be restricted to 2 L per day with no potassium supplements until a diuresis has occurred.
Fluid and electrolyte replacement is that required to correct abnormalities. Volume depletion and electrolyte abnormalities are relatively common in surgical patients, particularly those admitted with acute illnesses. Volume depletion usually occurs in association with an electrolyte deficit, but can occur in isolation. Reduced fluid intake, tachypnoea, fever or an increase in the ambient temperature may all lead to a unilateral volume loss. This will cause thirst and dehydration, which may progress to a tachycardia, hypotension and prostration. In severe cases there may be hypernatraemia and coma. Intravenous administration of 5% dextrose is used to correct the problem.
More often volume depletion is accompanied by an electrolyte deficit. Excessive fluid and electrolyte may be lost from the skin (e.g. sweating, burns), the renal tract (e.g. diabetic ketoacidosis) and the gastrointestinal tract (e.g. vomiting, ileus, fistula, diarrhoea). There is considerable scope for abnormal fluid losses in a surgical patient, particularly after a major abdominal procedure. There may be pooling of fluid at the operation site itself, an ileus might develop, fluid could be lost through a nasogastric tube or drains, and there might be increased cutaneous loss if there is a high fever.
The source of fluid loss will determine the type of electrolyte lost. There is considerable variation in the electrolyte content of different gastrointestinal secretions (Table 7, "Approximate electrolyte concentrations"). Loss from the upper digestive tract tends to be rich in acid, while loss from the lower tract is high in sodium and bicarbonate. Thus, patients with severe and prolonged vomiting from gastric outlet obstruction may develop a metabolic alkalosis.
|Sodium (mmol/L)
|Chloride (mmol/L)
|Bicarbonate (mmol/L)
|Hydrogen (mmol/L)
While the management of maintenance fluid requirements can often be done on a daily basis, the fluid and electrolyte replacements needs of an acutely ill surgical patient is likely to be more involved and necessitate close monitoring and adjustment. Clinical assessment and appreciation of the types of fluid loss will give an approximate guide to the scale of the problem, but regular biochemical electrolyte estimations will be required to determine the precise needs of what needs to be replaced. In most instances, measurement of plasma electrolyte concentrations will provide sufficient information, but occasionally it may be necessary to estimate the electrolyte contents of the various fluids being lost.
Drains and catheters
Drains serve a number of purposes. They may be put down to an operative site or into a wound as it is being closed to drain collections or potential collections. Drains may also be put into the chest cavity to help the lungs re-expand. They may be put into ducts and hollow organs to divert secretions or to decompress that structure. Examples of decompression include insertion of a tube into the common bile duct after duct exploration or nasogastric intubation to decompress the stomach after surgery for intestinal obstruction. Sump drains are used to irrigate sites of contamination or infection.
Drains can act as a point of access for infection, and whilst this may be of little consequence if the tube has been put in to drain an abscess cavity, all efforts are made to reduce contamination of any wound. There is increased use of closed drainage systems and dressings around drains are changed regularly. Any changes to tubes or bags on drains must be carried out using aseptic techniques. Once a drain has served its purpose, it should be removed. The longer a drain stays in situ, the greater the risk of infection.
The contents and volumes discharged through a drain must be recorded. Large volumes, such as those from the gastrointestinal tract, may need the equivalent amount replaced intravenously.
Gut function
Some degree of gut atony is common after abdominal surgery, particularly emergency surgery. The condition is usually self-limiting and of little clinical consequence. There are three conditions that can produce massive gut dilatation and pose serious problems for the patient:
- gastric dilatation;
- paralytic (small intestine) ileus;
- pseudo-obstruction (large intestine).
Gastric dilatation
Gastric dilatation is rare and when it occurs, tends to be associated with surgery of the upper digestive tract. It may occur suddenly 2–3 days after the operation and is associated with massive fluid secretion into the stomach, with the consequent risk of regurgitation and inhalation. Treatment is by insertion of a nasogastric tube and decompression of the stomach. Unfortunately, when gastric dilatation does occur, often the first indication of the problem is a massive vomit and inhalation after the dilatation has occurred. By then the damage is done and the value of a nasogastric tube at this stage is questionable. Traditionally, nasogastric tubes were used routinely for patients following laparotomy, particularly in the emergency setting. However, the nasogastric tube is often the patient's major source of irritation and discomfort in the post-operative period and its routine use should be abandoned.
Paralytic ileus
Paralytic ileus is less sinister and more common. In the acutely ill patient who has undergone surgical intervention for peritonitis, paralytic ileus may be present from the first post-operative day. Otherwise, it tends to make its presence felt about 5 days after operation, and the patient may have been making an apparently uneventful recovery. Abdominal distension occurs and the patient may vomit. Oral fluid restriction should be instituted and intravenous replacement may be required. Most cases resolve spontaneously. Occasionally a prokinetic agent may be considered.
Classically, pseudo-obstruction occurs in the elderly patient who has recently undergone surgery for a fractured neck of femur. The condition is also often seen where there has been extensive pelvic or retroperitoneal injury and sometimes the condition appears to be more related to the use of opiate analgesia rather than the type of surgery itself. The atony, with abdominal distension and absence of bowel function, tends to occur 2-3 days after surgery (or from the time the injury was sustained). Pseudo-obstruction is often mistaken for mechanical obstruction and the dilatation of the colon and caecum can be massive. If the condition does not resolve spontaneously, colonoscopic decompression is usually successful. Occasionally, surgical intervention is required to prevent caecal perforation.
Important post-operative complications
Respiratory failure
If the patient's respiratory function deteriorates in the intermediate post-operative period, this is indicative of the development of a new problem. The important causes to consider are:
- pulmonary embolus;
- abdominal distension;
- opiate overdose.
Depending on the initial state of respiratory function and the degree of deterioration, the patient may require anything from supplemental oxygen supplied by face mask to endotracheal intubation. A Pco2 above 45mmHg, a Po2 below 60mmHg and a low tidal volume all indicate that mechanical ventilation will be required. Once appropriate ventilatory support has been achieved, the cause of the respiratory failure can be addressed.
Wound failure
Provided the surgical procedure has a minimal risk of infection (see Surgical infections) and has been performed in an uneventful manner in a low risk patient, then the chances of problems with the wound are minimal and most such wounds can be left undisturbed until the patient leaves hospital. If there are identifiable risks the wounds may need to be attended to regularly. The problems that are likely to occur with wounds relate to:
- Discharge of fluid
- Collection of fluid
- Disruption of the wound
Risk factors that may contribute to the above problems include those that:
- Increase the risk of infection (see Surgical infections)
- Increase the risk of wound breakdown
There are general and local factors that increase the risk of breakdown of a wound. General factors include those that interfere with wound healing, such as diabetes mellitus, immunosuppression, malignancy and malnutrition. Local factors include the adequacy of wound closure, infection and anything that might put mechanical stress on the wound. For example, abdominal wound failure is a potential problem in the obese, and those with chest infections, ascites, or ileus.
In the early stages of wound healing any abnormal fluid at the wound site is likely to discharge rather than collect. The fluid may be blood, serous fluid, serosanguinous fluid or infected fluid of varying degrees up to frank pus. As discussed elsewhere in this chapter, the discharge of blood from a wound may have all sorts of consequences for the patient, which will vary from prompt opening of the neck wound of a patient with a primary haemorrhage after a thyroidectomy to evacuation of a haematoma after a mastectomy.
Serous fluid may be of little significance and be the result of a liquefying haematoma from within the depths of the wound. However a serosanguinous discharge from an abdominal or chest wound may herald a more sinister event, particularly if it occurs between days 5-8 after the operation. The discharge may have been preceded by coughing or retching. Such a wound is in imminent danger of deep dehiscence with evisceration. Should such an event occur, the wound must be covered in sterile moist packs and arrangements made to take the patient to the operating room for formal repair of the wound.
Collections in and under a wound may be blood, pus or seroma. As mentioned above, the rapidity with which a haematoma appears and any pressure effects such a haematoma may cause will determine its treatment. Collections of pus must be drained. Depending on its proximity or distance from the skin surface, an abscess may be drained by opening the wound or inserting (under radiological control) a drain into a deeperlying cavity. Seromas tend to occur where there has been a large area of dissection in subcutaneous tissues (e.g. mastectomy) or where lymphatics may be damaged (e.g. groin dissections). The seroma may not appear a week after the procedure. Seromas will lift the skin off the underlying tissues and impede wound healing. They also make fertile ground for infection. Seromas should be aspirated under sterile conditions and the patient warned that several aspirations may be required as the seroma may re-collect.
Confusion in surgical patient is common and has many causes. Often the confusion is minor and transient and does not need treatment. The patient is typically elderly, has become acutely ill and in pain, is removed from the security and familiarity of their home surroundings, is subject to emergency surgery and more pain, is put in a noisy environment with strangers bustling around and is sleep-deprived. These factors alone would make many otherwise healthy individuals confused. Add to that recipe the deprivation of the patient from their regular medications (particularly alcohol), upset their body biochemistry, render them hypoxic and give them a concoction of opioids and other agents.
When a patient does become confused in the post-operative period, it is important to ensure that no easily correctable cause has been overlooked. Confusion is often secondary to hypoxia, where chest infection, oversedation, cardiac problems and pulmonary embolism need to be considered. Other important causes to consider include sepsis, drug withdrawal, metabolic and electrolyte disturbances and medications.
The management of the confused patient will include a close study of the charts, seeking information on any co-existing disease (particularly cardiorespiratory), drug record, alcohol consumption and the progress of the patient since the operation. Current medications should be noted, together with the nursing record of the vital signs.
If possible, try to take a history and examine the patient. Ensure that the patient is in a well-lit room and give oxygen by face mask. Attention should be focussed on the cardiorespiratory system, as this may well be the site of the underlying problem. Some investigations may be required to help determine the cause of the confusion. These might include arterial blood gas analysis, haematological and biochemical screens, blood and urine cultures, a chest X-ray and an electrocardiogram.
Most patients with post-operative confusion do not require treatment other than that for the underlying cause. However, the noisy, violent patient may need individual nursing care, physical restraint or sedation. Sedation should be reserved for patients with alcohol withdrawal problems, and either haloperidol or diazepam should be considered in such circumstances. Most hospitals have clearly defined protocols for the management of patients going through alcohol withdrawal. These correlate the anxiety, visual disturbances and agitation of the patient with the degree of monitoring and sedation required.
The body's normal temperature varies and has a range between 36.5 and 37.5°C. The core temperature tends to be 0.5°C warmer than the peripheral temperature. Thus an isolated reading of 37.5°C has little meaning by itself and needs to be viewed in context with the other vital signs. Changes in temperature and the pattern of change are more important. A temperature that rises and falls several degrees between readings suggests a collection of pus and intermittent pyaemia, while a persistent high-grade fever is more in keeping with a generalised infection.
Fever can be due to infection or inflammation. In determining the cause of the fever the following should be considered:
- the type of fever
- the type of procedure which the patient has undergone
- the temporal relationship between the procedure and the fever
Perhaps the most useful factor in trying to establish the cause of a patient's fever is the relationship between the time of onset of the fever and the procedure. Fever within the first 24 hours of an operation is common and may reflect little more than the body's metabolic response to injury. Atelectasis is common during this time and may produce a self-limiting low-grade fever.
A fever that is evident between 5 and 7 days after an operation is usually due to infection. While pulmonary infections tend to occur in the first few days after surgery, fever at this later stage is more likely to reflect infection of the wound, operative site or urinary tract. Cannula problems and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) should also be considered. A fever occurring more than 7 days after a surgical procedure may be due to abscess formation. Apart from infection as a cause of fever, it is important to remember that drugs, transfusion and brainstem problems can also produce an increase in the body's temperature.
A careful history, review of the charts and physical examination will usually determine the cause of the fever. The next stage in management will depend on the state of health of the patient. The fever of a septic process, which has led to circulatory collapse, will require resuscitation of the patient before any investigation. Otherwise, appropriate investigations may include blood and urine cultures, swabs from wounds and drains, and imaging to define the site of infection.
Treatment will depend on the severity and type of infection. The moribund patient will require resuscitation and an educated guess from the surgeon on which antibiotic regimen to use. Surgical or radiological intervention (e.g. to drain an abscess) may be required before the patient improves. However, the well patient may have antimicrobial therapy deferred until an organism has been identified (e.g. Gram stain or culture).
Deep vein thrombosis
Deep vein thrombosis may occur in spite of prophylaxis (see Pre-operative management). Presentation may be silent (60%) or as a clinical syndrome (40%) with calf pain and tenderness, oedema of the leg and/or pain on dorsiflexion of the foot (Homan's sign). Rarely, massive thrombosis occurs with gross swelling of the lower limbs and venous gangrene (phlegmasia caerulea dolens).
Investigations are essential to confirm the diagnosis prior to the commencement of therapy.
Ultrasonography and duplex scanning with Doppler ultrasound have a sensitivity and specificity greater than 90%. Lower limb venography is highly accurate but invasive and is rarely indicated.
Following diagnosis, urgent therapy is required, starting with heparin i.v. in a dose of 20,000-30,000 units per day. The patient is monitored by measurement of the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), which is kept at 1.5-2.5 times the control value. Heparin therapy is continued for 5-7 days and is replaced by oral vitamin K antagonists such as warfarin. The dose of warfarin is adjusted according to the thromboplastin time with reference to an international standard (INR). Heparin is discontinued when full anticoagulation has been achieved and the warfarin is continued for 3-6 months to minimise the risk of further thrombosis and the development of complications (see Leg swelling and Post-operative complications).
Oliguria is a common problem in the post-operative period and is usually due to a failure by the attending medical staff to appreciate the volume of fluid lost by the patient during the surgical procedure and in the immediate post-operative period. For example, the development of an ileus will lead to a large volume of fluid being sequestered in the gut and this 'loss' not being immediately evident. Before the apparent oliguria is put down to diminished output of urine, it is important to ensure that the patient is not in urinary retention. Such an assessment can be difficult in a patient who has just undergone an abdominal procedure. If there is any doubt, a urinary catheter must be inserted. Alternately, many wards are now equipped with ultrasonographic devices capable of providing an accurate estimation of the bladder content.
Diminished output of urine may be due to:
- poor renal perfusion (pre-renal failure: hypovolaemia and/or pump failure)
- renal failure (acute tubular necrosis)
- renal tract obstruction (post-renal failure).
In the assessment of a patient with poor urine output (<30 mL/h), these three possible causes must be considered. Major surgery with large intraoperative fluid loss and periods of hypotension during the procedure might suggest renal tissue damage (acute tubular necrosis), while severe peritonitis with large fluid shifts and no hypotension would be more in keeping with inadequate fluid replacement.
The treatment of oliguria depends on the cause. Pre-renal hypovolaemia is treated by fluid replacement, while poor output secondary to pump failure requires diuretic therapy and perhaps medications (e.g. inotropes, anti-arrhythmics) to improve cardiac function. To give a hypovolaemic patient a diuretic in an attempt to improve urine output may be counterproductive and detrimental.
In acute renal failure the oliguria will not respond to a fluid challenge. Management demands accurate matching of input to output, monitoring of electrolytes and even dialysis.
In summary, most cases of post-operative oliguria are secondary to hypovolaemia, and should be considered to be due to hypovolaemia until proven otherwise.
Any reduction in the sodium concentration in the ECF may be absolute or secondary to water retention. Loss of the major cation from the ECF leads to a shift of water into the ICF. Any clinical manifestation will reflect the expansion of the ICF (e.g., confusion, cramps and coma secondary to cerebral oedema) or the contraction of the ECF in absolute hyponatraemia (e.g. postural hypotension, loss of skin turgor).
Hyponatraemia due to a decreased total body deficiency of sodium is an unusual scenario in the post-operative surgical patient. Any hyponatraemia that occurs tends to be due to dilution and is caused by the administration of an excessive amount of water. While this is a fairly frequent biochemical finding, it rarely leads to any clinically significant problem.
Any hyponatraemia secondary to dilution may also occur with inappropriate antidiuretic hormone (ADH)secretion. The trauma of major surgery will produce an increase in ADH secretion and intravenous fluid must be administered judiciously in the immediate post-operative period. A safe rule of thumb is to restrict the patient to 2 L per day of maintenance fluid until a diuresis has been established. Hyponatraemia can usually be corrected by the administration of the appropriate requirements of isotonic saline. If the patient has a severe hyponatraemia and associated mental changes; an infusion of hypertonic sodium solution may be required.
Hypernatraemia in the post-operative patient is a less common problem that hyponatraemia. Any hypernatraemia is usually relative rather than absolute and occurs secondary to diminished water intake. Patients with severe burns or high fever may also develop hypernatraemia. An increase in the plasma sodium concentration will lead to a loss of ECF volume and relative intracellular desiccation. The first clinical manifestation is thirst and if the hypernatraemia is allowed to persist, neurological problems (e.g. confusion, convulsions, coma) may ensue. Treatment is by administration of water by mouth or intravenous 5% dextrose.
With normal renal function, severe and life-threatening hyperkalaemia is rare. High concentrations of potassium in the ECF can be associated with cardiac rhythm disturbances and asystole. Hyperkalaemia may occur in severe trauma, sepsis and acidosis. Emergency treatment of arrhythmia-inducing hyperkalaemia consists of rapid infusion of a 1 L solution of 10% glucose with 25 units of soluble insulin. The insulin will help drive potassium into the cells and the glucose will help counteract the hypoglycaemic effect of the insulin. At the same time 20 mmol of calcium gluconate can be given to help stabilise cardiac membranes. If an arrhythmia has already developed the calcium gluconate should be given before the dextrose and insulin. Sodium bicarbonate (20-50 mmol) can be given if the patient is acidotic. If the level of potassium is not too high, an ion-exchange resin (resonium) can be given. These resins can be given by enema and they exchange potassium for calcium or sodium. Alternatively, the patient may be dialysed (peritoneal or haemodialysis). In the management of hyperkalaemia it is obviously as important to treat the cause as it is to treat the effect.
Low levels of potassium in post-operative patients are common but hypokalaemia is rarely so severe as to produce muscle weakness, ileus or arrhythmias. Patients with large and continuous fluid loss from the gastrointestinal tract are prone to develop hypokalaemia. If potassium supplements are required they may be given either orally or intravenously. If by the latter route, the rate of infusion should not exceed 10 mmol/h. Faster rates may precipitate arrhythmias and should only be undertaken on a unit where the patient can be monitored for any ECG changes.
The management of haemorrhage in the post-operative period may be approached in several ways. In broad terms, bleeding may be classified as either localised or generalised. If the former, it may be classified as follows:
- primary (bleeding which occurs during the operation)
- reactionary (bleeding within the first 24 hours of the operation)
- secondary (bleeding occurring at 7-10 days after the operation)
If localised, the bleeding is usually related to the operative site and/or the wound. Occasionally, the bleeding may be at a point removed from both these areas, for example gastrointestinal haemorrhage from a stress-related gastric erosion. Bleeding from the wound site is usually indicative of a mechanical problem or local sepsis. Generalised bleeding may reflect a coagulation disorder and may be manifest by the oozing of fresh and unclotted blood from wound edges and with bleeding from sites of cannula insertion.
Most cases of reactionary (and primary) haemorrhage are from a poorly ligated vessel or one that has been missed, and are not secondary to any coagulation disorder. The bleeding point may go unnoticed during the operation if there is any hypotension, and makes itself known only when the patient's circulating volume and blood pressure have been restored to normal. The bleeding in secondary haemorrhage is due to erosion of a vessel from spreading infection. Secondary haemorrhage is most often seen when a heavily contaminated wound is closed primarily, and can usually be prevented by adopting the principle of delayed wound closure.
Post-operative haemorrhage can also be classified according to its clinical presentation. The most common forms are wound bleeding, concealed intraperitoneal bleeding, gastrointestinal haemorrhage and the diffused ooze of disordered haemostasis.
The approach to management will depend on the overall condition of the patient and the assessment of the type of bleed. A stable patient with a localised blood-soaked dressing will be managed differently from a hypotensive patient with 2 L of fresh blood in a chest drain, who in turn will be managed differently from a patient with a platelet count of 15 × 109 L-1 and fresh blood oozing from all raw areas.
In the first case the tendency might be to apply another dressing in an attempt to achieve control by pressure. A more positive approach is to remove the dressing and inspect the wound. In most instances, a single bleeding point can be identified and controlled. In the next case, the patient has a major bleed and this is probably from a bleeding vessel within the operative site. Return to the operating room and formal reexploration must be seriously considered. In the third case, the prime problem is one of an anticoagulation defect requiring urgent correction.
The diagnosis of post-operative haemorrhage is a clinical one, based on knowledge of the surgical procedure, the post-operative progress and an assessment of the patient's vital signs. The blood loss may not always be visible and could be concealed at the operative site or within the digestive tract. The treatment of post-operative haemorrhage depends on the severity of the bleed and the underlying cause. Hypovolaemia and circulatory failure will demand urgent fluid replacement and consideration of the likely cause and site of bleeding. Careful consideration must be given to control of localised haemorrhage and whether re-operation is warranted.
The causes of vomiting after surgery are many, and can be best determined by establishing the relationship between onset of vomiting and the time of the operation. The two most common causes of post-operative vomiting are drug-induced and gut atony.
Vomiting that occurs in the immediate post-operative period is usually drug related. If it is due to the effects of anaesthesia, vomiting will usually settle within 24 hours. Current anaesthetic techniques and modern anti-emetics have rendered nausea and vomiting a relatively minor post-operative problem for most patients.
Vomiting that occurs several days after operation may still be drug related, but in this instance is usually due to an opiate rather than an anaesthetic agent. Vomiting may be secondary to gut stasis, and this atony is usually self-limiting. If prolonged, a prokinetic agent can be effective.
If vomiting starts 7 days or so after abdominal surgery, a mechanical cause for the problem should be considered.
Select the single correct answer to each question.
- A 78-year-old woman develops an arrhythmia 2 days after a laparotomy for perforated diverticular disease. The ECG shows a bradycardia of 30 beats/min and spiked T waves. The only biochemical abnormalities are a potassium level of 6.3 mmol/L (normal range 3.8-5.2) and a creatinine level of 0.2 mmol/L (normal range 0.05-0.12). Her monitored vital signs (including ECG) are normal. What should be your first course of action?
- give a rapid intravenous infusion of 1 L of 10% dextrose containing 25 units of soluble insulin
- give an intravenous infusion of 20 mL of calcium gluconate
- start the patient on haemodialysis
- administer an enema of calcium resonium
- give an intravenous infusion of 30 mmol of sodium bicarbonate
- A 40-year-old man is confused and restless the second day after upper abdominal surgery and repair of a hiatus hernia. The most probable cause of his condition is:
- pulmonary embolism
- narcotic overdose
- pulmonary atelectasis
- electrolyte imbalance
- starvation ketosis
- You are asked to see a patient in your ward, 7 days following a left hemicolectomy. The patient has a discharging wound. The discharge oozes freely between the sutures and is profuse, watery and blood-stained. There are no signs of inflammation. What is the most likely diagnosis:
- dehiscence of the wound
- an anastomotic leak
- discharge from a wound haematoma
- wound infection
- a seroma
- You have been asked to see a 68-year-old woman who has developed abdominal distension 5 days after a total hip replacement. Her abdomen is distended but soft. There is no localised tenderness, and rectal examination is unremarkable. A few scattered bowel sounds can be heard. The plain abdominal film shows gas all the way to the rectum and a dilated caecum and ascending colon. The radiological diameter of the caecum measures 14 cm. What will you do as immediate management of this patient?
- arrange decompression of the caecum by a caecostomy
- arrange a contrast (gastrografin) enema to exclude mechanical obstruction
- prepare the patient for laparotomy and right hemicolectomy
- arrange for decompression by colonoscopy
- insert a rectal flatus tube
- A previously fit 55-year-old man has undergone an emergency right hemicolectomy for a perforated caecal carcinoma. Two days after the operation you note the following on his fluid balance sheet - intravenous input 2 L, nasogastric aspirate 2 L, drain losses 700 mL, urine output 500 mL. Biochemistry shows [Na+] 135 mmol/L, [K+] 3.0 mmol/L, [Cl-] 100 mmol/L, [HCO-3] 27 mmol/L. Which of the fluid balance regimens below would you order for the next 24-hour period?
- 2 L N saline + 3 L dextrose 5% + 50 meq KCl
- 2 L N saline + 1 L dextrose 5% + 50 meq KCl
- 1 L N saline + 3 L dextrose 5% + 100 meq KCl
- 3 L N saline + 2 L dextrose 5% + 100 meq KCl
- 1 L N saline + 1 L dextrose 5% + 100 meq KCl


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MetroMentors, a school-based youth mentoring program, is seeking adult mentors to work with children in DuPage County, according to a news release from the program.
The program matches children in grades one through eight who are at risk academically, socially or emotionally with volunteer mentors who meet with the child at their school for an hour once a week, according to the MetroMentors website. Activities include eating lunch together, school assignments, reading and talking.
The release said that volunteers are particularly in need in Burr Ridge, Downers Grove, Naperville, Wheaton, Willowbrook, Winfield and Woodridge.
For more information on the program, visit metrofamily.org or call Marsha Ndoko at 630-784-4836.


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Back in the day, integrated circuit chips and many other components almost always came in DIP (double inline pole) packages or maybe SIPs (half a DIP, with a single row of pins. These were very convenient for the home tinkerer: the through-hole pins, with their 1/10" (2.5mm) spacing allowed for compact designs, but left enough room for easy home printed circuit layout and manufacture. With a little care, you could even run a signal trace *between* two pins (very helpful when trying to get from pin A on one chip to Pin B on another, when there were several chips on a board. Perhaps more importantly, you could plug them directly into a prototype board, along with your other (leaded) components and a few bits of wire, and prototype an entire working circuit in minutes.
If you wanted to do SMT (Surface Mount Technology, where the components sit flat on the PCB, instead of poking through drilled holes), you could easily bend the pins flat so the devices sat flush on the board. However, as time went on, SMD became so common in industry that a lot of the newer chips were never made in DIP packages. They were made in flat formats with much tinier pins and pin spacings, often under 1 mm. This was bad enough, when you consider that most hobbyists (and techs) used 24-28 gauge wire (.5mm-.32mm diam) to wire their circuits, but Many SMD chips don't have pins at all, only pads. Even if you were willing and able to solder wires to the individual pins/pads, it was painstaking and not always practical
Sure, you can buy all sorts of sockets, adapters and breakout boards (small PC boards that have aa place to solder the SND chip of your desire, and either pins or solderable wire holes to allow you to "break out" the pins to your desired format), but aside from the cost (typically starting at $3 each, today) there are so many SMD chip packages that you never seem to have the one you need on hand, which puts you on hold for a week to order them
Most often, I bit the bullet and made whole sheets of breakout boards myself. I'd lay it out in a graphics or PCB program, print it to acetate, clean a whole copperclad sheet, spray it with photosensitive resist, sandwich it with the acetate in a picture fame, and expose the whole mess to UV (sunlight works) for several minutes, then "develop" them with a special solution, etch them with somewhat caustic chemicals, and dissolve the remaining resist (or leave it to protect the copper until use) then carefully cut them apart. Today many people use a slightly simpler (but to me, much more tedious) laser printer method.
It's really not bad, once you get used to it, but it does take time, and I'd often spread it out over several days. I'd make 100 photo sensitive boards in 1-2 hours one day, and carefully store them. When I needed a new breakout board, I'd do the layout; print the acetate; expose, grab a presensitized board, expose, develop, etch and cut it -- it was a lot of yak-shaving (an entire project you *needed* to do before you could do the project you *wanted* to do), but since I could make 25-100 breakout boards on a single sheet, as easily as I could make one, it was only a pain one every few years, for a given SMD package.
Still, each time I had to make a batch of breakouts for a new SMD package type, I felt here had to be a better way. And there is. I went back to a method I developed in grade school, when I was first learning to etch DIP PC Boards I'd painstakingly drawn on copper boards with an ultrafine Sharpie pen, and/or rub-on transfers (and which often contained mistakes).
Basically, you make your own adapters from modeling clay (I use polymer modeling clay). It takes mere minutes (plus 30-60 minutes unattended in a toaster oven)
In the almost 40 years since I came up with this method, I've never seen it described anywhere on the web, so I guess this is a world premiere. That's kind of shocking.
Hide: This space to be updated with materials tests/reviews


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Since President Obama wants us to have a "national conversation" about gun control, I hope it's not amiss to add some data to the chit-chat. The Sacramento Bee reports that "gun deaths and injuries have dropped sharply in California, even as the number of guns sold in the state has risen, according to new state data." To be specific:
Dealers sold 600,000 guns in California last year, up from 350,000 in 2002, according to records of sale tallied by the California Attorney General's office. During that same period, the number of California hospitalizations due to gun injuries declined from about 4,000 annually to 2,900, a roughly 25 percent drop, according to hospital records collected by the California Department of Public Health.
Firearm-related deaths fell from about 3,200 annually to about 2,800, an 11 percent drop, state health figures show. . . .
The number of California injuries and deaths attributed to accidental discharge of firearms also has fallen. The number of suicide deaths involving firearms has remained roughly constant.
The Bee says that "most of the drop in firearm-related injuries and deaths can be explained by a well-documented, nationwide drop in violent crime." As noted, though, the number of accidental deaths has also decreased and the number of suicides involving firearms hasn't risen.
It may be true that increased gun sales aren't driving the number of deaths and injuries from guns down. But the burden is on gun control advocates to show that increased possession of guns is driving the number of deaths and injuries up. I haven't seen such evidence.
The statistics cited by the Bee don't speak to the effect of increased firearm possession on types of crime such as robbery, burglary, and rape. Economist John Lott has long argued that wider gun ownership means less crime.
Lott's findings are hotly disputed by the left and it is not the purpose of this post to evaluate that debate. My point for now is that Lott's argument that gun ownership deters crime is plausible enough, at least in certain contexts, that it must be part of any legitimate "national conversation" on gun control.
Instead, the left throws a fit when Lott is called upon by media outlets to opine. It has no interest in a genunine national conversation. Neither, I suspect, does Obama.
In any event, to answer Obama's question, no, we're probably not going to be able to have what can pass as a true national conversation.


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The 30 Best Movie Posters of 2011
As a brilliant series of collages recently demonstrated, movie posters are prone to cliché. You've got your quirky Sundance breakthroughs with their sunny yellow backgrounds, your romantic comedy heroines in their bright red dresses, your freaky horror-movie eye close-up. So it's always refreshing to see a poster that strays from the norm, whether it be a funny parody, a nostalgic style homage, or a bold still from the movie that piques our curiosity. After the jump, we've collected some of our favorite film posters of 2011, from movies both wonderful and terrible.
Another Happy Day
It's like the Mad Men intro went to the water park.


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Hey there, Author, checking your Amazon sales rank 15 times a day---why don't you try to be proactive rather than reactive and use some of Amazon's features to your advantage? Why be Amazonymous when you can actively influence your own sales?
www.amazon.com/connect allows authors to set up their own bio page. It's free. And after the first of the year, it will also allow you to contact readers who have bought your book through Amazon.
Mine is here.
www.amazon.com/shorts allows people to download a short story of yours for .49 cents. I'll have a new Jack Daniels story up there in a few weeks. It's great for fans who are anxiously awaiting your next book, and it is also a cheap way for a potential buyer to give your writing a try without plunking down the big bucks. Plus, you make money--every download earns you 20 cents---which is pretty good considering a paperback sale only nets an author 55 cents.
www.amazon.com/listmania allows you to create a list of books that are similar to yours, and which comes up when people do searches on those authors. This is a list of recommended reads that appears in the sidebar when popular authors are searched. One of mine is here.
www.amazon.com reviews are more than just a way to give your author peers a pick me up---you thoughtful comments about their books can lead their readers to you. So release your inner Harriet Klausner and go review some books. This is especially important if you believe in karma.
Don't know what Amazon rankings mean? Neither does anyone else. For a quick and dirty explanation, check out www.fonerbooks.com/surfing.htm. But my own experience and experiments don't necessarily agree.
I do know that Amazon is supplied by the distributor Ingram, and a call to 615-213-6803 can let you know how many books Ingram has shipped for this year and last.
Want to make money from Amazon? You can join Amazon Affiliates at www.amazon.com/associates and get a few cents every time someone orders your book through your site. If you want to link to Amazon, I also suggest you link to other bookstores as well, to give your surfers a choice of where to buy. I personally do not link to Amazon, becuase I've found that indie bookstores dislike it.
So what are you waiting for? Get into the Amazone.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
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They're not making any more farmland, right? Wrong.
"Don't believe that myth," advises Mike Boehlje, an agricultural economist at Purdue University.
The Corn Belt hasn't expanded as if by magic. But the red-hot commodity prices of recent years have stimulated a dramatic increase in new land coming into production around the globe, Boehlje says. In addition, productivity of existing farmland continues to climb as high prices justify more intense management.
All of which means that the globe's agricultural productive capacity is increasing — and it won't be shrinking any time soon. There are other myths to take on, according to Boehlje. Contrary to recent history, agricultural exports won't continue to increase as dramatically as in recent years, although they are likely to remain relatively strong. Ethanol demand won't continue to grow topsy-turvy either, having reached a plateau based on achieving production needed for the 10% ethanol blend mandate.
"This should result in some moderation of the excitement about continuing rising land values," Boehlje says.
Big acreage, productivity hikes
Over the past six years, 130 million acres of new cropland have begun to be farmed worldwide, just 3% of which is in the U.S. Much of new farmland is in Brazil and Argentina, the Ukraine, Russia, the Balkan countries of southeastern Europe, and parts of Asia and Africa, Boehlje says.
"It is quite likely there will be close to 30 million acres added again next year," he adds. The big land development boom will continue until supply and demand reach equilibrium and prices and profit margins fall enough to discourage new investment.
Although the new land generally isn't up to Midwest productivity standards, that will improve with time, assuming crop prices are high enough to provide the incentive, Boehlje says. The new ground will be in production for the long haul and is likely to hold down commodity prices over time.
"The important point is when you bring land into production, because agriculture is a high fixed-cost industry, that land will stay in production even though prices might decline," he says. "Supply response is very lethargic to lower prices. It will not go out of production nearly as rapidly as it came into production."
Defensive strategies
Although worldwide agricultural productivity could take some of the bloom off the U.S. farmland market, Boehlje is not predicting a decline in U.S. farmland values. "I would be surprised if that happens," he says. "We are not predicting a 1980s phenomenon. We are seeing a soft landing for land prices as well as profitability."
That scenario could fall on its face if recent 20%-plus annual price hikes continue for a another year or two, especially if low interest rates don't hold steady until 2015 as currently projected. "If that were to occur, there could be risk of downward adjustment," Boehlje says.
To prepare for likely lower profits, Boehlje suggests holding the line on new borrowing and working to boost working capital.


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Parks and Recreation Finale Scoop: Who's Pregnant?!
May 1, 2013 10:23 PM EDT
Parks and Recreation's season finale will feature a mystery so large only one man can take on the case: Special Agent Burt Macklin! Andy's (Chris Pratt) alter ego will return during Thursday's Season 5 finale (airing 9:30/8:30c on NBC) after evidence… Read more


text: If you don't know why the early-1980s Buck Rogers in the 25th Century TV series is damn near perfect, then this clip from the episode "Escape from Wedded Bliss" will explain it all to you. Earth is in danger because evil Princess Ardala (wearing the purple spangly lingerie and tiara) has declared that she'll use her superweapon to destroy New Chicago unless Buck agrees to marry her. When she zooms down to meet up with Buck, the Earthies throw a reception for her with "traditional folk dancing" which turns out to be disco skating. As if that weren't enough to make you weep with joy, we see Ardala giving Buck the old predatory eye, while two soldiers behind her sport the Gay Uniforms of the future: all white polyester knit with rainbow armbands. Don't thank me for this clip, thank Buck Rogers exec producer Glen Larson, who also worked on the 1980s Battlestar Galactica.


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Xbox One Voice Commands Will Only Work In Five Countries At Launch
Most of the 13 regions that will get the Xbox One in November won't be able to experience the system's vaunted Kinect voice commands at launch.
The news was revealed in an update to the Xbox One official product page, hidden in a footnote at the bottom which reads: "Xbox voice commands will not be available in all markets on the product release date. Voice commands will be available at launch in US, UK, CA, FR, and DE."
So, unless you live in the U.S., U.K., Canada, France, or Germany, you'll have to wait for voice commands. The remaining countries where the Xbox One is launching in November are Australia, Austria, Brazil, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Spain, and New Zealand.
[Source: Gamespot]
Our Take:
While a lack of voice commands isn't a dealbreaker by any means, it's odd that a feature that was so hyped in Microsoft's initial Xbox One reveal event is going to be missing for millions of gamers at launch. It's disappointing news. Let's hope that Microsoft gets a patch out for the remaining launch countries sooner rather than later.


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