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Many of our patients and their physicians are aware that physical inactivity and obesity are at epidemic proportions in the United States, which has resulted in an increased prevalence of chronic diseases. Relatively few, however, realize that both these conditions may be associated with poor memory function.
Let's consider the issue of obesity. Over the years, obesity has truly become a woman's issue. Sixty five million of the 72 million American adults who are considered obese or overweight are women. In addition African American and Hispanic women are much more likely to be obese than white women. So what does being obese or overweight have to do with cognition in women?
Well, recent findings from the Women's Health Initiative, suggest that the more an older woman weighs, the poorer her memory will be. In this study, a total of 8,745 cognitively normal, post-menopausal women ages 65 to 79 underwent baseline cognitive testing as part of their routine evaluation. This study used the Modified MMSE examination ( a 100 point memory test) as the measure of cognitive function. The 3MSE has been widely used in large population based studies as a cognitive tool and has demonstrated good consistency, reliability, sensitivity and specificity for detecting cognitive impairment and dementia. For all women, both waist and hip measurements in addition to body mass index ( BMI) calculations were obtained. All the women were classified into BMI categories that corresponded to the standard World Health Organization classifications for normal weight, underweight, overweight and obesity.
The majority of women in this sample ( 86.6% white) were classified as overweight or obese ( 70%). For every one-point increase in a woman's BMI, her memory score dropped by one point.( p<0.001). These findings were adjusted for age and educational level and remained unchanged after controlling for common chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
When the analyses included waist-hip ratio, BMI and 3MSE, the 3MSE scores for women with low waist-hip ratio decreased as the BMI category increased, although this relationship reversed for women with the highest waist-hip ratios. The 3MSE score increased (i.e. better cognition) with increasing BMI in the highest waist-hip ratio category. These results suggest that women who have a "pear shaped" body type (fat deposited around the hips) have poorer cognitive function compared to "apple shaped" body type women (fat deposited around the waist).
One explanation for these findings is that the production of endogenous estrogen (i.e. "natural" estrogen produced by the body) by abdominal adipocytes ( fat cells) may play a protective role for cognitive function and may be less detrimental than fat in other areas. Further research in this area, and whether any notable differences in the strength and nature of these associations across diverse ethnic groups, will need to be explored.
Check out the articles and links below to learn more:
- Kerwin DR, Zhang Y, Kotchen JM et al. The Cross-Sectional Relationship Between Body Mass Index, Waist-Hip Ratio, and Cognitive Performance in Postmenopausal Women Enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2010.
- Anderson GL, Manson J, Wallace R et al. Implementation of the Women's Health Initiative study design. Ann Epidemiol. 2005.
- Healthier Chicago.org
- Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance
Thanks for reading.
Neelum T. Aggarwal, M.D.
Steering Committee Member, ADCS
This post originally appeared in Alzheimer's Insights, an ADCS Blog.
One Response to "Obesity, Women and Cognition"
Thank you for this blog post. Further solidifys the importance of a healthy lifestyle for women
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Asiana plane wasn't evacuated for 90 seconds after crash
PASSENGERS aboard the Asiana Airlines plane that crashed in San Francisco were initially told not to evacuate the aircraft after it skidded to a halt on the runway, a federal safety official has revealed.
But a flight attendant saw fire outside the plane, and the call to exit was made, 90 seconds after the crash, said National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Deborah Hersman at a San Francisco press conference. The first emergency response vehicles arrived 30 seconds later.
The Saturday crash of the Boeing 777 killed two and injured more than 180.
In her fourth media briefing on the accident, Hersman said three flight attendants and their seats were ejected from the plane after it hit a seawall in front of the runway and lost its tail section.
Two other flight attendants were temporarily pinned inside the cabin when two different evacuation chutes deployed inside the aircraft.
Hersman noted that an immediate evacuation is not always the standard procedure or the correct decision for pilots to make.
"The pilots indicated that they were working with aircraft control," she said. "We don't know what the pilots were thinking but I can tell you that in previous accidents there have been crews that don't evacuate. They wait for other crews to come," she said.
Safety rules require that it be possible to evacuate all passengers from a plane in 90 seconds.
According to interviews with six of the 12 flight attendants on board, there was at first no fire inside the plane, Hersman said. But as the evacuation proceeded fire began to break out in the interior and was fought by flight attendants with fire extinguishers even as emergency personnel began to arrive.
Six flight attendants remain hospitalised and have not yet been interviewed.
Asiana Airlines briefly introduced the other six flight attendants at a separate press event. The attendants have been praised as heroes who pushed for the evacuation and helped passengers out of the smoking plane.
"The primary goal for us was to have passengers evacuate swiftly. That is the only thing I was thinking," flight attendant Lee Yoon-hye, 40, said.
"There was no moment of hesitation about what to do. Because we have done so many training on emergency every year, it was instantly clear about what to do. It was really instant reaction without thinking," said the 18-year Asiana veteran.
Lee, who worked on South Korea's Air Force One in 2000-2003 for then-President Kim Dae-jung, later discovered she had broken her tailbone.
The attendants were hailed as heroes in South Korea, with one newspaper saying they had rescued the country's national image.
Hersman said one of the pilots reported being blinded by a flash of light when the plane was 500 feet (150m) off the ground as it approached the airport. She offered no theory as to what might have caused such a flash.
Hersman said further analysis of the plane's auto-pilot system and automated throttle control were necessary to understand what the pilots did in the final moments of the flight.
The pilot in charge of the plane told the NTSB that he was relying on the throttle control to keep the plane at its proper speed and failed to recognise that the aircraft had slowed dramatically as it approached the runway, Hersman had said on Tuesday. The slow speed was a key cause of the crash.
Hersman again stressed that even if an electronic control system had malfunctioned, the pilots should still have been able to land the plane safely.
"There are two pilots in the cockpit for a reason," she said, and they are responsible for monitoring all aspects of flight, including critical variables like air speed.
The role of increasingly sophisticated electronic control systems on passenger jets - and whether they may be breeding complacency among pilots - was already the subject of fierce debate in the aviation community, and the issue is likely to gain new urgency in the wake of the Asiana crash.
Online Editors

subset: commoncrawl


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Congratulations to Jffok, knew you could do it, 5000!!!!!
Congratulations to Jffok, knew you could do it, 5000!!!!!
way to go both of you!
Congratulations to JFFOK and Rhone those are some awesome milestones...
My congratulations to my good buddy Rhone on reaching 10,000. Great job guy.
I also congratulate JFFOK on making her 5000th find. I sure didn't take you long.
JJFOk, Wow, you have been VERY busy. Congrats on reaching this fantastic milestone. Another party - YEA! ! !
There arent enough days in the weekend.
Rod Schmidt
Congratulations toDaTexanBoy on find #1000!
Great Job Jeremy!
Congratulations to DaTexanBoy on reaching the 1,000 finds milestone! Way to go!
That's great, Jeremy! Where is this? Sure hope you stayed hydrated!


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Basic farming inputs help Yemeni famers re-establish their agro-businesses
Hajj Ahmad Sayed, 61 years old, was one of hundreds of farmers who benefited from the distribution of fertilizer and seeds, which was implemented by UNDP in late 2012 in northern governorate of Sa'ada, Yemen.
- More than 1,500 households were provided with agricultural inputs including 120 MT of Corn seeds and 240 MT of fertilize
- Agricultural Inputs will allow an increase of above 20% in maize production during the rainy season as part livelihood revival efforts
After three years of the last round of conflict in Sa'ada, the economic recovery remains fragile. Agriculture, which represents 90% of Sa'ada economy and employs 80% of the workforce, struggle with numerous challenges mainly the major depletion of water resources and the high cost of inputs especially fuel, seeds and fertilizer. As a result, repeated seasons of failure, many farmers were seriously thinking about quitting agriculture altogether. The problem is that there is no alternative livelihood.
'During harvesting, majority of the farmers leave the apples in the field to rot, while some collect and use them as feed for cattle and hogs' Haj Ahmad complained about the obstacles facing farmers Sa'ada.
He added, 'the government does not provide any support for farmers. Thirty years ago, we found water at only 9 meter, but nowadays we have to dig to 120 meter. High cost of diesel needed to operate pumps from artesian wells'.
In Sa'ada, the main obstacles facing farmers are high cost of agriculture inputs especially fuel, seeds and fertilizer. Besides, there is no cold storage in Sa'ada to preserve products. That is why farmers forced to sell the fruits and vegetables at very low price, which in many cases, below the cost or letting them rot like Haj Ahmad. This problem still exists to now.
'In December 2012, I received – from UNDP- seeds and fertilizer, which are important inputs for farming. This assistance helped me to recover some losses I made in the beginning of 2012'. The estimated cost of these assistance (at that time) was 25,000 YR (=125 USD).
'I utilized the fertilizer in my apple farm, while I kept the seeds to maize planting season in April'.
More than 1,500 households were provided with agricultural inputs including 120 MT of Corn seeds and 240 MT of fertilize. The inputs will allow an increase of above 20% in maize production during the rainy season as part livelihood revival efforts.
The aim of UNDP project is not only to provide vulnerable farmers with inputs that are often beyond their economic means, but also to encourage them to work through government institutions and support their efforts to strengthen the seed systems in the conflict governorate of Sa'ada.
Agriculture plays an important role in Yemen's economy: Although it contributes only to 15 percent of national GDP, it employs more than half of the labor force and provides livelihood to more than two-thirds of the population. In the long-term, improved agricultural output offers the quickest fix for poverty and hunger.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 2004 Food Insecurity Report, all the countries that are on track to reach the first Millennium Development Goal have something in common; significantly better than average agricultural growth. However, Yemen is facing a serious challenge in this regard as it lacks key agricultural infrastructure, such roads, warehouses and irrigation systems resulting in high transport costs, lack of storage facilities and unreliable water supplies. However, UNDP's project has helped more than 1500 farmers like Haj Ahmad to re-establish their agro- businesses after years of war. He and farmers like him can now cope with the situation and continue generations of tradition as farmers and producers.


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|Sony VPL-VW70 Projector
|Thursday, 16 April 2009
Page 1 of 2
Sony has placed the VPL-VW70 at the top position of their current home cinema projector line. I found the design to be reminiscent of the Playstation 3 shell, but with a refined, stylish grace. The midnight black, curved panels on the upper and lower sections of the unit are slick, glossy and frame the unit perfectly. The position of the cooling fans is indiscernible and the front of the projector features a motorized lens cover that effortlessly slides open when the power is turned on. It would almost be a shame to hide the projector from view in a custom home theater installation.
The remote control has a bevy of calibration options not typically found on most projector controls. There are dedicated buttons for raising and lowering sharpness, contrast and brightness. The top of the remote has six buttons for picture modes, three default and three user defined. There's also direct access to gamma correction, color temperature, black levels and other tuning options. You can navigate to these through the on-screen menus of course, but controlling it directly is helpful.
Physically setting up the unit for the first time is a breeze. While somewhat unwieldy, it can easily be placed on a table or large shelf for projection. It can be ceiling mounted as well. The manual provides an extensive table of mounting distances based on screen sizes and aspect ratio. It's also simple to make the lens adjustments for the positioning via the remote.
I spent about 30 minutes calibrating the picture levels using the supplied disc and a couple other calibration DVDs to verify the results. I spent some time with the advanced iris function which can be set to automatic tuning based on the projected scene or manually tuned. The automatic function was definitely preferable for my lighting condition and I could see definite contrast differences in the test material. Some various picture calibration selections include noise reduction, color, hue, film mode and color space. It's worth fiddling with if you need to setup a few different preset viewing conditions based on the source image.
Other menu functions include aspect ratio adjustments based on the source, tweaking the phase or pitch of the input signal, positioning the menu, altering cooling settings based on altitude, power saving modes and lamp settings. If you really want to perfectly tune the picture, the panel alignment adjustment options in the installation menu allow for adjusting gaps in the color of the picture. All of these options are a dream for folks trained on custom calibration of picture quality, but it's also possible that the average consumer could severely mistune the picture without fully understanding the available options.


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Athletes will have the chance to select their own pre-race meal and enjoy the wide array of Port Macqaurie's local restaurants. Dine in your own time and to your specific tastes at your choice of Participating restaurants.
Important information:
• Your Athlete Welcome Dinner voucher will be included in your functions package, and is valued at $30.
• Your Athlete Dinner offer is available anytime between Thursday 2 May and Monday 6 May.
• It is recommended that athletes make any necessary reservations at the participating restaurant of your choice.
Terms & Conditions:
• The Athlete Welcome Dinner offer is valued at $30 only. For any purchase above this price, the difference will need to be paid by the athlete at the time of purchase.
• This offer is not redeemable for cash.
• This offer must be used in one transaction. Any unused value will be forfeited.
• This offer may only be used during the restaurant opening times between Thursday 2 May and Monday 6 May.
• The offer is only valid at the restaurants who are a part of the IRONMAN Australia Athlete Welcome Restaurant Program.


text: If you need a little boost or are seeking a solution for Erectile Dysfunction, a penis pump will get the job done! Penis pumps are easy to use and can add inches and girth you never dreamed of achieving! Shop BetterSex.com and choose from a wide variety of pumps that accommodate any and every sized man.


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If you want top quality and superior cleaning power, this vacuum has a beta powerhead option that is designed to clean in traditional carpeted floors, hardwood or laminated.
Nicknamed the ultra-performance machine, the Oxy3 Ultra captures 99.79% allergens, dust, and tiny particles and also has filter change indicators that signal when the dust bag is full.
All of the controls and tools are in its handle including the rewind for the power cord.
Its features include the unique design that comes with a sealed HEPA filtration system, the MicroSeal fresh air technology, a sensor system, a power nozzle for easy adjustments, an integrated wand system, optimal feedback light that lets you know when the bag needs changing, a 12-amp motor, and tools for dusting, crevices, and upholstery.
The EL 7020B is the company's top model, garnering great and excellent reviews from a good number of its users. The telescoping pole is always being lauded for getting jobs well done under the beds, dressers, and couches.
Its carpeting power is incomparable, regardless of the material that you have—whether it be an area rug or a Berber rug.
This canister Electrolux vacuum cleaner moves effortlessly, ridding you of worry that it will bump into your furniture or crash into your newly painted walls—all that without making much of a noise. For all these, the Oxy3 Ultra is unquestionably the company's pride.


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The timeless power of the trench coat
How the most essential coat in men's and womenswear came to be – and how it's best worn.
The classic beige trench coat has both a traditional and contemporary appeal. It's a masculine garment, developed for troops, which is easily altered to communicate a very feminine aesthetic instead. With sharp cuts it will accentuate your shoulders and by tying its belt you will highlight your waist.
Despite all the glory of a trench coat, its name reveals a tragic backstory. It was in the trenches on the western front of World War I that the item, with shoulder straps and D-rings, got its claim to fame. When the big war began in 1914, the coat was widely worn by French and British troops, but it was invented – or at least developed – more than a decade before by British fashion pioneer Thomas Burberry. Burberry's gabardine coat was water repellent, crease resistant, breathable and untearable, and when he introduced it to the British forces in 1901, it was incorporated into the officers' uniform immediately.
After the turmoil, devastation and unfathomable tragedy of war, the troops that returned from the trenches in Belgium and France kept the practical and dapper coat, and it didn't take long before it was transformed from a symbol of disaster to a symbol of business and success. From the 1920s and onwards, it was incorporated into the female wardrobe and became a staple for the stars of Hollywood's Golden Age.
Wear one that fits well and you will look influential, wear one that's oversized with shoulder pads if you want to be fashion forward, wear it with jeans if you're running errands, wear it with a cocktail dress if you're going out, or just wear it any time, any season, anywhere, because the trench coat is as timeless as it gets. Get a good one and you'll thank yourself for years to come. Few – if any – overcoats are as versatile as the trench coat, and will serve its purpose on so many different occasions.
After having been around for at least 116 years, the trench coat has definitely proven its well-deserved place in fashion history. Wear yours when you want to channel your inner Audrey Hepburn or Kate Moss, when you're slaying at a business meeting or when you're walking the red carpet at the Oscars.
Read about fashion's most iconic items here.
PHOTOGRAPHER Andreas Sjödin
STYLIST Marcus Söder | Link Details
DIRECTOR Max Larsson
MODEL Tandi Reason Dahl | Oui Management
HAIR Cim Mahony | Lalaland Artists
MAKEUP Trine Skjøt | Lund Lund


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June 19, 2013
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Yesterday I was honored to serve as the Judge and High Executor of the annual Intiman Halloween Pumpkin Carving Contest--a pitched, timed battle of skill and daring at which each department battles to the death to determine their supremacy in the upcoming year.
The design elements are crucial to good execution. Mistakes are unacceptable.
Hold the pumpkin as you would a baby you were sacrificing.
Zombies have low dexterity, and should observe rather than carve.
A masterpiece--disturbing, relevant and likely to scare theatregoers.
This year's victor--our friends in production understand brutalism, and know how to use nails with aplomb.
Again, my thanks to all the teams that participated, and it is my earnest hope that I'll be able to reprise my role as Judge in the future as I didn't receive nearly enough bribes this time around.
Dilettante Archives


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Color: Black
Interior: Cloth
Drive Train: AWD
Transmission: Automatic
Vin: 3GNCJPSB4KL129101
Engine: 1.4L L4 DOHC 16V
Kilometers: 30,077
Stock #: C19-847
Skyline Auto Group LTD.
Skyline Auto Group Ltd.
7237 King George Blvd
I hereby consent to receive text messages from or on behalf of dealer at the mobile phone number I provided above. I understand that I am opting in to receive text messages from dealer or their employees. I include consent to receive phone calls at the mobile phone number I provided. I understand that message and data rates may apply.
"...it was my first experience buying a car...there i met with Gagan, very polite, I felt like i was talking with my brother."
"Excellent Service, Homely Feeling!"
"...they were very professional and had great prices. I'll definitely be coming back for my next purchase!"
"...Excellent service by every staff member, ...thanks to Gagan, kind & polite person who explains all features & stuff about cars very well ..."
"...Thank you guys for your understanding. I upgraded it to 5 stars because of the great service they provided after the fact."
"Kudos to the team at skyline...Raj, Bal & Parm thank you for all your professionalism! We'll be back when our next daughter is ready for a car!"
"Great experience and customer service. Definitely worth your while dealing with them. Got me a very solid car within budget and it had all I wanted"
"I bought a BMW-528i from my salesman Shawn. He gave me the best price in town. Thanks for your best service."
"A+. Good deal and good guys."
"Thanks for the hospitality, good service and help in buying good car with poor credit."


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*Price includes processing fee of $599 and excludes tax, title, and license fees.**All Discounted Prices Also include Dealer Discounts, Coupon Event and Manufacture Rebates if Applicable. Dealer Retains Rebate.* While every reasonable effort is made to ensure the accuracy of this information, we are not responsible for any errors or omissions contained on these pages. Please verify any information in question with Beaman Toyota
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Beaman Toyota is proud to serve the Nashville, TN, area with quality Toyota vehicles. With models like the new Camry, Corolla, Prius, Sienna and Toyota Tundra, we have something for every taste and need. Come visit us to see our vehicles and take one for a test drive. Looking to do some research before visiting? Browse our Nashville Toyota Reviews.
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job(redirected from a good job)
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Financial, Idioms, Encyclopedia.
jobnoun assignment, avocation, billet, business, chore, duty, employment, function, labor, mission, occupation, position, profession, responsibility, role, task, trade, undertaking, vocation, work
See also: appointment, burden, business, calling, career, employment, enterprise, labor, livelihood, mission, occupation, office, part, position, post, profession, project, province, pursuit, role, trade, undertaking, work
JOB. By this term is understood among workmen, the whole of a thing which is to be done. In this sense it is employed in the Civil Code of Louisiana, art. 2727; "to build by plot, or to work by the job," says that article, "is to undertake a building for a certain stipulated price." See Durant. du Contr. de Louage, liv. 8, t. 8, n. 248, 263; Poth. Contr. de Louage, n. 392, 394 and Deviation.


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James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British Labour Party politician, who has been a Member of Parliament (MP) since 1983, currently for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath. He served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. Brown became Prime Minister in June 2007, after the resignation of Tony Blair and three days after becoming leader of the governing Labour Party. Immediately before this, he had served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007. His tenure ended in May 2010, when he resigned as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party. Brown was one of only three people to serve in the Cabinet continuously from Labour's victory in 1997 until its defeat in 2010, the others being Jack Straw and Alistair Darling.
Brown has a PhD in History from the University of Edinburgh and spent his early career working as a lecturer at a further education college and a television journalist. He has been a Member of Parliament since 1983; first for Dunfermline East and since 2005 for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath. As Prime Minister, he also held the offices of First Lord of the Treasury and the Minister for the Civil Service.
Brown's time as Chancellor was marked by major reform of Britain's monetary and fiscal policy architecture, transferring interest rate setting powers to the Bank of England, by a wide extension of the powers of the Treasury to cover much domestic policy and by transferring responsibility for banking supervision to the Financial Services Authority. Controversial moves included the abolition of advance corporation tax (ACT) relief in his first budget, and the removal in his final budget of the 10% "starting rate" of personal income tax which he had introduced in 1999.


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A proposed class-action lawsuit filed this week in federal court alleges that hundreds of Illinois youth are imprisoned each year on often technical parole violations and held unconstitutionally through a "kangaroo court" system that restricts access to an attorney.
The suit, filed Tuesday by the Northwestern University School of Law's MacArthur Justice Center on behalf of a teen identified by initials M.H., names Gov. Pat Quinn and Adam Monreal, the chairman of the Illinois Prisoner Review Board.
It seeks class-action status for "all children and teenagers who have been imprisoned or otherwise deprived of their liberty as a result of the unconstitutional" system of juvenile parole.
The suit alleged that juvenile offenders accused of violating parole are often persuaded to waive their right to a crucial preliminary hearing by being told it will help them get home sooner.
Even if that hearing occurs, the juvenile typically has no chance to review the alleged violations and does not have access to legal counsel, both due-process violations, according to the suit.
"This flawed system creates a revolving door that ensures most young people who leave prison will return at some point," MacArthur's attorney, Alexa Van Brunt, said in a statement. "Not necessarily because they commit a new crime, but because the parole process imprisons youth without a hearing based on a mere allegation that the youth committed a minor violation of his parole."
M.H., described as a 17-year-old Chicago boy on parole for a drug conviction, was locked up on Sept. 13 on accusations he failed to keep in touch with his parole officer, according to the suit. The teen, who is "moderately cognitively impaired" and has been in and out of drug and mental health treatment, was asked to sign a piece of paper with the promise it would get him home sooner.
He's since been held for six weeks without a hearing and has had no access to an attorney, the suit alleged.
"I would like a lawyer to help me tell my side of the story," M.H. wrote in an affidavit attached to the lawsuit. "I don't understand a lot about the parole process. I don't understand the rules. I can't speak up for myself in a room full of adults."
The teen wrote that without access to a car the conditions of his parole were difficult to meet. He also said he needed more time to earn his high school diploma and find a job.
According to statistics provided by MacArthur, the prisoner review board in 2011 revoked parole in 65 percent of its 1,132 juvenile cases. More than half of those revocations stemmed from technical parole violations, not new arrests or criminal charges.
Keeping a youth locked up on a parole violation costs taxpayers between $67,000 and $140,000 a year, according to MacArthur.
Representatives with Quinn's office and the Prisoner Review Board were not immediately available for comment.


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St. Peter-Ording, Germany - A lot of the fans were out on the beach this morning in hopes of catching a glimpse of their favorite kiteboarder in action. Day 3 of the Palmolive Kitesurf World Cup in St. Peter-Ording, Germany was a very successfully day under a bright, warm and beautiful blue sky.
Today's weather was just what the doctor ordered, lots of Vitamin D for everyone to share. The temperature reached a high of 22 degrees Celsius, with nearly cloudless skies and fluctuating winds averaging 12 knots.
Smiling, happy people surrounded the event site today and the joyous atmosphere was extremely contagious.
Organizers have made it possible for everyone wanting to shake the stress away by providing fun evenings of music and dancing with live DJ's every night of the week.
The mandatory riders meeting was held exactly at 10:00 am as scheduled. However, the Freestyle competition, which was scheduled to start at 10:30 am was cancelled for the day by race director Olaf Van Tol because of light winds. Instead, Van Tol announced that the Racing event will be held in place of the Freestyle as racing requires less wind to run.
In effect, the Freestyle riders were released early in the day, which gave them the opportunity to catch up with old friends, share some laughs and have a little bit of stress-free fun before the continuation of the freestyle event tomorrow.
Ruben Lenten (NED, Slingshot) was yet again "On The Loose" making an appearance today at the event site in St. Peter-Ording. He warmly greeted old friends as well as eagerly excited fans.
The course racers had nearly perfect conditions today, enabling them to glide gracefully across the North Sea with much ease. The races ran smoothly with no major problems other than a disqualification due to line entanglements.
Once again, Portimao KiteMasters Racing champ Bruno Sroka (Cabrinha, FRA) powered his way through the finish line in the only race held during the day. This time wearing jersey number 3, Sroka is beating an old drum once more, commanding a well-deserved victory and is now at the top of the scoreboard. Local rider Eddy Lansild finished in second place followed by French racer Sebastien Salerno (Gin Kites). This ties Salerno in second place overall with fellow French rider Oliver Dansin (North) with 7 points each while Lansild moved to number 3 position with 9 points.
In the women's division, racing powerhouse Steph Bridge (North, GBR) crossed the finish line ahead of the other women putting her in lead position with 2 points overall. Kristin Boese (Best, GER) finished in second while Portimao Kitemasters race runner-up Fabienne D'Ortoli (Cabrinha, FRA) finished in third. The day's result did not change the overall standings as Bridge still maintains top position. A total of 23 racers competed in today's event and all managed to finished within the time limit except for James Johnsen of Denmark who was disqualified because of line entanglement.
The event was called off for the day around 3:30 pm because the wind died down to a grinding halt. Tomorrow's forecast looks a bit more promising and hopes are still high for the Freestyle competition. The skippers meeting is set for 10:00 am with the first possible start at 10:30 am.
Course Racing Results (after 2 races)
1. Bruno Sroka (Cabrinha, FRA)
2. Sebastien Salerno (Gin Kites, FRA)
3. Olivier Dansin (North, FRA)
1. Steph Bridge (North, GBR)
2. Kristin Boese (Best, GER)
3. Fabienne D'Ortoli (Cabrinha, FRA)


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We've always hated Apple's mice. It took them way too long to integrate secondary buttons and scroll wheels, and when they finally came out with a mouse with those features (the ironically named Mighty Mouse) it was an overdesigned, unwieldy product that was difficult to clean.
So now that Apple has unveiled Mighty Mouse's successor, the Magic Mouse, we approach it with a mix of enthusiasm and skepticism.
The Magic Mouse is definitely something different, bringing the iPhone's multi-touch capability to the mouse.
Now you simply slide your finger along the mouse to perform various actions — vertically to scroll (it can supposedly read the momentum of your finger for faster or slower scrolling) or horizontally to, say, browse through tabs in Safari or pictures in iPhoto.
That's pretty cool, and it eliminates one of the big problems in the Mighty Mouse: the scrollwheel, which would invariably get gunked up quickly.
The flatter design appears more finger-friendly, too, looking a little more like gaming mice from brands like Razer.
It pairs to your Mac (Leopard or later) via Bluetooth and is powered by a pair of AA batteries. It's on sale today for $69 — a decent price that may even bring skeptics like us back. What do you think?


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Richard Nalley, Contributor
I am editor-at-large for ForbesLife
"Years ago, an Italian would hear the word Maremma and think, wild and abandoned,' " says Marchese Nicolò Incisa della Rocchetta. " Now it is very fashionable, this countryside. Of course, some good society' was always around."
The marchese (marquis) would know; he's related to most of it. The Maremma (mah-REH-mah) is a place the guidebooks like to call "Tuscany's Wild West," a once-forgotten region with dark legends of pirates and exiles, witches and plagues. West and south of Siena, and two hours north of Rome, it sweeps from a Tyrrhenian seacoast of limestone cliffs, deserted dunes, and umbrella pines that look like fantasy broccoli forests, across broad plains of olive trees and scented Mediterranean brush, and up to shadowy woodlands and ancient, fortified hill towns. Marchese Incisa's mother's family, the della Gherardescas, became feudal lords over much of this area in the 11th century, and hold onto a considerable swath of it to this day. But it was Incisa's father, Marchese Mario Incisa, who elevated the Maremma to worldwide cachet with a single whim.
It was the elder marchese who dreamed of creating a wine like the great Bordeaux reds he loved…but on the Maremma coast, in an area around Bolgheri previously known for bottling occasionally passable rosé. When Incisa's Cabernet blend, Sassicaia (meaning "place of many stones"), finally reached the market with the 1968 vintage, it incited wine revolutionaries across Italy, thanks partly to its Bordeaux-rivaling depth and lusciousness–from a vineyard in Nowheresville!–and partly to its Frenchified, tradition-flouting cheekiness.
Among other things, Sassicaia transformed the Maremma, and Bolgheri in particular, into a pilgrimage spot for wine lovers and winemakers. This is, it turns out, a perfect place for nurturing grapes that respond to warm, dry autumns–the Maremma is often glowing with an Indian summer at harvesttime. "Back in Piemonte, nature is not totally our friend," notes northern Italian wine icon Angelo Gaja, who began planting for his Ca'Marcanda near Bolgheri in 1996. "Here it is almost never not your friend." Incisa's relatives, the Antinoris, came; then other famous wine names joined in: Allegrini, Biondi-Santi, Frescobaldi. "Statement" wineries rose from the scrubland, including the Lafite-Rothschild joint venture, Rocca di Frassinello, whose monumental Renzo Pianodesigned winery broods like a futuristic prison bunker–in "Renzo red"–above the autostrada.
Sassicaia and the luxury-wine boom sprinkled a pinch of fairy dust over the Maremma, a place whose outside appeal was previously confined to the tourists who swarm on the coast in July and August, and the enclaves of wealthy Florentines and Romans who keep beach houses and hunting cabins there (and keep to themselves). This is not the Tuscany of Renaissance masterpieces and grand classical architecture–it's not even an extension of the cosmopolitan, Anglo- infiltrated countryside the English like to call Chiantishire–but perhaps a few days' diversion from all that, a place kept true to its roots partly by being overlooked. These days well-traveled visitors have begun to absorb its allure–rough old Maremma has been primping up.
Alain Ducasse has opened a sumptuous hotel, L'Andana, here, in a 16th-century former hunting lodge of the grand duke of Tuscany, and there is a small but impressive echelon of destination restaurants–like Caino, in the medieval village of Montemerano, and Ristorante Bracali, in a former corner tobacco store near Massa Marittima–where local chefs are rising to Michelin stardom by (profoundly) rethinking local dishes. There are wild parks and preserves, and emerald coves to explore by hired boat. And there are the abiding pleasures like the old hill towns–very much lived-in and un-boutique-ified–such as Morellino di Scansano, Suvereto, and Magliano in Toscana. All around the stunning, perched towns of Pitigliano, Sovana, and Sorano run hidden hiking trails carved from volcanic rock by the pre-Roman Etruscans.
Although the precise boundaries of the Maremma are open to interpretation, people consider themselves Maremmano from north of Bolgheri, all the way south to Capalbio and the jet-set beach towns of the Monte Argentario, and inland to the hills on the western side of Montalcino. A pocket definition might be that it is the part of central western Italy that was poor, malarial, and had cowboys. Not that it was the cowboys' fault, but if the Maremma hadn't had a bad reputation, it would have had no reputation at all.
It was called Maremma amaro (bitter) and La miseria. Dante placed it on a near footing with Hell, noting of one choice spot in the underworld that, "Even the beasts who abound in the wilds between Cecina and Corneto [i.e., the heart of the Maremma] would call this inhospitable." In another passage he comes across a horrific centaur figure, of which he says, "I do not think Maremma has as many snakes as he has on his back." And on it goes, the poet coupling the region with tales of wife murder, cannibalism, and highwaymen.
Many of the Maremma's image problems arose from the fact that the plains here were long laced with swamps, which bred the anopheles mosquitoes that carry malaria, and provided hideouts and avenues for pirate attacks, most notoriously by the 16th-century woman snatcher, Redbeard. The swamps are finally drained and channeled today, in part courtesy of Mussolini, but the old, defensive pattern of settlement is still visible: Nearly every town of antiquity was built inland, on the hilltops, while an explosion of postwar development has crowded the once-deserted coasts.
There are only two stretches of the year when you wouldn't want to find yourself in the Maremma: the July-August scrum at the beach, and the winter, which by all accounts extends in its harshest impositions only from January to early March (when many of the top hotels and restaurants are closed). The other seasons are famously glorious. The spring features tiny blue borage flowers and brilliant fields of red poppies and wildflowers accompanied by the buzzing of honeybees–honey in these parts having its own rustic connoisseurship and medical tradition. (Heather honey is employed to aid respiration, chestnut honey for anemia, etc.) Ailments aside, the honey is wonderful spread on schiacciata, the squashed white bread (like a strip of focaccia) cooked in oil and salted on top that is the snack food of every schoolchild in Tuscany.
Summer turns the plains of the Maremma into vistas of sunflowers and waving, golden grain, a classic backdrop for paintings by the Macchiaioli, a once-prominent group of late-19th-century Italian Impressionists. Although the premier showcase for their work is elsewhere, in the Galleria d'Arte Moderna on the upper floor of Florence's Palazzo Pitti, Macchiaioli reproductions adorn cafés, shops, and living room walls throughout the Maremma.
The painters were clearly inspired by the special clarity of the local light, something you hear a lot of semi-mystical talk about here. ("It is a factor in how our grapes ripen," claims Carlo Lavuri, a co-owner of the winery Fortediga near Ribolla. "The agronomists, I am not kidding you, are studying this.") The Macchiaioli also apparently couldn't get enough of folkloric scenes depicting the local Maremmano cowboys, the butteri, on their blocky-headed Maremma horses (a breed still extant here), aided by their Maremma sheepdogs (ditto), often with their herds of hardy cattle (uh-huh).
At the time the Macchiaioli were painting, the butteri were enjoying their moment in the spotlight, having bested Buffalo Bill's Wild West show cowboys in an 1890 bronc-busting challenge before 20,000 spectators in Rome. The shrewd butteri, so one story goes, knew that their half-wild Maremma herd–they provided the day's broncos–consisted of "one-man horses," who would consent to being bridled only by them.
Though their role today is largely reduced to offering trail rides and staging exhibitions (and updating their website, www.butteri-altamaremma.com), the butteri loom large in the consciousness here, the beau ideal of the rugged, nonsense-free, man-of-few-words Maremmano. (One tourist website calls the locals "abrupt but frank and joyful.")
The Maremma seems to bring out the inner buttero in many people, visitors and locals alike. At Satoma Equitazione, an outfitter in Cecina catering to western Tuscany's version of the mink-and-manure set, owner Giovanni Rindi explains the appeal of the type: "Maremma horses and Maremma men are rustic and strong."
"This is," he adds, "a difficult land."
The biggest difficulty most of Rindi's customers would seem to anticipate is having their credit card refused. We are staring at a wall of handsome, hand-tooled saddles: English, Western, and, for the die-hards, a version of a buttero saddle in rich, leather-trimmed suede, filled with jute, horsehair, and hay over a heavy wooden yoke. The smell of tanned saddle leather pervades the store, a warren of almost claustrophobically well-stocked small rooms.
Rut riding gear is just a part of it; Satoma is a comprehensive response to Maremman weekender preoccupations, especially those that come to the fore in the hunting season. A glass case of collector-quality knives features a wicked little boar-skinning blade–the cinghiale, or wild boar, being both the symbol and the preferred prey of the Maremmano–and a mushroom cutter with a brush at one end; gatherers use it to sweep spores into the hole they've just left, ensuring that they can find another mushroom in the same spot. Satoma also has racks of hunting jackets, including Rindi's own version of a traditional Tuscan bird-hunting coat with floppy side pockets and a zippered compartment across the back. Stuffing his arm into one jacket's back pocket, Rindi sums up the influx of toffs into the Maremma: "You used to put the pheasant in here; now you carry home the newspaper."
Not that there is any shortage of people actually shooting. Back in the hills you hear the pop-pop-pop all early morning long in the late autumn. Down on the plains, idling in traffic, I saw a skirmish line of four hunters marching across a tilled field directly beside the road, with houses crowded close on the other three sides. I could only hope they were stalking gophers.
The autumn months here are not unusually blessed with a succession of warm spells; it is not unheard of for people to swim in the sea right up until November. Wine harvests can begin as early as the end of August in the hot Val di Cornia region near Suvereto, and even the last holdouts in Bolgheri are usually done by mid-October, the roads free of congestion once more.
With the wine grapes in, farmers turn their minds to olives, and portable olive-pressing equipment seems to pop up all over. Checking into the country hotel Villa il Tesoro outside Massa Marittima one afternoon, I stepped into the reception room to deafening noise and people shouting to be heard on the other side of a door. I cracked the door open, and a green, wafting aroma of fresh-pressed oil hit my nose. At the same time, my brain was adjusting to the mildly surreal sight of an ordinary conference room repurposed for the season with whirring, sloshing stainless steel machinery.
A few days later, I stood in the Piazza Belvedere in the hill town of Castagneto Carducci, watching the smoke of small fires drifting here and there around the horizon as olive growers cleared away underbrush in preparation for harvest. Looming behind me was the Castello della Gherardesca, providing a long perspective in time to rival the distant views. The della Gherardescas, once lords over this horizon, have been watching olives ripen from this spot for a thousand years. The Castello, a private residence still occupied by the family, stands at the highest point of this lovely medieval town. On one side, in the castle's forecourt, stands a statue of the della Gherardescas' legendary ancestor Ugolino, who either did or didn't eat his own children after being imprisoned by rivals in Pisa. (The family–whose lineage also includes a pope and saints–seems rather proud of the old boy.) On another side, lodged in the castle's walls, is the town's ancient church, a hushed, dark place with checkerboard tile floors and a soaring wood-beamed ceiling. Accessed from inside the castle by the family (they worship in a shuttered aerie high above the altar), the church's main entrance opens onto a public street. The castle's last remaining turret is now Castagneto Carducci's signature bell tower.
The town unwinds in concentric circles from the castle grounds–narrow streets of old, shoe-buffed paving stones and walls of faded khaki and yellow ocher. From the plains, its jumble of rooftops resembles the town David Leavitt and Mark Mitchell described in their book In Maremma as "a clutter of dark stone houses piled on their hill like luggage at a station."
Poking around old hill towns like Castagneto Carducci can sometimes turn up fascinating and very particular enterprises. At Via Garibaldi 5A/7, Anna Maria Costa presides over Emilio Borsi, a.k.a. L'Elixir, a brick-walled, industrial-looking space with wooden display shelves overflowing with artisanal honeys, figured olivewood kitchen implements, and local confections like the dry cookies called "bones of the dead." The glory of the place, though, are the witchy concoctions Costa and her husband stir up in their tiny laboratory next door: There is a head-fogging grappa; a "shepherd's liqueur" flavored with lemon, vanilla, and fresh milk; and the L'Elixir China Calisaja, an addictive, complex, bitter drink said to possess medicinal properties. ("So: No more malaria!" says Costa as we part.)
At Sartoria Arte e Moda, Romanian émigré tailor Florin Cristea has made himself at home in the idiom of Tuscan country clothes. Around his tiny shop in various stages of completion hang hunting jackets in corduroy and moleskin, a tweed sport coat or two, and at least one sleek pair of knickerbockers with deer-bone cuff buttons. Cristea's clientele, he wished me to know, includes aficionados as far afield as Manhattan and "Toolza," which I finally understood to be a city in Oklahoma.
Two statements in western Tuscan farm-direct foods (which also provide insight into ingredients you discover on restaurant menus) can be found at Macelleria Franchi and, across the narrow Via Vittorio Emanuele, the fruit and vegetable store La Cerreta. Gianfranco Franchi–a leader in the Maremma's nascent organic foods movement–runs a boutique butcher shop with vivid cuts of meat displayed like gems in a lit case, and a bookshelf crammed with jars of his all-natural pasta sauces and spreads. (I will raise my right hand to testify for the rabbit sauce and the truffled lard.) La Cerreta–with million-dollar hill views out its back window–sells its own label honeys, pâtés, and chestnut creams, and offers woven baskets piled with forest fruits I'd never seen, including one that looked like a red olive and tasted something like a date.
I was destined to be denied another local taste treat, however. "I am sorry we can't serve you porcupine," said Carlo Baccheschi Berti, keen huntsman and lord of the manor of Castello di Vicarello. "It is a big favorite with Maremma people; they pan-sauté it with apples."
"But," he shrugged, his tone communicating a broad, conspiratorial wink, "porcupines are protected."
Baccheschi Berti and his wife, Aurora, preside over one of the more eccentric and thoroughgoing fairy-tale environments you will ever rent a night in. A few days after my visit to Castagneto Carducci, I drove back into the Tuscan hills to see them at Vicarello, their elaborately restored 12th-century fortress. Winding miles of sparingly marked road beyond the village of Poggi del Sasso, Vicarello is almost comically hard to find (even for my GPS, which at one point directed me into a neighbor's private driveway).
But the journey is all part of Vicarello's epic sense of dislocation. Eventually you drive out onto a steep promontory–you really don't want to pull too far forward in the parking lot–with the stone castle rising above its terraced gardens and vineyards. The mountaintop views take in rumpled, thickly forested ridgelines and shadowed valleys all the way out to the glinting Tyrrhenian Sea.
A few minutes after climbing my way up the bumpy, ancient flagstones–Vicarello is a sturdy-shoe kind of place–I was in my room: two substantial stone chambers with a fireplace you could turn a haunch of venison in, and an iron-trimmed wooden door out of Ivanhoe. Except that this version of medieval romance reflects the Baccheschi Bertis' journey here from the fashion and advertising worlds of Milan via Southeast Asia. The former point of departure explains the suite's wavy, patent leather sofa and (real) zebra-skin rug; the latter why the suite also features a massive Indonesian daybed–and why some of the staff in this remote mountain fastness is Sri Lankan, and the Ayurvedic spa therapist Indian.
A couple of hours later I crossed the castle keep and joined Aurora and Carlo in their design-magazine-worthy (and much-photographed) kitchen, with its blown-out-of-residential-scale, stone barrel-vaulted ceiling. Like much of the rest of Vicarello, which the Baccheschi Bertis found in ruins, this interior was painstakingly constructed by masons from the castle's old stones and from fieldstone quarried on the grounds.
We sat down to dinner at a long table in the glass-enclosed terrace adjacent to the kitchen–a reminder that this is to some extent the Baccheschi Bertis' personal, floating house party. You go with the (mostly charming) flow or go home. A friend who stayed here some months back fell to talking–and drinking wine–with the owners and fellow guests, and dinner didn't make it onto the table until 11 p.m.
During my visit, with just the three of us, dinner arrived on time, at about 8 p.m., and stretched into very pleasant hours, a few slices of sopressata sprinkled with orange zest here, a pork liver stuffed with fennel and bay leaves there, accompanied by Vicarello's own very pricey and astonishingly elegant wine, grown right outside the window. Aurora told me that she believed the castle was built on an ancient "power spot," because of the Romanesque chapel here that long predated the castle. There followed tales of the sieges that had ultimately left the castle a hulk (though looking down from the arrow slits in the thick walls of my room, you'd have to like your chances, even today). Carlo talked of hunting boar and birds on his 400-hectare preserve in the hills behind Alain Ducasse's L'Andana, and brought out some tortellini stuffed with a pheasant he'd shot a few days earlier. The night beyond the glass walls turned a profound, unsullied black, making our candlelit circle of light all the more companionable.
When Carlo had boasted earlier in the evening that Vicarello's wine was "going to give Sassicaia some serious competition," I had thought him deeply misguided; a glass or two later, I wasn't so sure. The way of the world is changing in the Maremma; new people are opening the stodgy old place to surprising possibilities, and long-entrenched hierarchies may be up for a shuffle.
It is true that underneath it all, the Maremma remains stubbornly itself. But still, as Carlo continued the pan-Italian meal by carving a slice of meltingly tender stinco di vitello–braised veal shank–onto my plate, I figured that, for this night at least, the porcupines were safe from me.
Castello Di Vicarello
High on a hill with panoramic views, squarely in the middle of nowhere, a stirringly restored castle dating to 1100. Enjoying Vicarello means going with the flow: The menu is fixed, and you take meals with the owners and other guests. Note, too, that à la carte dinner, wine, and breakfast requests are expensive.
Poggi del Sasso, Località Vicarello. $503$1,494; 39-0564-990-718, www.castellodivicarello.it
Il Pellicano
This glamorous cliffside hotel, far out on the Monte Argentario peninsula, has a strong following among Anglophones and Roman weekenders. It's a whitewashed, cypress-circled, very Mediterranean-feeling property with rooms you wished were a little larger, and cottage suites you wish were a little cheaper. You eat wonderfully well, both on the informal, sunny terrace and in the Michelin-starred main dining room.
Porto Ercole, Località Sbarcatello. $802$2,340;
39-0564-858-111, www.pellicanohotel.com
If Alain Ducasse's tranquil, elegant country hotel, a former ducal summer palace from the 16th century, feels more "south of France" than "Maremma," you don't much care: It is exceedingly comfortable in its own crisp, modern fashion. With its sumptuous, personal-scale ESPA spa and a nine-hole, foothills golf course, this makes a fine two-day stopover.
Località la Badiola. $748$2,447 for a Prestige Suite;
39-0564-944-800, www.andana.it
Lacure Villas & Pamela O'Shea
Given that the better hotels are few and far between, consider renting a villa. Pamela O'Shea, a stylish, omni-connected American who represents LaCure Villas, has a portfolio that runs from aristocratic palaces to the seaside stronghold that was Giancarlo Giannini's pad in Quantum of Solace. She also customizes tours of the region.
Villas start at about $4,078 per week. email@example.com, www.lacurevillas.com
Many restaurants close on Mondays and Tuesdays, and for the winter.
Commencing with the bread basket–the bacon croissants are coming with me on my life raft–the tasting menu from Michelin two-star chef Valeria Piccini at this tiny restaurant in the medieval heart of Montemerano is transporting, but as grounded as the fields and woods outside town. The wine list alone is worth a pilgrimage. And there are guest rooms upstairs where you can sleep it off.
Montemerano, Via Canonica 3; 39-0564-602-807, www.dacaino.it
Enoteca Tognoni
Bolgheri, offering stellar flights of the local gems presided over by enthusiastic, knowledgeable Francesco Tognoni.
Bolgheri, Via Lauretta 5; 39-0565-762-001,
Ristorante Bracali
from Francesco Bracali's gleaming, flameless kitchen (equipped with induction ovens and Pacojets) is a knockout. The dishes seem out-there–triangles of grape-must gelée on a bed of pureed foie gras with fennel "pasta," shredded chicken and a dollop of Parmesan ice cream–but are rooted in regional traditions. With gracious elbow room and brother Luca, a renowned sommelier, out front, this Michelin one-star should be on the way to two.
Ghirlanda (near Massa Marittima),
Via di Perolla 2; 39-0566-902-318,
Ristorante Ombrone
This gem in the lovely hill town of Suvereto is the lair of olive-oil-obsessed speed talker Giancarlo Bini, who will gladly (even insistently) lay out a multi-oil tasting while you wait for your meal. The food can be very good: My fish was so fresh that it was still bleeding from a speargun wound.
Suvereto, Piazza del Giudici 1; 39-0565-829-336, www.ristoranteombrone.it
Trattoria Toscana
The inevitably Michelin-starred restaurant connected to Alain Ducasse's L'Andana has an ordered-from-a-catalog Tuscan-farmhouse look. You don't feel the soul in the cooking either, which is enjoyable but not inspired pan-Italian, with a nod toward local ingredients. The wine list, including good wines from L'Andana's own vineyards, is very fairly priced, which helps a lot.
Badiola, Località la Badiola; 39-0564-944-577
Castagneto Carducci
Emilio Borsi (a.k.a. L'ELIXIR)
Anna Maria Costa's eclectic shop sells beautiful figured olive wood pepper mills and local cookies and sweets, but the fame of the place rests on the all-natural–possibly medicinal, definitely mood-improving–liqueur concoctions, which she mixes up next door.
Via Garibaldi 5A/7;
39-0565-766-017, www.borsiliquori.it
Macelleria Franchi
Organic-leaning butcher Gianfranco Franchi makes bottled pasta sauces, truffled lardo, and other preserved treats with deep layers of old-world flavor.
Via Vittorio Emanuele 28; 39-0565-763-406, www.macelleriafranchi.it
Sartoria arte e moda
Want your hunting kit sewn up from scratch? Tailor Florin Cristea is an old hand at outfitting country squires, Tuscan style.
Via Vittorio Emanuele 50; 39-0565-763-694
Satoma Equitazione
The Rindi family's gear-up store for weekend sportsmen, crammed to the rafters with everything from fine leather saddles to Giovanni Rindi's own-design Tuscan hunting jackets.
Piazza della Libertà 63;
Bottega Artigiana
Wander off the more touristed streets of the fairy-tale city of Pitigliano and you find small shops like this, where leather master Rodolfo Cilento labors among his hides, making handsome, multicolored handbags, backpacks, gloves, and other wares.
Via Roma 87; 35-0564-616-218
Trama e Ordito
Alessia Brunetti hand-looms traditional Tuscan scarves and fetching children's knitwear, many from her own designs.
Piazza G. Garibaldi 99; 39-3358-309-565


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From Design Taxi:
The World's Scientifically Most Beautiful Woman?
By Anthea Quay
UK-based 18-year-old student Florence Colgate has the most naturally perfect face, according to British lifestyle and entertainment show 'Lorraine'.
According to The Daily Mail, a woman's face is said to be most attractive when the distance between her pupils is just under half of the distance between her ears. Colgate scored a 44% ratio.
The distance between a woman's eyes and mouth should be just over one-third the measurement of her hairline to chin. Colgate scored a 32.8% ratio.
"Florence has all the classic signs of beauty," Carmen Lefèvre, of The Perception Lab at the University of St Andrews' School of Psychology, told The Daily Mail. "She has large eyes, high cheekbones, full lips and a fair complexion. Symmetry appears to be a very important cue to attractiveness."
"Although we don't realize it in everyday interactions, in most people's faces the right and left half are actually quite different."
The blue-eyed blonde—who's currently studying 'A'-levels at the Dover Grammar School, and works part-time at a seaside chip shop in Deal, Kent—has never had any plastic surgery or chemical enhancements, and normally wears only light foundation, mascara, concealer.
For the natural beauty contest 'Lorraine: Naked' (where no make-up or cosmetic enhancements of any kind were allowed), Colgate won a trip to a London model agency and will be featured on billboards and posters in beauty and health retailer Superdrug stores.
Colgate told The Daily Mail that she would love to have a career in modelling but "is currently studying business, geography and psychology, and intends to do business management at university."
"Women should not have to feel that they have to wear makeup," Colgate said. "I hope people will look at me and think they don't need to. I'm very happy with the way I look and I would never have any plastic surgery or Botox."
Can science define beauty, in your opinion?
See more photos here.


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BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria has moved the first batch of chemical weapon materials out of the country after transporting it from two sites to the port city of Latakia and onto a Danish vessel, the international chemical weapons watchdog said on Tuesday.
"The vessel has been accompanied by naval escorts provided by Denmark and Norway, as well as the Syrian Arab Republic," the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said in a statement. "It will remain at sea awaiting the arrival of additional priority chemical materials at the port."
Syria agreed to abandon its chemical weapons by June under a deal proposed by Russia and hashed out with the United States after an August 21 sarin gas attack that Western nations blamed on President Bashar al-Assad's forces. Damascus blames rebels for the attack.
War, bad weather, bureaucracy and technical issues delayed a December 31 deadline for the removal of the most deadly toxins from Syria. The OPCW did not say what percentage of the "most critical" chemicals, including around 20 tonnes of mustard nerve agent, were on the Danish vessel.
"A first quantity of priority chemical materials was moved from two sites to the port of Latakia for verification and was then loaded onto a Danish commercial vessel today," the OPCW statement said. It said that maritime security was being provided by Chinese, Danish, Norwegian and Russian ships.
The Syrian government is responsible for the safe packaging, transport along roads to Latakia - including the main highway from the capital where rebels are still active - and removal of chemical weapons.
Reporting by Oliver Holmes; Editing by Alison Williams


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Reverse auctions have saved agencies 17 percent on some past purchases.
The General Services Administration launched an online reverse auction tool on Monday that it said will help agencies pay lower prices for common office supplies such as laptops, computer monitors and tablets.
Agencies can also use the reverse auction site to buy simple services such as technology training and installation, according to a GSA news release.
In a reverse auction, an agency seeks a product or service and vendors compete to offer the lowest price. Bids usually fall the longer the auction goes on. The procedure is typically used for simple purchases where cost is the most important factor in an agency's buying decision.
Agencies have saved up to 17 percent by using reverse auctions, GSA said. The new Web tool can be used with many vendors GSA has pre-established contracts with through its Multiple Awards Schedule or blanket purchase agreements, the agency said.
"Reverse auctions also provide greater transparency into prices paid, which improves the government's ability to negotiate with vendors to receive best pricing possible," GSA said in a statement. "The reverse auction platform also captures line-item data by agency bureau, which will aid agencies in performing prices paid analysis and provide insights into purchasing behavior for strategic sourcing opportunities."
(Image via Dragon Images/Shutterstock.com)


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Leiria lār´yə [key], town (1991 pop. 27,531), capital of Leiria dist., W central Portugal, in Beira Litoral. It is an agricultural trade center producing leather goods and cement. There Alfonso I erected (beginning 1135) a castle on a cliff above the present city; it was taken and retaken in the wars with the Moors. In 1254, Alfonso III summoned to Leiria the first Cortes to have representatives of the towns. The first duke of Braganza, son of an illegitimate son of John I and a daughter of Nun' Álvares Pereira and ancestor of the Braganza royal line, was reared there. At Marinha Grande, near Leiria, is the national glass factory. One of the first printing presses in Portugal was opened in Leiria in 1466.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Spanish and Portuguese Political Geography


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What do you think of when you hear the word "drug and alcohol rehab centers"? You may think all drug and alcohol rehab centers are alike, but the truth is that they're not. There are different types, and they serve different types of needs. Some provide posh accommodations complete with generously stocked refrigerators, luxury bedrooms and over-friendly staff to make your whole stay vacation-like. Then, there are those that resemble hospitals.
In the past, most drug and rehab centers were only a few steps away from resembling jails. They looked like prison and they felt like prison, except that you could always leave at any time. Of course, if you did, you might never be let in again. However, you won't necessarily be suffering when you are in rehab, although you will find yourself working harder than ever before.
There are drug and alcohol rehab centers that are solely for alcoholics, and then there are those that take in only the users of a certain drug. There are also treatment centers that take in only repeat visitors, women, men, teenagers, the elderly, or people who don't just suffer drug and alcohol addiction, but also psychological problems.
Additionally, there are rehab centers for people of a certain religion and centers for those who do not want religion to play any part of their rehabilitation. Many treatment centers are anchored on the "twelve-step" program. For the "twelve-step" program to be effective, you would have to believe in a "higher power". If this doesn't cut it for you, try a treatment center that offers an alternative system to get the same message across.
One specific example of religion-specific drug and alcohol rehab centers are Christian-based rehabs. Naturally, these programs have a lot of religious elements involved, which is why as I have stressed before, they are not for everyone. If you do not believe in the core principles of the religion involved, then the specially designed treatment course will not be effective on you.
For the most part, drug and alcohol rehab centers are classified according to the principles behind the treatment. For example, there are centers that follow a client-centered approach. There are also centers that follow the many different paradigms for psychoanalytic treatment. Then, there are the hybrids. These are the drug and alcohol rehab centers that combine at least two different schools of thought where rehabilitation is concerned.
When you are getting treatment, you can choose to either be an inpatient or an outpatient. Experts recommend residential programs because these are far more intensive and usually more effective. In any case, given how varied treatment approaches are, it's important to do a little research on the drug and alcohol rehab centers that are on your shortlist. Go ahead and do this. Get in touch with the centers that you are considering, and talk to them about what methods they use for treatment and if it fits in with your belief system. Once you know what to expect, you will see that no matter what substance you are addicted to, there are people who can help.


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Memorial Day has just passed, it's fitting to take a look at one of the oldest facilities in the United States for housing soldiers Jackson Barracks, in the Ninth Ward on St. Claude Avenue. It's been through a lot since 1833-hell and high water, literally. The old building could tell us some stories about all the military heroes, known and unknown, who served their country there, including some latter-day heroes who helped get New Orleanians out of harm's way during Hurricane Katrina. You can visit the Jackson Barracks Military Museum and see military artifacts dating back 200 years. That trip is easily combined with a visit to the Chalmette Battlefield, part of the Jean Lafitte National Park and Preserve, where you can see the site of the legendary Battle of New Orleans, fought January 8, 1815.
Jackson Barracks, originally known as New Orleans Barracks, was built after the War of 1812. The first militia, consisting of four infantry companies, were housed there in 1837. Built on the river, the original facility had a storehouse, four three-story guard towers, and a prison. It had its own levee, road, railroad, and trolley car tracks. Ulysses S. Grant, George B. McClellan, Robert E. Lee, P. G. T. Beauregard and J.E.B. Stuart, were all in these Barracks before the Civil War, although not all at once. After the Mexican-American War, it became the earliest Public Service Hospital for soldiers in the nation in 1849.
New Orleans Barracks was renamed in 1866, Jackson Barracks, honoring Battle of New Orleans hero Andrew Jackson. Federal troops regained it from Confederate forces in 1862. Later, the famous Buffalo Soldiers, the first African-American regiments in the Civil War, were housed there.
Jackson Barracks was a federal muster station during World War I, but thereafter became the home of the Louisiana National Guard. It was flooded in 1912 when the Mississippi River topped the levees, and parts were lost .
During the Depression, Louisiana Governor Huey P. Long managed to get WPA funding to renovate Jackson Barracks. The federal government again took it over during World War II, when it became a port of embarkation for men preparing to ship overseas . After World War II, it went back to the state of Louisiana for the use of the Louisiana National Guard.
Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the subsequent levee break of the Industrial Canal inundated the facility with 20 feet of water, totally destroying it . The National Guard helicopter pilots helped rescue stranded residents , who were first evacuated by boat to the Mississippi River levee. The federal government recognized the need to rebuild this national historic treasure, and funded 100% of the necessary rebuilding, at a cost of $325 million. Today, the historic buildings have been brought back to their original designs, but everything is state-of-the-art. It's an important piece of American history, and it's special to New Orleanian's. Memorial Day is never far from our minds.


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Trail Ridge closes for the season
Trail Ridge Road, the popular highway linking the east and west gateways of Rocky Mountain National Park, has officially closed for the season.
On Tuesday, Oct. 22, Park officials announced winter conditions, high winds and freezing temperatures mandate the road to be closed for winter. The road reaches an elevation of 12,183 feet with few guardrails and no shoulder. Trail Ridge is currently closed at the Colorado River Trailhead on the west and Many Parks curve on the east, but the Park remains open to visitors.
The closure eliminates one of only a few suitable highways accessing Estes Park as road crews work to repair road damage following September floods east of the Continental Divide.
Road conditions and updates are available by calling the Park's Information Office at 970-586-1206.
Leia Larsen can be reached at 970-887-3334 ext. 19603.
Start a dialogue, stay on topic and be civil.
If you don't follow the rules, your comment may be deleted.


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I need a new E-14 fluorescent bulb of 9W for my aquarium since previous was 15W and got burned. People recommended to drill holes in aquarium's lid to allow convection but since former bulb was 15W, overheat probably caused it to burn.
Now i am considering if to buy bulb with 3-year warranty or without since the latter is cheaper. Do you think buying with 3-year warranty one would be better than without warranty for examining how it will work without drilling any holes first? The worst case is that bulb is burned and i got a replacement and know that i will need to drill holes for stable operation?


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Here you'll find games specifically designed for age groups 10 and up to help reinforce educational ideas and that start to provide added challenges like strategy and logic.
Copyright © 2008-2019, Puzzle Warehouse, All rights reserved.
Puzzle Warehouse recycles everything it can to save the environment and to keep costs and prices low.
We are Hiring! Please fill out the employment form or send your resume to email@example.com.


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Digital datasets and/or hardcopy can be ordered for the price of copying, shipping and handling from the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC).
NCDC also keeps some recent satellite data on-line.
NOAA keeps a complete GOES digital data archive back to 1979.
You can download raw broadcast data from the NOAA's CLASS Archives, in the GOES format known as GVAR.
To get a regional image, use their graphical user interface.
Some other interesting servers of weather and earth science imagery are:
NCDC Federal Building 151 Patton Avenue Asheville, NC 28801-5001 Phone 704-271-4800 option#5 Fax 704-271-4876 email email@example.com
There are pictures of a GOES-I/M satellite folded up for shipping and launch. It is an 8-foot cube of antennas and gold foil.
We have artist's drawings of GOES-N/P
NOAA/NESDIS Office of Satellite Operations posts routine information, plus the daily news, as does the Satellite Services Division.
We keep a central index here. We also try to keep track of all the other civilian geosynchronous weather satellites.
A good web site for sea surface temperature is:
Satellite Sea Surface Temperatures from NOAA-PMEL
At NASA-GSFC, a "nav" file for each sector lists the latitude and longitude for each pixel (see the corresponding "readme.nav.txt" file for details). The "nav" file is used to draw geopolitcal maps in TIFF and GIF formats that you can use as an overlay.
GOES 12 Imager frame 113 at UTC 20:45:18.281 day 121 of 2003 Vis pixels: 4025, 24860 lines: 2445, 13264 Vis Lon :999999,999999 Lat :999999,999999 Imager ch1:count(0,1023) => [(albdo-0)/0.4]^1 =Uchar> (0,255) (xscale,yscale) => (0.047619,0.0833333) Vis pixels: 3650, 28850 lines: 2250, 14250 (xstride,ystride) => (21,12)
GOES image calibration is performed using NOAA's calibration coefficients embedded in the broadcast data stream. For more information on GOES calibration, check out the tech notes.


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a gleam in someone's eye
gleam in (one's) eye
1. A facial expression that denotes happiness, amusement, or knowledge of a secret. Just when Rita thought all hope was lost, Jared got a gleam in his eye that told her he had a plan to get them both out of that sticky situation.
2. A hope or plan that is not yet in existence. You were not even a gleam in your mother's eye when that photo was taken.


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Restaurant Equipment Dealers near Glynn, Louisiana
Looking for Restaurant Equipment Financing?Get INSTANT Online Quotes from the leading Restaurant Equipment Lenders. Fast, Free and NO SALES REPS!
Local Restaurant Equipment Dealers
near Glynn, Louisiana
Cayard's Inc.
4215 Choctaw Baton Rouge , LA 70805
Holbrook's Inc.
4433 Florida Blvd. Baton Rouge , LA 24018
8230 S. Choctaw Baton Rouge , LA 70815
Futch Design Associates Inc.
11844 S. Choctaw Drive Baton Rouge , LA 70809
Imperial Food Supply
1930 Healy Dr Baton Rouge , LA 45223
Shamrock Foods - Commerce City
87 Avondale St. Lafayette , CO 32714
Alack Refrigeration Co., Inc.
17420 Hwy 190 Hammond , LA 70401
Briggs- Inc.
211 Rankin St. Natchez , MS 61602
Alack Contract Department
271 Highway 1085 Covington , LA 34209
402 Arlene Marie Ln. Covington , WA 52406
ABCO Corporation
901 W. Evergreen Blvd. Alexandria , VA 64102
Lotz Culinary Equipment & Supplies Superstore
5133 River Rd. New Orleans , LA 70123
Culinary Equipment & Supplies Superstore
5133 River Road New Orleans , LA 70123
Gulf South Restaurant Equipment & Supply
18543 Devonshire St. Slidell , LA 29572
Lamar Valley Craftsman
14405 Walters Rd Ste 120 Ft. Collins , CO 33314
Kitchen Equipment Dealers and Restaurant Equipment Supply Companies in Glynn, Louisiana.
With lots of restaurant equipment financing options available you can take delivery of the kitchen equipment you need right away. So whether you are a pizza joint, coffee house, neighborhood pub or a new fine dining experience with the next famous celebrity chef, your local restaurant equipment dealer is standing by ready to meet your needs.


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Spittle & Mrs Bloom
Miranda Kerr's had a busy week in New York. She arrived in town last week and worked on a photo shoot. Over the weekend she hit up several fashion parties. And she was at the MET Gala on Monday night in a black dress with a bandeau-ish top. By the way, a word on why I don't include very many models in my MET Gala wrap -- how hard can it be for them, really?!?
Anyway, while Miranda's been enjoying the NYC party circuit, she's run into Gerard Butler several times. He too was at the MET Gala. And on Tuesday night, Spittle showed up at The Great Gatsby screening where, according to Page Six, he and Miranda were talking very closely, an extension, ahem, of a conversation they were having the night before, and photographed doing so. When they found out that there were pictures, I'm told Spittle made a deal with photographers to get rid of those shots in exchange for some other ones to be arranged at a later date. He apparently promised it would be worth their while.
If you've been reading my blog a while, for more than 2 days and less than 20 years, you'd know this isn't the first time Miranda's put a green hat on Orlando Bloom's head, right? He wears them all the time.
Attached -- Miranda and Spittle, separately, at the Gatsby screening.
Rob Kim/ Getty


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Although the Edge HD3 was launched last year, it remains a very popular choice in the nettop market. It is widely available for under €300, but this price is no longer justified, so we are expecting a price cut. Luckily for Sapphire, we are talking about in-house competition. Two months ago Sapphire introduced the Edge VS series, based on Trinity ULV APUs and the VS4, with a dual-core Trinity can be yours for about €325. However, the HD3 barebone costs €199 and offers much better value for money than the complete system.
The HD3 is one of the smallest x86 systems around and it will fit in just about any coat pocket, sans power brick, of course. However, even with the power cable, keyboard and mouse, it will easily fit into any backpack, much like a notebook. The robust build and matte finish also come in handy, as the HD3 won't pick up a lot of nicks and scratches if you transport it often, making it a good choice for students and just about everyone who needs a truly portable desktop.
The E-450 is a venerable chip, but it is still practically the best platform for mini-PCs on the market. It offers enough performance for browsing, content consumption and office work. Of course, serious gaming is out of the question, but that goes without saying. However, it has enough muscle for casual games at low resolution, or some golden oldies.
Overall it's a neat little PC, but personally I would go for the barebone. It offer better value and lets you choose faster storage, like an SSD or hybrid drive. Even a relatively small SSD would do, as the HD3 features a couple of speedy USB 3.0 ports for external storage.


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P&G's Tide Flies Patriotic Flag, Olympics Marketing Campaign For Team USA
By Barry Janoff
May 2, 2012: There will be many American flags flying in London this summer during the 2012 Olympics, but Procter & Gamble wants to ensure that one special flag is created to support the almost 600 U.S. athletes who will participate in the Games.
As part of its activation as an official marketing partner of the U.S. Olympic Committee and global partner of the International Olympic Committee, P&G has unveiled via its Tide brand a multi-media effort, "My Story. Our Flag." The campaign directs people to a dedicated Facebook page in which visitors are asked to share "what the Red, White and Blue means to them."
According to P&G, "selected stories will then be transferred to fabric and represented by swatches that together will create both an artistic rendition of a physical American flag and digital representation. Each swatch of fabric will feature the contributor's photo, name, city, state and a brief description of their story."
The flag's creation will be documented on Facebook. P&G and Tide will unveil the completed flag in New York's Bryant Park on July 3. P&G said the flag would also be rendered digitally on its Facebook page.
The 2012 Olympics run July 27-Aug. 12.
USOC has its own flag incentive going, "Raise Our Flag," asking people to donate $12 per stitch for a flag that Team USA will take with it to London. (That effort has inspired donations for nearly 5,000 stitches as of May 2.)
To support the "My Story. Our Flag" project, three athletes will work as Tide brand ambassadors: Lopez Lomong (track & field), Henry Cejudo (wrestling) and Sarah Hammer (cycling).
Lomong, Cejudo and Hammer will appear in all elements of the Tide's marketing campaign, including TV, print advertising, POP, digital and social media. Each of the athletes have posted videos on the Tide home page sharing what the "Red, White and Blue" means to them.
In addition, limited-edition packaging will commemorate the 2012 Olympic Games on Tide, Tide Boost and Tide plus Febreze Freshness Sport, the latter of which will also feature Lomong on the bottle.
"Tide is proud to be the keepers of the Red, White and Blue and provide a platform for people to share their own personal stories about what being an American means to them," Alex Keith, GM for P&G Fabric Care North America, said in a statement. "We're very excited to kick off the 'My Story. Our Flag' project. and wish all of our athletes the very best in London."
In addition to P&G, worldwide Olympic marketing partners include Acer, Atos, Coca-Cola, Dow, GE, McDonald's, Omega, Panasonic, Samsung and Visa.


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Carrollton, Ga. - Georgia Southwestern took a break from Peach Belt Conference action Wednesday as the Hurricanes traveled to Carrollton, Ga. for a mid-week, out-of-conference showdown against the West Georgia Wolves.
West Georgia (23-18) raced out to the early lead through the first five innings of play as the Wolves scored five runs off four hits with one GSW error to give UWG the early advantage, 5-1.
GSW used a two-RBI single from Jarrod Taylor in the top of the sixth inning to inch closer, 5-3.
West Georgia extended their lead in the seventh inning as the Wolves used a pair of hits in order to punch in three runs as the Wolves held a comfortable 8-3 advantage.
The Hurricanes rallied in the top of the ninth as Southwestern's bats lit up.
GSW scored four runs off five hits as the 'Canes drew within a run. With a runner in scoring position, the rally came up short, however, as Stephen Eldridge struck out swinging as UWG held on for the victory, 8-7.
Taylor led Georgia Southwestern at the plate as the junior went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs. As a team, the Southwestern scored seven runs off nine hits.
Starting GSW pitcher Justin Lott (1-2) was credited with the loss for the 'Canes as the right-handed senior threw for 3.2 innings giving up three runs off three hits with four walks.
Georgia Southwestern returns to action this Saturday as the 'Canes travel to Flagler for a three-game series with the Saints. The series will be held at Bishop Kenney High School in Jacksonville, Fla.


text: Blog Of The Nation Recount Madness: You Decide December 8, 2008 Voters in Minnesota drew bats and jellyfish on their ballots, scribbled letters and words, and crossed out names and filled-in bubbles. You take a look at the contested ballots. Can you figure out who they wanted to vote for?


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The last time I was back in Britain and stuck in the bowels of the Central Line on a Tube train limping painfully towards Oxford Circus, I found myself observing a group of teenage girls in prohibitively short skirts. "Look at him," shrilled the loudest, prettiest member of the pack, pointing out a silver-haired gent peering over the top of his Metro. "He keeps staring at my legs." The man turned a violent shade of puce and raised his newspaper still higher, in an attempt to block out all the body parts he shouldn't be looking at.
I felt for him. The girl had very nice legs. The girl knew she had very nice legs, and had chosen to showcase them in a belt of fabric that would draw admiring glances from every male member of that carriage – and a few females besides. Yet she found it demeaning – or "disgusting", to quote her friend's empathetic murmur – to be reduced to an object of beauty. Women, she believed, in her indignant, third-wave feminist little head, are more than the sum total of their gloriously appealing body parts. So she happened to be beautiful. So what?
So what, indeed. But women seem to have got themselves into a tangle over beauty. If the media is any reflection (and it is), anyone would think that the majority of women now spend an inordinate percentage of their time worrying about their looks – and the rest of it actively trying to enhance them. Historians will tell you that this has always been the case, only modern women have tools at their disposal that even the corseted and bewigged Madame de Pompadour would have blanched at.
We can dye our skins, suck the fat from our bottoms and thighs, stretch and plump out our faces. We can subject our bodies to intensive fitness regimes, embark on scientifically tested diets and then flaunt parts of ourselves that have for centuries remained hidden in a provocative array of new fabrics and styles. But should any man (or woman) notice or – God forbid – point out the results of our efforts, we immediately rise up in revolt.
Take Laura Fernee, a 33-year-old science graduate from Notting Hill who poutingly decried her own beauty in yesterday's papers as the reason she was unable to hold down a job. "I'm not lazy and I'm no bimbo," she mourned. "The truth is my good looks have caused massive problems for me when it comes to employment." Female colleagues were jealous and male colleagues "were only interested in me for how I looked. I wanted them to recognise my achievements and my professionalism, but all they saw was my face and body."
Fernee is not alone in her self-made beauty inferno. Just the other day, a scrupulously turned-out, highly attractive friend remarked that a casual comment her boss had made about her dress had left her feeling "patronised". Last month, President Obama was forced to publicly apologise for calling the California attorney general "good-looking". Never mind that he had formerly praised Kamala Harris for being "brilliant" and "dedicated" – it was the "good-looking" that stuck in feminists' throats.
I feel for modern men, just as I felt for the man on the Tube that day. They're supposed to remain blind to the legions of women strutting through life and the workplace in thigh-highs and low-cut tops. And, of course, it's our prerogative to do that. But in this digital age, the days of un-self-aware beauties (the most arresting kind of all) are sadly behind us. If you're lucky enough to have that extra asset (which is all beauty is), use it cautiously – not as a weapon with which to beat the opposite sex. Better still, ignore it.
If Fernee is so disabled by her looks, she'll be relieved to discover that nothing makes a woman ugly quite so fast as talking about her own beauty.


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At Communication Works, a private practice in Oakland, California, we're passionate about partnering with parents and caregivers in the treatment process. When it comes to social learning, many children struggle to carry over learned skills from the therapy setting or school to their home environment. Parents are in a perfect position to help practice and facilitate those skills and help make them stick! As professionals, we can give parents the awareness and knowledge as well as the tools and strategies to help them embrace teachable moments and guide their children. Even though parents are busy and sometimes overwhelmed, we can enlist their help without making stressful demands on their time. Parents are usually eager to help as long as we offer specific, easy activities that fit within the family's natural routines.
Whenever possible, try to support the things parents are already doing and to piggyback onto those activities, such as reading bedtime stories, doing chores, or eating dinner. As an example, if a child is working on conversational turn taking in therapy, families can pass a "talking stick" (a spoon or spatula) at the dinner table to signify whose turn it is to talk and facilitate taking turns when describing each person's day. If the child is working on "wh" or "wonder" questions (who, what, when, where, etc.) and you are using a visual prompt to facilitate this in therapy, make a copy of that visual and send it home for parents to use with their children during meal times or when having conversations in the car..
If you've created a roadmap or social story for an event at school, share a copy with parents. If the child has an event coming up (a graduation, birthday party, holiday, etc.), offer examples of details the parent can share with the child about what is expected during that event. For example, if a child is planning to attend a graduation for the first time, the parent can explain about caps, gowns, and diplomas (and why students toss the caps into the air) as well as how much sitting still and listening time the child can expect. If the child hasn't yet attended a July 4th celebration, the parent can prepare the child for a big crowd and loud noises. They can discuss the type of behavior expected in a crowd and how to make the event more enjoyable and comfortable for the child, perhaps by bringing earplugs or asking for a break when feeling overwhelmed.
Parents also appreciate simple suggestions for teachable moments that may occur during part of the family routine or in the community. For example, if you've worked on increasing observational skills and understanding nonverbal language, talk to the parents about setting up a time for them, to take their child out for a snack and do some "people watching." This can not only be an excellent opportunity to generalize a skill learned in the therapy setting, but can be a great bonding experience for parents and children. Teach the parents how to play "social detective" with their child and identify how the other people in the coffee shop are related, how they are feeling, and possibly what they are talking about. If you're teaching sequencing during a therapy session, show parents how to practice this skill by sequencing out the steps for baking cupcakes or making a birthday card. If you're focusing on self-regulation strategies like calm breathing, show the parent how to practice by placing a teddy bear or book on the child's belly and watching it go up and down. As you develop new lessons, think about how parents could easily adapt them for home use. Be sure to provide handouts or information for them to share with other family members, and keep activities "no fuss" for busy parents.
Therapists working in schools will have limited time with parents, but can communicate through notes, logs, or a binder that goes back and forth from home to school. If you work in a private setting, consider bringing parents into group or individual sessions for a portion of the time, and have the child(ren) show what they have learned. Take a few minutes to brainstorm with the parent about ways to practice at home. Parents appreciate knowing the why's as well as the how-to's. Without overwhelming them with pages of information, provide the reasoning behind a particular activity as well as specifics about how to carry it out at home.
Social learning is a 24/7 process, and kids need support to be able to bring learned skills into the home and community. If professionals don't collaborate with parents, the child misses countless opportunities for practicing essential social skills. When we do engage parents in the process, they can serve as both coaches and cheerleaders for their children. If we give parents the right tools, knowledge, and encouragement, they can feel confident and inspired to play an essential role in bridging the gap between therapy and real life.
Elizabeth Sautter, MA, CCC-SLP, is co-director and co-owner of Communication Works, a private practice in Oakland, California, offering speech, language, social, and occupational therapy. She is the co-author of the Whole Body Listening Larry books. Her most recent book is Make Social Learning Stick! How to Guide and Nurture Social Competence Through Everyday Routines and Activities. She can be reached at email@example.com or follow her: website; Facebook; Pinterest; Twitter.


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USA Today's Michael Heistand has the scoop this morning: ESPN's Rick Sutcliffe has been suspended from calling tonight's Red Sox-Orioles game.
Sutcliffe's "offense," of course, was the drunken appearance he made on a local Padres telecast last week, including the now famous, "George Clooney! Down there trying to solve that thing!" soliloquy.
Sutcliffe has since apologized, saying he "was not in optimum condition to go on live television." We have to say, though, that if every ESPN personality who was "not in optimum condition to go on live television" was suspended for a game, well, our telecasts would be oddly silent. Which might not be too bad, actually.
Out: Rick Sutcliffe [USA Today]
And Here's Your Rick Sutcliffe Video [Deadspin]
(UPDATE: Actually, the Chicago Tribune's Teddy Greenstein had this scoop first.)