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Fine Watch Gifts for the Holidays
Still shopping for an elegant holiday gift? How about a fine watch? WSJ Magazine's contributing watch editor Michael Clerizo shows us some pricey examples for men and women on Lunch Break.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... I ... oh ... on is ... particularly worried about this whole fiscal cliff she will then maybe a high-end watches the gift for you when some of the mortgage me right now with Michael ... Clarett so he is our ... high correspondent for time pieces there's here the Wall Street Journal and he's doing is one that I might go ... hello windy thanks for being with us tell you take out some spectacular watches for men and women to start with the guys ... on tells about this and write brightly new found ... write to Breitling navi towing or it was introduced in nineteen fifty two ... and it was to watch made for pilots ... all those numbers you see around the circumference of the watch ... are actually a slight cool using those upon that could determine ... how much fuel he had left in its tanks and at what speed he would have to fly to conserve his fuel to the end of the flight ... it's really a September slide rule they are an too young to remember with slide rules are on the buckle ... they reused in those days it's also a chronograph which is a Watson that to try and stop what should lead you to measure ... the bed super minutes and seconds ... it's very much aimed at the Lions and like watches with a lot of numbers ... and with a lot of functions on them and it's a you know how does beautiful watching how much is that going for ... seven thousandseven hundred dollars ... with a leather strap that about nine thousand with the stainless steel bracelet I love that is not the most expensive watching their shows let's move on to this um a gut tells about that one ... again to make a Speed master this is the watch that went to the moon ... if ... I've Neil Armstrong had looked at his wrist ... just before he descended that latter nodded his famous words ... he would've seen an Omega speed maps ... it was the NASA while he was subjected to an incredible number of tests ... it was heated up to two hundred degrees and frozen ... it was left in a vacuum ... but it was ... it was announced in nineteen ninety five is the official NASA watch it would use for all ... American space missions after that and how much is that one very how much is that one total Michael ... thirty five thousand because as a platinum case right now we're moving on to final pick from and what is that ... it's I'm a type your are now this is the news a lot to square it was in fact her Square waterproof doll aisle ever ... made waterproof watch every made ... it's ... got a blue doll aisle which is very unusual that the reason its iconic ... is it so watch Steve McQueen war in the nineteen seventy one movie ... long ... and with a cool guy like Steve McQueen wears a watch lots of other guys want to ... and this one caught poem's eye ... this one cost about six thousand dollars ... but the one Steve McQueen actually Warren that movie ... was auctioned at six months ago for eight hundred thousand dollars ... that's an unusual looking Watson accepting some women might even wear that to come watch thinking of women ... you do have some specific picks for us ... I'd tell us the first one ... well the first one is they brigade Queen of Naples to an eight years ago the Queen of Naples was Napoleon's sister woman named ... Carolina rocked ... and from the watch red Greg and he was a famous watchmaker in Paris at the top and ... she ordered a walked in she specifically wanted one ... that would fit on the strap around her wrist ... so it's often considered the first commissioned ... wristwatch ... this one as it is a very unusual shapes a bit like an aging ... mother of pearl doll aisle ... it's very simple very modest and it will only cost about fifteen thousand five hundred dollars ... but there are Jilin crusted versions ... that go up to around six hundred thousand dollars for goods Nathan spend that much if you want to write very quickly what are the last in UK for the women ... up next what a party a tank ... this is a walk to Take Americana watch worn by Jack UMass is ... worn by Princess Diana ... worn by Warren Beatty ... anyone can wear this is the perfect combination ... of fashion great watch making ... and the last one ... is a long James Freeman do not ... the melanin is Italian for full moon ... and that took the watch looks like it's a classic around the ... woman's watch ... mother of pearl dial and very unusual case ... and very unusual strap combination of stainless steel in rose gold ... and is about forty on gardens on the whole thing but let me set you back about six thousand dollars and and ... and and Michael Thomas was the card and ... the card EA is nine thousand six hundred dollars captured in the region are looking at there ... I can give us a lot to choose from liao Avoca cannot pennies and will get back t think semester being with us ... you're welcome Wendy


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TELL CITY – Goblins, Games and Goodies, an event sponsored by Perry County Junior Women, will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 30 at the Perry County 4-H Fairgrounds.
Families are invited to take their children for a night of games, crafts, treats and even a haunted trail. There will also be "Witchy Story Time." Popcorn, hot chocolate, hot cider and other snacks will be available for purchase. Snack proceeds will benefit the 4-H Council. Boy Scouts Troop 192 and Perry County 4-H Junior Leaders are sponsoring the haunted trail.
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Researchers Lead Google+ Hangout About Recent Microbial Study main content.
by AMNH on
Last Friday, June 21, Assistant Curator Eunsoo Kim and Curator Rob DeSalle answered questions about recent microbial research in a Google Science Fair 2013+ Hangout on Air. Watch the Google+ Hangout here.
In recent work, Dr. Kim and her colleague Dr. Shinichiro Mauyama of Japan's National Institute for Basic Biology have shown microscopic evidence for bacteria-eating behavior, as well as the structural basis for this behavior, in green alga. This work provides insight into how early eukaryotic organisms may have acquired specialized cellular structures, called chloroplasts, responsible for converting light into food and became photosynthetic.
Dr. Kim's research focuses on the evolution and ecology of protists. Very abundant and diverse (though usually single-celled), protists—including most algae—are eukaryotic organisms that aren't classified as plants, animals, or fungi. Dr. Kim studies some of these mostly aquatic microbes here at the Museum−and in the field, where she has identified new species and new genera.
Learn more about her work in this video.
Read more about Dr. Kim's recent research on bacteria-eating algae and the origin of photosynthesis.


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Small Cell Lung Cancer Treatment and Prognosis
My father-in-law has small cell lung cancer. He was treated with chemotherapy and radiation therapy. They then discovered a metastasis in his brain. So, he was started on radiation to his brain. As far as I know, the cancer is only in the left lung and one site in the brain. Will you please tell me what is the average time he may survive? Have you ever seen anyone cured after the cancer spreads to the brain? He is sick and tired of chemotherapy and he doesn't want to receive any more. What do you suggest? Is further treatment useless in this situation?
Barbara Campling, MD, Medical Oncologist, responds:
I am sorry to hear about your father-in-law's small cell lung cancer. This is a fairly common variety of lung cancer that differs from non-small cell lung cancer because it can spread more rapidly, particularly to the brain, as it did in his case. When small cell lung cancer is confined to the chest at diagnosis, it can sometimes, although infrequently, be cured with aggressive chemotherapy and radiation therapy, which are often administered at the same time. This may have been the situation when your father-in-law's doctors started to treat him. Unfortunately, his cancer has now spread to the brain. The usual treatment for recurrence in the brain in a patient with small cell lung cancer is radiation to the whole brain. This is often very effective at reducing the size of the cancer deposit in the brain and improving symptoms, but it does not always eradicate the cancer in the brain and is a palliative, not curative, treatment. Once small cell lung cancer has spread outside of the chest, it is generally not curable with any form of therapy. The usual life span in someone with small cell lung cancer that has spread to the brain is measured in weeks or months, and only rarely years. However, it is very difficult to predict the length of survival in any individual patient, and patients with brain metastasis who are younger, have better performance statuses, and have more limited disease in the chest and elsewhere in the body tend to have the best survivals.
He is now feeling sick and tired. This is not surprising. Chemotherapy can often wear patients down. Also the cancer itself could be making him sick and tired. Although small cell lung cancer often responds dramatically to initial chemotherapy, it does not respond nearly as well to second-line chemotherapy. Whether he gets further chemotherapy depends on what is causing his symptoms, and how he feels about further treatment. He should talk to his doctors about this. Regardless of whether he decides to receive more chemotherapy, there should be other measures that his doctors can take to make him more comfortable.


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William Shatner as Captain Kirk, first lady Michelle Obama as Jack Nicholson's partner, Halle Berry as the Chrysler Building, Seth MacFarlane as host. TV critics may have hated Sunday's 85th Academy Awards, but 40.3 million viewers lapped it up, making it the most watched entertainment program on TV in nearly three years.
Even more important to broadcaster ABC: The Oscarcast scored a nearly three-year record among viewers between the ages of 18 and 49, who are the currency of TV ad sales.
In particular, the network boasted the show's 34 percent year-to-year ratings spike among 18-to-34-year-old men, who are the elusive unicorns of the ad world. The broadcast attracted 13 percent of the country's 18-to-49-year-olds.
History will credit MacFarlane, whose success at reaching that young-guy group with animated TV shows has made him a darling at Fox — as well as at NBCUniversal, which distributed his like-minded box-office hit, "Ted."
(In truth, the age of the audience has a lot more to do with the movies in the running for best picture — and six of this year's nine best-picture nominees topped $100 million in box office by Sunday's ceremony.)
The motion picture academy has been desperately trying to lure young viewers back to the trophy show, which led to the disastrous 2011 program when Anne Hathaway and James Franco co-hosted the show. They wound up doing worse with viewers their age than did oldsters Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin the previous year.
And the most successful Oscars ceremony of the past decade among young viewers was the 2004 show; it attracted 15.3 percent of the country's 18-to-49-year-olds.
That year's host: Billy Crystal.
That year's winning movie: "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."
MacFarlane delivered that for which he's best known: cheap shots that send young males howling. Critics, too, but not in a good way.
It goes like this: MacFarlane observes that Quentin Tarantino's best adapted screenplay winner, "Django Unchained," is "the story of a man fighting to get back his woman, who's been subjected to unspeakable violence — or, as Chris Brown and Rihanna call it, a date movie." The fashion-whoring Oscar audience gasps. TV critics, who tend to take the Oscars way too seriously, cringe. And Robert Downey Jr., in the audience, applauds.
It played out much the same all night, as when MacFarlane broke out into the Hollywood starlets production number "We Saw Your Boobs." And when he quipped about Daniel Day Lewis's turn as the country's 16th president: "I would argue that the actor who really got inside Lincoln's head was John Wilkes Booth." And on and on.
Much was made in the press the next morning of the panning that MacFarlane received on Twitter for his performance.
Of course, some on Twitter also panned the show, as WLJA's Cynne Simpson noted, for booking people as old as Dame Shirley Bassey and Barbra Streisand to perform Sunday night. Bassey, in particular, being so old that when she first performed "Goldfinger" for the 1964 James Bond flick of the same name, Cynne hadn't even been born yet, Cynne noted.
Using Twitter to determine the worth, or lack thereof, of a TV program is a mug's game.
McFarlane's audience was nearly 21 million people bigger than Tina Fey and Amy Poehler's at the Golden Globes. MacFarlane's audience also was 103 percent bigger than TF& AP's among young viewers.
As he did at the unveiling of the Oscar nominees back in January, MacFarlane on Sunday predicted that Fey and Poehler would be asked to host next year's Oscarcast. And that TV critics would fawn over it.
According to Nielsen, the MacFarlane-hosted Oscar broadcast ended at 11:40 p.m. — about 25 minutes before it ended in the real world. That means all those breaks you suffered through after 11:40 p.m. did not include any national ads and therefore don't count.
After the Academy Awards, "Jimmy Kimmel Live" scored its second biggest audience ever — nearly 6 million viewers.
That's about a million viewers more than last year's post-Oscar "JKL," which featured the release of the star-strewn trailer for the nonexistent flick "Movie: the Movie," and Oprah Winfrey's appearance on the show.
This year, Kimmel welcomed Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx, and debuted the trailer for the slightly less star-studded sequel to the nonexistent movie "Movie: The Movie Twovie."
The record for Kimmel's late-night show remains its post-Super Bowl broadcast in February of '06.
To read previous columns by Lisa de Moraes, go to washingtonpost.com/


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Christian Louboutin Elegant Men's Shoes Autumn/Winter 2016Categories:Christian Louboutin
Introducing the newest men's shoes of Christian Louboutin for Autumn/Winter 2015-2016. Especially to upgrade menswear closet this season, the French luxury designer exclusively brings various lines of iconic footwear in fresh, cooler tones with a touch of glamour rock vibe and signature details of the brand. Let's find out here in Fashionbashon the must-have superb essentials for gentlemen with the price list and adorable features of every item.
Known for unique and fancy styles in every collection of his footwear, the French luxury designer Christian Louboutin is now revealing the new arrivals fall/winter 2015-2016 shoes for men. Several charming models, from superb high-top sneakers, cool slip-ons, flat espadrilles, classic derbies, and loafers to the most sporty glam boots and other fashionable footwear embellished with spikes or studs, strass, metallic animal prints and other signature details of the house in trendy, modern colors.
Christian Louboutin Men's Sneakers Autumn/Winter 2015-2016
Cool, modern attitude with the presence of energetic vibe, to complete gentlemen's everyday wear of the season, Christian Louboutin shows various lines of low and high-top sneakers in refined yet luxe materials.
The Bip Bip Men's Flat High-Top Sneakers in ocean blue made of smooth leather with lace-up details featuring easy lightweight accent, a classic yet fashionable element to update men's everyday look. $895.00
The Louis Men's Flat High-Top Sneakers of the latest arrivals Louboutin shoes collection are also among the must-have iconic footwear defined by glam rock twist "Python Aquarium" in shades of metallic gold and electric blue and luxurious multicolored aquatic leather details with light rubber outsoles in white and lace-up in black give a more enhancement to wear with any stylish menswear of the cold season. $1,995.00
Casual, fresh and trendy at the same time, the Terence Flat Low Sneakers are distinguished by innovative technical interweave fabrics with adorable toe-to-tongue laces appliqué in black, blue and white, this model is also equipped with metal buckle closure at the ankle that adds a more sophisticated accent. $1,195.00
Unmistakably a striking complement to men's daily outfits of the season, the Antony Men's Flat is sporty chic low-top sneaker crafted in white refined leather with glamour accent of Louboutin's signature spike and chain in gold finished tones. $1,295.00
For gentlemen, discover also the luxe accessories with signature details of the Italian luxury fashion house Gucci Men's GG Blooms & Caleido Print Essentials Collection.
Christian Louboutin Men's Slip-on Shoes Fall/Winter 2015-2016
Effortless style with cool statement, the new Louboutin espadrilles and slip-ons are also among the must-have off-duty essentials for men, the iconic design of the French brand is embellished with totally unique and luxury details to create a distinctive look in any occasions.
As we can see a superb glossy effect in Pik Boat Men's Flat Slip-ons, made of extravagant dégradé patent leather in shiny electric blue and green, this shoe is decorated with metal spike and trim detail with elasticized side panel and lightweight yet comfortable rubber sole in white to emphasize unique glamour and casual attitude at the same time. $995.00
The Sailor Flat Slip-ons are also among the must-have leisure essentials for men this winter season. Featuring chic bee pattern in ocean blue technical fabric with black textured leather side panel are the stunning combination to accompany your casual denim jacket, cotton chinos or any other refined outfits from men's closet. $725.00
Devoted to upgrade gentlemen's footwear wardrobe of the moment, Louboutin also suggests simple but stunning Roller-Boat Flat shoes in green luxe suede with allover spike detail makes it looks more distinctive. $1,245.00
A touch of exotic traditional design mixed with fresh, casual vibe for total modern look. The Melides Casa Flat is another stunning Louboutin's espadrilles featuring adorable hand-drawn "Loubi Jungle", a mix of paisley and fantasy printed cotton in green and black colors with silver finished metal stud embellishment for a glam yet relaxed elements in the beach. $595.00
For this season, you cannot miss also the refined details of the latest arrivals Stradivarius Designer Shoes Collection for ladies AW 2015/16.
Christian Louboutin Men's Derbies and Loafers Autumn/Winter 2015-2016
The luxury French designer also comes up with classic elegant men's dress shoes collection. Available in various styles and colors, these iconic loafers and derbies are crafted in refined materials with unusual embellishments, the craftsmanship and signature details of the house.
The Tritonic Flat Loafers are among the must-have luxury footwear in men's closet of the season, these shoes are featuring embroidered artwork inspired by French painter Jean Mayodon in burgundy suede. $2,295.00
To emphasize a glam rock attitude with a sense of stylishly classic look you can also opt for the Dandelion Spikes Flat Loafers in metallic silver featuring glittery effect finished materials with allover spike decoration. $1,395.00
For elegant retro-inspired look in the office or any other formal occasions, Louboutin'sBruno Orlato Men's Flat Derbies in smooth black leather with tweed fabrics insert are perfect elements, wear this pairing with tailored suits or any other sartorial for striking precious outlook. $ 895.00
The Trepeter Flat Derbies shows totally luxe vintage accent in cognac brown polished calf leather that gives a stunning masculine twist to match any tailored jackets, trousers and any other classic office wear. $1,245.00
Complete also your casual everyday look with the classic chic and trendy lines of UGG Australia TREADLITE BY UGG New Men's Shoes Collection.
Christian Louboutin Men's Boots Fall/Winter 2015-2016
The boots are also among the most superb elegant footwear to complete gentlemen's everyday wear of the season. Defined by sophistication on every design crafted in superfine black or brown polished leather and smooth suede makes these pairings exceptional pieces to accomplish any fashionable outfits in any occasions.
Classic casual elements with military-inspired accent in soft camel brown suede, theAmory Boots are distinguished by innovative ankle cuffs closure with double metal buckle and lace up detail for ultra-masculine look. $1,595.00
Luxe retro and classic vibe at the same time, Antonio Booty is among the elegant chic shoes for men featuring versatile design made of luxury calf leather in brown with elasticized side panels for modern mood. $1,395.00
The Roadie Flat Men's Boots of Christian Louboutin are also one among the flawless essential of the season. Crafted from refined black suede with narrowed heel and thin sole, this city boot looks adorable for your off-duty complement.
For glam rock with sporty biker touch, the Marinoto are sophisticated boots in black supple leather with opulent metal hardware in shiny silver-finished tones, perfect for those who called themselves true adventurers. $ 1,995.00
Those are among the superb yet elegant men's shoes of the newest arrivals Christian Louboutin FW 2015-2016 collection we presented here with the price list and feature details. Characterized by classic modern look with a touch of luxury embellishments, discover more refined models and shop the selection above
Tags: Christian Louboutin shoes Elegant


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Rice trial: Hiker can testify in Park murders
Testimony from another hiker can be used by prosecutors in the trial of a man accused of killing two women in Shenandoah National Park, a federal judge ruled.
In a ruling unsealed Tuesday, June 10, at the federal courthouse in downtown Charlottesville, U.S. District Judge Norman K. Moon denied a request by attorneys for Darrell David Rice to exclude the testimony of Anthony Coyle, who was camping in the park around the time of the slayings.
Coyle has picked Rice, 35, out of a photo lineup and identified him as being in the park around the time of the 1996 killings of Laura S. "Lollie'' Winans, 26, of Unity, Maine, and Julianne "Julie" Marie Williams, 24, of Burlington, Vermont.
Williams was a graduate of Cathedral High School in St. Cloud and Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota.
Coyle told a grand jury last year that he while he was on a camping trip with his girlfriend in the park over Memorial Day weekend in 1996, his girlfriend heard women screaming during the night. Coyle said that the next morning, he saw a man standing in a clearing near his campsite, but he left without speaking to Coyle.
According to court papers, Coyle's campsite was about three miles from where the women's bodies were later found.
The defense motion to exclude Coyle's testimony argued that his identification of Rice from a photo lineup was unreliable because it occurred five years after the slayings and some of the photos used in the lineup were "clearly outside of the range of possibilities based on the descriptions Coyle gave.''
But Moon said in his ruling that the eight-picture photo lineup "did include several white men of nearly the same age [as Rice] with similar features.''
In a separate decision, Moon denied the defense's bid to avoid the possibility of the death penalty, saying that Rice's lawyers failed to "demonstrate that any constitutional concerns are raised.''
Williams and Winans were reported missing in late May 1996 after they did not return from a five-day backpacking trip. The women's bodies were found by park rangers at a creekside campsite on June 1, 1996, "bound and gagged, and with their throats cut,'' according to a statement issued previously by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft.
Rice's trial is scheduled to begin July 24.


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The premier waterfront Cache Cay Island Community is in Central Beach area within very close proximity to Village Beach Market. The exclusive gated community is located just south of Jandrew Cove and sits on its own barrier island of sorts. Because water completely surrounds this neighborhood, residents living within get to experience private and extremely peaceful tranquility. And with only 95 riverfront and lakefront homes to select from prospective homebuyers have to move quickly if they want to secure a home in this luxurious community.
However don't let the gated community be a deterrent. Cache Cay is a neighborhood that warmly welcomes in all prospective homebuyers, with real estate available at a number of different price points. The homes for sale in Cache Cay are not only unique in layout and architectural inspiration, but each home offers its future owners access to a community of like-minded individuals.
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May is National Stroke Awareness Month
Miranda C.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
By: Miranda Cornell
On June 8, 2012 my life was turned upside down on a regular Friday workday. I went into work as normal; though I was upset because my co-worker had been let go the day before. My best friend drove me to work, and we had a normal morning conversation and smoke before I went in. I took several phone calls and felt a looming headache, but passed it off as a normal workday headache, since they had been doing construction in our building for weeks, including a lot of foul odors and noisiness. At about ten I felt the headache become deeper in a swift, sharp motion, but again just made the plan to go to the med kit soon to get some Motrin. It really was not an out of the ordinary headache; I have felt much softer and much harder headaches in my life.
I took one last phone call, and at the end of the call with a very nice woman, the fire alarm sounded. I apologized and asked her to call back with any questions, as I had to exit the building. I remember her responding with something like "I would like my card but don't stay in the building to send it to me" and we both laughed. I got up and grabbed my ever important cigarettes and headed out. I remember a little fuzziness when I first got up out of my chair, which again I fobbed off on the construction smells and the headache. I headed down the stairs and immediately saw a friend of mine. As we walked away from the building we talked about our extra morning break via the alarm and how our day was going so far at work: normal conversation. We walked up to another couple of co-workers from my department all talking about the same things.
I was in the middle of repeating what I had just said about the construction workers to my co-worker and realized that the words in my head had warped into something I could not understand when I spoke them, and looked toward my friend to ask if she heard my sentence the way I had. Instead in what felt like a flash I started to think how pretty the friend I was looking at was. And then I noticed the brightness of the sunny morning we were all standing in. I then heard my friend say my name with some urgency and turned back to her. I mentally replayed what she had said after my name and realized she asked if I was ok. In my mind I said I'm ok. My sentence just came out all wrong just now, but again what I heard myself say was slurred beyond any intoxication I have ever felt. There was no dwelling on that though because my attention was all at once drenched in only sound. I felt like everyone was screaming at me, and my head pounded. I realized in what felt like slow motion that only the people I had been talking to were actually looking at me though. I snapped back to the present tense and heard my friend say "no there is something wrong with her", and the look on her face made my brain ask the question are all systems go? Am I ok? She took my arm and her hand was very warm. Not scalding, just warmer than it should be and I looked down at our clasped hands and thought why is she holding my hand? She asked me if I could walk and I felt another clasp only this time of my elbow to steady me and I dimly realized it was my co-worker. I started to walk to the picnic table which is where they were directing me, and I remember looking down at my leg and wondering why I was walking so slow. My brain demanded that my leg cooperate and move but I watched as nothing changed in my gait, and was fascinated by the disconnect; the fact that that this was happening to me had not taken hold of anything in my consciousness. I focused on my empty left fist and mentally requested that it flex, and it did but it was at the rate of honey pouring from a jar.
I realized as I sat down that I was slowed in not only my body but my mind as well. I heard everything happening around me but it was all at a pace I did not have the effort to concentrate on. I next remember a manager that I had only spoken to on a few occasions knelt beside me rubbing my back and taking my pulse. Then two of my co-workers decided to call an ambulance and gave them all the information they could and helped interpret some of my sentences as the operator asked questions. Another co-worker went up for my purse after getting my best friends number and calling her to let her know what was going on. The ambulance came and as more people crowded around me I started getting mad. I still had not fully connected that I was really having a stroke. I knew it somewhere in my head but I was no where near to accepting it as fact. The sirens made me cry and I was mad that someone might notice; plain and simple. I wasn't crying for myself though, sirens remind me of all the times I had to call an ambulance for my mother when she was dying from Cancer, and it is an automatic response to cry when I hear them. When the Paramedics brought the stretcher down and started asking me questions, I answered and I realized my speech was slightly clearer when I concentrated a lot. I made a couple of jokes because that is the way I cope with all stress and it was again, and automatic response that I did not have to think about. When they asked me to get on the stretcher I really thought that I could do it but my body did not respond the way I asked it to. I was able to hide the disuse of my left arm, but they had to take my left leg and pull the dead weight up on the stretcher and that is a sight I will never forget. Some part of my brain started to make alarm sounds and jump up and down at that point screaming that this is happening to me, but again I was distracted by the annoyance that my limbs were not working in front of all of these people. Why do these people need all of my information, just leave me alone don't you understand something is going on. But what? I don't know but these people are distracting me from it! But they are paramedics and that means I should answer. Now I often talk to myself as most of us do, but this felt like private argument in my head like no other I had ever experienced. Like all of my other senses had shut down to take a seat and watch the pending battle, and another set of alarm bells joined the rest of the chorus.
I next remember being lifted into the ambulance and seeing more people in another area outside watching me. I was furious at this point but I know now it was fury over embarrassment and that emotion was magnified to a level I couldn't even react to. They brought me into the ambulance and I concentrated on the two men. One was very nice and explained everything as he did it while asking me general questions about my life. We talked a little about our kids as the young one tried to get a line in me and my answers were robotic. This set off another alarm. Being on auto-pilot while speaking about the three things I love most in this world was an oddity that I could not ignore. I told him he was not in but he kept moving it around and my vein blew. All at once I was angry and concentrating on not screaming at him. This hurt more than it should have and my arm immediately started to bruise in about a two fisted area. Again I should not have felt this intense about it. A blown vein hurts, but I seriously thought about punching that paramedic in the head and only the ideas that the man on the left side of me would stop me and then that my left arm was not working well made me hold off. I was so concentrated on this that the older paramedic asked me if I was ok.
As we got to the hospital I was passed along to three nurses who asked me a lot of questions in what seemed like a fast pace. Again on the inside I was warring with telling the nurses to get the f*&k off me, but on the outside I was on auto-pilot and my speech had returned to intelligible so I was polite and fake in my responses. They had me stripped down and covered in a blanket quickly and it was then I noticed my best friend come in. I was cracking jokes again and she took me off guard. Everything seemed like it was happening so fast and I couldn't comprehend how she got to the hospital so fast. But it has only been a couple of minutes, she's fast! Wait the drive from work to home is twenty minutes and the hospital is about two minutes from home. And the paramedics asked me all of those dumb questions and they weren't there when it happened. How long has it actually been?
When I returned to reality and looked at her I could see the masked fear in her eyes and I thought wow I must look like sh*t! Next I remember her beside me but I was in a different room and she was answering most of the questions. I thought good cause I'm tired. And then I was being asked to sign a paper for a trial and another for an angiogram. Now I immediately thought I knew what the angiogram was because they did one before my heart surgeries. But I looked at my best friend for explanation and opinion and she read me well and gave me both without a word, so I signed. She is one of the very few people I trust in this world and I knew at this point my head was not working right. I densely knew she was asking questions and being that she was an LPN would in general understand better than I, even if my brain was connected correctly. What they were doing was giving me tPA to break up the clots in my head. This is why they say that the quicker you get to the hospital the better. tPA can only be given for up to four hours after a stroke or it can be fatal to a patient, according to the nurses I spoke with. I was also being given either albumen or saline as part of a trial they are doing to see if albumen helps stroke patients in those first crucial hours.
The angiogram was beyond painful. I remember a jarring pain and a scrapping sound like pearls rubbing against each other at a decibel I have never experienced before. I tried to break away from the pain and heard dimly two or three people tell me at one time not to move and grab my head and limbs to still me. The doctor's voice brought a slight bit of reality back and I thought I remember him I talked to him in the ER and he is going to do my angiogram and wait...that's what they are doing now...and they are in my head...and I'm moving shit! I stilled out of pure determination and concentration on the cold. But that backfired and I started an uncontrollable shiver that had them all grabbing me again.
Then I was in a hospital bed, everything hurt and was freezing. The site where they went in with the catheter at my groin for the angiogram, my head, my right arm where the blood pressure cuff was coming to life every five minutes and the left arm that had my IV in it. Oh my God I had a stroke! I'm thirty three what the heck? And I haven't taken my blood thinner pills regularly in weeks. F*&k and I was smoking when this happened. Sh*t! But I'm alive and I'm thinking clearly and I was talking and moving well earlier thank God....but f*&k! I was so tired I fell back to sleep and woke up to realize my best friend was trying to talk to me.
Within days a dark depression had taken me over. No I don't want the curtain open today! No I don't want to get up today. F*&k off with your pills and your bed-pan and your pity! Go away! The only thing I looked forward to was my best friend coming to see me everyday and her telling me about my kids. But she looked weary and sullen every time I saw her, and it would come back everyday that less than a week before this happened she had confided in me that she could not take anything else on in her life. That she needed a break and an overwhelming guilt would put me right back where I started. The fact that I was checking on my motor and cognitive functions everyday in-between feeling an overwhelming exhaustion all the time, didn't help my mood much. By the time I left the hospital I was so happy to get out of there and see my kids that the funk dropped away for a bit.
I had also convinced myself that even though I had suffered a major MCA stroke, that I had walked away clean. In some ways that is true. All of my major functions still work. I suffer from some minor speech dysfunction, a left hand that does not like to cooperate 25% of the time, a super increase to my sensitivity with all of my senses, and some memory loss.
The speech dysfunction is for example trying to say look and actually saying book. It usually is a rhyming word. Or one word out of many comes out slightly slurred when I am talking fast. Or I have a thought and before I say the whole thing I lose it. It is not like before the stroke for example when I would walk into a room and forget why I went there. In that situation there is a thread or a piece of something you can pull on to remember. For me when I lose my thought mid sentence there is nothing there. Its blank and empty.
As far as the memory loss, it is mostly old unused memories. I had an old high school friend contact me and I had no idea who she was. But after talking to her some, we weren't close friends, we just hung out sometimes. But I also had a conversation with my children's doctor about a month after my stroke that I have no recollection of. I think everything remains to be seen. I haven't tried to learn anything major since my stroke and this is the first thing I am writing that has more than a page to it so, we will see. But although I have no major problems, I didn't make it out untouched which is what I tried to act like when I got home. I tried to go back to my norm like nothing had happened. That did not work for long. In fact I went back to work almost exactly a month after my stroke and I found an anger in myself that took all of my daily energy to conceal while at work.
But after time past and I did "get back to normal" or as close to my new normal as possible, with some adjustments to compensate for my detriments, I found a grateful place that has driven me to make some changes in my life. Small little steps and doing things for myself and my family that I thought of as unnecessary extras in life before the stroke. I have had two heart surgeries but it took a stroke to make me see these changes were necessary. For the heart surgeries it was more black or white. I would live or die and I never thought of any kind of inbetween. I was in my early twenties for both of them and living a disabled life never even occurred to me. Now in my mid thirties and having a stroke, I think my maturity brought a bigger reality to light for me.
They saved my life plain and simple; all of them: my co-workers, the nurses and the doctors at South Buffalo Mercy Hospital. The timing saved my life too. I cannot tell you for sure what I would have done had I been at my desk alone since that is not the way it played out. But my first answer to that as a question of what I think I would have done is that I would have tried to hide it. Who knows what I would have done to myself by waiting even mere minutes in the attempt to hide it from my co-workers. And I could have easily passed out or blacked out at my desk. My supervisor would have eventually noticed that I was not ready to take calls at my desk, but how long would it have taken her to get up and check on her employee. An employee who very often leaves her desk to talk to other departments to get answers on pressing questions a caller may have brought up, and has earned the trust to do so.
I am still depressed and am working on that at this point along with all of those changes. But I am able to bring myself out of the depression sometimes just with the thought of how grateful I am.
Display of the Faces of Stroke stories does not imply National Stroke Association's endorsement of any product, treatment, service or entity. National Stroke Association strongly recommends that people ask a healthcare professional about diagnosis and treatment questions before using any product, treatment or service. The views expressed through the stories reflect those of the authors and do not reflect the opinion of National Stroke Association.
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The National Weather Service�s prediction for a significant winter storm with snow and ice, intense cold and strong winds Tuesday and Wednesday was a call for residents, businesses and governments in Craven, Pamlico and Jones counties to get ready Monday.
The National Weather Service�s prediction for a significant winter storm with snow and ice, intense cold and strong winds Tuesday and Wednesday was a call for residents, businesses and governments in Craven, Pamlico and Jones counties to get ready Monday.
The specifics of the forecast changed periodically as the storm approached, but the prediction of nighttime temperatures in the low 20s and lots of snow on Tuesday was enough to get the N.C. Department of Transportation to call in reinforcements from other areas and to begin applying the first of two coats of a salty brine solution on primary roadways.
�It�s exciting,� said Gordy Eure, who manages DOT�s storm preparation and management for roadways in Craven, Pamlico and Carteret counties. A directive to plan for 8 to 12 inches of snow starting mid-afternoon Tuesday had him bringing a cot into his office for a long winter stay.
Area schools in Craven, Pamlico and Jones counties are closed Tuesday for students and staff, and Jones and Pamlico schools already had made the call to close Wednesday as well.
Jones County�s non-essential government offices also will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday, but as of 5 p.m. Monday, Craven and Pamlico counties� administrators were holding off on making a decision until they saw what happened.
By 3 p.m., National Weather Service meteorologist Laura Pagoda in Newport said the Arctic storm model had changed a little, but still included expected snowfall accumulations of up to 8 inches, beginning earlier than first thought. Precipitation is now expected to begin from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Tuesday.
�As we get through overnight Tuesday to Wednesday, snow is expected to taper off west to east, with the main impacts being treacherous roadways, particularly nearer the coast,� she said. There, precipitation is expected to begin with wind-driven rain and produce more ice.
Temperatures on Tuesday night are predicted to be as low as 10 degrees, she said, with wind chills expected to be in the single-digit range.
Winds are expected to blow 25 mph to 35 mph with gusts as high as 45 mph around waterway areas of Pamlico and Craven including Fairfield Harbour, Adams Creek and places farther east.
�The heaviest snow is expected between Tuesday night and early Wednesday in the New Bern-Kinston-Greenville area,� Pagoda said. �It�s not that pretty either place � snow-packed roads in the interior or ice further east. Either way you slice it, dangerous travel conditions.�
DOT�s Eure agreed. �Whenever I leave tonight, whatever time it takes to get two runs of brine on each one of those roads, I�ll come back with Tupperware dinners and we will be here working continuously � two 12-hour shifts of 20-person crews � until the roads are open. How long that is will depend on Mother Nature and whatever she brings us.�
Meanwhile, some New Bern residents were excited about the prospect of snow while others were dreading the arrival of the white stuff.
Greg Smith of Mitchell Hardware said there was a long line of folks waiting at his store at 9:30 a.m. Monday looking for sleds and shovels.
The Tractor Supply store had people filling up their propane tanks, while Riverside Hardware on National Avenue was selling nearly the last of its inventory of snow-related equipment.
New Bern area grocery stores were hit hard Monday, with bread, milk and fruit being popular items.
The predicted weather could impact air traffic, but at 4:30 p.m. Monday, neither U.S. Airways nor Delta had made a decision to cancel any flights, said Tom Braaten, Coastal Carolina Regional Airport�s director.
�We are watching the weather, talking to NOAA, getting our vehicles ready and talking to the guy who does our plowing,� he said. �That�s about all we can do.�
He advised travelers to check on their flight status if the snow comes.
Highway travelers, however, are asked not to call 911 or the State Highway Patrol for roadway conditions in order to keep lines clear for emergency calls.
DOT real-time travel information is available at 511, ncdot.gov/travel, by following NCDOT on Twitter, or by using the phone-friendly version of the website by typing m.ncdot.gov into a smartphone browser.
Sue Book can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow her on Twitter@SueJBook.
Residents urged to use caution during winter storm.


text:
"Drop shots and spoons are taking a lot of good fish. They are just hanging on those bluffs looking for baitfish to go by...." Mitchell Lake
"Fishermen have had some pretty good luck using walking topwater baits around shallow piers and wood structure at daylight, but it gets a lot tougher once the sun gets up...." Martin Lake
"A good current break is a rock upriver. The spots will sit right behind the rock to ambush prey as it washes by. Throw your bait upriver, and tight-line it over the..." Jordan Lake
"The bass fishing in the Coosa River is amazing. I have had tons of fun floating down it casting spinners, crankbaits, and swimbaits. Deeper holes, under dams, and fallen..." Coosa River


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text:
My countdown to my debut novel's release and a chronicle of my attempt to not go stir crazy while waiting. (I post here on Mondays and Fridays. See you then!)
Monday, March 7, 2011
A Burst Appendix, a Time Traveler, and a Traffic Jam
35 comments:
- Cathy Kozak said...
A tongue in cheek read; I alternated worry with small, nervous giggles (into my hand and my eyes certainly did not giggle). I hope he is okay.
- March 7, 2011 at 6:28 AM
Indeed... I couldn't agree more.
Everything happens for a reason! You just have to be brave enough to take the journey through it.
- March 7, 2011 at 6:28 AM
- Hillary Jacques said...
So then should I be embarrassed that I found this by googing "Burst Time Traveler in the Appendix of a Traffic Jam"? Just kidding. The story of how you came to writing is lovely. :)
- March 7, 2011 at 6:30 AM
- Brynne said...
They say a soul-driven life twirls in spirals. Looks like our hearts, and your brother's appendix, agree!
- March 7, 2011 at 6:31 AM
- EQ said...
If everything is smooth sailing right from the beginning, we cannot become people of substance and character. By surmounting paining setbacks and obstacles, we can create a brilliant history of triumph that will shine forever. That is what makes life so exciting and enjoyable. In any field of endeavour, those who overcome hardships and grow as human beings are advancing towards success and victory in life.
-- Daisaku Ikeda
- March 7, 2011 at 7:03 AM
- C.M. Villani said...
Absolutely, Sam. I couldn't have said it better. Honestly my whole life has turned out to be a series of crooked lines. All unintentional. And never once did I think I'd end up where I am. :)
Life is just full of surprises. :)
- March 7, 2011 at 7:13 AM
- Catherine Stine said...
I'm glad your brother's okay! Yes, certain books seem to "fall into my hands" at the most uncanny times.
- March 7, 2011 at 7:13 AM
- C.M. Villani said...
Oh and P.S. I hate it when books/tv shows leave me in a depressed funk after I read/watch it. But I suppose it proves how good it was if it resonates with you that long after. :)But still....Ugh!
- March 7, 2011 at 7:41 AM
- Kate Evangelista said...
Sometimes, it's the zigs and the zags that make the journey worth it. Walking into a store that caught your interest, even if you get separated from your tour group. It's the art of getting lost and discovering something worthwhile during the process of finding your way back. :-)
- March 7, 2011 at 8:51 AM
What a great story! I love how a bad situation resulted in something amazing. I'm also glad your brother is okay.
- March 7, 2011 at 9:18 AM
- Samantha Sotto-Yambao said...
Cathy - He's A-OK. This experience led him down his own interesting path - but that is his story to tell :D
Mymommyology -Absolutely! Every journey, no matter how crazy, leads you to where you are supposed to be.
Hillary - LOL! You just made me spurt coffee out of my nose!!!
Brynne - "Soul-driven life twists in spirals." WOW. I adore the imagery here. Beautiful.
EQ -Great quote! Agree 100%!
Christina - Crooked lines ROCK. Without life's twists and turns, I have a feeling writers would be out of business. (And yes - I'm echoing your UGH about post-reading funk!) :)
Catherine - I think the "Great Librarian" of the universe may have something to do with leading us to the right books :)
Kate - Exactly! "...the art of getting lost" - LOVE this. Can you imagine how many things we'd miss out on if we never took detours or lost our way?
Kelly - Thanks! :D I suppose this why I'm always interested in what goes on "behind the scenes" of the books I read. There are always two stories in every book - the one printed on its pages and the other that brought the book to life.
- March 7, 2011 at 9:45 AM
- Scrollwork said...
They say we are not what we do. In this case, however, you are most definitely a writer because you wrote, and continue to write. It is both what you do and a large part of who you are, dreamed of becoming, and poured your heart, sweat and fears into finally realizing.
I read that book, too. But I didn't write all the quirky plot lines and snippets of dialogue that came to mind because I had a so-called writing job that propped up my identity. Having it taken away forced me to redefine and take the leap into blogging, photography, and clothing design. Nothing like a crisis of opportunity to reveal who we are!
- March 7, 2011 at 10:57 AM
- Samantha Sotto-Yambao said...
Scrollwork - Indeed! Detours force us to take a hard look at where we are and find the path that leads to where we truly need to go. :)
- March 7, 2011 at 11:11 AM
- (eye)candy said...
Whenever I read an entry, I always end up having a staring contest with Mr. 'Post a Comment' and his empty box. This time, I'm not letting him win (It took me a good 10 minutes though).
Love this post! Where is the 'Like' button, pls? :)
- March 7, 2011 at 12:03 PM
- Samantha Sotto-Yambao said...
Hahaha!!! I know what you mean!!! Take that, Mr. Post a Comment! :D
- March 7, 2011 at 1:07 PM
- locke said...
(eye)candy's comment was so funny, now Mr. Post a Comment will be knocked down by a one-two punch. (eye)candy's was one, this is two. Great posts attract equally interesting comments.
- March 7, 2011 at 2:23 PM
- Samantha Sotto-Yambao said...
LOL!!! *Mr. Post a Comment is waving a white flag*
- March 7, 2011 at 2:30 PM
- MuMuGB said...
Life is not a straight line, isn't it? Well, here they say that every cloud has its silver lining (I like this expression). Your story is a perfect example of this!
- March 7, 2011 at 10:11 PM
- Samantha Sotto-Yambao said...
Hi, MuMuGB! I'm curious - is there an equivalent French expression to express this thought? :)
- March 7, 2011 at 10:17 PM
- Serendipity's Library said...
Samantha, Great Post! I love your blog and all of the visual elements you include in your posts. Thanks for stpping by and visiting my blog. Have a Wonderful Day.
- March 8, 2011 at 12:05 AM
- Kara said...
I agree wholeheartedly. Crooked paths always lead to the best places and everything happens for a reason.
- March 8, 2011 at 12:53 AM
- (Florida) Girl said...
The Time Traveler's Wife is one of my favorites.
- March 8, 2011 at 3:38 AM
- stacey said...
I love it! It seems like everyone is always wanting to see the future, to rush toward that end goal/result, and then we lose sight of the journey, that beautiful moment that is the here and now. But, maybe that's just me. It seems I am always taking the long way around.... I like that I get more to see. :-)
Always love your posts.
- March 8, 2011 at 3:47 AM
- Samantha Sotto-Yambao said...
Serendipity's blog - Thank you!!! So great to see you over here :D
Kara - Indeed! Straight lines are boring :D
Florida Girl - Sooo great, right? The best books always leave me with a "hangover." :D
Stacey - Thank you!!! You are definitely not alone. I love taking the "scenic" route! :D
- March 8, 2011 at 5:32 AM
- Janel said...
Crooked, bumpy roads lead to some of the most interesting discoveries.
- March 8, 2011 at 8:17 AM
- Samantha Sotto-Yambao said...
Exactly :-) You never know what's waiting for you around the next corner.
- March 8, 2011 at 8:20 AM
Glad your brother is ok! TTTW is one of my favorite books and was a big inspiration for me as well.
- March 8, 2011 at 12:27 PM
- M Kathy Brown said...
Sam ~
Your pic of the maze is perfect for this post! Thank you so much for sharing some of your crooked lines with us :~)
- March 8, 2011 at 12:34 PM
- Samantha Sotto-Yambao said...
Liz - Thanks! (He's responsible for the VW van pic you see popping up on the Friday Field Trip posts. He swapped model cars like a madman until he got the van we needed :D ) Knowing that TTTW inspired you makes me even more excited to read Evenfall!
Kathy - Soooooo happy to share this journey with all of you guys :)
- March 8, 2011 at 1:21 PM
- Jessica Hill said...
It is so strange how life will throw us in new directions. I haven't read the novel yet, though I did see the movie and loved it. This was a great post, and I'm glad to hear that your brother is okay!
- March 10, 2011 at 9:34 PM
- Samantha Sotto-Yambao said...
Thanks, Jessica! If you liked the movie, I HIGHLY recommend you read the book. I'm sure you'll love it just as much - if not more. (Just make sure you have a box tissues nearby. ;-)
- March 10, 2011 at 10:21 PM
Very witty (eye)candy!
I love the "his colon is now a semi-colon" line!! We could both join an appendix-less group.
Agree totally on the post. I've always felt my life has twisted this way and that. Hey, if not for that weird turn in NY, we wouldn't have reconnected!
- March 12, 2011 at 4:23 PM
- Samantha Sotto-Yambao said...
OCMom - Absolutely! Our NY trip was quite a wonderful twist to our lives! :D (And I didn't know you didn't have an appendix anymore!)
- March 12, 2011 at 4:49 PM
- Leah said...
This reminds me immediately of "Bless the Broken Road" but put so much better! It's fun to think back(think = happy memory pondering, not wallowing regret pondering!) and you can sometimes see something, large or small, that had much more of an impact on your life than you initially realized. So long as you either stay on the positive side, or the learn from it side, that is :o) Thanks Sam!
- March 15, 2011 at 9:47 AM
- Samantha Sotto-Yambao said...
Indeed! I believe our attitude towards the curve balls thrown our way ultimately impacts where our little detours will take us. :D
- March 15, 2011 at 11:09 AM


text:
Diamondbacks edge Phillies on Montero's homer
Phoenix, AZ – Miguel Montero clubbed a go-ahead solo homer in the eighth inning to lift the Arizona Diamondbacks past the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-2, in the second of a four-game set at Chase Field.
Montero, who entered the game 3-for-7 all-time against Phillies reliever Mike Adams (1-3), turned on a first-pitch changeup and crushed it off the foul pole in right field to give the Diamondbacks the decisive 3-2 lead.
"It feels great to help the team. I've been disappointed with myself. I know it is early, but I've had so many opportunities and just haven't gotten it done," Montero said.
Eric Chavez and Martin Prado also drove in one run apiece for Arizona, which saw starter Ian Kennedy give up two runs on six hits over seven innings.
Tony Sipp (2-1) recorded the final two outs of the top of the eighth to earn the win, while David Hernandez stranded runners on second and third in the ninth to pick up his first save of the season.
Jimmy Rollins homered and Domonic Brown also drove in a run for Philadelphia, which has dropped three straight one-run games.
Phillies pitcher Tyler Cloyd, making his first start of the season, gave up two runs on two hits and three walks in 6 1/3 innings. Cloyd was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Friday to replace Roy Halladay in the Phillies' rotation.
Halladay was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right shoulder injury earlier this week.
Rollins opened the game with a homer and Brown singled home Michael Young to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
Chavez's double in the home half scored Paul Goldschmidt to pull the D'backs within 2-1.
Following Chavez's hit, Cloyd retired 15 of the next 18 batters he faced before giving up a one-out single to Cody Ross in the bottom of the seventh, which spelled the end of his night. Reliever Antonio Bastardo got Jason Kubel to fly out to center, but the ball was deep enough to allow Ross to move to second. Prado followed with a base hit to right to score Ross and tie the game.
The Phillies put runners on second and third with one out in the ninth inning, but Hernandez got pinch-hitter Laynce Nix to pop out before Rollins grounded out to first to end the game.
"We broke through, but we made some mistakes at the same time. We just didn't capitalize on our opportunities," said Phillies manager Charlie Manuel.
Game Notes
D'backs shortstop Didi Gregorius went 0-for-4 and failed to record a hit for the just the second time in 13 games this season ... Kennedy hasn't earned a win since April 1 ... The Phillies are 8-11 on the road this season ... Philadelphia leads the all-time series by a slim 53-52 margin.


text:
BEAVER FALLS, Pa. -- A 17-year-old high school student said
he was humiliated when a teacher made him sit on the floor during a
midterm exam in his ethnicity class -- for wearing a Denver Broncos jersey.
The teacher, John Kelly, forced Joshua Vannoy to sit on the
floor and take the test Friday -- two days before the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Broncos 34-17 in the AFC championship game. Kelly
also made other students throw crumpled up paper at Vannoy, whom he
called a "stinking Denver fan," Vannoy told The Associated Press on Monday.
Kelly said Vannoy, a junior at Beaver Falls High School,
just didn't get the joke.
"If he felt uncomfortable, then that's a lesson; that's what
[the class] is designed to do," Kelly told The Denver Post. "It
was silly fun. I can't believe he was upset."
Vannoy was wearing a No. 7 Broncos jersey on Friday, because he
is a fan of John Elway, the Broncos' retired Hall of Fame
Vannoy said he was so unnerved he left at least 20 questions
blank on the 60-question test, and just wants out of Kelly's class
because he's afraid the teacher won't treat him fairly now that the
story reached the media.
"I'm going to have to deal with him for two more nine weeks
[school quarters] and he's going to want revenge somehow," Vannoy
said Monday. "I took the test. I'm shaking. I'm furious. I didn't
know what to do."
Kelly, who wore a Ben Roethlisberger jersey Friday, and his
principal, Thomas Karczewski, didn't immediately return messages
left on their school voice mail Monday.
Big Beaver Falls Area School District Superintendent Donna
Nugent said she was aware of the situation, but said
confidentiality rules prevent her from commenting specifically.
"We'll take whatever action we need to in order for the student
to feel comfortable," Nugent said.


text:
Potatoes O'Brien - Skillet Fried PotatoesSkillet fried potatoes, also known as home fries and cottage fries in the north, are such an easy side dish, that goes well with breakfast, but also as a dinner side dish. For my classic skillet potatoes I use peeled russets, some onion and that's about it other than the delicious fat used to cook them in - for me, I love using bacon drippings for the extra richness it provides - and the very specific method.
For this version of skillet potato, I prefer to use the smaller, unpeeled red-skinned or new potatoes. The skin is tender, and to me tasty, and they cook up nicely without the steaming process that is necessary for our beloved fried taters and onion. If you prefer to use a russet, rather than a red skinned potato, you certainly can, though I'd click over to that other recipe, because I think that method works best with russets.
I also like these skin-on skillet potatoes cooked with both onion and sweet bell pepper, either red, green or yellow, or any combination of them, making this dish akin to what most folks know as Potatoes O'Brien. You could certainly leave them out if you just want potatoes. Add fresh herbs if you're making it for supper and there are any number of add-ins you can also use with these, from leftover meats, veggies, beans, whatever you like really. Stir in cooked bacon, ground beef, ham, sausage or pork, and when I have some fresh mushrooms, I like to toss in a few of those too.
Here's how to make them.
Recipe: Potatoes O'Brien - Skillet Fried Potatoes©From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 minTotal time: 30 minYield: About 2 to 4 servings
- 1-1/2 tablespoons of bacon drippings, canola or olive oil
- 6 medium sized red-skinned potatoes
- 1/2 cup of Vidalia or yellow onion, coarsely chopped
- 1/4 cup of green and/or yellow, orange or red bell pepper, or any combination, coarsely chopped
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Butter, optional
- Seasoning salt, Cajun/Creole seasoning and/or garlic salt/powder, to taste, optional
Scrub potatoes and pat dry; cut into small cubes. Heat bacon drippings or oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat until hot. Add the potatoes, onion and bell pepper all at once and turn heat up to medium high. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss until all the veggies are coated with oil. Let sit uncovered, and without turning, in order to brown underside, then give it an occasional stir to turn and cook all sides of the veggies.
Continue stir frying until the potatoes are tender and you reach the desired level of browning, adjusting the heat as needed. Do not cover. Taste, adjust seasonings as desired, adding any additional seasonings you like, and toss in a tablespoon or so of butter, if desired. Serve immediately.
Cook's Notes: If serving this as a side dish for supper, stir in a bit of fresh chopped herbs just before serving. Some good choices would be crushed or chopped rosemary, chopped dill, thyme, oregano, or flat leaf parsley. Substitute any other potato for the red skinned variety. To make this main dish, stir in cooked bacon, ground beef, ham sausage or pork. Mushrooms are also a great addition.
Source: http://deepsouthdish.com
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Crispy Oven Fries
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|Base class for widgets which contain other widgets
A Gtk+ user interface is constructed by nesting widgets inside widgets. Container widgets are the inner nodes in the resulting tree of widgets: they contain other widgets. So, for example, you might have a Window containing a Frame containing a Label. If you wanted an image instead of a textual label inside the frame, you might replace the Label widget with a Image widget.
There are two major kinds of container widgets in Gtk+. Both are subclasses of the abstract Container base class.
The first type of container widget has a single child widget and derives from Bin. These containers are decorators, which add some kind of functionality to the child. For example, a Button makes its child into a clickable button; a Frame draws a frame around its child and a Window places its child widget inside a top-level window.
The second type of container can have more than one child; its purpose is to manage layout. This means that these containers assign sizes and positions to their children. For example, a HBox arranges its children in a horizontal row, and a Table arranges the widgets it contains in a two-dimensional grid.
To fulfill its task, a layout container must negotiate the size requirements with its parent and its children. This negotiation is carried out in two phases, size requisition and size allocation.
|Size Requisition
The size requisition of a widget is it's desired width and height. This is represented by a Requisition.
How a widget determines its desired size depends on the widget. A Label, for example, requests enough space to display all its text. Container widgets generally base their size request on the requisitions of their children.
The size requisition phase of the widget layout process operates top-down. It starts at a top-level widget, typically a Window. The top-level widget asks its child for its size requisition by calling widgetSizeRequest. To determine its requisition, the child asks its own children for their requisitions and so on. Finally, the top-level widget will get a requisition back from its child.
|Size Allocation
When the top-level widget has determined how much space its child would like to have, the second phase of the size negotiation, size allocation, begins. Depending on its configuration (see windowSetResizable), the top-level widget may be able to expand in order to satisfy the size request or it may have to ignore the size request and keep its fixed size. It then tells its child widget how much space it gets by calling widgetSizeAllocate. The child widget divides the space among its children and tells each child how much space it got, and so on. Under normal circumstances, a Window will always give its child the amount of space the child requested.
A child's size allocation is represented by an Allocation. This contains not only a width and height, but also a position (i.e. X and Y coordinates), so that containers can tell their children not only how much space they have gotten, but also where they are positioned inside the space available to the container.
Widgets are required to honor the size allocation they receive; a size request is only a request, and widgets must be able to cope with any size.
|Child attributes
Container introduces child attributes - these are object attributes that are not specific to either the container or the contained widget, but rather to their relation. Typical examples of child attributes are the position or pack-type of a widget which is contained in a Box.
The Container class does not itself define any child attributes, they are defined (and documented) by the various Container subclasses.
Child attributes can be set or obtained in a similar way to ordinary attributes. So ordinary attributes are set like so:
set object [ attr := value ]
Whereas child attributes take the child object as a parameter:
set container [ attr child := value ]
And similarily for getting a child attribute's value:
value <- get container (attr child)
|Class Hierarchy
| GObject | +----Object | +----Widget | +----Container | +----Bin | +----Box | +----CList | +----Fixed | +----Paned | +----IconView | +----Layout | +----List | +----MenuShell | +----Notebook | +----Socket | +----Table | +----TextView | +----Toolbar | +----TreeView
|data Container
|class WidgetClass o => ContainerClass o
|castToContainer :: GObjectClass obj => obj -> Container
|toContainer :: ContainerClass o => o -> Container
|type ContainerForeachCB = Widget -> IO ()
|A function that is invoked for all widgets in a container.
|data ResizeMode
|containerForeach :: ContainerClass self => self -> ContainerForeachCB -> IO ()
|Maps callback over each non-internal child of container. See containerForall for details on what constitutes an "internal" child. Most applications should use containerForeach, rather than containerForall.
|containerGetChildren :: ContainerClass self => self -> IO [Widget]
|Returns the container's non-internal children. See containerForall for details on what constitutes an "internal" child.
|containerGetFocusChain :: ContainerClass self => self -> IO (Maybe [Widget])
|Retrieves the focus chain of the container, if one has been set explicitly. If no focus chain has been explicitly set, Gtk+ computes the focus chain based on the positions of the children. In that case the function returns Nothing.
|containerUnsetFocusChain :: ContainerClass self => self -> IO ()
|Removes a focus chain explicitly set with containerSetFocusChain.
|containerResizeChildren :: ContainerClass self => self -> IO ()
|Make the container resize its children.
|containerResizeMode :: ContainerClass self => Attr self ResizeMode
Specify how resize events are handled.
Default value: ResizeParent
|containerBorderWidth :: ContainerClass self => Attr self Int
The width of the empty border outside the containers children.
Allowed values: <= (maxBound :: Int)
Default value: 0
|containerChild :: (ContainerClass self, WidgetClass widget) => WriteAttr self widget
|Can be used to add a new child to the container.
|containerFocusHAdjustment :: ContainerClass self => ReadWriteAttr self (Maybe Adjustment) Adjustment
|'focusHadjustment' property. See containerGetFocusHAdjustment and containerSetFocusHAdjustment
|containerFocusVAdjustment :: ContainerClass self => ReadWriteAttr self (Maybe Adjustment) Adjustment
|'focusVadjustment' property. See containerGetFocusVAdjustment and containerSetFocusVAdjustment
|onAdd :: ContainerClass self => self -> (Widget -> IO ()) -> IO (ConnectId self)
|This signal is called each time a new widget is added to this container.
|afterAdd :: ContainerClass self => self -> (Widget -> IO ()) -> IO (ConnectId self)
|onCheckResize :: ContainerClass self => self -> IO () -> IO (ConnectId self)
|This signal is called when the widget is resized.
|afterCheckResize :: ContainerClass self => self -> IO () -> IO (ConnectId self)
|onRemove :: ContainerClass self => self -> (Widget -> IO ()) -> IO (ConnectId self)
|This signal is called for each widget that is removed from the container.
|afterRemove :: ContainerClass self => self -> (Widget -> IO ()) -> IO (ConnectId self)
|onSetFocusChild :: ContainerClass self => self -> (Widget -> IO ()) -> IO (ConnectId self)
|This signal is called if a child in the container receives the input focus.
|afterSetFocusChild :: ContainerClass self => self -> (Widget -> IO ()) -> IO (ConnectId self)
|Produced by Haddock version 0.8


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Baggins Family
This article or section needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of article quality.
The Baggins Family were a remarkable and rich Hobbit family from The Shire which included two Ringbearers: Frodo and Bilbo.
The Baggins clan traced their origin to the first recorded Baggins, one Balbo Baggins, who was born in or near Hobbiton in S.R. 1167.
The Baggins family lived all around in the Shire, mostly in or near the town of Hobbiton. They were seen as well to do and respectable, but those with Took blood were more adventurous. A notable example was Bilbo Baggins who set out on the quest for Erebor with Gandalf the Grey and twelve Dwarves: when he returned he was seen as odd or queer, but also extremely rich.
Bilbo adopted his "nephew" Frodo Baggins, who inherited the smial of Bag End after Bilbo left. Frodo himself was involved in the quest which ended the War of the Ring.
After Bilbo and Frodo left the only recorded Bagginses are the descendants of Bilbo's great-nephew Posco Baggins, although many other descendants of Balbo Baggins are also recorded, under the Sackville-Bagginses, the Chubb-Bagginses, as well as Peregrin Took and Meriadoc Brandybuck (through various interfamiliary marriages).
The name Baggins is a translation in English of the actual Westron name Labingi, which was believed to be related to the Westron word laban, "bag". The name is associated with Bag End.[1]
The name Baggins is translated in most translations of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, often keeping the "bag" or "sack" meaning:
- In the German translation the family name is Beutlin
- In the Dutch translation it is Balings
- In the French translation it is Sacquet in most books, but Bessac in the new Hobbit translation
- In the Norwegian translation it is Lommelun
- In the Finnish translation it is Reppuli
- In the Spanish translation it is Bolsón
- In the Swedish translation it is Bagger
- In the Portuguese translation it is Bolseiro
- In the Frisian translation it is Balsma
- "Intended to recall bag — cf. Bilbo's conversation with Smaug in The H. [Chapter 12] — and meant to be associated (by hobbits) with Bag End..."
- ― Nomenclature
Family Tree of the Baggins of Hobbiton
Showing the prominent members of the Baggins clan.[2] The figures after the names are those of birth (and death where that is recorded). A dashed line indicates marriage, or when extended vertically, indicates a line of descent with one or more generations not shown. Names in italics signify those who attended Bilbo's Farewell Party on 22 September S.R. 1401. Names in parentheses represent significant hobbits related to the Baggins.
Family Tree Notes
- ↑ Of Bag End, left the Shire in S.R. 1421 and said to have passed over the sea
- ↑ Drogo and Primula went boating on the Brandywine River and drowned together.
- ↑ Murdered by Gríma Wormtongue
- ↑ Left the Shire in S.R. 1421 and said to have passed over the sea
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings" in Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, p. 753
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix C, "Baggins of Hobbiton"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Chief Days from the Fall of Barad-dûr to the End of the Third Age"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "A Long-expected Party"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Scouring of the Shire"


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WASHINGTON – In the view of the Canadian government and the Peace Bridge Authority's lawyer, it's an open-and-shut case – first made by a revered state attorney general nearly 60 years ago and signed, sealed and delivered by federal courts that have said, again and again ever since, that no state can shut down a public authority whose creation was sanctioned by Congress.
But Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is getting very different legal advice.
His advisers are telling him there's a loophole that makes it legally permissible for the State Legislature to pass legislation that could lead to the disbanding of the Peace Bridge Authority no matter what the Canadians think.
The State Legislature passed such legislation on Wednesday, and perhaps that will somehow prompt a resolution of the cross-border dispute over how Buffalo's key border crossing is governed.
If not, though, the result is likely to be a decidedly unpeaceful legal battle.
And that, of course, could delay improvements at the Peace Bridge – which is exactly the opposite of what Cuomo and the bill's sponsors say they are trying to do.
The root of such a legal dispute would be the Canadian government's contention that New York cannot act alone to disband a public authority, which is just what the legislation sponsored by Rep. Sean Ryan, D-Buffalo, and State Sen. Mark Grisanti, R-Buffalo, would in effect do.
"Canada's view is that significant amendments to the governance of the bridge authority cannot be made without the consent of both federal governments," Scott Streiner, assistant deputy minister of Transport Canada, said in a May 31 letter to Howard B. Glaser, a top aide to Cuomo.
Asked why Transport Canada feels that way, agency spokesperson Karine Martel cited a 1955 legal opinion from then-New York Attorney General Jacob Javits.
Commenting on a 1955 Peace Bridge governance dispute remarkably similar to the one happening today, Javits wrote: "While it has been recognized that unilateral legislation by a state in furtherance of an interstate compact or agreement does not require consents of the participating parties and of the Congress, such consents are required where changes in the agreement are unilaterally proposed or attempted to be made by one of the parties."
While a 1955 legal opinion from Albany might not seem to carry that much weight, Javits' opinion now has the weight of legal history to support it.
In fact, the legal history is so strongly on the Canadians' side that Arthur J. Giacalone, an East Aurora attorney who specializes in land use and environmental issues and who has been following the issue closely, said: "I think there's absolutely no rational legal support for the state's position" that it can dissolve the Peace Bridge Authority on its own.
First and foremost, the state would have to overcome a little legal impediment called the U.S. Constitution, which says "no state shall, without the consent of Congress … enter into any agreement or compact with another state, or with a foreign power."
Federal courts have long interpreted that to mean, as well, that no state can abrogate such an agreement on its own. In fact, a legal opinion drawn up for the Peace Bridge Authority by its counsel at Phillips Lytle LLP last month cited more than a dozen federal court decisions that appear to buttress the argument that the state cannot act alone.
Most notably, in a 1994 Supreme Court case called Hess v. Port Authority Trans Hudson Corp., the justices said that compacts entered into to create public authorities "are not subject to the unilateral control of any one of the states."
In addition to the requirement that Canada approve it – which it refuses to do – some sort of U.S. government approval would be required as well.
The legal opinion from Phillips Lytle said Congress had delegated the approval power to the Secretary of State, but the Congressional Research Service said last week that Congress gave that power to the Secretary of Transportation instead.
Adding up all the evidence, though, the Peace Bridge lawyer, Craig R. Bucki, concluded that it's clear that Canada and the U.S. government would have to approve the just-passed legislation in Albany.
"Absent such consent, any unilateral effort by the State Legislature to enact a law that would claim to dissolve the PBA or compromise its powers would be of no effect," he said.
Definitive as that sounds, Cuomo's lawyers say: not so fast.
That's because they think a quirk of history will play in their favor.
In a memo, the governor's legal advisors note that New York and Canada amended the Peace Bridge Authority's founding document in 1970 – but that Congress never agreed to those changes.
That being the case, the state lawyers argue that a previous Peace Bridge revision authorized by both the U.S. and Canadian governments in 1957 remains in effect – and that agreement called for the Peace Bridge Authority to expire on July 1, 1992 or when its bonds were paid off.
Since the authority operated for a time since then with no bond debt, the state views the Peace Bridge Authority as the legal equivalent of the living dead.
"The 1957 agreement was the last amendment consented to by both national governments," the memo to the governor says.
"Therefore, the proposed NY law returning to the 'status quo ante' of the 1992 termination date … does not need further approval by either national government."
But if he signs, legal action is likely to follow, sources on both sides of the debate conceded.
email: email@example.com


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Top Tips For Making The Most Of Your Valuable Testing Opportunities
One of the big difficulties with racing out of your own pocket is that life gets in the way. That's not a bad thing, but it is reality. Sometimes new parts have to be delayed until after the house payment is made. And sometimes the car may not be as clean-or as completely prepped-as you might like because a member of your volunteer crew went on vacation, or had a kid get sick, and you simply didn't have enough hands on deck to get everything done.
This is especially true when it comes to testing. If you race the same equipment at the same track week after week, that's one thing, but if you are going to a new track or have changed virtually anything on your car it's practically impossible to be perfect right off the truck. Most tracks offer practice time the day a race is scheduled, but there are often times when an hour or two of track time just isn't enough and a full-blown test is called for. But tests are difficult because it costs money to rent the track, you and your crew probably will have to take vacation time from work, and getting the most from a test requires all the prep (and often more) involved with getting the race car ready for an actual race.
That's why it is so important, if you are going to make the investment of time, money, and effort to go testing, to get everything you can out of it. With that in mind, we tagged along as Joe Gibbs Racing took driver Tommy Cloce on a test. Cloce is the 2009 Joe Gibbs Driven Racing Oil ASA Member Track National champion, and one of the perks of winning the championship is the opportunity to test with the Gibbs race team.
The team Cloce is testing with is the outfit that normally races in the NASCAR Camping World East series. However, the track for the test is Dillon (SC) Motor Speedway, an ASA Member track that was purchased and rennovated by former truck series racer Ron Barfield a few years ago. And while the purpose of the session is to test Cloce's abilities behind the wheel, crew chief Mike Sibley's intention is to treat the session as much like a real test as possible to see just what Cloce is made of. This allows us to see how a professional operation like JGR handles a test day at the track.
Just like the old adage that the three most important things in real estate are "location, location, location," the very same can be said about track testing and preparation. Sibley says that in order to test properly, your race car should be prepared to the very same level that it will be on race day. Make sure any work that needs to be done on the car is completed ahead of time so that you can spend the most time possible with your car on the race track. Also, in order for the test to be valid, you want everything possible to be identical to the way it will be during a race.
Obviously, once you hit the track you don't want to start making chassis changes without a plan. And planning must also begin well before you hit the track. Start with the setup you will put under the car to begin the test.
If you are testing at your home track, then you can begin with your race setup and adjust from there. But if you are going to a track you've never tested at before, you have a couple of options. First, you can call around to other drivers or even your chassis builder to see if anyone has any experience with the track and can offer you some advice on what setups seem to work best there. If you don't know anyone and have to go in "blind," your best bet is to start with something basic your driver is familiar with. Don't guess and go in with some wild setup you aren't used to because you won't already have an idea how the car should behave, and it will be more difficult to determine what changes need to be made.
Next, you need to determine exactly what you are trying to accomplish. For example, you may be trying to test some new components to see how they make your car react. In this instance, you aren't as concerned with determining the absolutely best setup as you are with gathering information that can be used later. You may be testing a new brand of shocks and need to learn how different settings affect the handling. And then how do the different shock settings react to different spring packages? This type of test is more about gathering information that should help you make adjustments on the fly during your next race.
The other type of test is all about determining the best setup package for a given track (and hopefully, under the same conditions you will be racing under). Work as if you are actually racing and try to find that right combination that will produce the fastest lap times while also keeping the car comfortable enough to drive that you-or your driver-can successfully negotiate traffic and pass when necessary.
At the Track
Remember, the entire purpose of going to test is to gather all the information you can. You won't learn nearly as much during the time spent wrenching on the car, so try to minimize that as much as possible. Sibley says you can make your test run much more efficiently if you prepare your packages ahead of time, including scaling the car. If you know what shock and spring setups you will be running, go ahead and set them up at the shop beforehand. Also, for example, if you plan to try a softer left rear spring, go ahead and install that spring on the car and measure how many rounds you will have to put back into the rear to get the ride height back to where it was before. Now when someone installs that shock and spring package, your crew can just count the rounds on the jack bolts and know everything is right.
And then there will be times during a test that you may want to make a chassis adjustment you hadn't originally planned on. Now you will likely need to recheck frame heights to make sure you aren't getting off track on your overall setup. An easy way to do that is to put a piece of tape on all four fenders and, while you are still at the shop on a level surface, mark a line on the tape at a consistent height on all four corners. Next, find the most level spot you can at the racetrack and use that as your pit area. Measure those four marks again and log the heights. The height may change versus what you measured at the shop if you aren't on level ground, but now you know your frame heights and can tell if they change. Now every time you make a change to the chassis you can easily refer back to those points to see if the frame heights have moved.
Whether you are simulating long green flag runs or shorter sprints, there are some things you or your crew should check every time the car comes in. This includes tire pressures, recording how much the pressure has changed since the car left the pits, and shock travels. You have to be careful with shock travels, however, if you are using rubber grommets on the shock shafts. That will only tell you max shock travel, which can sometimes be thrown off if you hit a bump or a hole in the track. A hard transition from the track to pit road can also max out your shock travel. Still, travel indicators are a good way to see if any change you made to the chassis is affecting shock travel.
Another often overlooked area is communication between the driver and crew. If you have a long working relationship with your driver or crew chief, you have probably already worked through this, but for new drivers or crew chiefs it is important to talk beforehand about exactly what you mean when you describe something about how the car is handling. On the surface this may not seem like a big deal as long as you both speak English (or at least the same language). But we're talking about degrees of difference here. Most racers and crew chiefs settle on a scale to describe just how loose or tight the race car may be. Sibley says whether you use a scale that's 1-10, A-Z, or whatever; you need to make sure you mean the same thing when the driver says the car is a "seven loose." Otherwise the crew chief may over- or under-compensate on his chassis changes and it will take longer than necessary to dial in the chassis.
Making Changes
After all that, we will finally get to making changes. There's no way to cover it all in terms of what change affects the car in what manner, so we won't even try. For that, you can read Bob Bolles' excellent chassis and setup articles elsewhere in this magazine every month. But we will offer this one excellent piece of advice Sibley passed along.
When making changes to the car, always start with the handling problems that show up earliest in the turn. For example, if the race car is tight in and then bad loose coming out of the corner, resist the urge to fight the biggest problem first which is the car's looseness on turn exit.
The reason for this is simple; the problems you are experiencing with the car earlier in the turn often affect how the car handles later. In this example, the car is tight on turn entry. So you have to wait until the car slows enough before it will begin to turn. But because it is tight, many drivers overcompensate with the steering wheel and have the tires turned too far. Once the car slows enough that the front tires can get some grip, they are turned too far and the car goes from tight to loose. Fixing the tight condition on turn entry will change the way to drive into the turn and the loose condition on turn exit likely will fix itself.
Overall, both Sibley and Cloce said the test went well. "It's really good for me to see how these guys work," Cloce says. "They don't waste any time, and every time I gave feedback on how the car behaved they knew exactly what needed to be done. When we started the car was set up specifically for me or for this track, but because they already knew what changes worked with this chassis, they were able to get it to suit my needs as a driver very quickly."
The whole session was valuable for both Tommy and the JGR team. The ASA has again given a local short track racer the chance of a lifetime with another successful test with Joe Gibbs Racing.
Could you be in that seat next year? Of course you could, but first you have to be an ASA member racing at an ASA Member Track. Get those two things out of the way and all you have to do is race your hardest. This ASA Championship uses a weighted points system that allows competitors from different tracks across the country to compete against one another. You gain points by not only winning heats and features but also by passing cars on the track. While the formula to calculate all that may be complex, the goal is fairly simply: Accumulate the most points by the end of the season and you are crowned the champion.


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The 400 Richest Americans
#163 Austen Cargill II09.17.08, 6:00 PM ET
Heir to Minnesota company that piles food on America's plates. William Cargill, son of Scottish sea captain, started Cargill as a grain storage house in Iowa after Civil War. Will's son-in-law John MacMillan took reins 1909. Family owns 88% of company, employees the rest. Today sales exceed $120 billion. Net profits in 2008: nearly $4 billion, up 69% from previous year as global demand for commodities soared. Company controls food from stable to table; manufactures animal feed, meat, crops. Also involved in commodities trading, risk management. Owns majority of publicly traded fertilizer firm Mosaic; stock up 160% since last August. Austen: son of James Cargill, who died in 2006.
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Dedicated to Serving Others
What is Philiatros?
Philiatros means "love of science". We are an organization of Oklahoma Christian students who are interested in careers in the biomedical and health care fields. Students of any major are welcome to join. Our meetings consist of guest speakers, including physicians of varying specialty, professionals such as optometrists or pharmacists, researchers from many biomedical fields, and representatives of graduate and professional schools in the region.
The Mission of Philiatros
Our mission is to provide all those on the Oklahoma Christian University campus who are interested in the biomedical sciences a place to interact with each other and with members of the professional medical community.
Why Philiatros?
- Career Decisions
Being a member of Philiatros provides you with many opportunities to meet people who can guide you as you determine what to do with your science degree. Each week's meeting features a guest speaker. Some weeks a health professional from the community comes and discusses the details about their profession. At other times the group hears from an expert on admissions to graduate or professional school. Among those professions recently represented are both osteopathic and allopathic medicine, pharmacy, dentistry and optometry. The officers also strive to find physicians of varying specialties to give Philiatros members a wide exposure to the possibilities of graduating with a science degree.
- Experience
Involvement in a healthcare careers club is something that many graduate schools are now specifically looking for on an application. If you are planning on attending a graduate or professional school of any type, this is a club that you should become actively involved in. Admissions committees are looking for signs of commitment as well; in other words, it is best to get involved early in your undergraduate career.
- Fellowship
One of the best things about Philiatros is the opportunity to get to know other students who have the same career aspirations as you. Most of the members are science majors who want to one day make their way into biomedical research or clinical sciences. The officers and other upperclassmen are willing to give advice and relate their experiences with the MCAT and other tests, as well as with applications.
- Service
Finally, the root of Philiatros is serving God by ministering to others. While the weekly meetings will help to prepare you for future service, you should never forget that the habits you form now will last a lifetime. In light of that, Philiatros strives to find ways to serve the community around us, both on- and off-campus.