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Sao Tome and Principe
Sao Tome and Principe, country of central Africa, located on the Equator in the Gulf of Guinea. It consists of two main islands—São Tomé and Príncipe—and several rocky islets, including Rôlas, south of São Tomé island, and Caroço, Pedras, and Tinhosas, south of Príncipe.
São Tomé, which is oval in shape, is larger than Príncipe, which lies about 90 miles (145 km) northeast of its sister island. The capital of the country, São Tomé city, is situated in the northeastern part of São Tomé island. The country's closest neighbours are Gabon and Equatorial Guinea on the Atlantic coast of central Africa.
Relief and drainage
In the south and west of both islands, high volcanic mountains fall precipitously to the sea, although neither island has witnessed any volcanic activity in recent centuries. The mountains descend gradually to small plains in the northeast. São Tomé Peak, the highest point on the main island, rises to 6,640 feet (2,024 metres) above sea level, and Príncipe Peak on the smaller island reaches 3,110 feet (948 metres). These mountainous areas are deeply dissected by stream erosion, and spectacular isolated volcanic plugs stand out as landmarks. Swift and rocky streams rush down to the coast in every direction.
The climate is basically maritime and tropical, but, because of the rough topography, there is a wide range of microclimates. The prevailing moist southwesterly winds are intercepted by the mountains, so annual rainfall exceeds 275 inches (7,000 mm) in the southwestern part of São Tomé island, while the far northeast receives less than 30 inches (760 mm). The dry season, called gravana, lasts from June to September in the northeast but is scarcely discernible in the wetter regions. In the coastal areas the mean annual temperature is high, in the low 80s F (upper 20s C); the average relative humidity is also high, about 80 percent. Average temperatures decline sharply with elevation, and night temperatures fall below 50 °F (10 °C) at about 2,300 feet (700 metres). Above 3,300 feet (1,000 metres) fine misty rain falls almost continuously and the nights are cold, although frost and snow are unknown.
Plant and animal life
The original vegetation of the islands was luxuriant tropical rainforest, with a gradual transition from lowland forest to mist forest. Some of the islands' area, mainly in the south and west, is still covered with rainforest. Much of this is secondary growth on abandoned plantation land. The flora and fauna include many rare and endemic species, reflecting the isolation and environmental diversity of the islands. Birds such as the ibis, shrike, and grosbeak can be found in Sao Tome and Principe. Many of the plants, birds, reptiles, and small mammals are threatened by pressure on the remaining rainforest.
Ethnic groups
The population consists mainly of Forros (from forro, Portuguese for "free man"), descendants of immigrant Europeans and African slaves. Another group, the Angolares, descended from runaway Angolan slaves who were shipwrecked on São Tomé about 1540. The Angolares remained apart in the isolated southern zone of São Tomé island until the late 19th century, but they later spread throughout the country and became largely assimilated. Cape Verdeans form the largest group of resident foreigners; many have adopted São Toméan nationality. Angolans and Mozambicans make up most of the rest of the African immigrant community. Like the Cape Verdeans, they are relatively well integrated with the other islanders, because of a shared Luso-African cultural background. There is a small European population—primarily Portuguese—in the country.
Standard Portuguese is the official language and is understood by virtually all islanders. In addition, three Portuguese-based creoles are spoken: Sãotomense, spoken by the Forros and having by far the largest number of speakers; Angolar, the language of the Angolares, spoken on the southern tip of São Tomé; and Principense, spoken by only a few hundred individuals on Príncipe.
More than half of the population belongs to the Roman Catholic Church. The remainder of those professing a religious affiliation is primarily Protestant. Traditional African religious practices and beliefs are widespread, even among adherents of other faiths. More than one-fifth of the population identifies as nonreligious.
Settlement patterns
The population is concentrated in the drier and flatter areas of both islands. Whereas a third of the inhabitants live in São Tomé city and its outskirts, only about 5 percent live on the island of Príncipe. Many people live in dispersed settlements known locally as lucháns. Houses made of wooden planks and raised above the ground are typical of the local building methods, although there are also many concrete structures in the Portuguese colonial style. Many people still live in barracklike accommodations on the plantations.
Demographic trends
Population growth is above the world average but below the average for sub-Saharan Africa. More than two-fifths of the population is less than 15 years of age, and another one-fourth is younger than 30, assuring continued rapid growth. Life expectancy in the early 21st century was more than 65 years of age, relatively high for an African country and close to the world average.
Decades of colonial stagnation were followed by economic disruption after independence in 1975. Under the tutelage of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank since the mid-1980s, Sao Tome and Principe has tried to restore a functioning economy by devaluing its currency, reducing the budget deficit, privatizing formerly nationalized companies, attracting foreign investment, and removing price subsidies and controls. Despite all efforts and considerable inflows of foreign funds, however, the results of the imposed reforms did not match the original targets. During that time corruption became rampant, and mass poverty increased tremendously. In the late 1990s, IMF measures helped the country's economy improve considerably, as did the advent of petroleum concessions sales, which continued into the 21st century.
Sao Tome and Principe's economy has historically been dependent on agriculture, and much of the total agricultural area of the two islands belongs to the state. Until 1993 this land was divided into 15 large plantation enterprises, but, by the end of the decade, most of the former plantations were dissolved and their land distributed to smallholders and medium-sized enterprises on a usufruct basis as part of attempted agricultural reform. High levels of unemployment coexist with a critical labour shortage on the former plantations, where wages and working conditions are poor.
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
São Tomé is endowed with excellent conditions for tropical agriculture. The growing season is long, the volcanic soils are fertile, and there is no lack of water. Consequently, the economy remains dependent on plantation agriculture, especially cacao (grown for its seeds, cocoa beans). About two-fifths of the total land area is under cultivation, with cacao trees covering a little less than two-thirds of the cultivated land; coconut palms cover most of the remainder. Large areas of plantation land have been poorly maintained since independence; they are harvested from time to time but not otherwise tended. The country has never been self-sufficient in staple foodstuffs, and a combination of local eating habits, the legacy of the plantation economy, and foreign food aid has undermined the production of food crops for the local market.
Fine stands of timber remain in the mountains, but the difficulty of removing logs from the steep terrain and the pressing need for effective conservation limit long-term prospects. The country's small size prevents farmers from keeping large herds of livestock, but conditions for poultry raising are quite favourable.
Fishing resources are limited by the narrow continental shelf. The domestic demand for fish exceeds supply by the local artisan fishermen, and trawlers from European Union countries pay small license fees for the right to fish in the country's national waters. The deep-sea tuna resources of the Gulf of Guinea and shellfish in coastal waters represent the best hopes for fishery exports.
Resources and power
There are numerous sites for small hydroelectric schemes but no large rivers for major installations. The islands have no known mineral resources, but the country claims an area of the Gulf of Guinea that may have considerable deepwater hydrocarbon reserves; in the late 1990s and early 2000s this potential attracted foreign investors who purchased exploration concessions. In 2001 Sao Tome and Principe and Nigeria reached an agreement to oversee the exploration and development of potential oil fields in the Joint Development Zone (JDZ), an area of overlapping maritime boundaries about 125 miles (200 km) from the Nigerian coast. The agreement was renegotiated in 2003, after which oil companies began bidding for the right to develop sections within the JDZ. The first exploratory drilling in the JDZ began in 2006.
Manufacturing, which accounts for a tiny fraction of the gross domestic product, is hampered by the small size of the domestic market, limited energy resources, and the lack of skilled labour. It consists mainly of small processing factories producing foodstuffs, beverages, soap products, bricks, and sawn wood for the domestic market.
Finance and trade
Sao Tome and Principe is reputed to be the recipient of one of the highest amounts of foreign aid per capita in the world, but this has not prevented large budgetary and balance-of-payment deficits. There are several commercial banks active in the country, and the Central Bank of Sao Tome and Principe controls foreign exchange dealings and issues the country's currency, the dobra. Cocoa, despite decreasing production, still accounts for almost all foreign exchange earnings from merchandise exports. Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, and France are the country's most significant export destinations. Portugal is the main source of imports.
Tourism is largely limited to the dry season and chiefly attracts individual travelers from Portugal and other European countries. The tourism sector has the potential to be a strong source of economic diversification for the country. The sector has expanded with some foreign investment, but development has been hindered by such obstacles as the presence of tropical diseases (notably malaria), the lengthy wet season, and the expense of traveling to the country.
Transportation and telecommunications
Transportation assumes particular importance in this isolated microstate. There are no deepwater harbours, and large ships must anchor far out at sea and be unloaded by barge. In October 2015 the country signed a memorandum of understanding with China for the construction of an $800 million deepwater transshipment hub. Shipping links between the islands and with the outside world are erratic, and there are long delays in unloading cargo. The country's primary ports are at São Tomé city and Neves, both on São Tomé island. The international airport near São Tomé city has been expanded and modernized. The telephone system and road network are both fairly good by African standards. Mobile phone use is very popular on the islands, and Internet service is available.
Government and society
Constitutional framework
Under the constitution of 1990 (since amended), the president, who is head of state, is directly elected to a five-year term and is limited to two successive terms. The prime minister serves as the head of government. The legislature is unicameral, with a 55-seat National Assembly. Assembly members are elected by popular vote and serve four-year terms. In April 1995 Príncipe became an autonomous region.
The political and judicial structures adopted at independence in 1975 were those of a single-party state modeled on the Soviet example, but the regime never formally proclaimed its adherence to Marxism-Leninism. Free elections for the legislative assembly and the presidency were established by the constitution of 1990 and first held in 1991. At that time close ties with eastern European countries and Cuba were replaced by improved relations with Portugal, France, and other Western countries.
Sao Tome and Principe's military is small and consists of army, coast guard, and presidential guard contingents. The country's armed forces have received technical and training assistance from such countries as Portugal, Angola, and the United States.
Health and welfare
There is one major medical centre for the country, in São Tomé city, which was created by uniting three existing hospitals, several public health posts, and a few private clinics. Malaria is endemic, although initiatives to curb the disease have shown progress since 2000. HIV/AIDS is present in the country, but its prevalence remains undetermined, as the stigma attached to being diagnosed with the disease and the subsequent lack of accurate reporting make the rate of infection difficult to monitor.
Almost all children attend primary school, which is compulsory for four years. Secondary education consists of two cycles of four and three years, respectively, but secondary schooling opportunities are not as widely available, and fewer students enroll. Vocational training and higher education options are limited, although there is a polytechnic institute (founded 1997), and Portugal's Lusíada University opened a campus on São Tomé island in 2006. Some four-fifths of the adult population is literate.
Cultural life
Cultural milieu
This small country has a homogeneous creole culture, profoundly marked by centuries of blending elements of the dominant Roman Catholic Portuguese culture with various African influences. The kinship system is bilateral, although men traditionally have been polygynous. With the virtual absence of monogamous marriage, the conjugal system is characterized by a high incidence of multiple and serial customary unions and visiting relationships; as a result, about one-third of households are headed by females. Despite more than 500 years of Roman Catholicism, local practices have been restricted largely to baptism and a few rites, such as processions and funerals. Various traditional African practices and beliefs have always coexisted with Roman Catholicism.
The lexicon of the three local creole languages is predominantly derived from Portuguese, whereas their phonology and syntax stem from African languages. Many African elements have been adopted in the cooking, customs, and beliefs of much of the population, and most people of lower socioeconomic status speak only creole in daily life. Famous examples of cultural creolization are the plays The Tragic Story of the Marquis of Mântua and Emperor Charlemagne (known as Tchiloli on São Tomé island) and Auto da Floripes, popular on Príncipe island, both of which are based on 16th-century Portuguese dramas.
Sports and recreation
Football (soccer) has always been the most popular sport in the country. The first local association was founded in 1931, and a national federation was created in 1977, two years after independence. In the late 1990s the country contained some two dozen clubs competing in two divisions. The clubs of the first division compete annually for the national championship, and there is also a national cup competition. Local competitions comprising all existing sports are held annually on March 12, the National Sports Festival Day. Sao Tome and Principe first participated in the Olympic Games in 1996, when the Summer Games were held in Atlanta.
Media and publishing
Several local newspapers appear erratically, but the government-run radio and television stations provide consistent programming, and broadcasts from Portugal and France are locally retransmitted on FM channels.
This discussion focuses on Sao Tome and Principe since the late 15th century. For a treatment of the country in its regional context, see Central Africa.
Portuguese colonial rule
São Tomé and Príncipe were uninhabited when they were discovered, about 1470, by Portuguese navigators. In the late 15th century the Portuguese sent out settlers (including many convicts and Jewish children who had been separated from their parents and expelled from Portugal) and brought African slaves to the islands to grow sugar.
During the 16th century São Tomé was for a brief time the world's largest producer of sugar, but the rise of Brazilian competition and the poor quality of São Tomé's badly dried product virtually destroyed this industry. The economic decline was accentuated by social instability as slaves escaped to the mountains and raided the plantations. Amador, the self-proclaimed king of the slaves who nearly overran the whole island of São Tomé in 1595, is now regarded by many as a national hero. Foreign pirates were another hazard, and the Dutch briefly captured São Tomé in 1641, only to be expelled seven years later.
After the collapse of the sugar economy, the colony served as an entrepôt for the Portuguese slave trade to Brazil; the cargoes of small slave ships were transferred to larger vessels for the Atlantic voyage, and provisions such as water were obtained. The islanders produced food crops for these ships and for themselves. Because of the frequent political unrest in São Tomé, the capital was moved in 1753 to Santo António on Príncipe, whose harbour was the site of much activity. In 1778 the Portuguese ceded the islands of Fernando Pó (Bioko) and Annobón (Pagalu), on either side of Sao Tome and Principe, to the Spaniards, who wished to develop their own African slave trade.
The independence of Brazil in 1822, the suppression of the slave trade in the Portuguese territories, and the introduction of coffee and cacao (the source of cocoa beans) cultivation in the 19th century shifted the economic centre of gravity back to São Tomé, and in 1852 São Tomé city once again became the capital. Cacao replaced coffee as the main cash crop in the 1890s, and during the first two decades of the 20th century the colony was in some years the world's largest producer of the commodity. This led to the maximum expansion of the plantations on the islands. When slavery was legally abolished in 1875, the Portuguese recruited contract workers from such places as Angola, Cape Verde, and Mozambique. However, until 1910 the living and working conditions of these indentured labourers often were little different from slavery.
Cocoa production fell after World War I, and the islands became isolated and notorious for the brutality and corruption that reigned on the plantations belonging to absentee planters and corporations. Attempts to force the local Forros to work on the plantations led to the Batepá Massacre in 1953, an event later often cited by São Toméans in their demands for independence as an example of the violence under Portuguese rule. The Committee for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe was set up in exile in 1960; it changed its name to the Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe (MLSTP) in 1972. However, it consisted of only a small group of exiles, who were unable to mount a guerrilla challenge to the Portuguese on the islands.
The government that took power in Portugal after a coup in 1974 agreed to hand over power to the MLSTP in 1975, and virtually all Portuguese colonists fled to Portugal, fearing an independent black and communist government. Independence was granted on July 12, 1975.
After independence
The country's first president, Manuel Pinto da Costa of the MLSTP, was elected in 1975. The government initially followed eastern European models of political and economic organization. Economic decline and popular dissatisfaction, however, led to a process of liberalization that started in 1985 and culminated in the establishment of a multiparty democracy in 1990.
Pinto da Costa was succeeded in 1991 by Miguel Trovoada, a former prime minister who ran for the presidency unopposed in the first free elections in the country's history. In August 1995 Trovoada was deposed in a bloodless coup orchestrated by the military. However, coup leaders reconsidered their demands when faced with the immediate threat of the loss of foreign aid, and Trovoada was reinstated as president a week later.
Trovoada was reelected in 1996 but was barred from seeking a third term in the 2001 election. He was succeeded by businessman Fradique de Menezes of the Independent Democratic Action (ADI), the party with which Trovoada had been affiliated since 1994. Within months of de Menezes's election, a power struggle erupted between the new president and the MLSTP-dominated National Assembly, establishing a pattern of political conflict that continued for some time. In 2003 de Menezes was deposed in a military coup, but international negotiations were successful in guaranteeing his reinstatement on the condition that the coup leaders would not be punished for their actions. De Menezes was reelected in 2006, representing the Democratic Movement of Forces for Change, the party that had splinted off from the ADI in late 2001.
Under the terms of the constitution, de Menezes, like Trovoada before him, was prohibited from seeking a third term as president, and several candidates stood in the 2011 presidential election to succeed him. The two front-runners from the first round of voting, held in July, were former president Pinto da Costa, running as an independent candidate, and the speaker of the National Assembly, Evaristo Carvalho, who was the ADI's candidate. When the two met again in the runoff election, held on August 7, 2011, Pinto da Costa garnered 52 percent of the vote to narrowly beat Carvalho. The two faced each other again, as well as three other candidates, in the presidential election held on July 17, 2016. This time Carvalho came out in front, narrowly winning the first round with 50.1 percent of the vote and therefore avoiding the need for a runoff election. Pinto da Costa came in second with 24.8 percent. After late-arriving ballots from absentee voters and from voters in areas where the poll had been delayed were counted, Carvalho's percentage was reduced to 49.88, thus necessitating a runoff election between himself and Pinto da Costa. As the runoff drew near, however, Pinto da Costa announced that he was boycotting it, citing alleged irregularities in the first round of voting. The runoff election, held on August 7, was won by Carvalho.William Gervase Clarence-Smith Gerhard Seibert The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Although several fair and peaceful legislative and presidential elections were held in the 1990s and 2000s, they did not immediately transform the country's oversized and inefficient public administration from a centre of cronyism and corruption into an efficient bureaucracy that could provide the structural conditions of a functioning market economy. Consequently, the country's tremendous social and economic problems were far from resolved at the start of the 21st century, although the earnings from petroleum concessions beginning in the mid-2000s and the potential for future oil revenues brought a sense of optimism, as did significant debt relief granted in 2007.
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EAST MIDDLEBURY — John and Theresa Anderson bought their home off Grist Mill Road around seven years ago. Among its many assets: A backyard spacious enough for a horse ring and a border with the Middlebury River.
The river, however, has now become a mixed blessing.
A series of soaking storms — punctuated by Tropical Storm Irene last year — have at times turned the placid river into a raging juggernaut, careening against its banks and spilling into portions of the East Middlebury community.
VERGENNES — Free wifi now blankets downtown Vergennes, courtesy of the eVermont grant the city won in 2010. The Bixby Free Memorial Library served as the lead applicant for that grant, with support from the Vergennes partnership.
Wifi service extends on Main Street from just east of Vergennes City Hall westward past the Bixby, and also southward down Green Street to the Vergennes fire department.
ADDISON COUNTY –– Four-year-old Nathan Stefani eagerly watched Dennis Waring play a banjo made out of plywood and a cheap plastic bucket.
The performance delighted the young audience, and Stefani gave it a thumbs-up review.
"I liked it!" the Middlebury resident said.
Stefani and more than 80 other children and parents gathered last Thursday at the Ilsley Library in Middlebury to watch From Trash to Tunes, one of many performances the Ilsley holds as part of its summer reading program.
MIDDLEBURY — Earlier this month, Middlebury's Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History picked a local man with experience in the field as its new executive director.
William F. Brooks Jr. of New Haven took over on June 5 after eight years as the development director of the Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation in Plymouth Notch.
Sheldon board of trustees chairwoman Marnie Wood said Brooks is an ideal fit.
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FERRISBURGH — On Father's Day, a nine-months pregnant Heather Ayer realized the time had come.
She, her boyfriend, Anthony Denning, and his mother, Lisa Denning, headed from her Benson home toward Fletcher Allen Healthcare in Burlington, with Lisa Denning behind the wheel.
The car did not make it in time.
Instead, late on June 17 Ayer's daughter, Kaimara, was born on the side of Route 7 at 6 pounds, 3 ounces and perfectly healthy, according to Vergennes Area Rescue Squad volunteers.
VERGENNES — The eVermont grant that helped bring free wifi to downtown Vergennes has also benefited the Bixby Free Memorial Library inside its walls, too.
The eVermont grant paid for several upgrades at the Bixby, including the purchase of laptops, iPads, three e-readers (two Nooks and a Kindle), and several small video recorders known as flip cameras.
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Sheer heaven on a stick! Delectably sweet and yet so light. White chocolate with the subtle flavour of natural vanilla from the spice island of Madagascar.
Choc-o-lait, the perfect creation for all those out there who love real hot chocolate, was created in early 2004. As with most great ideas, the concept is simplicity itself: a wooden stick with a block of real Belgian chocolate on the end. Stir for a minute in a mug of hot milk (80°C) and there you have it – the tastiest hot chocolate you could ever wish for.
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Sleep is a fundamental, basic kind of self-care, and if we don't take care of ourselves in these basic ways, then taking care of yourself in more frivolous ways is kind of pointless. —Dr. Robin Haight
Dr. Nitun Verma lives by night.
He works 9 to 5 as a doctor in California's Silicon Valley, so he's up early — usually tired and sleepy from not sleeping the previous night. As a night owl, Verma lives by the night, with his heart and mind racing with thoughts, ideas and energy as the world around him collapses into darkness. He's up late working online or thinking about the day ahead of him. He's had this problem since high school.
Verma is both a doctor and a patient for sleep loss, which is having a severe and sometimes fatal effect on people. A recent study by SLEEP, the official journal of the American Sleep Disorders Association, followed 1,741 men over a 10- to 14-year period and found those who slept fewer than six hours a day had a higher mortality risk.
The study showed 21 percent of men and 5 percent of women were at risk. And another SLEEP study of 15 men showed that one night of sleep deprivation was linked to signs of brain tissue loss. It's even affecting the young, experts say. Sleep loss for young kids who have a disorder, like sleep apnea, means they are more likely to struggle in school and social circles.
With these possible effects creeping up with sleep deprivations, questions have risen about what people can do to find their Zs — and about the personal, day-to-day effects for a person on the street. Though people are losing sleep, and some may even be dying because of it, Verma said there are solutions for those with sleep issues.
"This is something that is a natural fix, which means you don't need strong medications," he said, "and that's always a better way of treating things."
What is a night owl?
Night owls, or those who stay up into the late hours of the night, have a decreased ability to multitask and think creatively, he said. Their minds move slower, their memories aren't as sharp, and they have difficulty focusing for long periods of time, Verma said.
Verma will often ask patients if they would rather work on an important project at 6 a.m. or 10 p.m. The answer to that question, he said, tells him whether someone is a night owl or not.
"If you can fall asleep pretty easily at night, you're less likely to be a night owl," he said. "Being a night owl means you have difficulty sleeping at night, even if you're sleeping at the right times." Verma said the correct hours of sleep are during night hours, like from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., or 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Verma doesn't think sleep deprivation will kill you directly. Losing hours of sleep will have an effect mentally that could cause mental issues down the road, though, he said.
Dr. Robin Haight, a clinical psychologist and president-elect of the American Psychological Association, said she often sees clients with insomnia and sleep deprivation who stay awake at those late hours.
"Sleep is often disrupted when there is a presence of anxiety of depression or other life transitions," she said. "Big life transitions can become very preoccupying for people, and that starts to look like insomnia."
Many of her clients with sleep disorders have other mental health concerns, too, but she is not aware of any direct correlation between sleep patterns and mental health issues, she said. Over time, people who are sleep deprived because of insomnia can find themselves with mental health issues.
"Not only are their bodies wearing down, but their internal emotional and mental resources are becoming depleted over time," Haight said.
She said people who are sleep deprived stand out — less in a physical sense, but more in how they act mentally. They're usually anxious, stressed or depressed, she said. Depression, anxiety and stress cause your brain to race rapidly and keep you awake at night, Haight said.
Both Verma and Haight said technology screens — like those from a television, computer, tablet or cellphone — also have an effect on night owls. Haight said the lights from TVs and tablets cut the natural amount of melatonin, which is the primary hormones that make people feel drowsy.
"Right up until you go to bed," she said, "you're not giving your body the chance to have the natural drowsy phase."
Losing out on that phase, she said, could hurt your memory, functionality and ability to heal mental wounds.
Young night owls
Haight treats adolescents from time to time, and she's seen sleep problems for them, too. Youth is a "time when lifelong habits are developing," she said, so getting into a habit of poor self-care and poor hygiene "can be carried through into adulthood."
Verma said night owls are fairly common among the youth as their bodies are wired differently and need different hours of sleep. The National Sleep Foundation published a report that said those ages 5 to 10 need 10 or 11 hours of sleep, while those ages 10 to 17 need between 8.5 and 9.25 hours of sleep.
"Being a night owl as a young person, like when you're in elementary school, is quite common," Verma said. "And that actually becomes much worse when they become a teenager." Teenagers usually stay up late, searching the Web or chatting with friends, Verma said. But often, teens have to wake up earlier for school — forcing them to miss out on hours of sleep.
Sleep apnea, though, is a major cause for concern among the youth, Verma said. He said that those with sleep apnea have lower scores in schools even five or 10 years after they stopped having the sleep disorder.
The young night owls, Verma said, will also be affected mentally if they're not grabbing the right hours of sleep. Sometimes they might be irritable and less attentive, she said.
Solutions for sleep
Jonathan Steele, a holistic nurse who has his own private practice in Scranton, Pa., works for Water Cures, a nonprofit organization that seeks to find medical cures through water-based methods.
One thing he has to do constantly is aid the ill to fall asleep. He's tried to help his patients find ways to fall asleep. He suggests those with sleep issues try and move their eyes around the room and get their minds off the issues that are keeping them awake.
The NSF recommends those with sleep issues stick to the same bed time, practice a bed time ritual, avoid naps, exercise, redesign their room to fit their sleeping needs and avoid alcohol, cigarettes and heavy meals at night, among other tips.
Haight said the sleep deprived should set a routine for themselves and stick to it. Whenever they want to go to bed — whether it's late or early in the night — they should follow that schedule and keep going to bed at that time.
Verma agreed that sticking to a schedule is important to avoiding negative effects of being a night owl. He recommends the night owls — or those who work late night work shifts or have sleep medical issues — get eight hours "at a goofy time" of the day, like from 4 a.m. to noon, and not adjust their schedule to fit the normal day and night hours. Getting eight hours — or at least as many hours of sleep your body needs to function — is important, he said.
"Everyone knows no one sleeps exactly the same amount of sleep," he said, "just like no one eats the right amount of food."
Haight suggests you keep your eyes away from the clock. Looking at the clock gets your mind racing by thinking of the time and how much longer you have until you need to wake up.
"It doesn't help anything, and it can have negative effects," she said. "That is just not information that's going to do me any good. Might as well just go back to bed, try to relax and try to get some sleep."
Haight said finding time to sleep is a basic self-care task, like eating food. If there's something messed up with that, she said, then someone isn't taking care of himself or herself on a fundamental level.
"Sleep is a fundamental, basic kind of self-care," she said. "And if we don't take care of ourselves in these basic ways, then taking care of yourself in more frivolous ways is kind of pointless."
Email: email@example.com
Twitter: @hscribner


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Views: 276
I had the same thing happen to me. Some girl I didn't know very well - just a friend of a friend - posted something about the History Channels Ancient Astronaut Theorists.
I laid out a very short - and polite reason as to why that show is predicated on inconsistencies and conspiracy theories.
She replied back "Some people think they know Everything ..."
So I replied back something like "Some people just question the validity of their beliefs - it has nothing to do with knowledge."
Within minutes , she de friended me (After posting another comment I'm sure was meant to be derogatory but I couldn't read it)
I laughed. It's all you can do, really ... some people are just babies and wish to keep their babyish beliefs.
Status: People are obsessed with it.
And they fail to realize that you can discourse on intelligent matters without losing it, and instead are more obsessed with "winning the argument" and "being right" than with the actual facts of the situation.
That said, I will blockzors people who are asses. I have no time for such people.
Something similar to the main post happened to me, actually--it was hilarious, she had just copy-pasted something she found online, and it started an orthodox jew and me into an evolution throwdown--DING DING DING.
It ended when I was just plain tired of dealing with him, he was constantly on about "I'm respecting your beliefs, but you're an idiot and my god is the only god. and you're being a selfish bitch blah blah blah gay people don't deserve any rights" I honestly don't remember a lot of it---It tends to all sound the same after a while, to me.
but she de-friended me later. I'm not surprised. Maybe you shouldn't mindlessly copy-paste things into your status--Yes/Yes?
Here's a little pro tip: If you HATE seeing their god updates every morning? A little "x" will appear when you mouseover the upper right corner of the post--click it, and it'll have something like "report this as spam" "hide all of so-and-so's posts" CLICK THAT.
And you will no longer be troubled by people.
Of course, they could do this as well with things they don't like.
But I also put anyone remotely preacher-like on my limited profile. No status updates, no recent interests, they can message me(strangers can't), but they don't get any juicy information.
Yes, it takes a while to fix that way but it's SO WORTH IT. I hardly ever get any issues.


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Just days before the new season of "Arrested Development" finally debuts on Netflix, the re-creation of the Bluth's Original Frozen Banana stand that cropped up in New York City last week is making its way to the West Coast.
The frozen banana stand will be set up in downtown Culver City at 9300 Culver Blvd. on Monday from noon until 7 p.m. and will be handing out free frozen bananas to anyone willing to stand in line for one. To sweeten the deal, cast member Judy Greer will be on hand to help pass the bananas out from 3 p.m. until 4 p.m.
The banana stands appeared in New York City last week during the network upfronts, at which NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox and the CW unveiled their new shows for advertisers and the media. As a promotion for Netflix's revival of the series, the stand has served as a strong reminder of online's increasing competitiveness with the networks.
Cast members such as Will Arnett and Jason Bateman were on hand at the New York City locations to pass out frozen bananas to fans.
The banana stand, as dedicated viewers of the beloved comedy series know, is the basis for the Bluth family fortune. It was founded by George Bluth Sr. in 1953 in Newport Beach and was the place he made his children work during the summer. During the course of "Arrested Development's" three seasons on the air, the stand was destroyed and rebuilt multiple times.
While there's still no word if the banana stand will ever make an appearance at its "true" location at the Oceanside Wharf boardwalk on Newport Beach's Balboa Island, there are still a few days before the show makes its debut on May 26.


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I'm building a custom theme that I will reuse on more than one site and would like to be able to configure some things from the admin. For example setting the Twitter and Facebook pages links without hardcoding them in the template.
What's the best way to do this? Should I put them in wp-config or should I have some sort of custom fields? These settings should be global to one site.


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Updated 3:06 p.m.
Facebook f8
• Facebook Launches New Profile Feature "Timeline" For Showing All Your Important Content on One Page – And it's where people can see your history of activity on Facebook, as well.
• Deep Spotify Integration Brings Free Music to Facebook – You'll be able to listen to songs, and see which songs are popular with your friends. This is probably what Apple's Ping should have been. Also Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announces integration with Facebook in 44 countries, but NOT the US
• Facebook's Makeover: A New Vision of Sharing and f8: A New Class of Apps
Other tech
• Whitman Expected to Get HP CEO Nod After Markets Close (And Not for the Interim, Either) – Will she kill the idea of selling off the PC business? Bring back the TouchPad?
• Verizon goes to bat for AT&T, defends T-Mobile merger – Because if AT&T can't acquire T-Mobile, then Verizon won't be allowed to buy Sprint.
• Anonymous Declares Sept 24 "Day Of Vengence" In The US, Plans A "Series Of Cyber Attacks"
Original post
• Sprint Capping Phone as a Modem to 5GB Starting October 2nd – That service will no longer be unlimited, and comes as rumors abound that Sprint is about to get the iPhone. Also Is Sprint getting iPhone 5? It's not denying it
• What Are You Doing With Your iPad? Playing Around, Buying Apps, Watching Netflix. – According to a Citigroup survey of users in the U.S., U.K. and China. Also Windows 8, Amazon tablets will hurt Android more than iPad
• Voting to Hire a Chief Without Meeting Him – The NYTimes reports Leo Apotheker was hired as HP's CEO without any of the board members having met him. And HAH! Guess How Much Money Soon-To-Be-Canned HP CEO Apotheker Will Get For His Lousy Year Of Work
• Sean Parker and Shawn Fanning are building a new live video startup called Airtime – The two founders of Napster are working on a site that would let you post videos and see friends' reactions in real time. And Sean Parker: Agent Of Disruption
• 'Stingray' Phone Tracker Fuels Constitutional Clash – They can track a cell phone's location even if the phone is not in use, and they're raising Fourth Amendment questions.
• How Quickly We Forget: Google's Competitors Falsely Claim Google Dominates Because It Was 'First' – Um, anyone ever hear of Alta Vista? Also Is Google A Monopoly? "We're In That Area," Admits Schmidt
• YouTube Now Converting 2D Videos To 3D, Removes 15 Minute Limit For Verified Users
• A Galaxy S Sequel With Big-Screen Ambitions – Walt Mossberg reviews Samsung's Galaxy S II, which has a huge, 4.52-inch screen.
• WordPress.com aims to drive pageviews, adds a follow button to all hosted blogs – The button makes it easier to subscribe to new posts.
• Leap Wireless Taking Cricket Nationwide with Best Buy, Other Retailers – The budget carrier previously had been in select markets, including Houston.
• Facebook Employee Reveals Killer Facebook Music Feature In Deleted Tweet – Facebook's music feature will launch today, and based on a deleted tweet by an employee, may let you listen to the music your friends are listening to, live.
• Facebook Increases Character Limit on Posts to 5000, Rolls Out Floating Navigation Bar and More Amid Unrest – Changes continue at Facebook, and of course f8 starts today. Watch live below.


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As May 29 is International Day of UN Peacekeepers, it is an optimal moment to reflect on the work we support by peacekeeping missions, perhaps the best known symbol of the international community's efforts for peace. As the UN has noted today, since the first UN peacekeeping mission was established in 1948, more than 2,990 military, police, and civilian personnel have lost their lives serving in these missions. Certainly we see the challenge today, as missions try to address fresh violence in Syria, Sudan, and the eastern Congo. What is this about?
Like anyone who has visited some of the more than 100,000 people worldwide who serve in UN missions, I am struck by the effort involved. Civilians, police, and military personnel wake up every morning to try to do their job, whether it's implementing the rule of law in eastern Congo, monitoring violence in Syria, working on disarmament of former fighters in Cote d'Ivoire, or trying to rebuild from rubble in Haiti. With other members of the UN Security Council, we have asked these people from over 100 countries to come to do their best.
When you look at a number of the conflicts around the world, you see that it's a small number of countries -- a very narrow space -- where peacekeepers are sent. There are dozens of countries around the world that suffer at some point from political instability. There are others at war. But peacekeepers go into places in between, where the parties to a political agreement are close enough, and that there is come peace to keep, that they can make a difference. At the same time, the risks are high enough that a UN mission is needed to help support that political process and provide a road to manage a post conflict environment, rather than a renewal of conflict.
So by the nature of the missiosn, it's a risky business. Peacekeeping is fundamentally a gamble, and those who deploy know it. There's enough chance that the political parties will not be meeting at a table, that they can take up arms again or that the support that's provided will be insufficient. But where peacekeeping can succeed, it is one of the best investments to secure peace and political stability.
For that willingness to take a risk, we recognize and thank UN peacekeepers, give them credit for taking on such challenging tasks.
Related Content: Statements by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Ambassador Susan Rice
V. writes:
Turbulent times get their victims, political instability has a price to pay- it is sad that namely the peacekeeping missions participants often pay the price with their own life.. I wonder what stimulation they need to leave their families and tehir country to become a part of foreign cause...


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Demand increases for Johnsonville hops grower
JOHNSONVILLE, N.Y. -- Hops began to surface in 1830 as a major crop in the state of New York, the national leader in hops production for decades. Hops crops underwent a "blight" in the 1980s and most of the production moved to western states. Hops production has returned with an increase in the state since the early 21st century.
Hop Ridge Farms of Johnsonville is one of many hops producers that has recently come into a small-time startup. Two families, the Gardners and the Weingolds, started their operation in 2012 out of personal passions for horticulture and beer.
Since the New York farm brewery law went into effect in January 2013, the partners of Hop Ridge farms said the agricultural production of hops in the state cannot keep up with the demand.
"The demand for New York state grown hops is incredible," said HopRidge partner William Gardner. "There's been numerous farm breweries popping up in the area, and they have to use New York state grown products to brew their beer."
Since the inception of the farm brewery law, roughly 100 licenses have been given to small-time brewery startups in the state. It has streamlined the permitting process for opening a brewery: It cut down the fees for a brewing license from thousands of dollars to $300. Those breweries are required under the law to use locally-grown hops and grains, which has heightened the demand on producers like HopRidge.
"It's been quite successful: Obviously we're doing it," Gardner said. "There is a farm down the road that is going to start growing barley. It's one of those laws that everyone was kind of skeptical about at first, but we are starting to see it pay off."
Two families
Hop Ridge partner Steve Weingold started brewing beer in 1990 on a small scale for leisure. Gardner is an avid home brewer and has contributed to creations at Madison Brewing Company in Bennington. When Weingold and his wife, Denise Richards, were introduced to the Gardners through their sons, they found that they had a mutual passion.
"That's really how we joined forces, until (the Gardners) approached us one day and proposed we grow hops here at home: We have the field here and the land. It was a no brainer," Weingold said. "We thought this was the best opportunity to do something with our land: Something we love."
Gardner's wife, Trish Gardner, said she always had a dream to own a plant nursery. She has a level one certificate in horticulture from the Berkshire Botanical Gardens.
"I really wanted to open a flower nursery, but this area is so saturated that I really didn't know what to do," Trish Gardner said. "William and I chatted for a while and we came up with the idea of growing hops because he had already started growing them in the back yard."
After asking the Weingolds if they could lease the land, the Gardners went on board with the plans. After three years, "the plan this year was to fortify what plants we have going. In the future, (plans) are to expand to the road and double the size we are right now," William Gardner said.
Hops mature around their third year, with up to 70 percent of optimal production, so Hop Ridge will finally start to see a significant yield. The families now grow seven varieties of hops: Willamette, Saaz, Chinook, Cascade, Mount Hood, Centennial and Nugget.
"Depending on the variety, there is definitely a difference in the amount of acids that are produced by the hop in terms of bittering and the amount of aroma that is produced," Weingold said. "(The concentration of acids and oils) produces the bitterness or the flavor. Some are very citrusy and some are very floral."
After the hops buds are cut at the end of the season, the cones are warm-air dried in an oast. In 2013, HopRidge produced and sold nine pounds of dried hops. Since the plants were not mature last year, the farm partners anticipate a much higher yield this year. Depending on the beer that is being made, it can take as much as four pounds of dried hops to produce a barrel.
"Everything we do here is very small scale and hands-on The only time we really need extra help is when it comes to harvest," said Trish Gardner. "It's a lot of fun during harvest time, we take down all the vines, bring them into the house and sit in a big circle to take off the buds."
The families built a ladder and platform on an old hay wagon pulled by a tractor, which they call the "hopmobile," to reach the top of the vines and cut them down as needed.
"With growing hops, there really isn't a lot of commercial equipment out there," Weingold said. "As you can see you are working with some pretty tall structures. Whatever you need, you really have to figure it out and make it yourself."
Weingold and Richards raise llamas, whose waste is the only fertilizer used for the hops plants. The farm is not licensed organic, but are all natural: Meaning they don't use pesticides.
"It's kind of a weird thing in the beer world," William Gardner said. "You can actually brew and market an organic beer without using organic hops, which we think is kind of foolish. It doesn't really give us any kind of incentives to get fully certified organically, which is a three- to four-year process where they come out and test your soil each year."
Hop Ridge sells the majority of its yield to Abandon Brewing Company in Penn Yann, N.Y. The partners said they hope to distribute to more breweries and set up an online store for home brewers as they increase their operation size.
You can find contact information, or learn more about the farm on its website at http://www.hopridgefarms.com/. See this article online for a pertinent video.
Contact Tom Momberg at email@example.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomMomberg
If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us. We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom.


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If you asked one Michigan family physician how she spent her summer vacation last year, she would tell you she worked diligently toward expanding Medicaid for state residents.
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, center, at the bill-signing for Medicaid expansion with Michigan AFP members, from left, CEO Debra McGuire; President-elect Tina Tanner, M.D.; Vice President Kim Yu, M.D., Director of Government Affairs Christin Nohner; and Director of Communications and Membership Annie McIntosh
Tina Tanner, M.D., president-elect of the Michigan AFP (MAFP), cut her vacation short to give testimony on the issue before the Michigan Senate. She was enjoying time off with family when she took time out to travel to Lansing to testify. For more than a year, the MAFP and other state medical associations had been pushing for expansion of Medicaid in Michigan.
It wasn't Tanner's first foray into state politics. In late 2012, she recorded a video produced by a statewide Medicaid expansion coalition(www.youtube.com), where she made a compassionate plea for Medicaid expansion. In her three-minute segment, Tanner delivered a persuasive appeal to support Medicaid expansion on personal, not political, grounds. She talked about the needs of low-income families to gain access to care they otherwise could not afford.
"I never thought I'd be doing this," said Tanner in an interview with AAFP News. "I wanted to be the best rural physician I could be. Politics was not my thing." However, she soon realized that because of complications with insurance and state bureaucracy, she could not provide the kind of care her patients needed. So she decided to get involved in advocacy efforts.
Story highlights
- When Michigan senators expressed reluctance to approve an expansion of Medicaid in the state, medical associations statewide joined forces to advocate for change.
- The Michigan AFP was an active participant in efforts to effect a change, citing concerns for patients unable to afford health care.
- Intense lobbying efforts by the coalition led to the governor of Michigan signing the bill in September 2013.
Working as a Coalition
State groups, such as the Michigan Hospital Association and the MAFP, joined forces to pressure the Michigan Senate to vote on Medicaid expansion after months of delay. The hospital association was the leader of the coalition, but the MAFP lent significant support. All of the medical community's efforts bore fruit when Gov. Rick Snyder signed the bill into law in September 2013. The expansion of Medicaid for Michigan is scheduled to begin in April, and an estimated 470,000 individuals will be eligible for coverage when the law takes effect.
Christin Nohner, director of government affairs for the MAFP, said Tanner's video appearance was one of the highlights of the chapter's efforts. Other board members, including MAFP President Fred Van Alstine, M.D., M.B.A., and Vice President Kim Yu, M.D., met with their respective legislators.
"We were a small part of a very large coalition, but every little bit helps," Nohner said.
To get the bill passed, the MAFP took an active part in what was a statewide grassroots effort to expand Medicaid. MAFP officials sent out multiple electronic newsletters about the issue to members and used social media outlets to raise awareness. They sent letters and made phone calls to legislative offices. A handful of chapter members scheduled one-on-one meetings with their senators. Above all, they were helped by a governor who was committed to the issue.
"The governor showed remarkable leadership on this issue," Van Alstine said. "We were supporting cast members and would not have been able to do it on our own."
The MAFP helped by identifying five key senators who could be persuaded to change their minds about the issue and vote for Medicaid expansion. If one of the senators had a scheduled coffee meeting with constituents, the MAFP identified a member who could attend the event.
"We emphasized the human side of the debate," Nohner said. "It was about protecting the health of patients and expanding health care access to Michigan residents."
Facts About the Michigan AFP
Chapter CEO: Debra McGuire, M.B.A.
Number of chapter members: 3,790
Year chapter was chartered: 1948
Location of chapter headquarters: Okemos
2014 Annual Conference: July 17-19, Radisson Hotel, Lansing
Emphasizing the Human Element
Changing the nature of the debate was important, said Tanner, who believes the political infighting over health care reform has not served patients or anyone in the medical community well. "We need to get away from talk about Obamacare and labeling of the ACA (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act)," she said. "Everyone agrees that the current system is broken. It may not be the best written bill, but the law is in place, and instead of fighting it, we can make it work for patients and physicians."
However, Michigan AFP members also noted that family physicians will need additional support at the state and federal level to handle the increased patient load. Tanner observed that national health reform efforts are being built on the backs of primary care providers, yet the value assigned to the care they provide is not returned in terms of payment rates or annual salaries.
Van Alstine emphasized that expansion of Medicaid will not alleviate the difficulties of managing a private practice in rural areas where Medicaid reimbursement rates for a single office visit are $30, far too low to support basic operations. The legislation is but one step in the long process toward health care coverage for all, he said. "As a (MAFP) board, we support the expansion, but expansion of Medicaid doesn't increase access to primary care."
For some patients, not having insurance means making fateful choices about their health. Van Alstine recalled a recent patient who worked a minimum wage job without health insurance. His throat became extremely sore, and, after delaying any kind of medical treatment, he went to the ER in his community, where the ER physician gave him penicillin. After two months without any noticeable improvement, the patient went to Van Alstine's office. From the time of the hospital visit, the man had lost 35 pounds and his lymph nodes were clearly swollen.
The patient was worried about costs because his visit to the ER had cost $500, which he could not pay. Sensing that the patient had lymphoma, Van Alstine insisted that the man's condition required more than simply prescribing more medication. He arranged for the patient to be seen again in the ER, but his condition had worsened to the point that it was too late to save him. Van Alstine said he read the man's obituary in the local newspaper a few weeks later.
"I'd rather a patient access the emergency room than have no access at all," he said.
Such personal stories motivated Van Alstine and Tanner to get active in the political arena to demonstrate to state leaders how gaps in health insurance are affecting people's lives.
"My patients know I advocate on issues so they will ask me how the local senator or representative voted on an issue," Tanner said.
With help from one of her patients she was able to bend the ear of Michigan State Sen. Geoff Hansen, who makes regular appearances at a local grocery store to bag groceries and talk with constituents. One of Tanner's patients approached Hansen in the store one day and asked him about his vote on the Medicaid expansion issue. The senator was impressed with Tanner's lobbying skills.
"He (Hansen) called me and said, 'A 91-year old man came over to me and started giving me the what for about Medicaid expansion,'" said Tanner. "I told him, 'There will be a lot more.'"
The senator, who initially opposed the measure, eventually voted for Medicaid expansion.
Using Resources Strategically
Other states are contending with heavy political opposition to health care reform and the uninsured, but they may believe they don't have the resources to mount an aggressive advocacy campaign. Not so, say members of the MAFP. The Michigan AFP has only a small staff of five, so they have had to be strategic about their use of resources. It's essential when dealing with such a major issue, that chapters find partners within the medical community.
According to Nohner, the MAFP developed an informal key contacts program whereby a member of the chapter's advocacy committee or a board member would be assigned to contact a particular legislator. In the end, taking advantage of all the "touch points" proved crucial. "Medicaid expansion had massive support among so many diverse groups," Nohner said. "Every big hitter in the health care community was behind it. There aren't many issues like that."
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There's plenty of evidence that Americans come up woefully short — as much as $6.6 trillion — when it comes to saving for retirement. The open question is how to fix the problem.
Campaigns by employers, financial advisors and retirement plan providers have fallen short. Some financial heavyweights are advocating an idea that many would find un-American: mandatory retirement contributions.
The idea might be gaining some support in the U.S., but instituting it won't be easy.
"Everybody's a rugged individualist," said Anthony Webb, a senior research economist at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, "until things go wrong."
"The problem," Webb added, "is that somebody has to pay for it, and neither employees nor employers are lining up to be first."
Retirement savings are mandated in varying ways in countries like Australia, the U.K. and Chile. Last May, Larry Fink, chairman and CEO of BlackRock, added his voice to those backing such a system.
"The current system is not working, and we need a comprehensive approach that includes some form of mandatory savings in addition to Social Security," Fink said in a speech at New York University's Stern School of Business. "The longer we wait to fix it, the tougher the task becomes."
Fink added that a mandatory system would need to be phased in and that workers would be allowed to make additional contributions to their retirement accounts.
Still, even a mandatory retirement savings plan might not help the lowest wage earners, the group that needs the most aid. Dallas Salisbury, president and CEO of the Employee Benefit Research Institute, said research over the last three decades casts doubt on the effectiveness of such plans in reaching that goal.
"Essentially, dollar for dollar, pound for pound," he said, "anything you're trying to achieve for the lower half of the labor market is best done by an addition to Social Security, not by a separate system."
That's because, he said, even setting aside 6% of wages won't add up to enough to pay for retirement.
Australia, which created its mandatory retirement system in 1992, has achieved a high savings rate. A research paper published by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, found that 90% of the country's workers have money in so-called Superannuation Funds. The system mandates that employers contribute 9% of an employee's earnings to retirement accounts. In addition, workers can make voluntary contributions, and there is a means-tested pension benefit paid for from general revenues.
But even a system that promotes savings has its flaws. Australians might accrue account balances at a steady rate, but the means-tested pension benefit has had an unintended effect. "The big problem with the Australian system," Webb said, "is what happens at retirement. People cash in their retirement savings so they can qualify for the pension benefit."
The dire state of preparedness for retirement in the U.S. has been well documented. Last year, the National Retirement Risk Index calculated that 53% of households would have trouble maintaining their standard of living after their working years end. The index was created in 2004 and is based on the Federal Reserve's annual Survey of Consumer Finances. The Center for Retirement Research published a study in 2010 finding that Americans were $6.6 trillion in the hole when it came to saving for retirement.
Adding to the problem is that the percentage of households who report they are saving for retirement has fallen from 75% in 2009 to 66% this year, according to the Retirement Confidence Survey by the EBRI. And a study released this week by HelloWallet found that many 401(k) plan participants were accruing debt faster than retirement savings.
"The bottom line," said Webb, "is that most Americans are unprepared for retirement." He cited the fact that the median 401(k) account of those ages 55 to 64 has $120,000, which would produce just $400 a month in income. On top that, he said, less than half of workers are covered by any type of retirement plan.
"People hanker for the good old days of defined benefits plans," Webb said. "Those days aren't coming back. We have to make the best of a flawed 401(k) system."
California lawmakers, who passed reform of the state's public pension system last year, also have given preliminary approval to a mandatory retirement system to help employees of companies with more than five workers who do not have access to a 401(k) plan. Employers would have to defer 3% of an employee's salary to a state-run fund if the law passes a vetting process and second vote by lawmakers next year.
That the law does not force employers to make any contribution is evidence of the difficulty of establishing a mandatory system.
"In the long run, we would take the view that employee salaries would fall in measure with employer contributions," Webb said. He added that research shows that when 401(k) plans include auto-enrollment features, employers often stop making matching contributions. One reason for that, Webb said, is that as more employees are enrolled in a 401(k) plan, an employer's benefits budget is stretched.
But political and financial realities pose a formidable challenge to anyone who wants to put mandatory retirement contributions into place in the U.S. The idea has been discussed for decades without making it into law, Salisbury said. Salisbury noted that in 40 years working on policy, he has seen a marked change in the debate over instituting some sort of mandatory savings policy. In the early 1980s, it was the conservative Heritage Foundation that was a key supporter of the idea, he said. Now, the same lobbying group is one of the leading opponents of health care mandates.
"The reading I take from the last five years," Salisbury said, "between the level of fiscal distress faced by state and federal governments, combined with increased global competition and the role of lobbyists is that [passage of a mandatory savings plan] isn't happening now."
And that might be optimistic, judging by an answer he gave to a reporter's question.
"My employment requires me to be agnostic on whether it should or shouldn't happen, but even if I thought it was the most wonderful idea, I still wouldn't believe it would happen in my lifetime."
Check out these related stories on ThinkAdvisor:


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Next Episode of Catalyst is
Catalyst is Australia's premier science investigation series. Each week the team brings you stories from Australia and around the world, meeting scientists at the forefront of discovery.
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The four Group G teams—Germany, USA, Portugal, and Ghana—play today in the final Group of Death matchday. We all know the stakes. If the U.S. lose to Germany and Ghana beat Portugal by a couple of goals, Ghana will advance with Germany to the knockout rounds. That's why the news that not one, but two key Ghanaian players have been suspended indefinitely from the squad is so shocking.
The Ghana FA has confirmed that midfielders Sulley Muntari and Kevin Prince-Boateng have been sent home before the vital Portugal match for two separate incidents. Muntari is said to have slapped Ghana management committee member Moses Armah Parker. The FA released a statement yesterday that read:
The decision was taken in the wake of his unprovoked physical attack on an Executive Committee member of the GFA and a management member of the Black Stars, Mr. Moses Armah on Tuesday 24th June, 2014 during a meeting.
Muntari's accreditation for the 2014 World Cup has been withdrawn with immediate effect.
Ghana Sports Online has even more details about the incident, saying that Marmah was slapped and "even chased with with broken bottles at the hotel over disagreements with appearance fees and other bonuses owed the players," which, Christ. Earlier this week, players had threatened a boycott of today's game, demanding $3 million in appearance fees, to be divided among the 23 players. In response, Ghana sent a plane full of cash that was supposed to arrive on Wednesday.
Muntari has played every minute of Ghana's first two matches this World Cup. It's hard to believe, but Ghana had more news today, when the FA released a statement on Prince-Boateng's dismissal:
The decision was taken following Boateng's vulgar verbal insults targeted at coach Kwesi Appiah during the team's training session in Maceio this week.
Boateng has since showed no remorse for his actions which has resulted in the decision.
Ghana Sports Online says that this isn't the first time Prince-Boateng has argued with Appiah, the national team manager. The star, they claim, is "believed to have had several altercations with the head coach of the team at the training grounds. The former AC Milan and Tottenham Hotspurs star publicly criticised the managers' formation and selection in the opening Group G loss to USA in Natal."
Both suspensions are effective immediately.
UPDATE: Muntari was already suspended for the Portugal match after accruing a yellow card in each of Ghana's first two games.
Allsports Ghana has more details about Muntari's fight with Parker:
Muntari squared off against the Medeama SC owner and Black Stars management committee member at a meeting between the players and management where both men exchanged punches before storming Parker's room where he smashed a MacBook Pro, destroyed phones and property in the room at the Brasilia Palace Hotel the official was staying.
Parker was all along held up on the balcony of the room, protected from the raw rage and anger of the player by other players and officials.
The confrontation begun around 11.30 PM on the first night of the team's stay in Brasilia ahead of their Group G game against Portugal. The players had demanded a meeting with management as the row over their appearance fees gathered steam. With the meeting set to begin, Muntari asked Parker to leave as he asked GFA president who he was.
An exchange of words ensued with Muntari reportedly telling Parker something along the lines of "if you people make small coins you think you have money so you can talk to us anyhow." Muntari then threw a first punch, Parker retaliated hitting the Milan star and drawing blood in the process.
Hotel security had to intervene. They tried to restrain Muntari so that Parker could return to his room on the second floor, but Muntari was reportedly so charged up that he "floored" two security guards, and shoved or shook off everyone else who attempted to hold him back.
Muntari actually made it all the way into Parker's room, who took refuge on the balcony, and 6-foot-2 center back Jonathan Mensah had to step in to block the midfielder. Parker was forced to switch hotels.
[Ghana FA]
Photo Credit: Getty


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I was looking for an app tat allows me to compare files side-by-side (mostly eyeballing, as the contents are related by not equal) and then edit each file to insert lines to that lines match up (timeline wise, can't rely on timestamps alone) and possibly delete some uninteresting lines.
I found Meld (hangs mostly on Leopard), DiffMerge and Changes. DIffmerge looks to be the most usable overall, but it only allows editing in the right-hand file. I need to be able to edit both files. Could this be added to DiffMerge? Or is there another alternative?
edit in both files?
Support for our DiffMerge utility.
Moderator: SourceGear
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2010 12:27 am
Posts: 534
Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2007 11:37 am
Location: SourceGear
Sorry, but DiffMerge only allows the right panel to be edited.
The ability to edit all panels has been frequently requested, though.
As for other products that might meet your needs, you might look
through some of the products listed on this page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison ... ison_tools
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Jul 12, 2011 2:23 pm
I have registered only to post these two things:
1. DiffMerge is a great tool that has made my life a lot easier, thanks a lot for making it (and I appreciate that it's free). It's by far my favourite diff tool.
2. I would really like this feature (ability to edit both files, not just the right one) to become available in a future version.
Posts: 534
Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2007 11:37 am
Location: SourceGear
Thanks for the note. I'll add your vote for editing in both files to
our database.
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2011 10:31 am
I have registered me for requesting this feature as well!!!
DiffMerge is a great software, very helpfull and time saving!
It will be perfect if :
1. you could edit left to right and right to left
2. Exclude some extensions (like dwsynch.xml and .DS_Store of my mac) and some folders (like cache folder)
Is there some page of development where I can read the new feature in progress?
Thx a lot, I wish that this features will be make!
Posts: 534
Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2007 11:37 am
Location: SourceGear
I'll add your vote for editing on both sides.
As for excluding some extensions, see the Options/Preferences
dialog. On the "Folder Filters" there is a list of file suffixes that
should be ignored in "Folder Windows"; this is preloaded with
many common binary and common compiler trash files. You
could add xml to the first list. As for whole folders to be ignored,
such as your cache folders, you can add it to the second list; this
list is prepopulated with common directories that should not be
We currently have a problem ignoring .DS_Store files (because
the file filtering assumes that the first list contains only suffixes
and supplies the "*." so the pattern doesn't get constructed
WRT to a new features/development progress page. I don't
have anything like that currently. Sorry.
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Sep 13, 2011 12:05 pm
> I'll add your vote for editing on both sides.
Added your vote. Thank you for the feedback.
Beth Kieler
SourceGear Technical Support
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Sep 26, 2011 8:30 pm
I have followed the good example of previous posters and registered just to ask if someone can add my vote to "edit both files" too! Diffmerge is the only halfway decent merge tool I've found for mac, but being unable to edit both files makes it very awkward at times!
I've added your vote. Thanks for the feedback.
Beth Kieler
SourceGear Technical Support
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 2:30 pm
The ability to edit both sides is a "must" for me. I'm one of these backwards folks who likes to see "my" version of the file on the left, with the "other" version on the right, so not being able to edit "my" version makes the tool a bit cumbersome for me.
I've been a long-time, licensed user of Beyond Compare, which supports this feature, but won't run nicely on Mac OSX.
DiffMerge is the best alternative I've found for Mac, but without the ability to edit both sides, I'm tempted to go back to running BC on my Mac via Wine.
I'm assuming that swapping which side the files isn't something you want to do? I'll add your vote to the feature request, but swapping which file appears on which side would be a work-around for you.
Beth Kieler
SourceGear Technical Support
Posts: 228
Joined: Thu Feb 16, 2006 11:39 am
Please add my vote for this feature as well. I don't want to swap sides for editing. Sometimes I'm making changes to mostly the file on the right, but there's something that should be done on the left file instead (think of a production setting change that never made it back to the QA settings).
Your vote has been added. Thanks for the feedback.
Beth Kieler
SourceGear Technical Support
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Jun 27, 2012 5:23 pm
Thanks for makiing this great tool, it is by far the best free option, and the folder compare is great.
Registered just to add my vote, I think I am also spoiled by BeyondCompare too! In addition, two-way editting will make 3-way diff easier if you ever plan to implement that.
One more feature request, I currently use rsync to folder sync, if it can be integrated to diffmerge it will be just perfect, I personally cannot think of any other feature.
Thanks again
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text:
Senior cornerback D.J. Hayden is willing to offer some tips whenever possible.
He also doesn't mind mixing in some trash talk.
Hayden, the Cougars' top defensive back, said Monday he has been matched up mostly against Mark Roberts, Chance Blackmon and highly-rated freshman Deontay Greenberry in preseason camp.
Hayden, a preseason All-Conference USA selection on the watch list for the Thorpe Award, said he's had some spirited matchups with Greenberry.
"I try to push Greenberry a little bit and talk a little mess to him," Hayden said with a smile.
How has Greenberry fared in the one-on-one drills?
"He hasn't caught on me yet – and he's not going to," Hayden said.
Then Hayden got serious and said, "I think (Greenberry) is doing good."
As a senior, Hayden said he has taken on the role of helping some of the younger cornerbacks, including freshmen Trevon Stewart and Adrian McDonald.
"Just overall trying to help get everybody better," Hayden said.
• While none of the younger receivers (Deontay Greenberry, Andrew Rodriguez and Larry McDuffey) cracked the two-deep roster released this weekend, junior college transfer Xavier Maxwell is listed as a backup at the 'Z' receiver spot.
Maxwell had 24 receptions for 630 yards and six touchdowns at Blinn College last season.
"He's a young, inexperienced guy, newcomer, but he's older having come from a junior college," UH head coach Tony Levine said. "He's picked it up quickly and has competed out there. He's moved up, in my mind, at a fast pace."
• Cornerback Trevon Stewart was the only true freshman to crack the Houston two-deep roster released this weekend by head coach Tony Levine.
Stewart, who had at least one interception in 12 straight practices to begin preseason camp, is listed as the backup to Zach McMillian at one of the cornerback spots.
"It's no secret what kind of two weeks of camp he's had," Levine said. "He's been consistent. He's a young man, when I talk about a freshman coming in mentally ready to play and physically ready to play, he's done that."
• Houston announced its captains for the 2012 football season Monday: cornerback D.J. Hayden, left tackle Jacolby Ashworth, linebacker Phillip Steward and running back Charles Sims were chosen in a vote by teammates.
The special teams captain will alternate each game, with kicker Matt Hogan receiving the honor for Sept. 1 opener against Texas State.
"I feel honored to know my team is looking at me as a leader," Hayden said. "I just want to come through for them."
• The first installment of The Tony Levine Show is set to air Sept. 5 on SportsTalk 790 and UHCougars.com.
The show, hosted by Cougars radio voice Jeremy Branham, will be held from 7-8 p.m. each Wednesday at the Ragin Cajun location on Richmond Avenue.
• • •
Follow me on Twitter at Joseph_Duarte.


text:
Patient Stories
We are pleased to present narcolepsy patient stories to help educate members of the public about our disorder and to let people with narcolepsy know that they are not alone. Email us if you'd like us to publish your narcolepsy story here!
A Life with Narcolepsy – Joyce's Story


text:
Henry Rinder, MD
Professor of Laboratory Medicine and of Medicine (Hematology); Associate Director, Yale Pathology Residency Program; Director, Clinical Hematology Laboratory; Associate Chair for Clinical Affairs (Diagnostic)
Departments & Organizations
Laboratory Medicine: Clinical Hematology Laboratory: General Hematology
Training in Lab Med and Pathology
Yale Medicine
Office of Cooperative Research
My academic background is in hematology. After training in internal medicine and hematology, I went on to post-doctoral work in clinical pathology to bolster our clinical and research activities.
Our laboratory research focuses on cell-based diagnostics relevant to the basic biology of hemostasis and inflammation. We have evaluated the role of thrombin and complement in platelet dysfunction following extracorporeal circulation, studies of metabolic changes during platelet storage, hypercoagulability in drug abuse, and platelet function under the control of growth factors.
We also seek to understand platelet kinetics in a variety of disorders using the non-invasive peripheral blood assay for reticulated platelets. Our collaborative focus on research additionally includes: murine disease models of platelet activation and kinetics; cell-based vascular risk associated with CPB; platelet physiology; and neutrophil markers for early recognition of sepsis.
These rewarding areas of investigation have seamlessly led to clinical investigation and educative endeavors, including becoming an author on the 4th and 5th editions of Hillman's Hematology in Clinical Practice (McGraw-Hill) and serving currently on the Board of Directors of the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) and as the chair of the ASCP Commission on Continuing Professional Development.
Education & Training
|University of Vermont (1984)
|Yale University School of Medicine
|Yale University School of Medicine
|Chief Resident
|Maine Medical Center
|Maine Medical Center
|Board Certification
|AB of Internal Medicine, Internal Medicine (1987)
|Board Certification
|AB of Pathology, Clinical Pathology (1994, recertified: 2014)
|Board Certification
|AB of Pathology, Pathology (2014, recertified: 2014)
Honors & Recognition
Past PresidentAcademy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians & Scientists (2016)
Michele D. Raible LecturerAmerican Society for Clinical Pathology (2015)
2013 President's AwardAmerican Society for Clinical Pathology (2013)


text:
Between June 13 and July 29, D303 school and administrative office hours of operation are 7:30 am-3:00 pm. We recommend you call the school you wish to visit and make an appointment to ensure that a staff member will be in the office upon your arrival.
331-228-2993Phone Number
St. Charles Community Unit School District 303


text:
RocketShip will supercharge your productivity by allowing you to assign keyboard shortcuts for just about anything. Shortcuts are convenient key combinations that when pressed, perform an action. Create shortcuts for repetitive tasks, launching your favorite apps or websites and much more. The shortcuts that RocketShip creates are usable in any application and work alongside the existing shortcuts (Providing they are not the same key). Designed for speed and a minimalist impact, RocketShip has no dock icon and stays only in the toolbar. RocketShip makes it easy to increase your productivity by keeping your important things right at
Requirements for RocketShip
- Mac OS X 10.6 or later
- 64-bit processor
Similar Software
Suggest other similar software


text:
Includes a hot buffet breakfast and FREE Hi-Speed Internet with every stay!
The Residence Inn by Marriott London Downtown hotel›s look is bright, bold and appealing. Spacious suites are double the size of most hotel rooms. And convenience? Our great downtown London Ontario location, on Colborne Street at King Street, makes quick work of getting where you need to be.
We support your work rhythm with the perfect extended stay experience which combines all the comforts of home with our passion for making every guest feel welcome.
All Suites, With All The Comforts
Enjoy spacious suites with separate living and sleeping areas. Fully equipped kitchens and our fitness centre help you keep to a productive routine. Free wired and wireless high-speed Internet access and ample work areas, as well as business centre services help you to sustain your ambitious professional pace. Three evenings a week, join us and other guests for our complimentary RI Mix.
Kids Stay Free
Children under the age of 18 can stay free in their parents room and enjoy our hot buffet breakfast everyday.
The Best Of London Ontario At Your Doorstep
To stay on track, you need convenience. This downtown London Ontario hotel is close to downtown London businesses, restaurants, entertainment and shopping on Richmond Row. We're walking distance from the London Convention Centre, Victoria Park, Budweiser Gardens, Fleetway, Storybook Gardens, University of Western Ontario, and University Hospital are all just 10 minutes drive from the hotel.


text:
Spa Valley Railway » Railway Events
2nd & 3rd August Summer Diesel Gala!
British tradition and heritage trains!
At the Spa Valley we have been operating Fish and Chip Supper trains since the early 2000s and they now have an extremely popular reputation amongst the local population and also from afar, some of these evenings are also combined with our Murder Mystery trains, click here for further details.
What's on offer?
Join the train at Tunbridge Wells West finding your seats on board, you will set off for Groombridge and complete two return journeys*. Whilst on your journey you will enjoy a freshly prepared Fish and Chip supper followed by an ice cream dessert. You will return to Tunbridge Wells West for approximately 21:15*.
These trains operate on selected Friday and Saturday nights throughout the year.
Our on train bar car 'Kate' will be open throughout the evening selling a large range of real ales, cider, wines (including sparkling!) and also hot & cold soft drinks.
Menu choices (one option per person):
• Cod & Chips
• Plain Sausage & Chips
• Battered Sausage & Chips
• Gluten Free Battered Cod & Chips
• Vegetarian Spring Roll & Chips
• Veggie Burger & Chips
• Ice Cream
*On some special events, such as our Diesel Galas or Summer Transport Event, these trains may operate to Eridge and return later than 21:15.
Terms & Conditions for all dining trains can be found by clicking this link
If you select an e-ticket please ensure you print it off and bring it with you on the day!
Note that a £10 admin fee applies to all booking alterations.
Click here to view our refund, cancellation and alterations policy
Summer Diesel Gala!
Summer Diesel Gala!
Booking with vTicket


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was £308.00
The Flexa wetsuit offers tirlastic material with a combination of varied thicknesses strategically placed in different areas of the body. For added protection and comfort on the back and shoulders there is an extra layer of stitched neoprene. The zip is on the fornt of the wetsuit and has a smooth neoprene flap that allows the user to have greter comfort and isolates the zip so it doesnt get snagged. This thickness of Flexa is great when in cooler waters and comes only in blue.
Ergonomically shaped neoprene cushion between back and tank support for improved wearing comfort and extra warmth in a zone which is usually cold sensitive.
Extremely soft internal layer in the chest area to keep the upper part of the body warm. Thermo Plush is durable and dries fast.
Integrated retaining ring to hold divers hood.


text:
Ah, what we've all been waiting for!
Now we don't have to leave mean notes for car owners that don't know how to park in a socially conscious manner.
If you've ever seen that episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, you know what we're talking about.
CurbTXT has a service (right now only in San Francisco) that lets you text other drivers by identifying them through their license plate numbers.
A cool idea which we can't really see working, unless the DMV mandated it and instituted penalties of some sort of any stupid texts which of course will be inevitable.
Better continue to carry that notepad and pen around.
Read more coverage on the bad parking police tool from CNET here.


text:
From inside the book
52 pages matching referred in this book
Where's the rest of this book?
Results 1-3 of 52
What people are saying - Write a review
We haven't found any reviews in the usual places.
The Story of Esau Jacob and the BirthrightA Macro
of the Emanation of Universes
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
activity allegory Angels attainment attributes become behold Bible blessing brethren brother Canaan cattle Causal Body Christ consciousness cosmic Cosmogenesis Cosmos creative power cycle daughter Deity described divine dream Earth Egypt emanation Esau esoteric eternal evolution evolutionary famine father forthgoing Geoffrey Hodson Glossary H. P. Blavatsky hath Hebrew human illumination immortal incarnation indicated Initiation inner interpretation Isaac Israel Jacob Joseph Kabbalah Kabbalism Kabbalistic kingdom Laban land of Canaan land of Egypt Leah Logos Lord Macrocosmic Macrocosmic and microcosmic manifestation Manvantara matter meaning mind Monad mortal Mysteries mystical narrative Nature occult occult philosophy Padan-aram Patriarchs personified Pharaoh phase physical body plane portrayed potency principle Rachel Rebekah referred regarded represents revealed Sacred Language Scriptures sense Sephira Sephiroth servants seven Shechem Solar System sons Soul spiritual story substance superphysical symbolised thee thou Torah truth Universe unto vehicles veil verses whilst wisdom words Zodiacal


text:
"We have received your new CD and want to thank you. We love it! I forgot what a beautiful voice you have. Just so you know, I don't think you sound like anyone. You are just your own amazing artists. But for the sake of the request I suggest Angus & Julia Stone. I think people who enjoy them will enjoy you."
Melissa Matthews, British Columbia
"Thank you Lark & Kris for your inspiring, beautiful music! With much appreciation…"
Karen McCombe, New York
"The cord that THE BALLAD strikes in my heart is one of music that brings out a deep sense of community, people saying: Hey, this is us. …. The human spirit that will never be snuffed out – no matter the adversary." Samm Musoke, Nova Scotia
"I fell in love with Lark and Kris's music the first time I heard it. It has an uplifting, inspiring quality which as a musician and songwriter I appreciate. Subsequently after my grandson was born I started playing him songs and he loved them. We had many a good time dancing to songs and once he was walking and talking he would request the music again and again and loves to dance and/or drum along. Thank you Lark and Kris for your gift of music to the world." Suzanne Lichau, Oregon
"Dear Lark and Kris,
I'm writing on behalf of the South Fraser Gogos (stephenlewisfoundation.org) to thank you so much for your fantastic contribution to our Potluck Evening. You made the Grandmothers welcome quite spectacular and one I'm sure they will remember.
Everyone enjoyed the rest of your music and singing and seeing everyone up dancing is a sight I'll always remember. Wishing you all the very best, Jesse Pringle, Go Go Grannies Co-coordinator, British Columbia
"Kuimba weaves a magical spell with their enchanting melodies, mesmerizing harmonies, and penetrating lyrics. The music is at once universal and uniquely personal . . . the musicians share themselves with their audiences in an intimate and moving manner." Julia J. Heydon, PhD. Music, Former Music Director, Oregon Shakespearean Festival


text:
I've made no secret of the fact that I drink a lot of seltzer—so much that building my own carbonation system was actually incredibly cost effective (not to mention shopping-labor saving!). So when a friend asked what other kinds of fun carbonated drinks I was DIY-ing at home, I was kind of embarrassed that I came up empty.
I mean, sure, there have been a few outings with tonic water for parties and maybe a squeeze of lemon and lime in the bottle from time to time, but here I was with my own fizzy drink maker and I was just choosing door #1 day after day after day.
Determined to break out of this sad state of affairs, I asked my pal what sort of drink she might like. (Confession: this was one part genuine love for her, one part because she drove me into the wilds to make my last CO2 cylinder exchange and she was owed.) She mentioned that she'd really like to break her Coke at work habit, so I started researching. When I was a kid I remember checking a book out of the library that had a fake cola recipe with cinnamon and vanilla, but I was sure the internet would have surely improved upon that recipe by now. For my first outting, I decided to go fancy since I just happened to have all the weird ingredients in my pantry and try out the recipe below (which appeared in the New York Times in 2011, adapted from the Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain).
In the end, I think I probably knew too much as far as tricking my taste buds. But this is a delicious concoction all the same. I'll have to report back on whether or not my friend notices I've replaced what's normally in her red can with my own special brew, but I'm happy to have broken the floodgates on my beverage rut.
Hmmm, what should I carbonate next?
Note: I skipped the coloring, ditched the extra two tablespoons of white sugar in the original recipe, and didn't bother blitzing the sugar in a food processor before dissolving to save dishes and annoyance. It all worked out just fine.
Cola Syrup
From the New York Times, adapted from Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain, Brooklyn, with minor shortcuts by me
Grated zest of 2 medium oranges
Grated zest of 1 large lime
Grated zest of 1 large lemon
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 section of a star anise pod, crushed (note: section!)
1/2 teaspoon dried lavender flowers
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1 one-and-a-half-inch piece vanilla bean, split
1/4 teaspoon citric acid
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon caramel color powder, optional (I skipped this, but I am curious how that might change the overall experience/trickery)
In a heavy 2 quart sauce pan, bring two cups water and zests, cinnamon, nutmeg, star anise, lavender, ginger, vanilla, and citric acid to a simmer. Cover and reduce heat to low, simmering gently for 20 minutes or so.
Measure sugars into a bowl and place a sieve lined with two layers of butter muslin over top. As soon as infused water comes off the heat, pour through strainer, extracting as much liquid as possible. Discard solids and stir sugars into the hot liquid until completely dissolved.
Pour syrup into a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid and store in the refrigerator until needed. Mix at a concentration to suit your tastes. A "four parts carbonated water to one part syrup" ratio seems a good place to start.