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To describe the technology use and sleep quality of Americans, and the unique association between technology use and sleep disturbances.
Interviews were conducted via random digit dialing (N = 750) or the Internet (N = 758). 1,508 Americans (13-64 years old, 50% males) matched to 2009 U.S. Census data provided complete interviews. The sample was further divided into adolescents (13-18 years, N = 171), young adults (19-29 years, N = 293), middle-aged adults (30-45 years, N = 469), and older adults (46-64 years, N = 565) to contrast different generations' technology use. Participants answered a 47-item semi-structured survey, including questions about their sleep habits, and the presence and use of technology in the hour before bed in the past 2 weeks.
Nine of 10 Americans reported using a technological device in the hour before bed (e.g., TVs the most popular; 60%). However, those under 30 years of age were more likely to use cell phones (72% of adolescents, 67% of young adults) than those over 30 years (36% of middle-aged, and 16% of older adults). Young adults' sleep patterns were significantly later than other age groups on both weekdays and weekend nights. Unlike passive technological devices (e.g., TV, mp3 music players), the more interactive technological devices (i.e., computers/laptops, cell phones, video game consoles) used in the hour before bed, the more likely difficulties falling asleep (β = 9.4, p < 0.0001) and unrefreshing sleep (β = 6.4, p < 0.04) were reported.
Technology use near bedtime is extremely prevalent in the United States. Among a range of technologies, interactive technological devices are most strongly associated with sleep complaints.
A commentary on this article appears in this issue on page 1301.
Gradisar M; Wolfson AR; Harvey AG; Hale L; Rosenberg R; Czeisler CA. The sleep and technology use of Americans: findings from the National Sleep Foundation's 2011 Sleep in America Poll. J Clin Sleep Med 2013;9(12):1291-1299.
The emergence of the computer chip and the rapid technological advances that ensued have enhanced industrialized societies' ability to work and play. Indeed, in the 1970s, technology was hoped to promote a 4-day work week by reducing the physical strain of labor, thus providing more time for leisure.1 Personal computers (PCs) began to enter homes in the early 1980s, and ownership has increased steadily; nearly 8 of 10 Americans now own a PC.2,3 Video game console ownership paralleled PC ownership in homes in the 1980s, and in 2011 approximately US$17.8 billion was spent on video game hardware.4 In the mid-1990s, 2 of 10 Americans had personal access to the developing Internet.3 Now, 7 of 10 Americans have access to the Internet in their homes.3 However, it is the once-humble cell phone that is now ubiquitous worldwide. In 2011, there were 6 billion cell phone subscriptions worldwide— enough for 87% of the world's population.5 These technological devices have become smaller and therefore more portable. One exception is that television screen dimensions have grown. However, "watching TV" may now be performed on smaller devices (e.g., cell phones) due to increased multi-functionality. For example, in addition to making phone calls, cell phones now allow the user to instant message, listen to music, send emails, play games, and surf the Internet. Furthermore, technological devices have become more affordable, thus allowing more users to access technology as we enter the second decade of the new millennium.
Current Knowledge/Study Rationale: To date, there has not been a large-scale survey across generations using comprehensive measures of sleep and technology use close to bedtime.
Study Impact: Americans' use of technology near sleep is highly prevalent, and related to sleep difficulties, especially in younger age groups (i.e., < 30 years of age).
The affordability and portability of technology has seen these devices move into bedrooms. In the 2006 Sleep in America Poll, 97% of US teens had at least one technological device in their bedroom, with mp3 players being the most popular (90%) followed by TVs (57%), video games and cell phones (42%), and computers (28%) with Internet access (21%).6 Prevalence rates from other countries sometimes match those found in the USA. (e.g., 60% of Israeli adolescents have a TV in their bedroom; 60% have a computer in their bedroom).7 More recent US data demonstrate that media presence in the bedroom has increased. For example, 33% of young people (8-18 years) now have Internet access in their bedroom.8 For adults, 30% of Belgians had a TV in their bedroom and 25% had Internet access in their bedroom,9 and these figures double for Korean adults.10 Evening use of these devices in Japan have also ranged from 48% to 60%.11 In terms of concern about sleep and health, it is not the mere presence of these devices in the bedroom, but more importantly, when, and the extent to which these devices are used. Despite longstanding recommendations that stimulating activities should be avoided when preparing for bed,12 several studies have shown that technology use still occurs regularly before bed.6,7,12–16 However, these studies have not comprehensively assessed the range of technological devices used in the bedroom in the hour before bed and their associations with sleep. Accordingly, the first aim of the present study is to describe the technology use of Americans in their bedrooms in the hour before bed using a national poll of adults. A second aim is to describe Americans' self-reported sleep habits and sleep quality. The third aim of the present study is to investigate associations between technology use and sleep.
Several mechanisms have been proposed for how evening technology use may affect sleep.17,18 One of these mechanisms is that the use of stimulating technological devices may cause hyperarousal that interferes with healthy sleep initiation. Stimulating technological devices may include those devices with which the user is frequently interacting, such as video consoles, cell phones, and computers. Such interactions may impede the natural withdrawal of sympathetic nervous system activity necessary for sleep onset.19–21 In contrast, other devices may involve "passive observation" and require little input from the user of the device (e.g., watching TV, listening to music). Therefore, we hypothesize that use of stimulating technological devices in the hour before bed will be associated with sleep problems (i.e., difficulty initiating sleep, unrefreshing sleep). Furthermore, difficulty maintaining sleep may occur from devices that wake individuals. Van den Bulck found that 10% to 20% of adolescents use their cell phone or are awakened by incoming calls/text messages after lights out.22,23 Therefore, the effects of cell phones on maintaining sleep will also be investigated.
The sample consisted of 1,508 participants, ages 13-64 years, who resided in the United States (50% males, 50% females). Of the total sample, 37% resided in the South, 23% in the West, 22% in the Midwest, and 17% in the Northeast. Over the previous month, 64% percent of the total sample was employed, 22% were enrolled as students, and 19% were neither (see footnote 1). Approximately half the sample was married (54%), a third were single (33%), and the remaining participants were either divorced (6%), in a de facto relationship (4%), separated (2%), or widowed (1%). The majority of Americans sampled were white/Caucasian (81%), followed by African American (7%) Asian (6%), Hispanic (4%) or American Indian (1%) (see footnote 2). Since one of the objectives of the study was to compare the sleep habits and technology use of Americans across different age groups, the sample was split into the categories of adolescents (13-18 years, N = 171, 11.3% of the total sample), young adults (19-29 years, N = 293, 19.4% of the sample), middle-aged adults (30-45 years, N = 469, 31.1% of the sample), and older adults (46-64 years, N = 575, 38.2% of the sample).
Approximately half the sample completed phone surveys (N = 750), and the remaining participants completed the survey on the web (N = 758). These multiple methods were performed because telephone sampling tends to over-represent older populations, and thus the web-sampling would provide a better representation of younger populations. Consistent with that expectation, younger populations were more likely to complete web surveys than phone surveys (adolescents: N = 50 for phone vs. N = 113 for web; young adults: N = 71 for phone vs. N = 161 for web), yet older populations were more likely to complete phone surveys than web surveys (middle adults: N = 268 for phone vs. N = 201 for web; older adults: N = 353 for phone vs. N = 294 for web). Random digital dialing (RDD) was performed by SDR Consulting, Inc. (Atlanta, USA) to generate a set of phone numbers. Figure 1 presents a flowchart of participant recruitment via RDD as per STROBE guidelines.24 The overall phone response rate for the 2011 Poll was 2.3% (see footnote 3), with a cooperation rate of 23.3% (see footnote 4), a refusal rate of 11.9% (see footnote 5), and a contact rate of 17.6% (see footnote 6).25 The maximum sampling error for the total sample was ± 2.5 percentage points (95% CI). This study was exempt from institutional review board approval as the research conducted by the National Sleep Foundation (a not-for-profit organization) involved observations of public behavior where human subject data were de-identified.26
Flowchart of participant recruitment using Random Digit Dialing to arrive at N = 750 quota
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The survey instrument consisted of 47 structured questions with coded responses. The survey opened with several questions targeting key demographic information (i.e., age, region, employment, gender), followed by questions reporting participants' sleep habits on weekdays and non-working days (including daytime naps) over the past 2 weeks. Further questions assessed sleep quality (e.g., On how many nights would you say "I had a good night's sleep"?), sleep need (e.g., On average how many hours of sleep do you need to function at your best the next day?), and the impact of not getting enough sleep on occupational/vocational performance and relationships with significant others. The survey included the Epworth Sleepiness Scale27 to assess daytime sleepiness. Participants were also asked about the frequency of drowsy driving, and coping behaviors (e.g., average daily caffeine consumption). The frequency of sleep problems (difficulty falling asleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, unrefreshing sleep) was asked (e.g., "In the past 2 weeks, would you say you had difficulty falling asleep?"), with responses measured on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from "every night or almost every night" to "never."
Eleven questions asked participants about the presence and use of various technological devices in the bedroom (e.g., TV, cell phones, computer/laptops, video/computer games) in the hour before bed in the past 2 weeks. Questions were also asked about the types of activities performed on these devices in the hour before bed (but not limited to use in the bedroom), the content viewed, and sleep interruptions resulting from technological devices during the night. Presence and use of technological devices was answered in a Yes/No format, and frequency of technology use was typically answered on a Likert scale ranging from "Never" to "Every night or almost every night."
Not all questions were asked for all participants. For example, if a participant indicated they did not use a particular device before bed (e.g., cell phone), they then skipped questions related to particular functions and content on such a device. For ethical reasons, adolescents were not asked particular questions that older participants were (e.g., whether not getting enough sleep affected their intimate or sexual relations). The survey instrument appears in full in the Appendix of the 2011 Summary of Findings (http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/sleep-america-polls/2011-communications-technology-use-and-sleep).
In 2010, the National Sleep Foundation assembled an expert panel of sleep researchers, chaired by one of us (RR). Panel members were informed of the 2011 Sleep in America Poll objectives, and together developed the survey instrument over a series of conference calls. WB&A Market Research were contracted to conduct the 2011 Sleep in America Poll. Professional interviewers conducted phone interviews mainly on weekdays (17:00 to 21:00), Saturdays (10:00-14:00), and Sundays (16:00-20:00). Remaining phone surveys were conducted on weekdays (09:00-17:00). A sample of cell phones was included with landline phones to reach the growing trend of cell phone-only households.28 Phone surveys were completed on average in 18.0 min. No equivalent data were available for surveys completed on the web. Web surveys were conducted via an E-Rewards online panel of registrants. All surveys were conducted with the respondents themselves (i.e., including adolescents). The survey was introduced as "the annual Sleep in America Poll" conducted on behalf of the National Sleep Foundation. Potential respondents were informed of the confidentiality of any information they provided. Data were collected from late October 2010 to late November 2010. To reduce the impact of age on the results, data were weighted based on age so as to be comparable to 2009 U.S. Census data estimates.29
Independent z-tests were used to compare outcome variables (reported as percentages) across the 4 age groups.30 Significant differences between groups occurred when the z-statistic exceeded 1.96 (using 95% confidence interval). Z-scores > 2.57 were significant using 99% confidence interval. A series of linear regressions were used to assess the unique contributions from various aspects of technology use on sleep while controlling for significant covariates (i.e., age, gender, ambient light, naps, caffeine consumption). The "amount of technology used" was the main predictor variable and is defined as the total number of devices used in the hour before bed, which resulted from the question, "Thinking about the past 2 weeks, on a typical night which of the following are in your bedroom and you use in the hour before trying to go to sleep?" This predictor variable was further split into the number of interactive technological devices used (i.e., computers/laptops, cell phone, video gaming) and the number of passive technological devices used (i.e., TV, reading, mp3 music players) to test the hypothesis that stimulating devices are more likely to relate to difficulties sleeping. Statistical significance was set at α = 0.05. When statistical significant differences were detected, standardized regression coefficients (i.e., standardized beta [β]) were reported. The β represents the change in the dependent variable (sleep difficulty) for every one standard deviation change in the independent variable (number of technology items used). Due to the high variability in the way technology use is measured, standardizing the beta coefficient allows for easier comparisons across studies.
For the entire sample, 90% of Americans reported using some form of technological device in the bedroom in the hour before trying to sleep. Of those aged under 30 years, technology use was even more prevalent (96% of adults younger than 30 years used some form of technology). For the overall sample, TVs were the most commonly used (60%), then cell phones (39%), followed by computers/laptops (36%), electronic music devices (29%), telephones (21%), video game consoles (8%) and lastly e-book readers (6%). There were, however, notable age differences.
Although 39% of the entire sample used cell phones in their bedroom in the hour before bed, 72% of adolescents and 67% of young adults used cell phones, both significantly more than middle adults (30-45 years: 36%), and older adults (46-64 years: 16%); all zs ≥ 8.78. Similar significant patterns emerged for computers/laptops (both adolescents and young adults 60% vs. older adults 22%) and electronic music devices (adolescents = 64% and young adults 43% vs. older adults = 17%; all zs ≥ 7.91). Although not as prevalent, video game consoles were used significantly more by under 30s (adolescents = 23%; young adults = 18% vs. older adults = 1%; all zs ≥ 6.78).
Several other significant demographic differences were found for devices used in the bedroom in the hour before bed. Females were more likely than males to use the telephone (24% vs. 18%), and read printed books (54% vs. 43%) and e-book readers (7% vs. 4%; all zs ≥ 2.56). Conversely, males were more likely to use a video gaming console (12% vs. 3%; z = 6.74). Single Americans were about twice as likely to use a computer/laptop (45% vs. 24%), cell phone (52% vs. 21%), electronic music device (34% vs. 17%), or videogame console (9% vs. 2%) than married Americans (all zs ≥ 4.88). African Americans were more likely to watch TV (76%) than white Americans (59%) and Asian Americans (49%), and use a telephone compared to all other Americans (53% vs. ≤ 29%; all zs ≥ 3.75). Asian Americans were more likely to use a computer/ laptop (68%) than all other groups (32% to 49%; all zs ≥ 2.79). African Americans and Hispanic Americans (both 61%) used cell phones more than white Americans (34%) and Asian Americans (45%; all zs ≥ 2.29). White Americans were less likely to use an electronic music device (24%) than all other groups (40% to 49%) and a video gaming console (6%, vs. 13 and 20% for Asian Americans and Hispanic Americans, respectively; all zs ≥ 1.96). These percentages mirror some findings from a previous Sleep in America Poll.16
When investigating specific activities performed in the hour before bed (but not necessarily in the bedroom) for the entire sample, watching TV was the most common activity performed at least a few nights a week (79%). This was followed by: doing homework on the computer (68%); surfing the Internet (54%); reading a printed book/magazine (48%); doing work on the computer (40%); personal emailing (39%); social networking (38%); text messaging (38%); talking on the phone (29%); watching a video (21%); work-related e-mailing (19%); video gaming (19%); listening to music (18%); and reading on an e-book (5%). Nearly the entire sample (97%) reported performing at least one of these activities in the hour before bed.
Figure 2 presents the weekday and non-workday sleep habits of the various age groups. Young adults went to bed significantly later than all other age groups on both weekdays and weekends, and adolescents went to bed significantly later on weekends than groups over 30 years of age. Wake times were reasonably consistent across age groups with 2 exceptions. On weekdays, young adults rose significantly later than all other age groups, and on weekends middle adults rose later than adolescents and older adults.
Values on top of bars represent mean bedtimes; values within bars represent mean total sleep times; values below bars represent mean rise times; alphabetic letters adjacent to means represent significant differences between age groups. For example, CDE adjacent to 7h 26m in adolescents' school day total sleep time means this value is significantly different to young- (C), middle- (D), and older adults (E).
Self-reported sleep habits on weekdays and weekends between adolescents (B), young adults (C), middle adults (D) and older adults (E). Values on top of bars represent mean bedtimes; values within bars represent mean total sleep times; values below bars represent mean rise times; alphabetic letters adjacent to means represent significant differences...
As total sleep time varies as a function of age,31 whether participants were obtaining enough sleep to meet their needs was also measured. Overall, 35% of the sample reported getting enough sleep on weeknights, whereas roughly 6 in 10 Americans (63%) claimed they were not getting enough sleep to function properly. This was particularly true for adolescents (67%), young adults (67%), and middle adults (65%) compared to older adults (58%). For those Americans reporting insufficient sleep (N = 420), 94% reported at least some impact on at least one of the following: mood, school work, family life or home responsibilities, work, social life or leisure activities, and/or intimate/sexual relations (see Figure 3). Of these Americans, 51% reported not obtaining enough sleep had a major impact on one of these areas of functioning. Of Americans who drive, 37% reported they had driven drowsy in the past month. One in 2 young adults reported this occurred at least once a month, which was significantly more than every other age group (older adults = 28%; middle adults = 30%; adolescents = 40% [see footnote 7]).
Significant impacts on areas of functioning from not getting enough sleep
We explored possible associations between technology use and sleep using a series of linear regressions (Table 1). The amount of technology use before bed (the greater the number of technological devices used in the bedroom in the hour before bed) did not predict any unique variance in bedtimes on weeknights after controlling for demographic (age and gender) or other sleep hygiene variables (light in the bedroom, naps, and caffeine consumption) known to also affect sleep (t1467 = 1.09, p > 0.05). Since we hypothesized that certain technological devices could be more engaging and thus lead to later bedtimes (e.g., cell phone), regression analyses were performed for each device; however, none contributed significant variance to weeknight bedtimes. Of all variables considered, only napping (on weekends) was significantly related to later bedtimes in each analysis (β = 5.7%-6.2%; all p < 0.05). Interestingly, frequent nappers (napping > 3 times in past 2 weeks) were more likely to use interactive technological devices before bed (F1,1504 = 6.88, p = 0.009), suggesting significant overlap between napping and using stimulating technological devices when predicting bedtimes.
Linear regression analyses for technology use predicting bedtimes and sleep difficulties after controlling for covariates
After controlling for covariates, we found that the amount of media used in the bedroom in the hour before bed was significantly related to difficulty falling asleep (t1460 = 3.07, p = 0.002, β = 8.4). Thus, the more Americans were poly users of technology before bed, the more severe was their difficulty initiating sleep. As these electronic media consisted of both passive (TV, reading, mp3 music players) and interactive devices (computers/laptops, cell phone, video gaming), separate analyses were performed to assess whether the stimulating devices were more associated with difficulty sleeping. Passive devices did not significantly contribute to difficulty falling asleep (t1460 = 1.73, p = 0.08); however, interactive devices did (t1460 = 3.29, p = 0.001, β = 9.4). This significance primarily resulted from using video gaming consoles (β = 10.6, p < 0.0001), but also from cell phones (β = 6.4, p = 0.03) and computers/laptops (β = 5.5, p = 0.049).
Of all technological devices to interrupt sleep during the night, cell phones were the only devices targeted in the 2011 Poll. Twenty-two percent of the entire sample reported going to sleep with their cell phone ringers on in their bedroom. Furthermore, 10% were awakened at least a few nights a week, with awakenings occurring more in adolescents (18%) and young adults (20%). When investigating the association between leaving cell phones on and Americans' ratings of their difficulty maintaining sleep, a linear regression analysis was performed only for those who kept their cell phone in their bedroom overnight and left their ringer on (N = 331). After adjusting for demographic and sleep hygiene variables, being awakened by one's cell phone uniquely contributed towards Americans' perception of their difficulty in maintaining sleep (β = 17.9, p < 0.0001).
The same pattern emerged when assessing various forms of technology use on Americans' reporting unrefreshing sleep. The more media used in the bedroom before bed was related to the frequency of reporting unrefreshing sleep (t1461 = 1.98, p = 0.048, β = 5.4), which was primarily accounted for by the use of interactive technological devices (t1466 = 2.17, p = 0.04, β = 6.1) but not passive activities (t1466 = 1.06, p > 0.05).
The findings from the 2011 Sleep in America Poll show technology use in the hour before bed is common practice, with 90% of Americans engaging with technology. Furthermore, many Americans are reporting inadequate sleep. Up to two-thirds of adolescents (13-18 years) and adults (19- to 29-year-olds) reported inadequate sleep on weeknights. Between 8.5 to 9.25 hours has been recommended for adolescents and 7-8.2 hours for adults.32–35 Significant, and even dangerous, daytime consequences (37% of Americans had driven drowsy in the past month) were frequently reported by those experiencing inadequate sleep. The analyses from the present study show evening technology use is associated with sleep, such that more technology use is associated with poorer sleep. While the present study was cross-sectional, precluding conclusions regarding a causal relationship, the findings are consistent with the potential mechanisms by which technology use may affect sleep, including bedtime displacement, cognitive and physiological arousal, light and electromagnetic transmissions from technological devices, and devices interrupting the maintenance of nocturnal sleep.17,18 The present study was able to assess some of these mechanisms.
Although previous studies have found that later bedtimes are related to the use of TVs, computers, videogames, and the Internet,9,14,36 the present study did not find evidence of any technological devices contributing to later bedtimes. This may have occurred due to the present study accounting for other variables known to affect bedtimes, including caffeine consumption,37,38 bedroom lighting,39,40 and napping.41,42 Of these variables, napping was the only variable to be significantly related to bedtimes. We note previous studies that demonstrated a link between evening technology use and bedtimes did not statistically control for such confounding variables,14,36 which may account for differences between study findings.
The greater number of technological devices used in the hour before bed was related to higher ratings of difficulties initiating sleep. The strength of this association was greatest for stimulating activities, such as using videogame consoles, cell phones, and computers/laptops. These results suggest that once Americans do decide to go to bed, they have significant difficulty sleeping if they have used stimulating technologies shortly beforehand. The cognitive43,44 and physiological arousal45,46 from using such devices may interfere with Americans' preparation for sleep. Similar findings occurred for reports of unrefreshing sleep, with the greater likelihood of reporting such poor sleep quality being related to the use of interactive technological devices before bed. However, we cannot exclude the possible contributions of other factors such as screen light47 and electromagnetic transmissions48 from the same devices. Although more research is needed to better understand why such devices are related to sleep initiation difficulties, it is clear that Americans should schedule passive activities in between their use of interactive technological devices and sleep (i.e., passive technological devices; TV, electronic music devices, books), as these showed weaker associations with sleep.
One surprising finding from the present study was the extent to which Americans are going to sleep with their cell phone turned on in their bedroom. Of those who reported that they use their cell phone before bed (22%), 57% leave their ringer on (10% of the entire sample), which is associated with difficulty returning to sleep after an awakening. One in ten Americans reported being awakened at least a few nights a week, with younger people awakened by their cell phones (adolescents = 18%, young adults = 20%). These figures concur with previous findings.22,23 The inability to maintain sleep may be due to these Americans performing behaviors during the night (e.g., texting) that are arousing and incompatible with sleep. The problem could be worse than our study suggests, as only cell phones were targeted in this Poll. Many Americans reported using other technological devices when awake during the night (e.g., computers/laptops); however, it was not clear if these devices woke them up with alerting sounds, or whether people woke spontaneously and used these devices until re-initiating sleep. This may have implications for the quality of Americans' sleep.
Since the 1970s, stimulus control therapy instructions have stated that the bed (and bedroom) should only be used for sleep and sexual activity.49,50 The findings from the 2011 Sleep in America Poll indicate that 9 of 10 Americans surveyed are not following this basic recommendation. However, the present study's findings offer correlative evidence that some forms of technology confer weak effects on sleep (i.e., passive activities; watching TV, reading). Use of these devices may challenge the notion of using the bed only for sleep. Passive devices may be helpful as they are a pleasurable activity that fills the void while waiting to fall asleep.51,52 Conversely, a sleep tip considered "common sense"53 and imbedded within the principles of sleep hygiene is that one should avoid stimulating activities before bedtime.12,54 The present study demonstrated that the use of stimulating activities with technological devices that involve interactivity (cell phones, laptops, videogame consoles) were associated with difficulty falling asleep and unrefreshing sleep. With the high proportion of Americans who use technology close to bedtime, combined with the significant impact on daily functioning as a result of inadequate sleep, a clear delineation is needed between devices that are acceptable, or not, in the hour before bed.
There are several limitations of the present study. Although efforts were made to match participant characteristics to 2009 US Census data,29 the present Poll nevertheless contains a small proportion of error variance that limits generalizability to the population. Our response rate may be considered low, yet we note most surveys do not conform to STROBE guidelines,24 and thus report liberal rates akin to cooperation rates (i.e., do not include "calls not connected" and "calls not answered by a person"; see Figure 1). The Poll was presented as a "sleep survey," hence introducing a possible self-selection bias.55,56 It may be likely that those Americans with a vested interest in sleep (e.g., those with sleep problems) may have been more inclined to participate. Although the web survey gained access to participants who may be difficult to recruit via phones, it could be argued that further selection bias may exist in that these participants may be more likely to own and use multiple technological devices. However, using a singular recruitment method could result in sampling biases which would slant findings more so than multiple methods. We therefore believe viewing the multiple methods as a confound needs to be reframed. It is likely that future surveys of technology use will incorporate multiple methods to balance any biases due to over-represented younger or older people. We did report age group differences between web and phone surveys, but any further analysis of differences on technology use between these two methods is likely a function of age (i.e., younger age groups use technology and are more likely to complete web surveys). Data on the number of e-surveys undeliverable, deliverable but not commenced, and not completed were unavailable, thus making it difficult to assess any biases in sampling. Due to informed consent concerns, the Poll did not assess children's use of technology (≤ 12 years). Further insights may be found for younger children's susceptibility to technology-induced sleep problems.57 Hopefully, many parents are implementing the American Pediatric Association's recommendation of less than two hours of screen time per day,58 but are not using this screen time in their child's bedtime routine. We note that the wake-up time for the adolescent group is earlier than those reported from recent reviews.59,60 More data are required to assess whether adolescents who use technology report unique sleep patterns. The Poll used a cross-sectional design; thus the scope for determining cause and effect is limited (e.g., do Americans have difficulties falling asleep due to using interactive technological devices— or—do Americans who have preexisting difficulties falling asleep have an affinity for interactive technological devices?). Our self-reported sleep items are not ideal, and although ambitious, future large surveys of sleep and technology could use more valid time-use diaries. In summary, we recognize that the published summary of findings and media release from the 2009 National Sleep Foundation Poll has received criticism for not adhering to various scientific principles (e.g., extrapolating "sleep problem" to "insomnia"; "Poll-pushed" questions; lack of transparency of sampling biases; lack of statistical analyses controlling for extraneous variables).61 The present study represents a scientific presentation of the 2011 National Sleep Foundation results, which should be viewed in conjunction with the growing number of field surveys and experimental laboratory studies in this area to understand the weight of evidence for the role of technology use on sleep in modern society.
The technology use of Americans in their bedrooms is prevalent, especially in the hour before attempting sleep. To our surprise, technology use during the sleep period was much higher than expected. Analysis of different age groups demonstrated that those who use technology in the hour before bedtime are younger than 30 years of age. These groups also report the largest amounts of sleep problems. These findings suggest that technology use is emerging as a possible contributing factor to sleep disturbance in the twenty-first century. Future research should investigate whether adolescents (13-18 year olds) and young adults (19-29 year olds) will continue evening technology use into late adulthood, and what effects their modeling of technology use will have on future generations to come.
< 1% refused to answer.
< 2% refused to answer.
Response rate is total completed interviews of the total calls dialed (750 of 32,216).
Cooperation rate is total completed interviews (750) of total calls to potentially eligible participants (3341) plus deceased (17) and language barrier (270) call dispositions, minus calls terminated (-404) (750 of 3224).
Refusal rate is the total number refusing the interview (2187) of all potentially eligible participants (3341) plus deceased (17), language barrier (270), answering machines (15046), and not available (56) dispositions, minus calls terminated (-404) (2,187 of 18,326).
Contact rate is the percentage of participants reached by interviewers of the total calls connecting, including answering machines and no answers (3,224 of 18,613).
These findings are derived from data of only adolescents who drive.
This was not an industry supported study. Dr. Rosenberg has research grant funding from Merck, Pfizer, Astra Zeneca, Philips/Respironics, and Vanda Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Czeisler has received consulting fees/served as a paid member of scientific advisory boards for Actelion, Ltd., Avera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Bombardier Inc., Boston Celtics, Cephalon, Inc., Columbia River Bar Pilots, Delta Airlines, Eli Lilly and Co., Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), U.S. Department of Transportation, Fedex Kinko's, Fusion Medical Education, LLC, Garda Síochána Inspectorate, Global Ground Support, Hypnion, Inc. (acquired by Eli Lilly and Co. in April 2007), Johnson & Johnson, Koninklijke Philips Electronics, N.V., Minnesota Timberwolves, Morgan Stanley, Norfolk Southern, Portland Trail Blazers, Respironics, Inc., Sanofi-Aventis Groupe, Sepracor, Inc., Sleep Multimedia, Inc., Sleep Research Society, Somnus Therapeutics, Inc., Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Vital Issues in Medicine, Warburg-Pincus, and Zeo Inc. Dr. Czeisler owns an equity interest in Lifetrac, Inc., Somnus Therapeutics, Inc., Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Zeo Inc. Dr. Czeisler received royalties from the Massachusetts Medical Society/New England Journal of Medicine, McGraw Hill, the New York Times Penguin Press, and Philips Respironics. Dr. Czeisler has clinical trial research contracts from Cephalon, Inc., Merck & Co., Inc., and Pfizer, Inc.; an investigator-initiated research grant from Cephalon, Inc.; and his research laboratory at the Brigham and Women's Hospital has received unrestricted research and education funds for research expenses from Cephalon, Inc., Koninklijke Philips Electronics, N.V., ResMed, and the Brigham and Women's Hospital. Dr. Czeisler is the incumbent of an endowed professorship provided to Harvard University by Cephalon, Inc. and holds a number of process patents in the field of sleep/circadian rhythms,details of which are available on request. Since 1985, Dr. Czeisler has also served as an expert witness on various legal cases related to sleep and/or circadian rhythms. The other authors have indicated no financial conflicts of interest.
The authors thank Ms. Jennifer Williams (Marketing & Communications Manager, National Sleep Foundation) and Mr. David Cloud (CEO, National Sleep Foundation), Mr. Tom Kowalczyk, Mr. Steve Markenson and Ms. Bethany Black (WB&A Market Research), and the 1,508 adolescents and adults who participated in the 2011 Sleep in America Poll. A summary of findings of the 2011 Sleep in America Poll can be downloaded from the National Sleep Foundation website (www.sleepfoundation.org).
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text:
That's the premise of Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, an apocalyptic romcom crashing into theaters this summer. The title seems to be based on a song by Chris Cornell, and the plot unfolds thusly: An asteroid named Mathilda is heading towards Earth, and people are trying to figure out what the fuck to do with their final days. Steve Carrell plays Dodge, a man looking for the one who got away, and Keira Knightley plays Penny, his neighbor who decides to help him.
The flick was written and directed by Lorene Scafaria, who penned the script for Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (and found herself in the gossip pages recently, when she hung out in Italy with Ashton Kutcher at Christmastime). It's unclear from the trailer whether Dodge and Penny end up together, but it's notable that the stars are a 49-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman, because even as the world ends, no one wants to see ladies over 30 do anything. Still, chances are, it ends with a bang: Either of the asteroid or the sex variety.
Watch The "Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World" Trailer [Buzzfeed]

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Wales take on New Zealand in Cardiff this weekend with the weight of history still hanging heavy over the fixture.
The hosts have not beaten the All Blacks since Ken Jones and Sid Judd's 1953 heroics and the vintage of 2012 appear to have little chance of replicating those feats after a difficult couple of games. Wales are going into the match with the All Blacks off the back of two defeats at the Millennium Stadium - first to Argentina and then to Samoa. And they will come up against the World Cup holders who last lost back in August 2011.
But while they have failed to defeat the All Blacks for nearly half a century, there have been several close calls for Wales to take heart from along the way, most notably a classic at the 2003 Rugby World Cup, a 26-25 loss back in 2004 and Andy Haden's fabled dive in 1978.
But the fact remains that the All Blacks have also frequently enjoyed themselves, including two wins on their way to Grand Slam tours in the last five years. In 2005 they routed a weakened side 41-3 before Wales' infamous Haka showdown was quelled with a 29-9 victory. And the last meeting between the two sides came back in 2010 where the All Blacks prevailed 37-25.
They're in search of another clean sweep this weekend - with a result either way set to go down in the annals of the game.
Wales v New Zealand all-time record: Played 28, Wales won three, New Zealand won 25
Biggest winning margin: Wal: Five points, 13-8 at National Stadium; NZ: 52 points, 55-3 at Waikato Stadium, 2003
Highest score: Wal: 37 points, 37-53 at Stadium Australia, 2003; NZ: 55 points, 55-3 at Waikato Stadium, 2003
Most tries: Wal: Four, 37-53 at Stadium Australia, 2003; NZ: 10, 52-3 at Lancaster Park, 1988
Longest winning sequence: Wal: Two (1935-1953); NZ: 24 (1963-present)
Most points (individual): Wal: Stephen Jones 89; NZ: Dan Carter 162
Most tries (individual): Wal: Two, Geoffrey Jones; NZ: Eight, John Kirwan
Most points in a Test: Wal: 17, Stephen Jones at Stadium Australia, 2003; NZ: 27, Dan Carter at Carisbrook, 2010


text:
Training: Tracking Learner Interaction in Video-based Courses with Adobe Presenter 9
Topic: Tracking Learner Interaction in Video-based Courses with Adobe Presenter 9
Description: Now-a-days, video is considered the best form of content delivery. There is a video available for almost everything. Even the trainers and educators are adopting this form of content delivery but there are some questions that plague their minds: Are my students watching the videos? Are they watching the videos more than once? How much are my students learning from these videos? Are these videos effective? Do the students have any doubts about the concepts they are being taught in the video? Join Dr. Pooja Jaisingh in this interactive session to get answers to all these questions and more.


text:
The Virtualization Group–Boston is a volunteer run, professional association, which exists in order to encourage an exchange of knowledge about all aspects of virtualization, green technology and cloud computing between IT Professionals. Furthermore, we will foster affiliation with similar virtualization groups located elsewhere to expand the reach of knowledge and training resources.
What We Do
As a local user group, we physically meet monthly, by default on the Third Thursday.
The 2-3 hour meeting provides an opportunity for education, knowledge transfer, and training through formal presentations, demonstrations, and discussions. As a local user group, of course networking is an important element and typically we provide some refreshments and door prizes.
Unless there is an objection from a presenter, all presentations will be recorded. These recordings may be downloaded and viewed by our members offline at a later time, and may be shared with other local user groups that are part of the Virtualization User Group Alliance. We plan at some point to make the presentations streamed live over the internet as well.
From time-to-time we also host special events. A great example of this is our inaugural event "Virtualization Deep Dive Day"
What We Cover
We use a very inclusive approach in determining what we consider to fit under the Virtualization umbrella. The list of interest areas that we have defined is expected to change as technology and interests advance. Currently, we have identified the following areas of interest to the group:
No two people are likely to give you the same definition to any of these terms; see "Areas of Intereest" below for more information on how we define these areas.
Virtualization Boston desires to affiliate with other local User Groups around the world that focus on the Virtualization space. As such, we are branding a global member alliance we call the "Virtualization User Group Alliance". Alliance members will be able to share designated content to extend the reach of technical knowledge well beyond that for which any one group could cover.
See the sidebar on alliances at the bottom right side of the home page for more infomration.
Content Level
We seek to advance the technical knowledge of our members, who are generally active IT professionals, contractors, consultants, and vendors. While presentations may sometimes focus on a particular vendor solution which requires an understanding of "why", presentations generally focus on the "how". Another way we state this is that presentations should be technical as opposed to marketing and at "level 200" or above.
We center our focus on the needs of mid-size organizations. At the same time we understand that the needs or larger organizations are more complex and that we can all still learn much from practices and products suited to their needs.
Current Areas Of Interest
Server Virtualization
Server Virtualization is concerned with the hosting of multiple server operating systems on a single hardware platform. Epitomized by products from vendors such as VMware,, Microsoft, Citrix, Virtual Iron, and others, server virtualization provides many companies advantages in consolidation, power, management, and deployment flexibility.
Desktop Virtualization
Desktop Virtualization (called VDI by some), shares many of the technical details of server virtualization, but involves the virtualization of desktop operating systems rather than server operating systems. Because the management needs of desktop users are much more complex, often different products are needed to service those needs. The Desktop Virtualization space itself consists of several sub-spaces with very different solution architectures. This includes what we call the "hosted desktop" space, and the "local desktop" space. Hosted Desktop Virtualization is where the desktop is hosted on back-end equipment (such as a blade server or a multi-VM host such as is used in server virtualization), often combined with some kind of broker service to manage user connections . Local Desktop Virtualization is where the virtualized operating system is run on the local PC that the person is using.
Presentation Virtualization
In terms of number of end-users, the largest usage of any of the Virtualizations we cover is that of multi user session sharing of a single OS, as in Microsoft Terminal Services and X-Windows. In this form of virtualization, user input and output devices are remoted to a single instance of an operating system where sessions are established to isolate activities. The higher user density that may be achieved using Presentation Virtualization will keep this class of solution popular for many years to come. In addition, many other virtualization solutions borrow from the connectivity protocols present in Presentation Virtualization solutions.
Application Virtualization
Application Virtualization isolates not at the OS or User level, but at the application itself. Application Virtualization helps to solve not only application compatibility and conflict issues, but when layered with other forms of virtualization can create a dynamic stateless infrastructure environment.
Cloud Computing
Cloud Computing is generally considered to be scenarios whereby companies run software and/or services hosted that are hosted by other companies. The software and/or services may be private or public in nature. Cloud computing may incorporate Application Service Providers, hosting sites, and business solutions such as Google Apps, Microsoft Live Services, and others.
Storage Virtualization
Advances in storage are the most important advances today affecting the performance, availability, and manageability of our systems. Numerous vendors are creating new technology, and advanced management capabilities, that are required by virtualization.
Going Green
Rather than a technology or a product, this category is used to capture the interest and momentum in "going green".
It's not just Windows anymore. IT is often being asked to develop a mobility strategy to support users with touchpad and phones. This category covers company owned and BYOD devices, apps, and management. It also dips into the data management aspect of file sharing services.
Privacy Statement
Greetings and Welcome to the home of "Virtualization Group - Boston",
Virtualization Group - Boston is a new user group setup to eventually expand to be a national then perhaps an international interface for virtualization events physical and virtual. Our charter is to hold monthly meetings in Waltham Ma on the second Tuesday of each month. Our first regular meeting was held on Feb 26, 2009.
first official event was called Virtualization Deep Dive Day on Feb 20th 2009.
We are not sure how long it will take to get our infrastructure in place to expand our services but our plans are as follows:
Record all regular meeting presentations and have them available online within 5 days of the meeting. Eventually, we would like to expand to make them available real-time online and allow people attending from home or office to participate in the event by asking questions.
We would also like to gain some traction in other regions and have other user groups "Simulcast" our events. This is the primary reason for the " - Boston" in the name. Our hope is that the Real Life meeting can take place in any one of our locations and all other groups around the country and around the world can invite their members to experience the event live in their local cities. We expect to get sponsors for all meetings and events so that we can have food and/or snacks available for those that are attending in person. There is some chance that this infrastructure can be in place prior to our first meeting in Feb 2009. More details on that later.
Currently all content is being hosted by Bay State Integrated Technology, Inc. We are working on arrangements with other partners to assist us in this venture. We are looking for partners to supply us with:
If you are aware of companies or groups that might be interested in what we are doing please contact Dan Stolts. Dan can also be contacted via his cell phone at 508-930-1286. More on these pending relationships later.
We will establish an email list which will NOT be released to any third party. At all events, evaluations will be collected (online and in person) and all attendees will be given the option of allowing us to give the sponsor your contact information. There may be limitations on eligibility for "participating in the drawing" for those that opt out of giving sponsors their contact information.
Initial topics will include Virtual Server (Hyper-V, ESX), Application Virtualization, Virtualization Management, Desktop Virtualization, Presentation Virtualization as well as many other related technologies including Green Computing. Individual topics will sometimes be geared toward a particular product. In other cases, presentations will be about technology in general and will not be specific to a product. The group is designed to be vendor neutral and product agnostic but the nature of education on a topic is to talk about the technology that is deployed in particular products.
Thursday May 18th, Cambridge
June tbd, At Microsoft NERD Ctr. 1st Floor Main
VIDEO from Previous Meetings can be viewed on our Vimeo channel here:
We had a wonderful event on March 11th, with over 150 people in attendance and a whole lot of learning going on. Go to the DeepDiveDay2011 Tab at the top of this page to get access to the presentations and videos.
The videos are done! Thanks to Peter and Steve (and the additional camera operators) for a great job in getting these done so fast.
Virtualization User Groups Alliance
Virtualization Boston desires to affiliate with other local User Groups around the world that focus on the Virtualization space. As such, we are branding a global member alliance we call the "Virtualization User Group Alliance".
Alliance members will be able to share designated content to extend the reach of technical knowledge well beyond that for which any one group could cover. We hope to be able to simulcast presentations using web technology, or at least record and store since some alliance members will be in quite different time zones.
User Groups in other locations that wish to affiliate with us should Contact Dan Stolts.
Aliance Members include...
VirtG Affiliates with the following:
Boston User Groups
Virtualization Boston is part of the Boston User Groups, which is a great resourse for all user groups in the greater Boston area.
Virtualization Boston is supported in part by OReilly Publishing


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Sage CRM and MailChimp enable you find out what your leads and customers are thinking by running surveys through Survey Monkey.
As Dixon Advisory grew, the directors were focused on ensuring that the personalized service provided to clients was not lost by a larger firm.
Without Sage, Horizon would have to hire two people in shipping, three in the warehouse, and could only do 1/7 of its current business volume.
With the help of Sage, Lincoln Waste Solutions has become a more agile business achieving a 40% improvement in customer support.


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Body Applications
Comfortable Protection through Innovative Technology
The moving parts of the body are among the most highly stressed components of the vehicle. Uncontrolled forces promote premature wear. Our product line with its large variety of combinations provides gas springs and dampers as innovative design elements that adapt to the highest requirements and open up many new possibilities. This will increase the user-friendliness of the vehicle and save its body from wear and tear.


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off any ONE (1) 28 ct. or 42 ct. Nexium® 24HR Product
CONSUMER: LIMIT ONE COUPON PER PURCHASE of products and quantities stated. LIMIT OF 4 LIKE COUPONS in same shopping trip. Coupons not authorized if purchasing products for resale. Void if transferred, sold, auctioned, reproduced or altered from original. Any other use constitutes fraud. You may pay sales tax. Do not send to Pfizer Consumer Healthcare.


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What if laptops (or any other device) didn't need specialised AC adaptors? Well the USB Promoters Group just revealed a near-complete spec revision that would allow USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports to deliver up to 100W of power.
The spec would be fully compatible with existing cables and connectors, though it's unclear if existing hardware would be able to take advantage of the new spec in any meaningful way. As Electronista points out, the standard USB port is capable of delivering 5W of power. specialised chargers, such as the iPad charger, can give as much of 10W. A more finalised version of the spec will be presented later this fall, and it should be ready for implementation in early 2012. [USB via Electronista]


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Sugar (glucose) normally is not found in urine. But when blood
sugar levels rise well above a target range—which can occur in
type 1 and type 2 diabetes—the kidneys often release some of the excess
sugar from the blood into the urine. In pregnant women, the kidneys sometimes
release sugar into the urine even when blood sugar levels are within a safe
You can test urine for sugar by using plastic strips you can buy at a
pharmacy. You dip a strip into a urine sample. The strip changes color to show
how much sugar is in the sample. You compare the resulting color to a chart of
colors. Each color indicates a level of glucose.
Urine testing for sugar is not an accurate way to measure how much
sugar is in your blood. So most doctors no longer recommend it for
people who have diabetes. A sample of urine often is stored in your bladder for
several hours before you test it. Also, because sugar does not show up in urine
until it is much higher than normal in the bloodstream (180 mg/dL), urine
cannot be used to check for slightly high or low blood sugar levels.
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August 1, 2012
Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:
John Pope, MD - Pediatrics & Stephen LaFranchi, MD - Pediatrics, Pediatric Endocrinology
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President Obama will combine political events in Austin with a presidential event in the El Paso area during a one-day visit to Texas next Tuesday.
Obama's Democratic fund-raising events had long been planned, but the White House said this morning that he would also also stop in the El Paso area. An administration official would not reveal the nature of the West Texas stop, but it is most likely related to one of three things: Fort Bliss, the U.S.-Mexico border or the West Texas wildfires.
The president Tuesday rejected Texas Gov. Rick Perry's request to declare Texas a "major disaster area" because of the fires that have scorched 2.2 million acres of the Lone Star State.
Obama is scheduled to return to Washington late next Tuesday after the Austin fundraisers.
A spokesman for Texas Sen. John Cornyn, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said the political events are an affront to fire-weary Texans.
"It's offensive that the president will make the time to use Texas as an ATM just days after he denied federal assistance for the thousands of wildfires that have ravaged Texas for months," Cornyn spokesman Kevin McLaughlin told Texas on the Potomac. "I'm sure Texans in those areas affected by the fires would appreciate a Commander in Chief who is more concerned about their lives and livelihoods than he is with filling his campaign coffers."


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Tuesday, September 1, 2009
ohhhh how the Barbie aisle at Toy R' Us (a US Toy super-store)....would lure and enchant me with all it's hot pink splendor...
I never had the Barbie dream house...but, boy did I want it.....I did have one silver Barbie Corvette parked under my bed though!
Barbie has an iconic status if style...my fav are the vintage Barbie's...like in the paintings....my mom still has some...but we weren't allowed to play with them (strict instructions from my Nana)...they were like the Holy Grail of Barbie-hood! Oh how I longed to put their little vintage outfits on them......
As I walked down around the corner from Spring St on 6th, in downtown LA...with hot cups of hot beverages...I saw these "dolls" in the window of a little store crammed with "previously-loved" items....called FLEA...look at the paintings of a girlhood wonder!
Style CHECK: this is what I had on, on my Barbie Discovery Day!
and oh BARBIE!!! do i wish i knew who painted these....I really thought they were photos til' I saw them up lcose with my eyeballs! and MOM, you'd love these!!!!
hot pink and love to you all!!!!!
16 comments:
- Jennifer of Dog.Yarn.Knit. said...
I LOVE those! I'm a Barbie fan. But most of mine are safely packed in boxes in a cool part of the garage. One day I hope I have a place to display them. Even the ones that have lavender mascara in their hair because I thought that was a good idea when I was 10.
- September 1, 2009 at 10:32 AM
- -phoenix- said...
love love love your outfit. had something like that on the other day wish i had taken a pic of it too.
i wasnt very good with my dolls. i think i had a barbie doll with the clothes but after a few months they just lose their heads with me (literally) hahaha
- September 1, 2009 at 10:48 AM
- SweetFurr said...
I love Barbies as a kid. Stila just released a Barbie eyeshadow palette with 12 colors in it. I couldn't resist & ordered one cos I thought it's a good deal and the cover with barbie face is so pretty.
i don't like the recent barbies they have, they just don't look as pretty as the ones from the 80s or 90s in my opinion.
- September 1, 2009 at 12:25 PM
- April said...
You should do a make-up tutorial on them!!!
- September 1, 2009 at 12:26 PM
- jmichell said...
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- September 1, 2009 at 1:09 PM
- jmichell said...
kandee you are the best!
do you ever go on facebook and chat with the people that added you??
please let me know, but i tottaly get it if your are way to busy <3
- September 1, 2009 at 1:11 PM
- sarad4 said...
I always wanted one of those my-size barbies but I was always too tall to fit in the outfit :( but oh well, I did have some pretty cool barbie stuff haha.
and I looove your boots!
- September 1, 2009 at 1:18 PM
- yasminooh said...
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- September 1, 2009 at 1:23 PM
- Di said...
Aww! I wanted a Barbie Dream House, too!! But I DID have this cool folding Barbie kitchen that had an awesome bar stool! I have I think 3 suitcases of Barbies that I haven't looked at in ages. I was pretty lucky cuz my mom gave me all her Barbies from the 70s, but I feel bad saying that the 70s Barbies were so much uglier and they were always ditched in our "Barbie Soap Stories" haha!!
- September 1, 2009 at 1:24 PM
- yasminooh said...
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- September 1, 2009 at 1:47 PM
- yasminooh said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- September 1, 2009 at 2:05 PM
- yasminooh said...
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- September 1, 2009 at 2:14 PM
- LibbyLayla1984 said...
I had the silver Barbie Corvette too. lol
Love your boots!!!!
- September 1, 2009 at 2:36 PM
- LibbyLayla1984 said...
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- September 1, 2009 at 2:36 PM
- KnitPastis said...
Cute white boots!
I loved my barbies from the 70's. I had the this super cool "Barbie United Friend Ship Airplane where half of the plane was open. You can see them on Ebay going for really cheap right now. You daughter would love that!
Hope you do one of the Barbie makeovers. I like the last photo of her the best.
- September 1, 2009 at 4:29 PM
- Sammie said...
i am sad to say that i am still a Barbie lover. my nick name in high school was......Barbie. lol. i love the vintage look. could you possibly do a tutuorial on something like this? and btw, i love the outfit you had on..........very cute! do you know where you got those boots?
- September 1, 2009 at 10:29 PM


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STOCKTON - Student journalists at Bear Creek High School were stunned to learn that their school principal confiscated 1,700 copies of the monthly The Bruin Voice newspaper Wednesday morning, citing concerns that a front-page article questioning campus safety policies would incite panic.
STOCKTON - Student journalists at Bear Creek High School were stunned to learn that their school principal confiscated 1,700 copies of the monthly The Bruin Voice newspaper Wednesday morning, citing concerns that a front-page article questioning campus safety policies would incite panic.
By early afternoon, the paper was scheduled for its normal Thursday morning delivery, but the missing papers caused a stir on campus and made for an impromptu lesson for the newspaper staff about First Amendment rights and prior restraint.
Principal Shirley McNichols said a story by the paper's Sports Editor Mikala Bussey headlined "Outdated safety plan leaves some wondering: exactly how safe is BC?" is a misleading article that could make students "falsely believe the campus is unsafe." She said the campus is as safe as any other in Lodi Unified, and she withheld delivery of the paper until she could consult district officials.
The Bruin Voice Editor-in-Chief Justine Chang and journalism adviser Kathi Duffel said the principal was embarrassed that the paper exposed loopholes in an outdated 45-page safety policy that many staff members do not read or adhere to and could leave the campus exposed.
They complained on Wednesday that the principal was invoking prior restraint, or preventing publication of information.
The Supreme Court has held most cases of prior restraint unconstitutional except for reasons of national security. While California does not prevent prior review of high school newspapers, the reasons for preventing publication are limited to slander, libel, obscenity or articles that might so incite students as to present a "clear and present danger of the commission of unlawful acts on school premises or the violation of lawful school regulations, or the substantial disruption of the orderly operation of the school," according to Education Code Section 48907.
"I feel like their reason (for confiscating the paper) because it would incite student panic is unreasonable," said Chang. "I think (administrators) were embarrassed by how they are portrayed in the article."
McNichols said she was not embarrassed by the contents of the article, but she was concerned that - while not completely false - the story could cause some student panic and affect students' ability to learn. She added that the district has a policy that allows administrators to monitor content of the newspaper and to withhold the publication if an article causes a safety issue.
It's not the first time Duffel has had a run-in with administrators regarding the student paper. Former Principal Daryl Camp asked for prior review of the newspaper in 2011, when students were reporting that he had lost the school's master key.
Duffel disagreed with Camp and went to print without prior review by the principal. She was written up for insubordination, a disciplinary action that was dropped later.
"I was told, because of problems in the past, to inform the district office if there were any concerns with the paper," McNichols said. "This was a precautionary measure. I wanted a second opinion."
Bussey said McNichols was as helpful as she could expect when she was working on the article, even offering to print out the school's safety policy. She was surprised to find out the principal had a negative reaction.
The campus safety article quotes Assistant Principal Marlon Gayle saying, "I am not very confident that the staff is familiar with it (the Comprehensive School Safety Plan)," and quotes campus supervisors Don Tirapelli and Anthony Sulfaro about a lack of communication during recent lockdown drills and two separate reports of weapons on campus.
McNichols said the campus supervisors are "disgruntled employees," and she was not given a chance to respond to their allegations of a mismanaged safety policy.
McNichols said she doesn't deny that safety measures can be upgraded. She said she has recently requested safety updates on campus, including fixing a problem where the school's lockdown alarm and intercom systems are not functional in all classrooms.
She added that the portions of the school's safety plan Bussey's article questions have not been updated to reflect current school staffing levels and police presence because the staff instead uses a different - and updated - document to indicate those things.
"I don't want to make a bigger issue out of this than it is. I think (the paper's) intentions are good. I just want to make sure we are not creating an unsafe situation by perpetuating a false impression that we don't have a policy in place and that we aren't aware of shortcomings or are not seeking improvements," McNichols said.
Lodi Unified Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education Dawn Vetica did not provide the district's reasoning for allowing the paper's distribution.
Contact reporter Keith Reid at (209) 546-8257 or email@example.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/lodiblog.


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Verlander gets long-awaited Opening Day victory
MINNEAPOLIS -- Justin Verlander couldn't help but laugh. He's not used to doing that on Opening Day.
He's not used to a game like this on most days, though.
"Interesting way to get my first Opening Day win, that's for sure," Verlander said with a smile after the Tigers' 4-2 win over the Twins on Monday at frigid Target Field.
Of all the games in which the Tigers were going to unleash the bullpen-by-committee, this seemed like the least likely. Verlander is usually his own bullpen committee, if not his own closer on some days.
Remember, he pitched eight scoreless innings on a beautiful afternoon at Comerica Park to open the 2012 season and ended up with his third straight no-decision after then-closer Jose Valverde blew the save.
Verlander seemed well on his way to a similar gem on Monday thanks to the way he was changing speeds and dropping curveballs on an aggressive Twins lineup. But with 91 pitches through five innings on a day when the temperatures were in the low 30s, he wasn't going to get stretched past 100 pitches.
"He wanted to stay in, obviously, but that's what I get paid for," manager Jim Leyland said. "And he knows in his heart that's the right thing to do early in the season. I wasn't going to take any chances."
As Al Alburquerque was staring down Chris Parmelee with a full count and the bases loaded in the seventh, with the tying run on third base, Verlander seemed poised for the same fate as last year, watching a lead slip away. Alburquerque had other thoughts.
"I was confident," Alburquerque said. "I'm saying, 'I know I can strike out that guy,' because after the second hitter, my slider, I see good spin, and I said, 'I got it. I go.'"
Alburquerque was confident enough that he was willing to throw a slider out of the strike zone on a full count, knowing he'd be walking in a run if Parmelee didn't swing.
"I know he's going to swing," he said. "I threw a couple [of sliders] for a strike, and he said, 'Oh, he throws it for a strike.' If I throw one for a ball, I know he's going to swing, because it looks the same."
Alburquerque did not lack for confidence, nor did Joaquin Benoit after him in a four-out hold, nor Phil Coke after that for the final two outs and the first save of the year. On a day when it looked full well as though Verlander would grab the spotlight and not let go, he watched from the clubhouse while the bullpen-by-committee took over.
"There's no question in my mind," Leyland said, "that was the best move to make for the Tigers organization, for Justin Verlander, for the team. First of the game of the season, to me, was a no-brainer."
Verlander understood, because of the conditions.
"I argued a little bit, tried to get back in there," he said, "but I understand."
Leyland replaced Verlander for the sixth inning hoping that Drew Smyly would be the bridge to the ninth with a three-run lead. Leyland stuck with Smyly after he escaped his first bases-loaded jam with a lone run allowed in the sixth on a wild pitch. The escape really came from Prince Fielder, who scooped Jhonny Peralta's throw out of the dirt at first base for the out.
"Probably the play of the game," Leyland said of the defensive play of Fielder, who doubled in a run with an opposite-field grounder just inside third base in the opening inning before scoring an insurance run on a wild pitch in the eighth.
Once Smyly loaded the bases again in the seventh, this time on back-to-back singles and a one-out walk, Leyland had to make other arrangements. He had to break out the committee sooner than he hoped.
"We did just what we told everybody we were going to be doing," Leyland said. "We mixed and matched. Alburquerque got the big strikeout. He hung the slider to [Ryan] Doumit [for an RBI single], but he got the big strikeout then. That's why we went with him, because we feel he's got the big strikeout pitch."
Alburquerque actually got back-to-back strikeouts to strand the tying run on third in a 3-2 game. He fired back-to-back fastballs past Trevor Plouffe after he swung and missed at a slider, and it gave him the confidence to go from there.
"I tried to get my confidence, and today I got it after the second hitter," Alburquerque said. "I said, 'I can get it. It's my job. I need to pitch good in my role.'"
Said Plouffe: "He pitched me different than he had before, so he won that battle."
Benoit worked more than three outs in just three regular-season appearances in 2011, and seven times last year. Once Andy Dirks' running catch down the left-field line on Joe Mauer stranded Aaron Hicks on first, Leyland had a decision to make for the ninth with the right-handed-hitting Josh Willingham due up.
Fielder's rolling slide into the plate on Josh Roenicke's wild pitch provided the insurance tally for Benoit to start off the ninth. One pitch and one Willingham popup later, Coke dashed in from the bullpen to finish the job.
"It's special to be asked to do it," Coke said. "And yes, if asked, I'm going to do my best. But as Skip said, it's closer-by-committee."
This was the bullpen-by-committee in a game few might have expected it. It worked about as well as they could have planned.
"We're going to be maneuvering. That's what we're going to have to do, and today it worked out pretty good," Leyland said. "But the Verlander thing, that was a no-brainer for me."