text:
Sharita Bharuthram
Department of English, University of the Western Cape, South Africa email@example.com
Over the past two decades there has been much written in the literature about the importance of reading and the importance of teaching students reading strategies to improve their reading comprehension. Reading is one of the most important academic tasks encountered by students. In higher education, students are exposed to a number of texts and textbooks that require independent reading. At this level they are expected to comprehend what they read so that they can analyse, critique, evaluate and synthesize information from various sources. Many students entering higher education are not adequately prepared to meet these challenges. This article highlights the literacy situation in South Africa with a particular focus on reading both in school and in higher education. In addition, the article highlights the importance of teaching students reading strategies across the curriculum in order to improve their reading comprehension, thereby enhancing their chances of academic success. The implications of this research for policy makers and academics in higher education institutions are outlined and some suggestions are made.
Keywords: academic literacy; higher education; reading across the curriculum; reading comprehension; reading literacy; reading strategies; teaching reading
Over the past two decades there has been much written in the literature about the importance of reading and the importance of teaching students different reading strategies to improve their reading comprehension (Falk-Ross, 2002; Nel, Dreyer & Kopper, 2004; Caskey, 2008; Alvermann, Phelps & Gillis, 2010; Ngwenya, 2010). Reading is one of the most important academic tasks encountered by students. In fact, reading is the essence of all formal education as "literacy in academic settings exists within the context of a massive amount of print information" (Grabe, 1991:389) and students access this information primarily through reading. At tertiary level students are often confronted with a large number of texts and textbooks that they have to read independently. Reading at this level requires much more than just the ability to be able to identify written words in a text (that is, decoding information). While many students may have the ability to decode texts easily they are not able to understand what they have decoded, i.e. they lack comprehension skills. Comprehension is critical as it fosters analysis, critique, evaluation and synthesis of information from various sources. Hence, a lack of comprehension adversely affects academic performance.
Research in applied linguistics and reading research show a strong correlation between reading proficiency and academic success at all ages with many experts (Alexander, 1997; Nunes, 1999; Townend & Turner, 2000) agreeing that poor reading skills lead to poor academic performance which in turn adversely affects student's overall development. For example, a study conducted by Pretorius (2000) at the University of South Africa found that many first year Psychology and Sociology students were reading at 'frustration level', i.e. the reader reads with less than 90% decoding accuracy and 60% or less comprehension (Lesiak & Bradley-Johnson, 1983) and found a strong correlation between reading and academic performance. Similar findings were obtained by researchers at other South African Universities, for example, by Nel, Dreyer & Kopper (2004) at the University of Potchefstroom and by Ngwenya (2010) at the North-West University. These researchers are in agreement that students who have problems reading texts will experience difficulty obtaining information from texts and consequently encounter difficulties in learning. Reading research has also shown that reading strategies can be taught to students, and when taught, they can enhance student performance in tests of comprehension and recall (Le Cordeur, 2010a; Le Cordeur, 2010b; Vacca, Vacca & Mraz, 2011). The strategies taught and the methods used to teach these strategies vary in the different research studies. In light of the importance of reading and the many differently prepared South African students who enter tertiary education, the need for reading interventions to improve throughput rates cannot be overemphasized. This article begins by outlining the literacy situation among school-goers in South Africa as well as in higher education institutions and briefly touches on the link between reading and academic performance. In conclusion, it considers some of the implications for policy makers and academics in higher education and makes a few suggestions as a way forward.
Literacy and reading among school-goers in South Africa
The democratization of South Africa in 1994 brought about radical changes in education, the most significant of which was the integration of the previously separated education systems both at national and provincial levels. With a more equitable distribution of resources it was anticipated that all students in South Africa would have access to and receive the same learning opportunities. Since 1994 various attempts have been made by the South African government to improve the literacy levels in the country through various literacy and reading campaigns, by upgrading schools that were previously under-resourced and by providing teacher training. Yet, there are still reports on the low literacy rates among school-goers in South Africa. For example, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) reported that the 2011 Annual National Assessment (ANA) results had declined since testing in 2008. In 2008, 36% of Grade 3s scored under 35% in literacy while in 2011 the figure increased to 45%. A comparison between the 2008 Grade 3 results and the 2011 Grade 6 results also suggests a worsening performance. For instance, while 36% of 2008 Grade 3s scored under 35% in literacy, in 2011 57% of the Grade 6s scored under 35% (DBE, 2011).
In 2004, the South African Department of Education (DoE) recognized reading literacy as one of the most important priorities in education. Therefore, in the Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS) more attention was given to reading. However, as stated by Howie, Venter, Van Staden, Zimmerman, Long, Du Toit, Sherman & Archer (2006:6), in the foundation and intermediate schooling phases, the reading outcome is "placed together with other expected language outcomes associated with overall language competency" (DoE, 2003). Hence, although government polices about reading do exist these policies "may not be explicit enough to provide the level of support that teachers require to guide their classroom reading instruction practices" (Howie et al., 2006:9). In 2008, a National Reading Strategy (NRS) was put into place by the DoE the aim of which was to promote a nation of life-long readers and life-long learners. The NRS recognizes that many teachers do not know how to teach reading and therefore listed teacher training, development and support as a key pillar of the NRS (DoE, 2008).
Over the years the DoE had its learners participate in several international learner achievement studies and also carried out a number of national learner achievement assessments. The results of these indicate that the learners' literacy levels are very low and are a cause for great concern. For example, in 2006, South Africa participated in the Progress for International Reading Study (PIRLS) to assess the reading literacy of Grade 4 learners. Grade 5 learners were also tested to study the progression in reading ability from Grade 4 to Grade 5. South African Grade 4 learners achieved an average score of 253 while the Grade 5 learners achieved an average score of 302. Although the scores indicated some progression from Grade 4 to Grade 5, they were significantly below the international fixed score of 500 (Howie et al., 2006). Howie et al. (2006) concluded that almost half of the 30,000 Grade 4 and Grade 5 learners tested in English and Afrikaans and more than 80% of the learners tested in the indigenous languages did not have basic reading skills and strategies. A national assessment included the systemic evaluations programme which was conducted in 2001, 2004 and 2007 focusing on Grades 3 and 6. Although the Grade 3 results indicated an improvement of 6% in reading between 2001 and 2007, they were still very low in 2007, with an average score in reading of 36% (DoE, report 2009). In February 2011, the Annual National Assessment (ANA) was written by all learners in public schools in Grades 2 to 7. The DBE (2011:6) reveals that "The percentage of learners reaching at least a 'partially achieved' level of performance varies from 30% to 47%, depending on the grade and subject considered. The percentage of learners reaching the 'achieved' level of performance varies from 12% to 31%".]]> Numerous studies have also been carried out by independent researchers (e.g. Horne, 2002; Matjila & Pretorius, 2004; Pretorius & Ribbens, 2005; Le Cordeur, 2010a). These researchers concur that learners are not reading at the level expected of them in a specific grade. For example, Horne (2002) found that many Grade 12 learners who cannot read or write possess the literacy levels of Grade 4 pupils. While the importance of language proficiency is acknowledged, Baatjies (2003) argues that it is incorrectly assumed that students acquire basic literacy by the end of Grades 3 and 4 and problems experienced by students in later grades are regarded as a "language" problem and not as a "reading" problem. However, Matjila & Pretorius (2004) found otherwise. In their study they gave Grade 8 learners two reading tests: one in Setswana which was the students' primary language and the other in English which was the language of teaching and learning (LoLT). One of their findings was that the students read more slowly in Setswana than in English, suggesting that students are not able to practice their reading skills because of inadequate exposure to books. In addition, Matjila & Pretorius (2004) argue that knowledge of one's home language is not sufficient for reading skills. They also found that the reading levels of the students in both languages were far lower than their maturational levels. In fact, students were reading at about a Grade 3 to 4 level. A similar view is expressed by Ngwenya (2010:84), namely, that general language proficiency is not a reliable predictor of a learner's academic success. The problem of the students' poor reading skills in primary schools is usually carried over into secondary schools and inadvertently higher education institutions as many students who enter higher education struggle to cope academically. Pretorius (2002:189) explains that students with reading problems get caught in a "negative cycle of failed reading outcomes and academic underperfomance".
The above discussion highlights the low literacy levels and the reading problem among learners in South Africa. Inadequate teacher training and monitoring (Howie et al., 2006; NRS 2008), the numerous failed literacy and reading campaigns and initiatives, and the misconception that the low literacy levels are a direct result of the poor language proficiency of students without any recognition of the importance of reading, give rise to much concern given that reading is fundamental to the learning process. It would seem that the reading problem in South Africa tends to be masked by the language problems (Pretorius, 2002:174) as many teachers attribute the difficulties that students experience in reading comprehension to limited language proficiency, the underlying assumption being that language proficiency and reading ability are 'the same thing'. However, this is not always the case, as oral language and written language call on different skills. Research by Hacquebord (1994) has shown that improving language proficiency does not readily improve reading comprehension. Rather, it is attention to reading that improves reading skill, during which language proficiency also improves (Elley, 1991; Mbise, 1993).
Literacy and reading in South African Higher Education Institutions
As alluded to in the discussion above, a common problem that most South African Higher Education Institutions are currently experiencing is that many students enter higher education unable to read and write at the level expected of them (Nel, Dreyer & Kopper, 2004; Bharuthram, 2007; Ngwenya, 2010). The situation is not unique to South Africa but is also experienced in other parts of the world. For example, Falk-Ross (2002:278) says that a "...small but significant number of U.S. first-year college students commence their studies with less than adequate reading comprehension strategies and enter developmental reading classes or attend assistant labs". In a study conducted by the American Institute for Research (AIR), it was reported that 50% of students at 4-year colleges had inadequate skills to function at a 'proficient' level of literacy (AIR, 2006). Over the past few years, especially following the release of the annual South African Grade 12 examination results, there has been a spread of articles that report on the poor literacy levels of students about to enter tertiary education. For example, Govender & Naidu (2006) reported that academics from South African universities are aware that many Grade 12 learners entering universities are barely able to read and write. Govender & Naidu (2006:1) also make reference to Eloff, Vice-Chancellor of North-West University, who said "... the bad news for universities is that we see a worsening in the literacy levels and reading and writing skills of all students". More recently, the quality of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) results was questioned again since the requirements for a pass are so low, namely, students need 40% in three subjects, including their home language and 30% in another three subjects to pass. Consequently, a student with an average of 35% could obtain a NCS (Parker, 2012). This has resulted in high university drop-out rates due to student underpreparedness. It was reported in 2005 by the DoE that of the 120,000 students who were enrolled in higher education in 2000, 30% dropped out in their first year of study. A further 20% dropped out during their 2nd and 3rd years. Of the remaining students only 22% completed within the specified 3 years duration of their degree (DoE, 2005). More recent data (Department of Higher Education and Training, 2012) show that for 2010 the graduation rate was 15%, which was well below the expected national norm of 25% for three-year degrees in contact universities. In particular, the document states that in such universities "well under a third of students complete their courses in regulation time and one in three graduates within four years" (ibid .:38).
Several studies across South African universities (Perkins, 1991; Starkey, McKenna, Fraser & Worku, 1999; Balfour, 2002; Bharuthram, 2007; Ngwenya 2010) have confirmed that the general language and reading levels of the majority of first-year students remain inadequate and a considerable number of students would be at risk of failing if no interventions were provided. For example, Balfour (2002) in an analysis of students' performance in English proficiency concluded that while students are conversational communicators in English they possess partial language or genre awareness and that students' reading skills needed urgent attention. In 2009, the National Benchmark Test (NBT) conducted by Higher Education South Africa (HESA) showed that of the 13,000 students who wrote the academic literacy test, only 47% were proficient in English and almost the same proportion 46% fell into the 'intermediate' category while 7% had only 'basic' academic literacy. In several of the above studies it was found that students performed much better in the multiple choice questions than the constructed questions, indicating that while students are able to answer literal questions, they do not have the competence in English that requires them to construct sentences in a cohesive and coherent manner. In a study conducted by Ngwenya (2010) to correlate first-year law students' profile with the language demands of their content subject it was found that the participants' average score in a reading comprehension test was 48%. Students performed poorly in the exophoric section which required them to think conceptually, infer meaning and be critical obtaining a score of 37% while the average mark on decoding endophoric information (i.e. responding to questions for which answers were retrievable from the text) was 58%. Generally, the students lack of proficiency in English which is the medium of instruction, and their limited reading ability, results in many of them struggling to cope academically, leading to high attrition and low throughput rates. The above results can be explained in terms of the distinction made by Cummins (2000) between Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills (BICS) and Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP). CALP involves the use of a more context-reduced language associated with written language as well as more formal aspects of the classroom. According to Cummins (2000) academic literacies are context reduced. For successful meaning making, writers and readers are required to share a significant amount of background knowledge. Therefore, CALP, which is context reduced, is needed for the production and interpretation of academic texts. On the other hand, BICS is more context-embedded in the sense that meaning making can often be found within the interactional context (Cummins, 2000). This implies that even if a student has acquired a high level of proficiency in a language, the student is unlikely to succeed if the proficiency is mainly BICS proficiency. Students need CALP to succeed academically. It would seem that while many students who enter university have BICS, these students lack CALP, which as discussed above, is essential for success in higher education.
In a longitudinal study conducted at technikons mainly in the province of Gauteng, Horne (2002:43) found that there was a steady decline in the functional literacy levels of Grade 12 English Additional Language students who registered at these technikons. In 1995, Horne (2002) also administered a standardised English literacy skills assessment test (ELSA) to 766 Grade 12 school-leavers. These students had applied successfully to be trained as teachers in a province in the northern part of South Africa. Horne (2002) found that 95% had a functional skills level in English of below Grade 8 level; 3% at Grade 8 level; 1% at Grade 9 level and 1% at Grade 10 level. These students qualified as teachers at the end of 1998 and the vast majority are teaching English and/or using English to teach content subjects. Hence, the lack of teacher English proficiency is passed on to students, thus perpetuating the cycle. Since the study by Horne in 1995 other studies (e.g. Howie et al., 2006; Balfour, 2007) have also reported on inadequate teacher qualifications and a lack of training on the teaching of reading and literacy development. For example, in the PIRLS report (Howie et al., 2006) the authors concluded that the qualifications teachers have do not necessarily prepare them to teach reading literacy and that many teachers were not able to effectively implement the strategies they learnt during their professional training. In 2008, the DoE in drawing up of the National Reading Strategy (NRS), recognized teacher competency as a specific challenge in the implementation of the NRS and therefore introduced training, development and support programmes for teachers (DoE, 2008).
Reading and academic performance
It is well known that in the process of acquiring knowledge, apart from the notes given during lectures, the student is expected to supplement these by consulting additional texts. These texts not only reinforce the teachings in the classroom but also broaden the student's knowledge base. Students must be able to understand the texts they read to achieve academic success. Consequently, students who experience difficulties in reading will be handicapped in acquiring knowledge and in succeeding academically (Pretorius, 1996; Nunes, 1999; Rose, 2004; Ngwenya, 2010). A study by Bohlman & Pretorius (2002:15) showed a "robust relationship between reading ability and academic performance". The authors found that the students in their study who failed Mathematics achieved 50% or less in reading comprehension, meaning that they understood half (or less) of the text, and were thus reading at frustration level. Interestingly, their marks for mathematics improved as their reading ability improved.]]> It must be noted that the level of reading required in higher education is much more demanding and sophisticated than in school. In a typical course load, students need to read a range of different books (genres) which requires sophisticated analytical and interpretative skills in reading and writing. Comprehending these texts is essential for academic success. The complex nature of most academic texts does not make the students' tasks any easier, coupled with the fact that many students come into higher education with their own literacy experiences, which may either advance or hamper the acquisition of their discipline specific literacies. Thesen (1998:39) discusses the complexity of texts in terms of an analysis of texts from three levels: the first level (text) involves description the what of linguistic analysis; level two, is the how of meaning making, that is, interpretation; and level three engages in why, that is, explanations and implications thereof. In acknowledging the difficult nature of texts, many researchers (Thesen, 1998; Richardson, 2004; Rose, 2004) state that an important part of the reading process is the students' ability to recognize text genres and various distinct text types. Grabe (1988:64) indicates that "the linguistic elements of the text combines interactively to help create the 'textuality' (that is, what makes a text a text as opposed to a collection of individual sentences that must be processed by the reader)". Hence, just as university students are introduced to the different writing genres required in their disciplines, they need to be introduced to academic reading.
The relationship between reading and academic performance cannot be over-emphasized. Balfour (2002:67) argues that students' weak reading levels have serious implications for the following reasons:
As discussed above, although the ability to read complex material is one of the major predictors of success in higher education (Lewin, 2005), many students are not able to adequately comprehend the texts they read. To this end, a review of reading research (Daneman, 1991; Droop & Verhoeven, 2003; Rose, 2004) indicates that students, especially low performers, benefit from the explicit teaching of reading.
Implications and suggestions for Higher Education Institutions]]> In the light of the above studies, it is recognized that drastic measures need to be taken at school level to improve the overall literacy and reading levels of all South African learners and hence inevitably of students entering higher education institutions. However, the current disconcerting situation faced by higher education institutions warrants an immediate interim intervention. This point is supported in a study by the Council for Higher Education (CHE) which concluded that "improvement in schooling per se should not be relied upon as a primary means for achieving substantial improvement in graduate outputs and equity of outcomes in higher education" (OECD, 2008). In addition, it should be noted that reading at school level is very different from reading at university. Texts at university level, as in the case of a journal, are disciplinary and often new to the student and are much more complex in nature requiring the use of sophisticated reading strategies. It is often incorrectly assumed by lecturers in higher education that students who have been successful readers at school level will not encounter any difficulties reading at university. However, many students find university reading a challenging task. While some students because of their prior reading experiences are able to adapt and adjust their reading with relative ease, others may lag behind.
On the basis of the above discussion, it is argued that higher education institutions need to make a commitment to help raise students' awareness of the importance of reading and also assist them in gaining the appropriate reading practices required at university level. In order to achieve success it is important that this be a collective (university wide) effort. Therefore, it is imperative that the teaching of reading be included across the curriculum. It cannot be emphasised enough that to be successful in this endeavour all academics need to accept and commit to the process. It is well known that it is not possible for university support programmes to cope with the large number of students requiring assistance with reading. In addition, the short duration of many of the academic development courses does not allow for sufficient practice and transfer of the literacy practices that are taught to the content subjects. Furthermore, while academic development programmes may teach critical reading, these reading strategies are most effective if they are reinforced through practice in the mainstream curriculum. It is acknowledged that some lecturers may argue that it is their job to teach content and they are not language specialists therefore the teaching of reading should be done elsewhere. Generally, lecturers who think in this manner also tend to believe that learning content and reading can be separated and that learning content does not require one to be a good reader or even a regular reader. This thinking encourages a reliance on lecture notes, rote learning and verbatim recall of information that is often not accurately presented. Furthermore, students who memorize information would not be in a position to challenge or re-interpret texts in the light of other texts (Hall, 2005).
It is suggested that a good staff development programme be put in place that encourages conversations around the current trends in reading and reading pedagogy. This is important to prevent the belief that reading is a decontextualized process that contains a set of skills/ strategies that can be generically applied across content areas (Hall, 2005). Reading and writing are social practices and play different roles in different social contexts, performing different social actions (Brandt, 1990; Gee, 2000; McKenna, 2003; Herbert, Conana, Volkwyn & Marshall, 2011). The reading conversations could revolve around lecturers thinking about how and why reading strategies can be applied to the texts they use and how these purposes may change across content areas. As an example, the reading of a law text will differ from the reading of a history text. The way discipline lecturers think about and teach reading could possibly have an impact on how they address reading with their students. Furthermore, the more knowledge subject lecturers have on reading the less daunting a task it becomes to incorporate reading instruction into their classes. In addition, these conversations must be supported with practical examples using discipline texts on how to integrate the teaching of reading into content subjects. This article also suggests the need to research what is currently being done on the teaching of reading in academic support units and by subject lecturers to ensure that it is not just touched on in a superficial manner. Finally, while this article focuses on reading it is important to note that reading is taught most effectively with writing, as integrated processes. Reading and writing are two complementary processes both of which are essential for academic success.
In conclusion, a wide range of data has been presented here in discussing the poor reading levels of school-goers and of students in higher education institutions. These results are presented to highlight the gravity of the reading problems experienced in the South African educational system, in an attempt by the author to make a strong case for the teaching of reading across the curriculum in higher education. It is hoped that this research will serve as a catalyst for institutions to seriously promote discussions around the importance of reading and the actual implementation of the teaching of reading across the curriculum, while taking into account some of the suggestions offered.
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From Radio Free Asia:
Thousands of local residents have converged on an upscale hotel in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan, setting fire to the building in protest at the death and alleged rape of a 16-year-old girl who worked there.
Mobile phone footage taken Wednesday (see clip below) outside the hotel in Dazhu township showed confused and raucous crowds in darkness in front of a burning building as crowds gathered outside. Witnesses said the crowd reached 20,000 at its peak late Wednesday.[Full Text]

subset: commoncrawl


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coming straight away to the problem.. i have a jsp code. when i select a string(an option) in the pop-up window(child page) and press "ok" then the selected string is shown at the desired place on the parent page, but the problem is that if the string has multiple words with spaces in between(on the child page or pop-up window) then these spaces are being replaced by commas when it comes to parent page.. i am unable to identify what is the exact problem.
if there is option on the pop-up window(child page)- "maximum marks scored"
then on selecting this option it appears on the parent page as- "maximum,marks,scored"
these commas are not desired..


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Fast-rising light heavyweight contender Ovince St. Preux was the top earner at this past weekend's Strikeforce Challengers 17 event.
St. Preux earned $12,000 for his quick main-card win over Joe Cason, topping the $96,500 total disclosed payroll.
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today requested and received the list of disclosed paydays from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Former 135-pound female champion Sarah Kaufman would have topped the list had she defeated Liz Carmouche via stoppage. Kaufman earned a base pay of $10,000, but her $5,000 win bonus was only applicable if the fight ended by knockout or submission.
"Strikeforce Challengers 17: Voelking vs. Bowler III" took place this past Friday, July 23, at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The night's main card aired on Showtime.
The full payouts included:
Bobby Voelker: $11,000 (includes $5,500 win bonus)
def. Roger Bowling: $4,500
Devin Cole: $10,000 ($5,000 win bonus)
def. Shawn Jordan: $4,000
Ovince St. Preux: $12,000 ($6,000 win bonus)
def. Joe Cason: $3,000
Sarah Kaufman: $10,000 (no win bonus)
def. Liz Carmouche: $2,500
Adlan Amagov: $8,000 ($4,000 win bonus)
def. Ron Stallings: $3,000
T.J. Cook: $5,000 ($2,500 win bonus)
def. Lionel Lanham: $2,000
Anthony Smith: $5,000 ($2,500 win bonus)
def. Ben Lagman: $2,000
Bill Cooper: $4,000 ($2,000 win bonus)
def. Maka Watson: $2,000
Sterling Ford: $6,000 ($3,000 win bonus)
def. Brian McLaughlin: $2,500
Now, the usual disclaimer: The figures do not include deductions for items such as insurance, licenses and taxes. Additionally, the figures do not include money paid by sponsors, which can oftentimes be a substantial portion of a fighter's income. They also do not include any other "locker room" or special bonuses Zuffa, LLC oftentimes pays.
In other words, the above figures are simply base salaries reported to the commission and do not reflect entire compensation packages for the event.
For additional coverage of Strikeforce Challengers 17, check out the MMA Events section of MMAjunkie.com.
(Pictured: Ovince St. Preux)


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I don't know about you, but I'm a pathetic present picker. I wait until the very last minute before having a crazed shopping trip where I buy anything within my price range and hope for the best. Even though I come up with some pretty great ideas throughout the year for particular people, I try to remember and then draw a mental blank when it hits December. So if this is all sounding pretty familiar to you then keep reading! I asked my boyfriend to take part in this post to give a male perspective, and we both came up with a couple of things that we would absolutely love to receive in order to give you all some giftspiration!
We have included gifts from both ends of the price spectrum, from simple gifts to main presents for treating a special someone. I do wish to stress that we are not spoilt people expecting to get all of these lovely things on Christmas Day! This is just a few ideas we came up with, and I hope you find them helpful.
For Her:
Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir, £85
The White Company 'Winter Signature Candle', £20
Clinique Chubby Contour and Highlight Sticks, £19 each (luxury option)
Kiko Milano Romantic Rebel Contouring Pencil Set, £9.90 for both (good value)
Charlotte Tilbury 'The Gift of Red Carpet Skin' Travel Kit, £59
Soap & Glory 'The Zest A Girl Can Get', £16 (or any S&G set if I'm honest!)
Emma Hardie Merrily Moringa Gift Set, £10Victoria's Secret Sleepover Pyjama Set, £36
Zoeva Rose Golden Vol. 2 Luxury Brush Set, £46
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Palette, £65Benefit Crescent Row Limited Edition Set, £19.50
Clarisonic 'Mia 2' Sonic Skin Cleansing System, £111.25
Moroccan Copper String Lights, £12.50
'Only Ever Yours' by Louise O'Neill, £5.99
Rose Gold Personalised Bar Necklace, £29
Anthropologie Celestial Coasters, £8 each
Anthropologie Teacup, £10 (there are so many beautiful, blog-worthy ones!)
For Him:
Go Pro, £94Anker Portable Phone Charger, £15.99Personalised Hip Flask, £26
Hugo Boss Boss Bottled Eau De Toilette Gift Set, £38
Clinique For Men Sonic Cleansing Face Brush, £70.30
Barbour Heritage Quilted Jacket, £99.95
River Island Dark Red Slim Shirt, £25
Tommy Hilfiger Pyjama Set, £56
Parker Pen, £22 (engrave to make it even more special!)
'Zombie Survival Guide' by Max Brooks, £6.99
Websites I found especially useful / wonderfully browsable:
- notonthehighstreet.com Unusual gift ideas
- feelunique.com For little toiletry sets that would do anyone
- anthropologie.com So many beautiful things, I want them all!
- argos.co.uk They have everything, but cheaper
- urbanoutfitters.com Again, for some unusual and unique ideas
- debenhams.com The best all-round, one-stop department store
- Fleur's Pinterest She has created some super handy gift idea boards!
Obviously these gifts are personal choices but hopefully they will have stoked your gifting inspiration! I would also like to beg my readers to do similar lists – I can't be the only person who sucks at giving presents, and would love a few more ideas… Was Christmas always so stressful? I hate adulting!
Thanks for reading,
Instagram // Pinterest // Twitter // Bloglovin'


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SAS among Best Multinational Workplaces in Europe
Analytics leader SAS has long been recognized worldwide as a leader and innovator in workplace culture, putting people first as a business imperative. The company has again been listed among Europe's Best Workplaces 2018 by Great Place to Work®, ranked at No. 7.
SAS emerged among European leaders having ranked among the best workplaces in 10 countries across Europe over the past year.
The company's commitment to work/life balance has existed since it was formed more than 40 years ago, and has also earned honours as an attractive workplace for millennials, women and graduates.
This approach means the company saves millions of dollars every year on recruitment and training costs associated with employee turnover. It also means customers know they can rely on long-standing relationships with SAS employees for expertise, innovation and service.
About SAS
SAS is the leader in analytics. Through innovative software and services, SAS empowers and inspires customers around the world to transform data into intelligence. SAS gives you THE POWER TO KNOW®.


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Welcome to our website! As we have the ability to list over one million items on our website (our selection changes all of the time), it is not feasible for a company our size to record and playback the descriptions on every item on our website. However, if you have a disability we are here to help you. Please call our disability services phone line at (203) 775-7066 during regular business hours and one of our kind and friendly personal shoppers will help you navigate through our website, help conduct advanced searches, help you choose the item you are looking for with the specifications you are seeking, read you the specifications of any item and consult with you about the products themselves. There is no charge for the help of this personal shopper for anyone with a disability. Finally, your personal shopper will explain our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, and help you place an order if you so desire.
Buzaid Appliances in Danbury, CT is an authorized dealer of Liebherr Products. The name Liebherr symbolizes innovation, skill and drive. Recognized as a specialist in refrigeration and freezer technology worldwide, Liebherr consistently introduces new solutions for freshness.
The combination of trendsetting materials and classic lines offer a distinct design that gives the products their unique identity. It becomes a tangible expression of the superior quality expected in a Liebherr appliance.
So if you are looking for Liebherr products in Danbury, Brookfield, Bethel, Newtown, New Milford, Ridgefield, Redding, New Fairfield, Southbury, Southington and Brewtser, or if you have any questions about Liebherr products, please feel free to call us at (203) 775-7066 or simply stop by Buzaid Appliances at any time and we would be glad to help you.


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Networks Silent on Obama's Fourth Consecutive Trillion-Dollar Deficit
None of the Big Three broadcast networks noted the release Friday of the Congressional Budget Office's final determination of the fiscal year 2012 federal budget deficit: $1.1 trillion, the fourth year in a row of trillion-dollar deficits. ABC, CBS and NBC's Friday evening newscasts and Saturday morning news programs were silent about the statistic — even though Obama's massive spending and broken 2008 promise of halving the deficit are central issues of this year's presidential campaign.
A look back shows that the networks were also silent last year, when the deficit came in at $1.299 trillion for fiscal year 2011. In 2010, the networks skipped CBO's October 7, 2010 report of a $1.3 trillion deficit, but later noted the final number when it was released by the Office of Management and Budget on October 15.
You have to go back to 2009 (which saw a record $1.4 trillion deficit) to find a year when the three broadcast networks treated the government's severely unbalanced budget as real news — and, even then, it was given not much more than a passing mention on ABC and NBC (with Katie Couric's CBS Evening News waiting a week to play catch-up).
While Congress has not passed a budget for the new fiscal year (2013) that began last Monday, the Obama White House has projected a deficit of more than $900 billion. If that's at all close to the mark, the five years from FY2009 through FY2013 will have seen about $6 trillion in total deficits — huge news to everybody, it would seem, except for the broadcast news networks.
[While not mentioning the astronomical deficit figure, NBC's Brian Williams on Friday night did spend time talking about the "threat" to PBS posed by Republican candidate Mitt Romney. MRC's Brent Baker noted how Williams diminished the cost of the taxpayer subsidy to public broadcasting: "For perspective, that's about 1/100th of a percent of our federal budget. And that $450 million is about of what the Pentagon spends every six hours."]
Here's how the Capitol Hill newspaper The Hill covered the story Friday afternoon, one of the few news outlets that did so:
The government's fiscal 2012 has now come to a close and the score is in. The budget deficit for 2012 was $1.1 trillion, the fourth year of trillion-dollar deficits under President Obama.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Friday that the $1.1 trillion shortfall, based on Treasury statements, was about $200 billion less than in fiscal 2011. But part of this difference is due to a timing shift that put some final payments in 2011 because Oct. 1, 2011 fell on a weekend.
Without the assistance from the calendar, the deficit in 2012 would have been $30 billion larger than reported.
The deficit has become a major issue in the presidential campaign.
Obama pledged to cut the annual deficit in half in his first term, and during Wednesday night's debate, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney took him to task for the ballooning shortfalls....
-- Rich Noyes is Research Director at the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.


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We just had a lovely weekend with Uncle Jonathan & Auntie Em.
They arrived Friday right at lunch. We had a lot of fun taking them to our favorite local restaurant on Friday night. We all hit the beach on Saturday morning. Later that afternoon Jake & Jon played a round of golf , while Em & I, plus the kids, grabbed some ice cream at Lewis Farms and shopped.
The girls are wearing their new birthday outfits from Jon & Em.
We also celebrated Ella & Lily's upcoming birthdays while Jon & Em were with us. My parents had sent gifts too. (ABOVE) Lily is showing off her new watch & Ella is sporting her new purse.
These TWO....they keep us laughing.


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- CA BWGPL GJ-HistBuilding-2017-03-15-07
- Unidad documental simple
- 1995
The two-storey, wood frame house located on the west side at 196 Barrie St. was built more than one hundred years ago. The original farmhouse did not have the front addition (as seen in the photo) and it was clad with white stucco (not vinyl). Thi...
S. Jacqueline Kulscar


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Episode 283 of The CyberJungle is about 40 minutes long, due to the extended interview with lock expert Marc Weber Tobias on the Onity hotel lock breaches. You can hear the entire program it by clicking on the flash player below. The interview with Marc Weber Tobias , begins at about the 19:30min mark. You may download the file directly – great for listening on many smartphones. Or, you may go to the listening options page and browse for other ways to hear the show.
To listen to Episode 283 via the flash player:
Lock expert and attorney, Marc Weber Tobias
Tales From The Dark Web
Yahoo! email! hijack! exploit!… Yours! for! $700!
Our Take on This Weeks News
DNS Attacks at Pakistan's PKNIC, GoDaddy, and Romania
IDC: iPhone, Android to overtake BlackBerry in enterprise market for first time
No wrap due to the extended interview segement


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"my psychwiki"
From PsychWiki - A Collaborative Psychology Wiki
- noun (ˈmī ˈsīk ˈwikē)
Why have "my psychwiki" in psychology?
- Stand-alone pages - PsychWiki was created by psychologists for the psychology user community to use for whatever professional purpose they wish (such as creating free class websites, lab group websites, collaborate notes, etc. see below for more examples)
- Linked pages - In the online age "You are Your Web Presence" given that search engines other than PscyINFO are a starting point for seeing psychologists' web pages, lab pages, research pages, and so forth. Online publicizing is the natural extension of why everyone already goes to conferences and submits to journals.
- New types of feedback - A wiki is uniquely situated to disseminate previously inaccessible information such as feedback about research ideas/designs, comments on published works, discussion of theoretical ideas/papers...
How to use "my psychwiki"?
- Create a page - If you want a stand-alone page, just click here.
- Create your own hub - Wiki technology is designed to create interconnections among information, links, and websites. You can create a hub around anything, including a person, research topic, class, journal article, and so forth. Learn more about using category tags
For example, some people have created stand-alone pages for:
- ⇒ their classes (example)
- ⇒ individual class assignments (example)
- ⇒ coordinating RAs for lab sections (example)
- ⇒ brainstorming ideas for courses (example)
- ⇒ organizing events (example)
- ⇒ student group website (example)
- ⇒ lab groups (example)
- ⇒ brownbags and speaker series (example)
- ⇒ professional development series (example)
- ⇒ announcing workshops (example)
- ⇒ collaborative notes from conferences (example)
- ⇒ posting interesting study results (example)
- ⇒ creating own annotated bibliography online for easy access (example)
- ⇒ publicizing research and link it to other pages/concepts (example)
- ⇒ posting online studies (example)
- ⇒ starting a compendium of measures/scales on a topic (example)
- ⇒ getting feedback on your research idea or design (example)
- ⇒ connecting to other researchers with shared research interests (example)
- ⇒ creating Review articles collectively (example)
A wiki provides a useful way to present this new information to the collective benefit of the field by sharing our experiences and knowledge


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About Me:
Iam aTruck Driver that play the Beatle mo s t of the day.I live alone with my cat Buddy. My wife had paed away years ago. I have 3 girls and a son. The Beatle were a big part of my youth. Great memory !
Favourite Track:
The Long And Winding Road (1)
Tell us why:
Great words and melody that make sentimental value
Favourite Album:
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Tell us why:
Vat varietyof mui and food for thought musically


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Joshua Brown, the blogger known as the Reformed Broker, has a wide following among financial advisors, who start their day reading his leads on industry news, markets and actionable ideas. But for those advisors unfamiliar with Brown's views on financial advisor business models, the publication this month of his new book, Backstage Wall Street, makes amply clear they are not flattering to wirehouse financial advisors. As he puts it in our interview in this month's cover story, "I'll starve on the street before I'll ever be a retail stockbroker again."
While Brown's book is likely to make the investing public more suspicious of readers of this magazine, it would be unwise to view him as an enemy. Rather, it is a sign of emotional maturity to give a respectful hearing to critics in order to assess the validity of the criticism and to seek self-improvement where warranted.
Brown criticizes "people making decisions that have more to do with brokers' compensation than what is best for the client." He thinks wirehouses and mutual funds will disappear, and specifically advocates a fiduciary standard for advisors rather than the broker's lesser suitability standard. He also derides the garbage-in, garbage-out of brokerage firms' computer-generated portfolios.
While there is nothing new in this criticism — I wrote about many of these issues in my Ethical Advisor series of columns in 2003-2005 — the question is whether there is something true in it. And the fact is that the brokerage system does not require putting client interests first even if individual brokers do so of their own accord.
Brown's argument that wirehouses are doomed is far less convincing. I've been around long enough to have heard that one before many times. (Remember when the advent of online brokerages was thought to sound wirehouses' death knell?) But these firms have the branding power to bring in new customers and the financial staying power to survive an ever-changing marketplace.
Though the firms are almost indestructible, their advisors are not. Ethicists may decry brokers churning client accounts, but advisors would do well to notice that they too are being churned. If an advisor is not meeting ever-rising production targets, he is rapidly shown the door these days.
Most people have difficulty accepting criticism, and particularly so in the sensitive area of how they earn a living. The feeling is that if we sell a product or service to a willing customer, it is inherently moral — we are both realizing our Declaration of Independence-blessed pursuit of happiness. But that is no more acceptable than a doctor treating a patient with only the medicines or services approved by their hospital's finance directors when better alternatives exist.
Wall Street will not reform until it must to survive, but we need not cling to our firms' minimum standards if that means shortchanging our clients. Indeed, we should be thankful if Brown's book increases the supply of reformed brokers.


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Consulting / Independent Contractors -- HR Policy 127Employment and Consulting Outside of UAB -- HR Policy 128
Financial conflict of interest – a reasonable determination made by the UAB Conflict of Interest Review Board (CIRB) and/or Office that an investigator's significant financial interest is related to and could significantly and directly affect the design, conduct, or reporting of research.
Design – the development of the strategy and means to test a research question or hypothesis.
Conduct – the supervision or management of a study's execution. This is typically done by the principal investigator (PI) and co-investigators, but also may be performed by other project personnel, such as postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, or other junior researchers. For studies involving human subjects, this includes anyone who is responsible for explaining the study, risk -benefit, and/or alternatives to potential participants, is listed on Form FDA-1572 or device agreement, and/or must complete a sponsor's conflict of interest form.
Reporting – the authorship of publications or reports that describe the results of the study. Such reports may be to the sponsor of the research or to academic or scientific meetings.


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Please Note: To qualify for Saturday, Sunday or Monday delivery your order must be received before 12pm on the Friday before. Orders placed after 12pm on a Friday will not be dispatched until Monday (our next working day).
Please see Delivery Information tab below for full details.
Need to make more of an impact?
Then shop our range of Eco Friendly Party Decorations, the perfect match for your balloon !
Cute Hello Kitty Party Balloons
Pack of 10


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I Am Tired of Spreading Cream Cheese on a Bagel for Myself
Channeling the spirit of Uncrustables and Hot Pockets, in April Kraft will launch Bagel-Fuls, frozen bagels which come prestuffed with Philadelphia cream cheese. Bagel-Fuls are part of the segment called "hand-held breakfast sandwiches."
"Consumers are not spending a lot of time cooking these days," said Chitra Ebenezer, the director of marketing for the new brand. "Breakfast is one meal occasion they really struggle with."
And struggle I do. The constant battle to keep cream cheese stocked in my fridge has left me a cold and bitter person. The daily time-suck of visiting a bagel store so that someone else can cut and schmear my bagel has exhausted me to the point of tears.
Kraft, in its benevolent kindness, has heard my pleas, but I still have some questions.
Questions for Kraft
What is the heating method for the Bagel-Ful? Will you be able to jam it into a regular toaster without running some serious fire risks? I suppose you could pop it into a toaster oven, but won't the outside burn by the time the inside is warm? I really don't want to imagine the texture of a microwaved frozen bagel—is that Kraft's plan? Maybe they just want us to let the frozen bagel sit out at room temperature to thaw before we eat it.
Also, will there be flavored cream cheese? I'm a big fan of scallion cream cheese—but could Kraft prestuff some lox in there, too? And how about some tomatoes?
Can we also assume that there's a buttered bagel in the works?
[via sogoodblog]
Previously in Food Science
The All-in-One Chicken Nugget and Soda Cup: The Col-Pop
Pizza in a Cone: Crispycones
The Cheeseburger in a Can Reveals Itself


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|Charles Shere retired writer, composer, and journalist.
|Lindsey Remolif Shere retired pastry chef.
|Their Publications
|concerts heard
|theater seen
|restaurants visited
|travel journals
• A fairly active weblog describes our travels, restaurants we've tried, concerts we've heard, and the like.
•A page at Lulu.com reveals the titles I have self-published and made available in book form. These books are available only online at this website: clicking on any title will take you to an order page. Be sure to stipulate "US Media Mail" in the scrolldown shipping-method option; other methods are expensive.
URL: http://www.shere.org rev.: February 2007 copyright © 2004, Charles Shere e-mail


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Hi Family and Friends!
How is everyone? Well, the last thing I wrote, was that we were heading to Spohn Hospital to the Emergency Room, because the pain inside my ear was too much! I packed a few things, knowing I would be admitted to the hospital! Sure enough! I'm going to spare you the details and the downside of it all, and just say, I'm doing better and hope to keep getting that way more and more each day! I got some IV Antibiotics, 2 units of blood and was sent home w/2 prescriptions for Antibiotics. I got home late last night - right before midnight! My amazing husband and wonderful family helped me through it all and I'm very happy to be home again! I missed my baby Hanz soooo much! Thanks to my dear friends Terry Serna and Alicia Jasso that also came to see me in the hospital - that cheered me up! Be grateful for your health everyone and thank you for your prayers!
Still not sure when my next procedure will be in Denver. I need to start work again with the Therabite!
Home again!
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Hi Family and Friends!
Posted by Dulce at 10:37 AM 0 comments
Oh No! Not Again!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Hi Everybody! Bet you didn't think you'd be hearing from me again so soon, huh? Well, unfortunately I have something to write about that doesn't make me very happy. All day yesterday and today, I have been wearing a cotton ball in my ear to catch all the "drainage" from my ear during work. I change it out several times a day, and make sure to put vaseline on the cotton ball before I put it in my ear!
Anyway, once we got home, I tried getting some rest, but Hanz wanted to play! Mark went to the grocery store after a bit, and once he got home, I decided to change out the cotton ball in my ear. As soon as I pulled it out, I looked @ it, to see if I was still having drainage and I saw some blood on it. I didn't think too much about it, until all of a sudden my wound dressing is covered in blood! I called out to Mark to come help me out and I was taking the dressing off as quickly as I could! It turned out the blood was not coming from the wound, but from a scab inside the inner part of my ear, on the top! I couldn't see that myself, Mark had to tell me! Of course within seconds the nightgown I was wearing had blood all over it - ugh!
So first thing in the morning, I have an appt. w/one of the doctors in the group my primary care physician belongs to. We'll see what he decides to do with me! Catch you later!
P.S. Guess what? Can't stand the pain anymore, so we're heading to the Emergency room @ Spohn Hospital! Don't think I can get any sleep! Poor Mark and Hanz! I'm ruining their lives!
Posted by Dulce at 9:39 PM 0 comments
Bloody Monday
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Hello to all!
Thanks for checking in with me, I really appreciate it! So much always going on! Last week Mark had taken time off work, so I had really enjoyed having him home - so many honey-do's for him! It was nice having Mark and Hanz drive me to work and then both of them picking me up in the afternoon!
Our shower is finally finished, so no more walking to the back garage apt. to get cleaned up! So happy about that! We both started our week off a little sad that Mark had to go back to work and that Hanz wouldn't have Mark to play with any more during the day! Marks van has been needing some work, so he's been dropping me off @ work in my car first and then heading on to his job! I have to say that I've really enjoyed that extra time we get to spend together in the morning! It's especially nice for me on Mondays, since that is Jury Duty day @ the Courthouse and parking is horrid!! My co-worker Kathy had been off almost 2 weeks and she was returning back on Monday as well. In the early afternoon I was having a conversation with Kathy, when she goes, "You are bleeding from your wound a lot"! I immediately go to a nearby mirror to look, and sure enough! My wound dressing is completely red with blood that is running down my neck! I grabbed a couple of napkins from my desk drawer, bent down to get my wound care bag, and asked Kathy to call our co-worker Diana! I rush to the bathroom and removed the paper towels I was holding to my face, so I can see where the blood is coming from. I have to remove the dressing and could see where I was bleeding from! By the time I did that, my friend Diana was knocking on the bathroom door. I let her in and locked it behind her. We stood there as I held a wet paper towel to the area I was bleeding from, trying to get it to stop. The area really looked gross - ugh! Mark had put a new dressing on it the night before, so there was a lot of Silvasorb Antimicrobial wound gel on there. I had been feeling pretty rotten all day long - I've been fighting an ear infection for a while and I had been in pain! When I originally started feeling like I had an infection, I had called up to CO to get an antibiotic prescribed. I got some Augmentin and that seemed to be working. When I went to wound care, they took a culture of the goop in my ear and sent the results to Dr. Zane - ENT, and he switched me to Bactrim to get rid of the infection. Well, after a few days on Bactrim, I was feeling pain again, so I wanted to go back to the Augmentin! I called Dr. Zanes office and got him to ok changing me back to taking the Augmentin! Unfortunately, I started feeling pain again that was soooo bad! It felt like someone was jabbing a sharp pencil in my ear - yikes! I had been writing earlier @ work and got one of those pains and just dropped the pen from the severity of the pain I was feeling! Back to Diana and I in the bathroom ... I called Mark and told him what was going on. Told him I wanted him to come and get me and take me home! Mark knows I usually tough out any bleeds I've had @ work, as does my supervisor - so both knew when I said I wanted to go home, I must be feeling pretty darned bad! Went home and got in bed!
Today I was hoping to feel better, but I was in pain most of the day! It wasn't until about 7pm that I started feeling better! Whew! I was in so much pain earlier, it felt like my ear was on fire! Mark said if I wasn't better soon, that we would go to the ER and get me admitted to the hospital! I was ready to take him up on that too! I hate the thought of being in the hospital and needing IV Antibiotics because the worst part of that would be how much I would miss our baby Hanz! Sunday Hanz tried out his playpen that we got him @ Once Upon A Child - a resale shop w/infant wear, toys, etc.! Our family all got together after Mass on Sunday @ Moms, so Hanz tried out the playpen! Mom was pretty excited about it, since Vicente isn't crazy about Hanz running around inside their house! Mom goes, "Look, I think he likes it in there"! I told her, "Of course he doesn't like it, YOU like it, but he sure doesn't"! See photos! Our nephew Davis was visiting from A&M Galveston! It was so great to see him - he's so handsome!
Allrighty then! Just thought I'd fill you in on the latest! Unfortunately, what with having so much pain, it's kept me from doing the Therabite! The last thing I wanted to do was the Therabite when I was hurting so badly!
I've got to hang up some clothes that I have in the washer! I had bled all over a new polo shirt on Monday! We are currently using Resolve to remove blood stains and that seems to be working well! Any other suggestions?
I still need to take a shower and iron my clothes for tomorrow! Mark has to change out my wound dressing as well! He is so amazing as my wound care person @ home! Mark is extremely patient and does an awesome job!
Thanks for checking in on us - I always wanted to keep you posted on the latest fun on having an AVM! Actually I'm pretty much @ the end of my rope! I've told Mark that I'm ready to have the stupid trach, and if I bleed to death then so be it! I say that, because I'm very concerned about the big vein I have in front of my neck! I fell that if I have a trach, that vein will really give us trouble! Dr. Reed (Head of Voice & Swallow in Denver) has always said we could get around it, but I can't help but think that there will be massive bleeding from that area! Plus, then we'd have to deal with cleaning the area and make sure it doesn't get infected ...! I just don't need another thing to worry about, you know? Isn't it enough that I have had the wound dressing almost 2 years?! I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle! I can't help but picture myself trying to climb a mountain, and every time I reach up to climb higher, someone up there kicks me back down from reaching any higher! I'm just tired of feeling rotten and tired of fighting and having one obstacle after another to overcome! I'm not saying I'm giving up, but it sure is hard to keep fighting! Take care y'all and don't take your health for granted! Love to all of you!
P.S. I thought I was doing better as far as the pain in my ear, but nope! I am sooo tired of the piercing pain, that I made a doctors appt. for tomorrow - my primary care physician is on vacation, so I'll see another doctor in his group. No telling whether they'll decide to put me in the hospital for IV Antibiotics - I'm sooo desperate for relief, that I'm willing to go there, as much as I hate the thought of an IV and of being in the hospital! Why? Well, first of all, that would take me away from my baby Hanz for several days! Sniff, sniff!!! Also, that means Mark works all day, then goes home for a quick change and then he comes to spend time w/me in the hospital! I don't want him doing that, because then poor Hanz will be Home Alone! Mom said she would spend time with me in the hospital. I love the idea of just sleeping and reading and feeling better though! I'll try and keep y'all posted!
Posted by Dulce at 9:08 PM 0 comments
Wound care
Friday, July 10, 2009
Hi Family and Friends!
How is everyone? I want to share another of my wound care sessions with you! It just so happens that Mark had taken this week off of work, so I had him come with me and take several photos!
We arrived @ Spohn Hospital Wound Care Center and had to wait about an hour before we were seen! Dr. Larkin kept asking us if we were willing to see another nurse other than Noel and I kept saying no! I explained to Dr. Larkin that it's rare that Mark come w/me, so I really wanted the two of them to compare notes on wound care! You'll see a photo of Noel measuring the size of the wound, after having removed the Tegaderm (clear tape) from the wound. Mark and I had told Dr. Larkin that it takes a lot of moisture and soaking of the surgicel before that comes off - we put surgicel on any area that might look as if it may cause a "bleed". Mark felt that the surgicel needed more time on being wet before removal, but Dr. Larkin wanted to use the tweezers, instead of Marks suggestion of a saline soaked q-tip and she pulled that surgicel off, causing a bleed! Nothing major as far as a bleeding - what you see on the towel is all I bled. So, in the photos you get to see my ear w/no dressing, Dr. Larkin holding pressure where the bleed is coming from and then of course my favorite pictures of all - our baby Hanz!
I get this question asked a lot - am I in pain? YES! There are times the pain is hard to control! You know from a previous blog entry how hard that can be! After a wound care session like the ones pictured - my face felt like it was "burning". The pain went away after a bit - but there are times I'm @ work and I have to get past the pain in order to start working!
This latest blog entry is just to give you an idea of what some of my days are like w/an avm. At times it seems it will never be over. All of you play such an important part in helping us get through these difficult times! All of your prayer and encouraging words make a difference!
I'm still working with the Therabite System. I'll probably need another month before I even think of calling Dr. Yakes for another appointment! Thanks again everyone!
Mark & Cyndi
Posted by Dulce at 12:19 AM 2 comments
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Hi Folks!
How is everyone? Did y'all have a great 4th of July weekend? Before I start talking about the weekend, I want to tell you about my most recent wound care session! It was finally here - the day I would get some care for my facial wound and I was really hoping that I would have my favorite nurse, Noel! Mom takes me, for moral support, as sometimes I have a bleed! I so appreciate her taking time from her day to be with me, it means a lot! We arrive @ Spohn Shoreline and get to the Wound care department, where Robert escorted me to a room to take my vitals! It's usually Eric doing that, but he took month off to be with his girlfriend and their newborn baby! We waited an hour before seeing Noel. He took my dressing off and Dr. Larkin came in to check it out! She was sporting a new do, along w/a couple shades darker hair! Actually, someone from Spohn named Jill came in to talk to me - so that we could make sure we were all on the same page. Apparently, since I walked off last time when I couldn't see Noel ... I guess they want to make sure their patients are happy? I explained my delicate situation to her - what w/the avm, I tend to bleed and I think the other nurses are afraid to work on me! Noel is awesome and has no fear! I was afraid of a bleed, as I had a little piece of surgicel on a "troubled spot", but nope! Whew! Toward the end of getting my new facial wound care treatment done, I was being serenaded by Noel! Those are the happy days I remember before we started having some problems. I was a happy camper! Dr. Larkin had mail-ordered some wound care supplies for me, so that will help too! My next wound care session is on Thursday the 9th! I'm excited because Mark is off this week from work, so he'll be able to come with me!
I have an appt. w/Dr. Zane (ENT) to debried my scabby ear on Tuesday, and again, I'm counting on Mark going with me!
Ok! Back to the plans we had for the 4th of July! My sister Celia and her husband Greg had invited us out, we had planned the menu, and had asked Jim and Shelley to join us as well! We were all excited - planning a great evening full of great food, company and games! The day before, I was giving in to the drowsiness my meds give me, so I had taken a nap and missed taking my main pain med, an Oxycontin @ 4:30pm. By the time I woke up from my nap and realized my missed dose, it was 9:30pm. So I wrote down the hour and the medicine I took on my little spiral notebook I keep in my med bag. Well, about 11 pm, I'm starting to feel withdrawl symptoms. I'm antsy and restless, hot then cold then hot right away! I figured it would go away and that it was happening because I took my Oxy too late! Mark suggested I take a Xanex to relax. I rarely take one, but in this case, I could tell I needed it! I kept getting in and out of bed, trying to eat something and trying to decide whether I was hot or cold! By 2am, I took another Xanex because I was hoping to pass out and not feel so anxious anymore! Finally, by 4am, it was safe to take another oxy, and I did! I must have passed out after that, because I don't remember anything afterwards! All this while, my baby Hanz was such a good boy, putting up with mommies tossing and turning! Mark was awesome too - he could have made a beeline for the couch, but instead he asked if there was anything he could do and stayed close where he knew I needed him! In the morning, the fitted sheet near my head had come loose, as had one of the two pillows that I sleep w/under my knees for support - one of them had fallen out of the pillowcase on to the floor! This is the good one - guess what I found on the coffee table near where I sit to watch TV? That oxycontin that I thought I took @ 9:30 p.m.! NO WONDER I was having withdrawl symptoms! Yikes! It was a miserable night for me! I just wanted to jump out of my skin and flail my arms around! So, of course I was exhausted in the morning! I have to say that I was relieved when Celia called saying she wasn't up for having company, as she is still getting over that crud she can't seem to shake! I was already wondering how I was going to get Mark to not want to stay out @ the Fossums so late when Greg called, saying there was a change of plans! As you can imagine, I've been trying to catch up on some much needed sleep after that night from hell! Hanz and I took a nap earlier this afternoon! I had looked forward to spending time with our family though - it isn't often Jim and Shelley get to party w/us @ the Fossums! It was going to be a really great afternoon - oh well, another time I guess.
You know what Mark and I ended up doing? Mark changed out my dressing. Got some sushi, popped a movie in the dvr and ate in bed! That was neat - we don't take the time to do things like that! That was a nice holiday treat for me!
Oh! Have I mentioned the latest series of books I'm reading? I wasn't too sure about them @ first, but I've come to enjoy them. These books are from a series called House of Night and the author(s) are a mother/daughter team - P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast! Here is the cover of the one I'm reading now! I best go and get something ironed for work tomorrow! Still have to do a couple of Therabite sessions and Hanz is wanting some attention as well! Take care all! We love all of you!
Mark & Cyndi
Posted by Dulce at 10:04 PM 0 comments


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Cats aren't typically known for being very loyal, but a California feline is making headlines for saving a toddler from a dog attack.
A surveillance camera captured amazing footage of the attack, which occurred in Bakersfield.
In the video posted to YouTube, the boy is seen riding his bike in the driveway when a neighbor's dog comes barreling around a vehicle and pulls the boy to the ground.
The family cat, named Tara, zips out and scares the much-larger dog away, even chasing it around the vehicle and into the street.
The boy's mother told Bakersfield TV station KERO that her son needed some stitches, but is doing fine.
The dog is under observation.


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First-place A's far more confident than recent years
Diverse offense allowing Oakland to attack teams in different ways than past clubs
OAKLAND -- The A's were a .500 club at the break last year, and just barely, after squeezing out an extra-inning victory on the final day of the first half.
Another walk-off win, this time against the Red Sox, ushered the A's into the break again this season. Not as a .500 team, but as a 17-games-over-.500 team.
And as a first-place team with a two-game advantage over the Rangers in the American League West.
"Last year, they were in the lead for the entire year," catcher Derek Norris said of Texas, "until that last day. We're looking to keep pressing forward and make it to where we don't have to wait until the last day of the season to celebrate the AL West."
Oakland's miraculous capture of the division title on the final day of the season last year, despite trailing Texas by 8 1/2 games at the break, was no fluke it turns out. The A's are still winning, and in that regard, 2013 is simply a continuation of 2012. Yet in many ways, as evidenced by first-half play, it's not.
That's something every member of this ballclub seems to agree on, including its manager.
"I think we got some confidence in the second half of last year going forward, and now we just kind of feel like this is who we are," manager Bob Melvin said. "That's a good thing. To an extent, we do play in the same fashion, but it is a different season and we do have some different personnel here."
It's a lineup that's offering a more balanced attack, rather than one that waits on the long ball. No doubt the home run numbers are still there -- the A's entered the break with 98 through 95 games, after tallying 83 through 86 games in the first half last year -- but this is a team that's also finding other ways to produce. They're drawing walks, getting on base and manufacturing runs with situational hitting.
First-half awards
|MVP: Josh Donaldson Donaldson leads the team with a .310 average, and he racked up 16 home runs and 61 RBIs in a breakout first half.
|Cy Young: Bartolo Colon The ageless Colon, who turned 40 in May, picked up 12 wins and only three losses with a 2.70 ERA, third best in the AL.
|Rookie: Dan Straily The A's won 10 of the 14 games Straily started in place of the injured Brett Anderson.
|Top reliever: Grant Balfour Balfour is the only AL reliever without a blown save. He has 25 saves on the season, and 43 straight dating back to 2012.
"It means we're a little bit more diverse, and I still think our running game is going to come around," Melvin said. "We started off real hot in that area, and it's slowed here recently. We've been picked off some and haven't been as precise with our running, and I think that we'll get better. At least offensively, there are a lot of things we can do better in the second half than we did in the first half, but we know it can be done because we've already proven it."
"Last year, I feel like we lived and died on the home run," Norris said. "This year, we're piecing the offense together a little differently. Whenever we hit home runs, it's either to get us back into the game or put us at a distance from a team. We have a lot of guys that contribute at any given time, that are stepping up and filling holes, which is the story of our team."
There's newcomer Jed Lowrie providing just as much offensive consistency, and platoon players like Seth Smith and Nate Freiman providing significant performances on any given day. But leading the way is an unlikely source in third baseman Josh Donaldson, who is enjoying quite the breakout season to the tune of a .310 average to go along with his 16 home runs, tied with Brandon Moss for the team lead.
"It's not like we didn't expect him to do some good things based on what he did last year, but he's probably taken that to a level that I don't think anybody expected to this point, the numbers he's put up," Melvin said. "That's a really confident player that's played well and has a lot of athletic ability, and he's finally getting to show it at the big league level for the first time on a consistent basis.
"He has nailed down the position, no doubt about that. It's always nice to write the lineup out every day knowing Josh Donaldson is going to be at third base and he's going to hit in the middle of the order somewhere."
Players to watch in second half
|Yoenis Cespedes Despite totaling 15 home runs, Cespedes never really got going offensively in the first half. His ability to do so in the second half could provide the boost the A's need to separate themselves from the Rangers.
|Josh Reddick An early-season wrist injury plagued Reddick's at-bats, ultimately putting him on the DL for some time. Since returning, Reddick looks like his old self, and it should be interesting to see what he can do in the final months with health on his side.
|Grant Green Perhaps the biggest question mark on the field remains at second base, where Green is now platooning with Eric Sogard. Can this former first-round pick live up to his offensive hype and claim everyday duties?
Particularly when names like Yoenis Cespedes and Josh Reddick, who combined for 55 home runs last year, aren't putting up the type of numbers they did last year. Through Sunday, Cespedes was hitting .225, Reddick .218. Only 19 home runs are shared between the two of them, with Cespedes accounting for 15, as Reddick was slowed by a wrist injury for much of the first half.
As for Oakland's pitching staff, which uncharacteristically struggled at season's start, its 3.62 ERA is now best in the AL. Consider All-Star Bartolo Colon's 2.70 ERA a large part of that. Fellow All-Star Grant Balfour is perfect in 25 save opportunities -- 43 dating back to last year.
"I think we certainly pitched well in this half," Lowrie said. "During our stretches of prolonged winning, we pitched really well, and I think our offense has been really consistent. I think we've kind of had that to fall back on."
Perhaps it's hard to see flaws in a first-place team. Oakland, like most any other club, though, does have them, and Melvin would like to see improvement in these areas in the second half, one that's sure to bring about an intriguing division race.
"I think just our defense needs to get better at times," he said. "We're a little sporadic, so we probably need to be a little more consistent, and I do think we will swing the bats better in the second half.
"At this point, even though there are some similarities to the way it ended last year with the Rangers, I don't think you get caught up in that until you get into the last month of the season. There's a lot of baseball yet to be played, and I think the Angels will have something to say, too."
Said Lowrie: "That's a good team, a really good team over in Texas. A lot can happen between now and then, and we know what that team is capable of, but we also know what we're capable of. So we just have to worry about what we can do and then see who's on top at the end."


text: The Little Luxury: Spa Sonic Skin Care System Face & Body Polisher Relationship Status: Going in circles (oh, and we shower together… a lot.) Bringing the spa home: We spa girls cant get enough exfoliating, cleansing and polishing in our lives, so outside of our spa scrubs and intensive facials, we seek little at-home luxuries to make us feel like we're at the spa… and get results like we are, too. What is it? It's a battery-operated face and body brush to thoroughly cleanse skin and remove dead skin cells to improve skin tone. It can be used to apply face or body cleanser for a more rigorous application, it can be used without soap, or even used dry. Kit includes: The battery operated hand-held device (plus batteries), a large body brush, a small facial exfoliator brush, a pumice stone and a soft cushioned cleanser. The Honda of the 'sonics: The original Clarisonic device is often referred to as the "Rolls Royce" of brushes, and with good reason. The Spa Sonic "Honda" does a good job, considering the price. In comparison, the major difference is that the Clarisonic has 3 speeds, and has inner bristles that rotate while the outside remains still. This makes it more practical, because with the Spa Sonic spinning in only one direction, it makes your hand go in circles too while brushing. FACE OFF: Clarisonic (left) vs. Spa Sonic (right) Size matters! The Spa Sonic did a bit of a better job determining the sizes they would make their brush heads. The body brush on the Spa Sonic is considerably bigger and covers more ground faster than the Clarisonic. For the face, the Spa Sonic is a bit smaller so it can get into the curves and crevices of your face with more ease. Might matter to some: The Spa Sonic is battery operated, while the Clarisonic is rechargeable. My favorite secret Spa Sonic usage: Over the past couple weeks, I've been using the body brush to exfoliate my bikini zone to get rid of ingrowns, and it's worked like a charm! OVERALL… The Clarisonic may come in cute colors and patterns and be easier to handle, but it doesn't necessarily do that much of a better job than its new lower priced knock-off. Where to buy, and how much? The Spa Sonic is available for a fairly reasonable $65 at Target.com, as compared to around $225 for the comparable Clarisonic Plus. Hot Stone Scale: 4 out of 6 This Little Luxury Review was brought to you by: Michelle Joni Lapidos


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Although I am a trained field archaeologist, I now work for a criminology department. I study the looting of archaeological and historic sites and the transnational trade in illicit cultural property. That is what I am doing now, in La Paz, Bolivia, 3700 feet above sea level, thanks to a Fulbright grant and a Leverhulme fellowship.
I am part of the University of Glasgow and the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research's Trafficking Culture project. My research group is approaching looting and antiquities trafficking from new angles to hopefully come up with interesting regulatory responses to this problem. Besides larger criminological and market analyses, our project is engaged in several regional case studies. That is where I fit in. I am looking into this phenomenon in Latin America and, right now, in Bolivia.
At the moment I am working on the looting of remote Conquest-era churches and the international market for stolen ecclesiastical paintings, sculpture and silver. The Andes are filled with rural churches: they were part of the evangelising mission of the Spanish Conquistadors. These churches are filled with spectacular and regionally-specific art. Most notable in Bolivia is silver work: for several hundred years the majority of the world's silver came from Bolivia and Indigenous artists had a ready supply to make thousands of beautiful objects of devotion. Unfortunately there are collectors out there who are willing to buy stolen church art and, as supply meets demand, poor Bolivian communities are robbed of their heritage.
Bolivia is culturally rich but economically poor. These churches are in bad states of repair and are insecure. Many cannot be alarmed, even if they are located in an area with electricity, because there is no money for such things. In most of the villages where churches are located residents live well below the poverty line so the idea of paying a full time guard is laughable. Increase police presence? Not when the nearest police outpost is 100km away over an unpaved road. Not when this country is thought to have one of the most corrupt police forces in the Americas.
But even the most important and well-protected Bolivian churches are not safe. In April the church of the Virgin of Copacabana, Bolivia's most holy and miraculous shrine, was robbed of the silver and gold that anointed the Virgin herself. The baby Jesus in her arms was stolen as well. A priest who was at Copacabana on temporary assignment was jailed this week for involvement in the robbery. The holy pieces have not been recovered. My guess is that they were carried into Peru and then on to anonymity. That was the 6th church robbery in Bolivia in only 4 months.
I am constantly asked why these silver-filled churches were not robbed before. If they have been sitting out there, vulnerable, for 500 years why are they only being robbed now? The best answer I can give is that there was no illicit market for these items before. These churches are being robbed because terrible people want to own beautiful things.
I warn I am writing in advance because my day will include being without internet.
So what will my day be? On this day of archaeology I will take a taxi to the La Paz cemetery then squish myself into a minibus. I will head westward for about two hours until I reach the famous UNESCO World Heritage Site of Tiwanaku.
Tiwanaku is a vast, monumental, pre-Inka site that I excavated at (when I was a diggy-archaeologist) back in 2004 and 2005. I am sad to say that in 2011 Tiwanaku's conquest-era church was robbed. It wasn't the first time. The thieves have not been arrested and the objects stolen have not been recovered. I am going out there to talk to old friends about the robbery. I am interested to hear their perceptions about how the theft could have been prevented, their thoughts on the response of public authorities, and how they feel the robbery has affected the community. I want to hear the facts but I also want to hear wild speculation, rumours, and emotion. I think emotion is very important in this kind of work.
And, really, this is an emotional issue with grave consequences. Just last year two men were caught robbing the church in the small Bolivian village of Quila Quila. The villagers apprehended the men and, in a public display of frustration, insecurity, and fear, they lynched the alleged robbers and buried them behind the church.
I don't think most people imagine that what I do is archaeology (even the Day of Archaeology website doesn't have a category for this post to fit into!), but I think that it is. The past is what we say it is, and we believe that the physical remains of the past are important. That they are worthy of being preserved as tools of both memory and identity. When they are ripped from their contexts and sold on the black market, everyone loses. We are all robbed because we will never get to know the information those objects contained. "Neocolonialism" is a word that is bandied about quite a bit in Bolivia: it is a word that even people with no education know. The illicit antiquities trade is a prime example of neocolonialism. When objects are stolen from vulnerable areas of the developing world and moved into the hands of rich people in the developed world, we perpetuate an unjust imbalance. We keep people down.
This is my dream job. I am so thankful to be able to do this research.