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Mens Clothing & Apparel - Outfit yourself in the right clothes for your next adventure. Whether it's boardshorts and rash guards for your next ride, shirts for fishing, or rainwear and outerwear to keep you dry and warm, we have the clothes to get you going. Our wide selection of brands includes Columbia, Carhartt, Under Armour, Billabong, Quicksilver, Rip Curl, and Ten-80.
New! Columbia Men's Terminal Tackle Long-Sleeve Shirt
Omni-Wick moisture management keeps you dry
Omni-Shade UPF 50 sun protection
100% polyester
PFG designed for fishing superiority
New! Guide Series Men's Trailhead Convertible Pant
Tough 100% full dull nylon fabric
Quick-drying and moisture-wicking
DWR finish repels moisture to keep you dry
Gusseted inseam, articulated knees for mobility
Legs zip off to easily convert into shorts
DiveMaster 3mm Neoprene Full Suit
Anatomically placed flatlock stitching
Designed for flexibility and comfort
Quadra flex in shoulders for arm mobility
Velcro neck and collar for easy adjustment
Body Glove Men's Pro 3 Spring Wetsuit
2mm neoprene throughout
Quadraflex 4-way stretch
Flatlock stitching
Smoothskin collar
Carhartt Men's Workwear Short-Sleeve Pocket Tee
Most colors made from 100% cotton fabric
Side-seamed construction minimizes twisting
Rib-knit crew collar for a snug, comfy fit
Chevron-shaped left-chest patch pocket
Gander Mountain Men's Flannel-Lined Jeans
Rugged, heavyweight 100% cotton denim fabric
Fully lined with brushed flannel for warmth
U-fit crotch design for maximum mobility
Generous leg openings to fit easily over boots
Five-pocket design for ample storage space
Carhartt Men's Workwear Pocket Long-Sleeve T-Shirt
Most colors are 100% 6.75-oz. cotton, midweight
Left chest pocket
Crew neck
Rib-knit cuffs and crew neck
Under Armour Men's Storm Caliber Pullover Hoodie
Soft, stretchy 100% polyester ColdGear fabric
UA Storm DWR finish repels water, breathes easily
Three-piece hood with drawcord adjustment
Self-fabric binding at the cuffs and waist hem
Kangaroo pouch pocket for convenient storage
New! Carhartt Men's Maddock Pocket Short-Sleeve T-Shirt
5-oz., 100% ring-spun cotton jersey-knit fabric
Rib-knit crewneck
Tagless neck label reduces irritation
Side-seamed construction minimizes twisting
New! Quiksilver Men's Centinela 3 Short-Sleeve Shirt
Lightweight 54% polynosic, 46% polyester fabric
Sand-washed finish ensures superior softness
Pickstitch detail adds a touch of character
Buttoned front placket for easy on and off
Single patch pocket at the left chest
Under Armour Men's Flats Guide II Short-Sleeve Shirt
Quick-drying 95% polyester, 5% elastane fabric
Fabric wicks away moisture to keep you dry
Built-in UPF 30+ sun protection shields your skin
Odor-reducing technology helps keep you fresh
Two zippered chest pockets store your essentials
Under Armour Men's Storm Big Logo Pullover Hoodie
Unique 100% polyester Armour Fleece fabrication
Soft, brushed inner layer traps heat for warmth
Lightweight, smooth outer layer dries quickly
Signature Moisture Transport System wicks sweat
UA Storm DWR finish repels water, breathes easily
New! Carhartt Flame-Resistant Canvas Cargo Pant (Style #FRB240)
8.5-ounce FR canvas
Sits slightly below the natural waist
NFPA 70E and NFPA 2112 compliant
New! Carhartt Men's Force Delmont Short-Sleeve T-Shirt
Made of 5.75-oz., 65% cotton/35% polyester fabric
FastDry technology wicks away moisture
Raglan sleeves allow full range of motion
Stain Breaker technology keeps your shirt cleaner
Carhartt Force labeling on the left sleeve
White Sierra Men's Rocky Ridge II Short
Lightweight 100% nylon Adventure Faille fabric
Designed to dry quickly to keep you comfortable
Built-in UPF sun protection shields your skin
Comfort-fit side elastic waistband
Six-pocket design for ample storage space
Billabong Men's R U Serious Boardshorts
Platinum X Quad stretch shorts
H2 Repel coating
Comfortable, flexible fit
92% recycled polyester/8% spandex
New! Salt Life Men's Hook Line And Sinker Fade Long-Sleeve Pocket...
Preshrunk 100% ringspun cotton jersey fabric
Classic crew-neck collar for a snug, comfy fit
"Salt Life" logo print above the left chest pocket
"Salt Life" lettering down the left sleeve
Vibrant screenprint graphic across the back
New! Columbia Men's Silver Ridge Plaid Short-Sleeve Shirt
Omni-Wick technology
Omni-Shade technology
Pockets with hook and loop closure
Mesh pocket bags
Sun protection collar
New! Columbia Men's Thistletown Park Short-Sleeve Crew Tee
67% polyester, 33% cotton heathered jersey fabric
Built-in UPF 15 sun protection shields your skin
Omni-Wick technology for moisture transport
Low-profile, crew-neck collar for added fit
Under Armour Men's Storm Blocks Big Logo Pullover Hoodie
Unique 100% polyester Armour Fleece fabrication
Soft, brushed inner layer traps heat for warmth
Lightweight, smooth outer layer dries quickly
Signature Moisture Transport System wicks sweat
UA Storm DWR finish repels water, breathes easily


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Search Options
This article appeared in the Boca Raton News on March 3, 2009. See the news clip.
Hundreds of individuals representing dozens of companies across Palm Beach County brought the color red into wardrobes, hallways and cubicles recently to fight back against heart disease, the No. 1 killer of women. They collectively took part in the American Heart Association's National Wear Red Day. Participants from companies in South Palm Beach County included: Boca Raton Community Hospital, Delray Medical Center, Goldstein Lewin & Co., Laird Plastics, Promise Healthcare, Inc., Q.E.P. Co., Inc., Taylor & Francis Group and West Boca Medical Center. Each year, National Wear Red Day is the signature day of the organization's nationwide Go Red for Women movement, sponsored nationally by Macy's and Merck. Activities on National Wear Red Day marked the first of many related to the Start! Heart Walk, which will take place at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton and the Meyer Amphitheatre in Greater West Palm Beach. For further details on the Sept. 26 Start! Heart Walk, call 1-888-355-1060 or visit palmbeacheartwalk.kintera.org.

subset: commoncrawl


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ArgentinaAustraliaBahamasBelgiumBosnia and HerzegovinaCanadaAlberta, Halifax, Hamilton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, ColombiaCroatiaCzech RepublicEcuadorGermanyIndiaBengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Pathankot, IsraelIranIrelandItalyKenya |
KoreaMexicoNepalNew ZealandSouth AfricaPolandTurkeyUnited KingdomBelfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hull University, London, Nottingham, Sheffield, University of Leicester, University of London, United StatesAppalachian Ohio, Athens GA, Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbia MO, Columbus, Denver, Des Moines, Durham & Chapel Hill, East Lansing, Fredericksburgh VA, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Lubbock TX, Manhattan KS, Muncie IN, New Orleans, New York City, NYU, Pittsburgh, Plattsburgh, Richmond VA, San Fernando Valley, San Francisco, SUNY Oneonta, Tucson, Twin Cities |
I was out with my friend in the city that I love so very much, and I experienced the most real sexual harassment in my 24 years, twice. We were at a bar and this guy came up to us and asked if we we wanted a drink and I said, "I'm sorry, but we're good." Which he didn't like at all and didn't understand why we didn't want a drink. I tried to explain to him that he needed to respect the fact that we didn't want anything, we didn't want to be talked to or touched. He proceeded to call me a bitch because I didn't want to talk to him, so I told him he needed to back off.
I think no one would be surprised that he wasn't pleased by that, so he threatened me with, "What are you going to do, anyway?" And my friend and his friend said to just walk away, so I did, to not cause a scene. Then we went to another bar where the EXACT SAME THING HAPPENED! And I told a bouncer at the new bar that I had been assaulted and I didn't want to file a complaint, I just wanted to know that there was someone looking out for the other women there, because when I left to go find a bouncer the new assaulter had a girl by the neck. The bouncer seemed to think I had made it up. More than I hate to think that women are being assaulted in the hospitality state, I hate to think that women are being shamed for sticking up for other women. I worry because I had to ask two women if they were okay because I wasn't comfortable with the appearance of the situation, and they were both so shocked that someone would pay attention enough to be concerned.
Author comments are in a darker gray color for you to easily identify the posts author in the comments


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Dallas' Meyerson Symphony Center: grandMA Saves the Day, Is Here to Stay
Owned and managed by the City of Dallas, the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center is home to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and plays host to other musical ensembles/events as well as various corporate meetings, religious services and other events.
Called "One of the greatest concert halls in the world," the large, complex, open-space hall boasts unsurpassed and elaborate acoustic accommodations. The lighting system on the other hand was essentially "cobbled together" over the last 15 years, Meyerson had welcomed a succession of lighting consoles and other technology until Vari-Lite installed a large system, and they kept "building on top of what was there," reflects Peter Maurelli of Barbizon Light of the Rockies, who sold Meyerson a grandMA lighting console, distributed by A.C.T. Lighting. "Our goal," he says, "was to not only put the grandMA in, but to improve the network infrastructure and build backbone they could rely on for a long time."
Says Maurelli: "The grandMA is enjoying wide popularity in all sectors of the market. It's a great console. It does more than most people anticipate and has what everyone needs. House technicians and staff," he continues, "may not come from a huge moving light background and may have limited programming knowledge. They're looking for ease, convenience and flexibility. As a salesperson and integrator, I'm comfortable recommending it because I know it will offer the features I need."
When the Meyerson staff realized they were in desperate need of a state-of-the-art console, they wrote a spec to incorporate the grandMA. The unit would be integral to their system.
Meyerson lighting technician Ed Schmitt recalls: "When we opened our doors in 1989, we ran modified Colortran dimmers, the first of their kind. At the time," he explains, "it was a revolutionary install. We'd moved through many other control systems until in '97 when the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, our primary tenant, decided to embark upon TV production, so they sunk a lot of money into lighting trusses, moving lights and Sensor packs for the facility. At first they didn't think anyone else was going to use this equipment but then other arts groups wanted to utilize the VL's, so we hobbled along for many years controlling movers with a console that was not particularly user-friendly for moving lights." Eventually the Meyerson stage operations staff had to get serious about a replacement console. Bottom line: Everything was getting overworked.
Says technical director Lamar Livingston: "We'd looked at various consoles. Then we started a conversation with the sales team at Gemini Stage Lighting, who got us interested in the grandMA." They'd done a lot of research, interviewed a lot of road designers as to what they'd use, and also asked their concert production staff about the advantages of using the grandMA. After we settled on the grandMA it became evident that we also needed to update our cable plant with an integrated network solution to match the proposed new control capabilities.
Meyerson lighting technician Chris Head claims that their hectic schedule "spawns a vicious turnaround. Rehearsal often ends at 5:00PM and then we have to be ready at 7:30PM for another group who is taking the stage. We needed something we could move on the fly, to be able to grab a console and run. Now, with grandMA and our newly integrated network designed by Barbizon, the hall is a lot more a la carte than ever."
Head cites another "cool selling point: We'd wanted 3D visualizing software, and the grandMA is already set up for that.. The concert hall is constantly booked with rehearsals. With the 3D visualizer we can get things done in advance with no dark time. We're really loving it," he beams. "There's great flexibility in being able to customize user profiles. In addition, I can see a difference in the fluid movement of the lights, and the effects generation capability has allowed us to create looks that are amazing."
"And best of all," remarks Head, "we can collaborate. And that's really nice!"
About A.C.T. Lighting
A leading importer and distributor of lighting products, A.C.T. Lighting, Inc. strives to identify future trends and cutting edge products, and stock, sell and support their inventory. The company provides superior customer service and value for the money to all of its clients. For more information call 818-707-0884 or visit www.actlighting.com.
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kool im done signing up
Hope more sign up Fast!
Just Joined. FC: 3566-2427-6746
I add all of you! ADD ME!!!
I'd only join if battles and races were like a separate tournament. I'm not arguing to the ground that you have to. Just not too appealing to me. So, if you're keeping it the same then... Go Pete!
I love you, Adam.
emma, you don't have to participate in the battle if you don't want to.
each night would have two recognized winners (race, battle)
it would be nice if the the battlers would compete in the races and the racers to participate in battles to keep our numbers up.
r u in?
Yeah, I suppose. =)
I love you, Adam.
wiical555 registered.
btw, we need 2 more registrants for a full race!!
if you own kart, please join us & register!
Any particular places that we're not going to?
The Silence Bridge Guru
Hi yes, hello. I've been trying to get the hang of playing on a set of Donkey Konga bongos. I've got the hang of waveshining into double laser 360 half pipe bananarama, but I'm having a hard time smash attacking. How loud should I be clapping?


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Hello, listeners! We have launched our Indiegogo campaign to get to Hamvention again this year. Please share the campaign with as many people as you can, and if you can contribute, please do so. Every donation helps, no matter how small. As with last year, if we do not reach our $1500 goal, we will refund everyone's money and try again in 2016. We hope to make it for our sixth straight year, and we hope to see you all there. So please tweet, post and e-mail everyone you know; and if you have a few dollars to spare, please send them our way.
73 de The LHS Guys
Indiegogo Campaign URL:


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Me and My Boys
Friday, January 23, 2015
Silas started speech in August and lately has been doing so great! When he was fist evaluated he was 24months old and scored at a 9-10month level. He'll have another eval soon and even his speech therapist is excited to see where he is. I've been keeping track of his words and should blog it all. He is still mostly gibberish but is trying to say a word for so many things even if we don't understand it. He has just started trying to say Rowan "Wowy" and Eli "wewi" I swear they sound different ;) It's exciting! He has actually been saying Tristan "didan" for a month or so. Tristan is our neighbor who is good friends with Rowan and ELi, he's here a lot and Silas loves him! Probably because he's nicer to him than his brothers are haha!
Silas has been using the potty for several months now too! I totally credit the little bit of elimination communication I did with him as a baby. He spends his days naked and can say "peepee" and "poop" he loves to be naked but unfortunately because of his speech isn't that great at telling us when he needs to go so if he has clothes on he has lots of accidents. Because of this when we go somewhere he wears diapers and is not usually happy about it. Slowly we'll get there... He has been sleeping and napping without a diaper and is usually dry- I usually try to sneak a diaper on at night once hes a sleep. I just bought him a seat that fits on the toilet so he doesn't need to use his little potty anymore. Every time he had to go he would go get his potty and move it to where people were and then go haha yeah I was getting sick of that so decided the little potty needed to go. He loves sitting on the big potty and picked out an Elmo"baby" seat.
He has finally been sleeping in his toddler bed and falls asleep really quickly if Mike takes him to bed. He's horrible with me and spends forever laying there in Eli's bed with me He won't even lay in his bed if I take him. SO Mike gets to put him to bed most of the time@!
Eli is doing great in 1st grade and reading really great! He is still crazy at home and does things every day to make Rowan and Silas mad :/
He has been planning his birthday party for months! He has very big plans and almost every night wants to talk about it haha So we will def. have to have a friend party for him this year, lets just hope what he wants gets a little less expensive as we get closer! He generally gets along with everyone at school, although he has had some issues with a few boys he desperately wants to fit in with. He always wants to keep up with everyone and hates to miss out on anything. He is excited to play coach pitch baseball this summer!!
Rowan is doing pretty good in 4th grade. He likes to hurry on things so has gotten some not good grades from that. but hopefully he will be more careful. He wants to play Minecraft all day everyday and if he's not then he's playing lego's. He wants to play soccer this spring!
I am taking 2 classes this semester- yet another online Chemistry class :/ and microbiology, that will be it for my prereqs and then I can apply for nursing program for next fall. Our lives will get insane but it will be good in the long run. Of course I can't actually make any plans- childcare, money.... until I am accepted into the program so I just wait. I'll be mailing my application soon but the deadline isn't till April so I won't know till March :/
The kids and Mike are all doing great helping out on the nights I have class. The kids have a checklist for morning and evening. In the evening they have to make sure they complete it all then they show it to Mike and he double checks them. It's just stuff like- picking out clothes for the next day, make sure homework is done, signed and put back in bookbag... they also help clean up after dinner and pick up the living room. It helps the next morning run a little smoother if everything is done the night before and I hate coming home to a messy living room.
Mike rearranged his schedule so that the 2 nights I have class he can get off at 4. This puts him home by 5 so I can leave and get to class by 6. Last year the kids got home from school and basicsally had time go to to the bathroom before we loaded up to head in town. They ate their snack and started homework in the van. We'd meet Mike at work and I'd take his car and he'd go home with the kids. They like it better now a lot! It's a lot better on all of us to not have to rush like that!
I'm still hoping to blog pics of our trip last summer... one of these days!
Monday, November 3, 2014
Eek. I'm really failing at this blog. I really want to remember stuff about silas st this age and keep forgetting to write it down. :/
Mike brought home the movie Pippi Longstocking a month or so ago. The old horribly dubbed one from Sweden I think. The boys did not want to watch it but I made them. They LOVED it! But what was most surprising was how much Silas loved it. He became obsessed! This is especially funny b he had never even sat to watch a 20 mins PBS cartoon before and all the sudden he wanted to watch Pippi. And all the time! He'd go to the projector and say "Piiiipi" pretty cute. It was nice to have him watch .it on days he didn't nap so I could still get stuff done. But I saw it becoming too much of a crutch do had Mike return it. Silas still asks but not as often. I'm thinking of getting a Pippi doll for him for Christmas :)
Silas started getting speech a few months ago. Last week I got his original evaluation in the mail - from this summer- his speech was at 11.5months at tge time. I doubt he's much higher now. I think he's even behind where Eli was at this age. He doesn't really have words for anything. He says no and shakes his head yes and no. There are things he can say - mama Dada baby ba (ball) but he doesn't regularly use them. He did just start saying Me and points at himself. Rowan gets really annoyed with him cause he's always trying to pull him somewhere to show him stuff. It's cute but definitely stressful to try and figure out what he wants.
We switched around the kids bedrooms! I expected mike to not be happy when I suggested it but he actually went for it! Because if how much rowan and eli were fighting eli had been sleeping on the floor in Silas's room. But most of the toys were in Rowans room and that just caused more issues. So we moved the bunk bed into silas's room and Rowans room became the playroom. I love having a room just for toys and I think they are doing great being in one room. Rowan actually falls asleep a lot quicker! He wouldn't admit it but I think he'd get scared a lot in his own room.
Of course the bad part is we moved Silas to the toddler bed since he was trying to get out of the crib. It's been awful. He went to bed do good in the crib snd now it's a nightmare. I don't know what to do. Usually he ends up laying in our bed and falling asleep. I wish he'd lay with Eli but he won't. Nap time isn't quite as bad but still takes way longer. Today I let him lay in my bed to fall asleep and he was out pretty quickly. Hopefully we figure something out soon cause I'm kinda going crazy with bedtime!
Thursday, August 21, 2014
School! !
Wow! Didn't I just blog that school was out?? This summer flew by, I think even faster than usual!
I can not believe Rowan is already in 4th grade! I don't even want to think about how he's almost in jr. High! ! And 1st grade for Eli! I'm definitely curious to see how he'll adjust to having homework this year!
This year the night before school started they had an open house so we could meet there teachers and bring in supplies. I really liked it and it was nice to not be as rushed for the first day. I even made them ride the bus the first day since their stuff was there already ;)
Eli is really excited to have several friends in his class. His teacher seems great and I've heard really good things about her so I'm excited for him! Every day he comes home telling me that 1st grade is the best! I met with his speech therapist today and she's going to informally work on the "r" sound with him in a group ( of 2nd graders he'll be excited cause he loves the older kids!) She usually doesn't address that sound in 1st but thinks it'll be good to work on since he's had lots of speech issues. Last year he started with an IEP because of all the speech issues he needed to work on and this year he's not even formally getting services! He's done so great we are so proud of him!
Rowan doesn't have any close friends in his class ( Like last year :/) but he likes several of the kids so I think it'll be fine. His teacher seems nice too. Of course he's already finding things to complain about - the other class has Legos.... hopefully he can have a good year in spite of that ;)
They have a new bus stop that's a few blocks away. Mike takes them in the morning cause he leaves for work but in the afternoon they will usually walk. So far it's been fine there's a group of kids so that makes me feel better.
Silas has been obsessed with his bookbag since school started. It's pretty cute. He wore it both times we went to the school and he wears it at home a lot. I thought he'd be really upset when they'd leave but he's been fine. He is really excited when they get home though.
Saturday, August 9, 2014
Home Sweet Home
We got back from our 20 days of vacation Monday evening. The last day is always the longest....
It was so fun - I'll post more details and pictures later. I think we went to 9 states!
Definitely makes us want to travel more or just move somewhere prettier ;)
Here's a few of my favorite shots from my phone.
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Baseball and t-ball ended last week and now we have our evenings back so that's nice. Of course soon we leave on our trip...
The boys are doing swim lessons again and to try and make up the 3 weeks we'll miss we are going 4 days a week instead of 2. It's been kind of a pain. On Wednesday's they do Eco-camp at Homer Lake- they love that and are sad that they'll miss the last few camps. Silas and I have either gone for walks during camp or go to the library and then on walks. Silas mostly wants to go in the building and get water in the cone cups from the water cooler....
We've only had one fire this year so far! That's kinda hard to believe but for the most part we've had pretty nice weather. The boys have to earn minutes to be able to play games on the ipod so they've been more willing to help out with chores- mostly Rowan, Eli is pretty much happy to only earn 5 minutes here and there lol Rowan wants to get tons and save them up!
For the most part we've had nice lazy days, not quite doing all that I hoped we would but having to go places every day really messed us up.


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You're mistaken if you think advertising doesn't work on you.
Let's say you're driving down the street in your car. You want something to eat. There's 60 restaurants within sight.
Which do you choose?
Something that stands out to you and calls to you for some reason.
People think advertising doesn't work because they see a commercial for a burger joint and don't immediately get hungry.
But that's not the point. The point is that you now that burger joint stands out a little more to you.
Maybe you don't eat there anyways. Especially if you don't eat hamburgers. That's not the point.
The point is, it'll now stand out a little more, especially if you're the potential target market. If you're in the market for a hamburger, you're likely to notice a place that stood out to you.
I didn't understand this for the longest time. Then I met a guy in Barcelona who owned some "El Pollo Loco" restaurants in Los Angeles - it's a fast food place. The name is Spanish, it means "The Crazy Chicken."
I'd spent plenty of time in LA, but I'd never noticed El Pollo Loco.
Next time I was in Los Angeles, I noticed the restaurant everywhere.
Advertising isn't the only way to do that, but it's one way. If El Pollo Loco commercials came on TV, you'd notice the restaurants more often. As you're driving in your car and have 60 choices, Pollo Loco would become a more prominent option.
Advertising is about making the product or brand familiar, and thus having it stand out to you on the shelf or while going about your life. Your mind is good at picking up shapes and symbols, this does work to make brands and products stand out to you.
Advertising works on you.
Leaving places where everything is right "just because."
I just arrived in Beijing. The air is cold and crisp, the pace is fast, people are wearing suits and carrying briefcases and the general vibe here is I'm on a mission.
I hate cold weather except in small doses, and I haven't spent more than two weeks in a cold-weather place during a cold time of the year since... I don't know when, it's been a long time. A few years.
I forgot how the cold makes people move fast, crisp, not dally, not lounge about... it's refreshing. I feel like I'm in New York a little before Christmastime, which (shitty cold weather aside) is one of my favorite times in one of my favorite places in the world.
But let's about traveling (and life) mistakes. The biggest mistake I've made, by far, is leaving a place where I'm very happy or productive or I've got a good workflow. Occasionally, everything is just right somewhere... and when everything is just right, I'd recommend you milk it for all it's worth.
I just attended a fantastic, standing room only SXSW panel titled "Why Social Ads Work. Ignore Facebook Naysayers" with Kurt Abrahamson, the CEO of ShareThis, and Brandon Rhoten, the Director of Digital Marketing for the Wendy's restaurant chain. Both Kurt and Brandon spoke very openly about digital advertising, and social ads in particular.
Wendy's is a $9 billion company with over 7,000 locations in US & Canada (although only 150 locations in CA). Its biggest competitors are other QSRs (Quick Service Restaurants) like McDonalds and Burger King, but Wendy's is more interested in what newer chains like Chipotle are doing than these more traditional competitors, since Wendy's biggest business challenge is to have 20 and 30 somethings choose Wendy's over chains like Chipotle (Wendy's does very well with the older demographic, though, since it's a 60+ year old brand). The entire QSR industry is a $519 billion industry.
Here's the video of the event (sorry for the poor video quality; I was barely able to squeeze into the room)


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Essay 29 March 2007
Ernest van den Haag (1914–2002)
- In Memoriam
A poor man, if he has dignity, honesty, the respect of his neighbors, a realization of his duties, a love of the wisdom of his ancestors, and possibly some taste for knowledge or beauty, is rich in the unbought grace of life.
Russell Kirk
Congratulations to Bookman contributor Caleb Stegall, who was selected for a seat on the Kansas Supreme Court. We wish him all the best. (28 Dec 2014)
The Edmund Burke Society of America is pleased to announce a call for papers and open registration for "Edmund Burke and Patriotism," their third conference on Edmund Burke. It will be held on February 27 and 28, 2015 at Villanova University. Keynote addresses will be from David Bromwich, Michael Brown, and Regina Janes. Please see this link for details and to register. (27 Aug 2014)


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The Deal Video: Pepper Hamilton's Ed Dartley Talks Valuations
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The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. announced on September 19 that the FINRA Board of Governors (Board) approved several new rule initiatives. Among the initiatives, FINRA will seek comment from members on a...more
Welcome to the inaugural issue of Orrick Technology IPO Insights, a quarterly publication highlighting trends in U.S. information technology company IPOs. We isolate technology companies in order to analyze and present...more
The U.S. Department of the Treasury requires U.S. resident issuers (including U.S. resident investment funds) and investment advisers managing foreign investment funds to report foreign residents' holdings of U.S. securities,...more
US announces "sectoral" sanctions on major banks and energy companies, adds to the Specially Designated Nationals list; European Council considers additional sanctions. On July 16, 2014, the U.S. Department of the...more
In this issue: - FINRA Proposes to Adopt Rules on Quotation Requirements for OTC Equity Securities - CFTC Seeks Comment on ICE Clear Europe Portfolio Margining Proposal - New York DFS Proposes First...more
Equity grants can be an attractive alternative to cash when compensating employees, consultants, and service providers. Beware, though: if not structured properly, equity grants can cause some nasty consequences for the...more
On June 5, Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Jo White gave a speech titled "Enhancing Our Equity Market Structure" in New York. The Chair addressed the importance of strengthening the existing market structure and...more
1 WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF JOINING THE MAIN MARKET? - Access to capital – Joining the Main Market will provide the company with access to a wide institutional and retail shareholder base and a deep pool of capital,...more
Three Types of Hybrid Securities Subject to Classification and Reporting Changes - For some time now, there has been confusion regarding the appropriate trade reporting for certain hybrid securities. Hybrid securities,...more
China Securities Regulatory Commission (the "CSRC") issued a notice on May 9, 2014 to seek public comments for the Administrative Measures on the Acquisition of Unlisted Public Companies (Draft for Comment) (hereinafter...more
Raising capital for a start-up company can be nerve-wracking. Anyone who has ever bootstrapped a venture knows that looking for outside money lifts your endeavor an entirely new level. Many entrepreneurs have the urge to...more
Right now, private equity firms are sitting on a cash glut that represents an all-time high for the industry, nearly $1 trillion. Perhaps unsurprisingly, says Pepper Hamilton securities lawyer Ed Dartley, we're also seeing...more
Delaware's Limited Liability Company Act provides that a limited liability company agreement or an agreement of merger or consolidation or plan of merger may provide for appraisal rights. 6 Del. Code § 18-210. Does this...more
California requires persons who are engaged in the business of making loans to be licensed under the Finance Lenders Law. Cal. Fin. Code § 22000 et seq. This had been an issue for venture capital funds that extended bridge...more
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Public and private entities can access the U.S. capital markets without registering the offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by issuing securities under Rule 144A and/or Regulation S of the U.S....more


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The VIOLENT History of Black Friday [VIDEO]
I don't know about you but I've seen the violence of Black Friday first hand, but how did the tradition begin? Turns out that it's more than just a big sale!
I don't know about you but I've seen the violence of Black Friday first hand, but how did the tradition begin? Turns out that it's more than just a big sale!
We've all heard the horror stories about Black Friday, heck, I've even experienced a few of my own, but you've never seen anything like this before!
We've all heard of the 'Night Before Christmas,' but have you heard the story of the 'Night Before Thanksgiving?'
One of my favorite Thanksgiving memories is watching the Charlie Brown special with my Dad!
Here's another great story about the origins of Thanksgiving for the kids from the perspective of 'Plymouth Rock!'
This video is absolutely precious! Make sure to share it with your kids for Thanksgiving as 14 year old Mary Chilton, a passenger on the Mayflower tells the story of the first Thanksgiving with her friend Mr
If this doesn't get you in the spirit for giving thanks for Thanksgiving, nothing will!
Whether you're cooking a Thanksgiving feast or an awesome Christmas dinner, you'll want to have a show-stopping Turkey!
Shreveport Public Assembly and Recreation (SPAR) have announced that their community centers will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday from Thursday, November 27th through Saturday, November 29th.
Here is a brand new Christmas song about how we communicate these day's. We get very few Christmas cards but plenty of Christmas Texts. Enjoy!
Holidays are quickly approaching! Save MONEY with these tips!


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Lyrics Depot | |
Lyrics » Frank Zappa Lyrics » Why Don't You Like Me? Lyrics |
Lyrics Depot is your source of lyrics to Why Don't You Like Me? by Frank Zappa. Please check back for more Frank Zappa lyrics. |
Why Don't You Like Me? LyricsArtist: Frank ZappaAlbum: Broadway the Hardway Ike Willis (guitar, vocals) Mike Keneally (guitar, synthesizer, vocals) Bobby Martin (keyboards, vocals) Ed Mann (percussion) Walt Fowler (trumpet) Bruce Fowler (trombone) Paul Carman (alto saxophone) Albert Wing (tenor saxophone) Kurt McGettrick (baritone saxophone) Scott Thunes (bass) Chad Wackerman (drums) Eric Buxton (vocals) "He's white, Jim..." Why don't you like me? Why don't you like me? Am I really that bad? HE'S BAD, HE'S BAD HE'S BAD, HE'S BAD "I thing you're a jerk! I'm moving from you!" "Make me a sandwich." "I'm moving back to Venice." "I'll be black." "He's still white, Jim..." I hate my mother I hate my father I hate my sister And Germaine is a negro! A NEGRO! A NEGRO! A NEGRO! A NEGRO! "I thought he looked good -- what happened to you?" "Please read this pamphlet." "I'm so BAD!" You take the monkey, I'll take the llama, We'll have a party: get me a Pepsi -- Michael is Janet, Janet is Michael -- I'm so confused now -- Who is Diana? He's oxygenated His nose is deflated And he thinks he looks good to you And he thinks he looks good to you
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Documentation |
Linear grey-box model estimation
sys = greyest(data,init_sys)
sys = greyest(data,init_sys,opt)
sys = greyest(data,init_sys) estimates a linear grey-box model, sys, using time or frequency domain data, data. The dimensions of the inputs and outputs of data and init_sys, an idgrey model, must match. sys is an identified idgrey model that has the same structure as init_sys.
sys = greyest(data,init_sys,opt) estimates a linear grey-box model using the option set, opt, to configure the estimation options.
data |
Estimation data. The dimensions of the inputs and outputs of data and init_sys must match. For time-domain estimation, data is an iddata object containing the input and output signal values. For frequency domain estimation, data can be one of the following: |
init_sys |
Identified linear grey-box model that configures the initial parameterization of sys. init_sys, an idgrey model, must have the same input and output dimensions as data. |
opt |
Estimation options. opt is an option set, created using greyestOptions, which specifies options including:


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"A garlic and ginger rub sets the stage for a spicy, homemade cilantro chutney to serve over chicken baked in a divine cashew cream. Definitely worth the work!"
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Muffins are great for breakfast, with coffee, or just as a snack on the go.
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Delicious recipes, party ideas, and cooking tips! Get a year of Allrecipes magazine for $7.99!
Tender shredded chicken makes a 5-star filling for tacos and enchiladas.
This homemade Indian chicken curry dish is so delicious, you won't miss takeout.
See how to make chicken thighs simmered with tomatoes and exotic spices.


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Emergency responders such as police, ambulance and ER personnel, and the city, state and county administrators that pay their bills, aren't happy with a recent price jump for nasal naloxone – the widely-used, life-saving drug that can reverse an opioid overdose in a matter of seconds.
Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the only U.S. maker of naloxone in convenient single-dose nasal delivery cartridges, has suddenly more than doubled the wholesale price, averaging $13 to $15 per cartridge to as high as $30 to $35.
The company is now impressing Wall Street, according to the financial news, and its shareholders are delighted with the company's rising stock values. But the price hikes are causing a big problem for the legions of emergency personnel from coast to coast who depend on nasal naloxone to save lives.
State, county and city health departments are traditionally under-budgeted. But with the recent recession and unemployment rates these past few years, the squeeze has gotten worse than ever. And the price increases are making it especially difficult for the many non-profits across the country that provide nasal naloxone kits to addicts and their families. These street-level, store-front groups are under even tighter financial constraints these days, and they're on the front lines helping saving lives every day too.
New York's Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman wrote a 2-page letter to the Amphastar's CEO demanding an explanation for what he called the "unacceptable" rise in prices.
Chuck Wexler, the executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum that has urged putting naloxone into every police officers' hands, told the New York Times that because it's not an incremental increase, there's "clearly something going on."
And Dr. Phillip O. Coffin, director of substance abuse research at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, told the Times that the price hikes "will decrease access" to naloxone.
Naloxone has been around since back in the 1960s and has been a useful but little-known player in the ER. That's where most overdose victims – the ones who are lucky enough to arrive alive – get another chance at life and hopefully, a new decision to get clean, all thanks to naloxone.
In more recent years, naloxone has been made available in many constituencies to all emergency responders, usually financed by state and local health care and law enforcement budgets. Naloxone kits are also offered to the general public, such as heroin and painkiller addicts and their friends and families, in some places even without a prescription.
In 2011, says the CDC, there were 16,917 prescription opioid deaths and 4,397 heroin overdose deaths – over 20,000 in all. This colossal annual death rate, which dwarfs every kind and type of epidemic since the world-wide 1917 influenza pandemic , will only increase until more funding, not less, is made available for safe and effective opioid medical detox and long-term treatment facilities.
Most heroin and opioid overdose victims who are pulled back from death's door by the use of a nasal or injected dose of naloxone turn right around and go back to their dangerous habits. After all, they're addicts, right? And naloxone is only emergency medicine, not heroin detox, not rehab, not addiction treatment by any stretch.
But once you've saved a life with naloxone, the seriousness, the impact of that event isn't lost on the just-saved addict. It should open the door to at least a new discussion, if not a focused intervention, that might lead to treatment and recovery.
Saving a life, any life, is not just worthwhile but essential. And naloxone provides that opportunity hundreds of times a day across America. It seems ethically wrong on every level to deny anyone another chance at life when it is so easily, quickly and inexpensively possible.
Only time will tell if the soaring naloxone prices result in killing more Americans because of a board-room decision to make a killing on the stock market.
If you or someone you care for suffers from an opioid dependence or addiction, please call Novus right away. We're here to help, and will try to answer all your questions about opioid detox and essential long-term treatment.
Categories: Drug Facts, Drug Overdose, Heroin
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new hydrocodone extended-release painkiller from Purdue Pharma called Hysingla ER (ER is for Extended Release) made with "abuse-deterrent" technology that discourages chewing, crushing, snorting or injecting.
The new hydrocodone painkiller also contains no acetaminophen, which is found in almost all other hydrocodone painkillers such as Vicodin, Norco and Lortab and many others, as well as over-the-counter painkillers like Tylenol. Acetaminophen is the leading cause of liver damage in America, which can lead to acute liver failure and death.
Hydrocodone-and-acetaminophen painkillers like Vicodin are not only the most prescribed painkillers in the country, contributing to countless cases of liver toxicity, but they're also among the most widely abused drugs in the country. The need for abuse-resistant hydrocodone tablets without acetaminophen has been evident for years.
Hysingla ER is intended as a once-a-day treatment for patients with "severe, round-the-clock pain that cannot be managed with other treatments." According to Purdue's announcement, Hysingla ER is the third drug they have made using the company's RESISTEC™ "proprietary extended-release solid oral dosage formulation platform." The company says it's the "first and only hydrocodone product to be recognized by the FDA as having abuse-deterrent properties that are expected to deter misuse and abuse via chewing, snorting and injection. However, abuse of Hysingla ER by the intravenous, intranasal, and oral routes is still possible," the statement continued.
Studies of the effectiveness of its abuse resistance will continue after the drug's release in the United States in early 2015. Purdue said it expects to launch Hysingla ER in dosages of 20 mg, 30 mg, 40 mg, 60 mg, 80 mg, 100 mg and 120 mg to be taken once every 24 hours.
After more than a decade of highly publicized abuse, addictions, overdose deaths and lawsuits, the company's controversial extended-release oxycodone painkiller, OxyContin, was reformulated in 2010 using a similar abuse-deterrent system. Purdue claims that evidence shows the change in formulation has led to significantly less abuse.
Meanwhile, the FDA has had to face a firestorm of protests and criticism from both the medical community and the public since it approved Zohydro ER more than a year ago. More than 40 consumer protection, addiction specialist and citizen health care groups across the country have been urging that the FDA reverse its approval of the drug.
Zohydro ER, from drug-maker Zogenix, is also an all-hydrocodone extended-release painkiller like Purdue's new Hysingla ER. But Zohydro ER has no built-in abuse-resistance at all, which critics insist makes Zohydro ER a massive risk for overdose injuries and deaths among opioid addicts across the country, just as OxyContin was before it was reformulated with abuse resistance.
In spite of the criticism, and even after its own expert medical safety panel gave the drug a firm thumbs down because of the drug's obvious potential for abuse, the FDA's hierarchy found some reason somewhere to approve it.
On the business side of things, Purdue's Hysingla ER certainly will be a potent and potentially devastating commercial challenge to Zogenix's much-maligned Zohydro ER. We can't imagine doctors prescribing Zohydro ER with the safer Hysingla ER on the market. In response, Zogenix recently stated that the company is already hard at work to come up with its own abuse-resistant technology, and that it will reformulate Zohydro as soon as it has it perfected.
Here at Novus, we work with many patients who were addicted or made dependent "accidentally", for want of a better term, while taking legitimate opioid painkiller prescriptions.
Opioids are prescribed for a wide range of ailments, from post-surgical pain to arthritis and even migraines.
But prescription opioid deaths have quadrupled since 1990 to nearly 17,000 a year, and the whole field of pain management is under a lot of pressure to re-evaluate its practices. While some experts argue that opioids should only be used for the most severe cases, such as cancer pain or end-of-life care, others maintain that less severe, short term pain management still requires opioids.
While the FDA continues to receive public pressure to take more effective action, the national epidemic of prescription opioid abuse continues. And here at Novus we continue to deal with it using the most innovative and effective medical detox available.
If you or anyone you care about is having a problem with prescription opioid painkillers or medications of any kind, don't hesitate to call Novus. We're always here to help, and will do our best to answer all your questions about prescription drug detox.
Categories: Drug News, Medical Drug Detox, Opiods
According to a 2011 White House study, nearly one out of every five driver fatalities in 2009 – 18 percent to be exact – involved "drugged driving," the term that describes the growing epidemic of drug-impaired driving, similar to "drunk driving" for alcohol impairment. The latest figures show a rise from just 13 percent back in 2005.
Not all drivers killed in traffic accidents are tested for drugs. In fact, the average is only around 60 percent of them. But among drivers who were tested, 33 percent tested positive for drugs in 2009, while only 28 percent tested positive in 2005.
This rising trend of drugged driving fatalities is causing even more concern than you might expect, because in that same period, 2005 to 2009, the total number of all driver fatalities dropped significantly – from 27,491 in 2009 to 21,798 in 2009. Yet the percentage of drugged driver fatalities rose 5 percent.
These findings are described in Drug Testing and Drug-Involved Driving of Fatally Injured Drivers in the United States: 2005-2009, a report from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). It was based on figures from a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Fatality Analysis survey.
We're just talking about drugs here, not alcohol. We already know from other studies that alcohol claims one-third of all driver fatalities. Alcohol was also involved in combination with drugs in some of this study's findings. But drugs – stimulants, depressants and psych drugs – were the main focus of the study.
The study includes reams of information of lesser interest to most of us, such as comparing males to females (not much difference) or specific findings for counties. We're more concerned with the big national picture. And it isn't a pretty one.
The depressing reality is that 21,978 Americans were killed in vehicle accidents in 2009 (latest available figures), and nearly a fifth of them – 3,952 – were killed while driving under the influence of drugs.
By way of comparison, that's more than three times as many military fatalities in the more than 10 years of Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Looking at it another way, drugged driving is killing more than 10 drivers every single day of the year. And when you add in the alcohol-related driver fatalities, the total is much higher.
And that's only driver fatalities. Thousands more deaths occur among passengers in both the drug- and alcohol-impaired drivers' cars; there are thousands more victims in the cars crashed into by impaired drivers; and hundreds of innocent pedestrians and cyclists that are also struck and killed by impaired drivers.
We also have to consider the countless thousands of injuries, from weeks or months of pain and misery to a lifetime of permanent disability. There are far more injuries than deaths, resulting in incalculable health care costs.
Now, when you add to the health costs the legal, law enforcement, loss of work and family costs, the financial impact on society is truly immeasurable. Estimates place the cost of drugged and drunk driving in the billions of dollars a year.
You can't put a dollar value on the irreconcilable emotional losses among families, friends and coworkers of the dead and injured. But these are even more costly, in human terms, than the losses of dollars and cents.
When you consider that all these thousands and thousands of deaths were utterly needless and avoidable, the scope of this national tragedy is magnified almost beyond belief. All it would take, to save every one of these lives, is for anyone using drugs or alcohol to simply refuse to climb behind the wheel.
Just that one, single, simple decision would save thousands lives and heartbreaks every year.
What kind of people are we, that we would risk not just our own lives, but carelessly risk the lives of our fellow citizens – men, women, children and infants – by driving while on drugs or alcohol?
Why don't we find ways to make our educational system really teach kids that reach middle and high school to not start using drugs and alcohol, let alone to drive a car while doing so?
At the bottom of it all, what kind of examples are we as parents setting for our kids? As parents, we are the product of the same educational system that has failed to get that essential message across. We clearly need to make some changes in our thinking. And our local, state and national policies need to be changed to ensure better educational results. No one wants this carnage on our streets and highways to continue.
Here at Novus, our patients come from all walks of life, but they have one thing in common – they've made that all-important, life-affirming decision to become free of drugs and alcohol. Part of that decision is always a clear look at the negative effects of substance abuse, and a resolve to never let it happen again.
If you or someone you know has a problem with drugs or alcohol, don't hesitate to pick up your phone and call Novus. We'll not only help you find the right solution, we'll both be contributing in our small way to make our roadways safer.
Categories: Drug News, Drug Overdose, Drugs
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders may affect up to 5 percent of U.S. children
There is a new report out this month that suggests that as many as one in 20 U.S. children may have health or behavioral problems related to alcohol exposure before birth. Especially these days, when "everyone knows" not to drink during pregnancy, the numbers are higher than anyone expected.
"Knowing not to drink during pregnancy and not doing so are two different things," especially before a woman knows she is pregnant, said lead researcher Philip May, a professor of public health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Findings from the study were reported online Oct. 27 and in the November print issue of Pediatrics.
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is at the most severe end of the spectrum of conditions resulting from drinking mothers. These conditions include abnormal facial features, structural brain abnormalities, growth problems and behavioral issues. Children on the milder end of conditions resulting from pre-natal alcohol use still suffer from things like impairment in the ability to complete tasks required to do well in school or other behavioral issues.
Knowing this, why would any pregnant woman take even one drink?
Dr. Lana Popova, a senior scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and an assistant professor of epidemiology and of social work at the University of Toronto says, "There is no safe amount of alcohol or safe time to drink during pregnancy, or when planning on becoming pregnant. If a woman is unaware of her pregnancy, for whatever reason, she should discontinue drinking immediately upon pregnancy recognition."
The study also found other alcohol factors that contribute to the potential severity of problems children might have. The longer it took a mother to learn she was pregnant, how frequently she drank three months before pregnancy, and the more alcohol the child's father drank, the more likely it was that the child would have negative effects, were part of the findings.
Dr. Popova also cites two contributing factors to these unexpected percentages: a high number of unplanned pregnancies and a need to improve access to effective substance abuse treatment programs for women of childbearing age.
Over the years, we have always regularly received phone calls from pregnant women and it is our heartbreak that we can not help an already pregnant woman detox off of alcohol. So we work very hard to get the word out to women to please, please confront and handle alcohol problems before risking getting pregnant.
As Dr. Janet Williams, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio observed: "Alcohol is a neurotoxin, and alcohol exposure is the leading preventable cause of birth defects and intellectual and neuro-developmental disabilities. So why is it worth experimenting with your child?"
Categories: Alcohol Addiction Detox, Alcohol Facts
When it comes to the virulent, deadly ebola epidemic that's dominating the news these days, we're just as nervous as everyone else. No vaccine, no cure, and anywhere from 50 to 90 percent fatality rates.
We're glad the White House is taking the ebola threat seriously by creating a task force to help head off an ebola epidemic getting a foothold here in America. President Obama has hand-picked Ron Klain, the former chief of staff to Vice Presidents Joe Biden and Al Gore, to "coordinate the national response to the deadly virus."
But because of what we do – help people overcome drug and alcohol dependence – we know how widespread and deadly addiction has become in America. By anyone's definition it's an epidemic. And we can't help thinking that more could and should be done to deal with it too.
It may upset some people for us to say this, and it certainly wouldn't be popular coming from any politicians or health officials these days, but statistically, the death count from the current and dreaded ebola epidemic in West Africa is actually trivial compared to the death count from drug and alcohol abuse, both here and around the world.
The hard and true facts are this: More Americans die every month from drug and alcohol related mishaps than have died from the current, dreaded ebola virus epidemic sweeping West Africa. They've been dying here in the US at that rate for decades. And it's not really getting any better.
Here are some numbers to compare – and they're rather shocking:
EBOLA (current outbreak, as of mid-October 2014)
- Deaths in Africa: 4,500 (estimated)
- Deaths in US: 2 (confirmed)
DRUGS AND ALCOHOL (for 2010, latest figures available)
- Alcohol-related deaths in US: 25,692
- Drug overdose deaths in US (not including alcohol): 38,329
- Pharmaceutical drugs: 22,134
- Pharmaceutical opioid analgesics: 16,651
- Illicit drug use: 17,000 (may include some of above events)
- World-wide drug related mortality (from UN): 247,000
Clearly, with drugs and alcohol addiction and deaths, we are dealing with an epidemic of such colossal proportions, one that has been going on for so long, that most people today just don't "get it." It's too big, it's been around too long, it's too familiar – whatever – most people have become kind of numb to the whole thing.
Unfortunately, that includes many lawmakers, the people we elect to guide us and protect us, and allocate sufficient resources to head off dangerous threats to public health. And of course, that has to include the drug and alcohol epidemic that is claiming over 75,000 American lives every year.
When it comes to choosing its victims indiscriminately, drug and alcohol addiction isn't too much different from most viruses including ebola. It strikes people of all ages in all walks of life, and like a virus, it spreads like a contagion – especially among our young people.
Yes, ebola (haemorrhagic fever) is a terrifying disease. It's fatal in an average of 75 percent of cases. It spreads very quickly and there's no effective cure or preventive vaccine. So we strongly support all necessary resources to prevent an actual ebola epidemic here at home.
And let's make this perfectly clear: When we compare the figures for drug and alcohol fatalities to the ebola epidemic, we certainly aren't suggesting that we shouldn't be concerned about the ebola threat. Fact is, we're just as worried as you are that more cases might pop up here in the US before we finally knock it out. And that's plenty scary indeed.
What we are saying, however, is that the ebola epidemic threat is a big reminder of a deadly epidemic already here in America, and it needs more attention and more resources to deal with it. We're saying that our lawmakers and public health officials should step back for a minute and take a look at what we consider the Number One public health epidemic in this country – drug and alcohol addiction.
There have been 2 deaths in the US from ebola. Yet in that same two or three weeks that it took those two very unfortunate people to succumb to ebola, roughly 4,300 Americans died from drug and alcohol related incidents – overdoses, accidents, murders, suicides – the list goes on.
And sadly, tragically, most of them died needlessly, because timely and effective intervention saves lives threatened by addiction. We could have saved them if the right resources – proven workable resources like medical, counseling, legal – had been available and active at the right time.
When you add to these needless deaths the enormous financial, emotional, familial and societal costs, the need for more and better prevention and treatment resources becomes even more evident.
Here at Novus, we certainly aren't political activists – anything but. We're a team of highly trained medical detox specialists who help people break free from dependence on drugs and alcohol. And we do that by using the safest, most comfortable and most modern medically-supervised detox protocols available anywhere. The only 'movement' we're involved in is our own dedicated campaign to help set our patients free. But we always encourage friends and patients to do whatever they can to help spread the word – detox and treatment before it's too late.
If you or someone you care about is struggling with drug or alcohol dependence, don't hesitate to call Novus and get all your questions answered about drug and alcohol detox. We're always here to help.
A Columbia University addiction research neuroscientist says many of the commonly accepted ideas about substance use, abuse and addiction are just plain wrong.
For example, says Carl Hart, Ph.D., crack cocaine does not create addiction in someone the very first time they use it. Pure crack cocaine and powdered cocaine are chemically identical, and create identical effects on users if the amounts and delivery methods are the same.
In fact, he says, the same is true for any substance – no drug causes addiction the first time it's used. Even if someone wants to use it immediately a second time, it doesn't mean they are addicted, he said.
Speaking at a recent TED Talk, Hart said that 80 to 90 percent of drug users never become addicted at all – including those who try cocaine. He reminded the audience that our last three presidents – Obama, Bush and Clinton – all used drugs when they were younger. "Their drug use did not result in an inevitable downward spiral leading to debauchery and addiction," Hart said. "And the experience of these men is the rule, not the exception."
From a societal perspective, Hart said he has had to learn that drugs and drug addiction are not the cause of crime, violence and gang activity in our inner cities. Raised in a minority, crime-ridden neighborhood of Miami, he was personally involved in drugs and petty crime as a youth. He was constantly told, and thoroughly believed, that drugs were at the source of all the ills in "the 'hood".
"I came from a community where drug use was prevalent," Hart told the TED Talk audience. "I kept a gun in my car, I engaged in petty crime, I used and sold drugs. But I also stand before you today, emphasis on 'also', a professor at Columbia University, who studies drug addiction. And I know what some of you are wondering – 'How in the world did you get from there to here?'"
Hart made it through high school, and credits his joining the Air Force with sparking his interest in higher education. He received a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree from the University of Maryland, and earned his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Wyoming. Finding a solution to addiction became his mission. He says he chose neuroscience specifically so he could solve the addiction problems in his old neighborhood.
And after more than a decade of research, he has convinced himself and his co-workers that crime, violence and gangs are based on poverty and the lack of opportunities and positive choices. Crime and violence exist independently of drug abuse and addiction, he says.
Many common ideas about addiction are based on old animal research from the 1960s and 1970s, he said, which has not stood up to the test of time. For example, in old research, rodents in cages could access a lever that would give them a shot of cocaine. They immediately began self-administering the drug, and wouldn't stop until they died. This was the "scientific" basis for everything known about cocaine abuse.
Those rodents were never offered an alternative, he said. So Hart's team ran experiments in which the rodents were also offered sweets and sexually active mates as well as the drugs. The results were fascinating. They no longer drugged themselves to death and chose the non-drug alternatives. They favored the sweets and the sexual partnerships more than the drugs.
Encouraged, Hart's team began similar tests on human subjects. Hardened addicts who agreed to take part in controlled lab experiments were offered a free hit of their drug of choice or a small sum of money – $5 in the first round of experiments and $20 in a subsequent round.
The results were surprising, to say the least. More than half of the participants chose the money over the drugs. The experiments showed over and over again that even a majority of hardened coke and meth addicts, not beginners by a long shot, were more interested in an alternative that meant more to them than just getting stoned again.
Modern science and better, more creative research has taught Hart that the drug addiction problems in America will never be improved unless new ideas are brought to the table. Hart proposed three basic steps to begin reducing drug addiction and crime in a meaningful way.
The first is ensuring that employment and better education are available to all. It will require a huge shift in drug policy, but "important, attractive and meaningful 'reinforcers' as alternatives to drug use and abuse" are essential, Hart said.
"My research shows that attractive alternatives can decrease drug use," he said. "Providing viable economic opportunity will go a long way in decreasing drug abuse."
The second is decriminalization of drug possession – treating it like a traffic violation, Hart said. Hart pointed to other countries, such as Portugal and the Czech Republic, where drug addiction and crime have been significantly reduced through these methods.
"Significant portions of their society are not stigmatized, marginalized and unfairly incarcerated. If our goal in the U.S. is to have a legal system that treats everyone fairly, one that's just…we must decriminalize drug possession" and change "selectively enforced" drug laws. For example, racial profiling is rampant in drug enforcement here in the U.S., where 80 percent of cocaine users are white, but 80 percent of people in prison for cocaine possession are black.
"Third, I believe science should be driving our drug policy and drug education – even if it makes you and me uncomfortable. First we should be truthful about it." He pointed to the massive media coverage of the recent rise in heroin abuse and overdose deaths in the country. The actual truth is that 75 percent of so-called heroin overdose deaths involved other sedative drugs, either alcohol or benzodiazapines.
"Rather than just vilifying heroin, the message should be, 'If you're going to use heroin, don't combine it with another sedative!'"
People will always use drugs, Hart says. They always have used drugs. We must learn to live with this fact. Drugs will never be entirely eradicated no matter what approach is taken, and to think otherwise is naïve. Hart said that we already take this approach with other dangerous activities, such as sex, alcohol and even driving.
"I've come a long way since the mean streets of Miami, and even a longer way since the starry-eyed young man who wanted to eradicate drugs as the best way to deal with the drug problem. Today I no longer want to eradicate or eliminate drugs from our society. It would be naïve to think so."
He added that he wants to "keep safe" the countless recreational drug users, the vast majority of drug users, who don't have an addiction problem and who need the truth about drugs and who need real justice.
Hart closed his talk by saying he is dedicated to disseminating the real science about drugs and addiction to the public and he asked the audience to join him in these efforts. "What I know now is that drugs are not the problem. The real problems are poverty, unemployment, selective drug law enforcement, ignorance and the dismissal of science surrounding these drugs."
Hart's book, High Price: A Neuroscientist's Journey of Self Discovery That Challenges Everything You Know About Drugs and Society, was published by Harper in June 2013. Called a "harrowing and inspiring memoir", it won a PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award.
At Novus, we also believe that 'the drug problem' can best be helped by applying proven advances in science and by sensible adjustments of social policies when needed. Here at Novus, we are dedicated to helping reverse the effects of addiction by using the most modern medical detox protocols available. We know what our role is, and we encourage anyone with a drug problem of any kind to call us any time. We are always here to help.
Categories: Drug & Alcohol Addiction Detox, Drug News
After more than 10 years of hemming and hawing, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has finally lowered the boom on prescription painkillers containing hydrocodone. It's about time, since hydrocodone is among the top killer drugs in America.
The new ruling, which comes into effect the first week of October, 2014, moves a long list of painkillers such as Vicodin and Lortab from schedule III to schedule II, placing them in the same category as codeine and oxycodone. DEA says the long-awaited move is a response to the epidemic of prescription opioid overdose deaths across the country.
"Almost seven million Americans abuse controlled-substance prescription medications, including opioid painkillers, resulting in more deaths from prescription drug overdoses than auto accidents," said DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart. "Today's action recognizes that these products are some of the most addictive and potentially dangerous prescription medications available."
What this means is that patients can only get prescriptions for 3 months tops, after which they must see the doctor for a renewal. In many states, only a physician will be able to write such a prescription, excluding the various categories of medical assistants, technicians, nurse practitioners and so on.
Drug schedules run from I down to V. Schedules II down to V must all have accepted medical uses. Schedule II is the highest potential for harm and abuse, with Schedules III, IV and V having progressively less potential for harm and abuse. Schedule I are controlled substances with no accepted medical use and no accepted procedures for safe use.
Hydrocodone Containing Products (HCPs) usually are hydrocodone in combination with such drugs as acetaminophen, ibuprophen or aspirin. When Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act in 1970, HCPs were listed as Schedule III, but hydrocodone by itself was placed in Schedule II, the class reserved for drugs with a higher potential for abuse than SIII.
Over the past decade, prescription drug abuse overtook abuse of illicit street drugs. There's been no shortage of evidence that the rampant increase in abuse of HCPs has led to thousands of dependencies, abuses, addictions and fatal overdoses.
To its credit, the DEA has been calling for a shift to Schedule II for HCPs for all that time. Surveys from multiple federal and nonfederal agencies, says the DEA, have clearly shown that HCPs indeed have "a high potential for abuse and abuse may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence." The DEA pointed to federal Monitoring the Future surveys of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders, which showed twice as many high school seniors used the Schedule III HCP Vicodin non-medically as used the more tightly controlled Schedule II drug oxycodone and its popular delayed-release version, OxyContin.
Obviously, for those 10 years, other forces have been at work blocking the DEA's attempts to tighten controls. Although they cite medical and financial concerns – tighter controls would make it more difficult for patients to get the pain relief they need and it would be more expensive – no credible study supports the argument.
Here in Florida, the damage done by prescription painkillers containing hydrocodone is no secret and no surprise. According to the state's 2013 Medical Examiners Commission Interim Drug Report, hydrocodone is one of the top half-dozen killer drugs in the state. Deaths from hydrocodone increased 30 percent in the first 6 months of last year over the last 6 months of the year before.
But hydrocodone isn't the state's top killer – that's a distinction reserved for the whole class of drugs called benzodiazapines, with alprazolam (Xanax) and diazepam (Valium) taking the top honors. Almost always, benzodiazapines are found in combination with other drugs, more often than not alcohol.
But any way you look at it, the picture in Florida is a grim reminder of the deadly grip prescription drugs have on the nation. In Florida, prescription drugs represent 78 percent of all overdoses in the state, outpacing illicit drugs like heroin and cocaine. After the benzodiazapines, the drugs that caused the most deaths were alcohol, cocaine, oxycodone, morphine, methadone and hydrocodone.
Hydrocodone is a 'semi-synthetic' opioid, meaning it is part natural and part man-made with chemicals from other sources. The natural part originally came from codeine, but most is made today from thebaine, another, much more toxic derivative of codeine. Codeine is a natural derivative of morphine, which in turn comes from opium, which is made from the sap extracted from the green seed pods of a flowering plant called the opium poppy.
The synthetic part simply means that some chemists started with a natural opioid and then tinkered with it in a lab to create the chemical properties of what is now called hydrocodone. And like almost all the opioid/opiates in our prescription painkillers, it originated in pre-WWII Germany in the 1920s and '30s.
Another interesting thing about hydrocodone is that it is not just used as a painkiller, but also as an antitussive – that is, a cough medicine, often in combination with acetaminophen or ibuprofen.
Maybe the most interesting thing about hydrocodone is that it's prescribed predominantly in the United States and is rare everywhere else. The International Narcotics Control Board says 99 percent of the world supply is consumed here in the States.
And yet another interesting aspect of hydrocodone was the recent approval by the FDA of a new hydrocodone formulation, called Zohydro ER (for Extended Release). The FDA approved it over the objections of its own review panel, which said that if it was approved, it would likely "be abused, possibly at a rate greater than that of currently available hydrocodone combination products" such as Vicodin and all the others. At least 30 states asked the FDA not to approve it, some saying they would ban its sale in their jurisdictions. But after a federal judge overturned Massachusetts' attempt to do so, citing that federal approval trumped state law, the states were forced to accept it.
The bottom line, of course is that the shift to Schedule II for hydrocodone containing products may mean very little in terms of dependencies, addictions and deaths. All one has to look at is the number of fatalities from oxycodone – triple or quadruple that of hydrocodone – and oxycodone containing products are and always have been in Schedule II.
Really, the only good news in all this is the fact that Novus Medical Detox Center has the answer for anyone in trouble with hydrocodone or any prescription or non-prescription opioid. Our medical opioid detox protocols offer the safest and most comfortable detox possible anywhere. Don't hesitate to call Novus any time and get all your questions answered about opioid detox, or detox from any substance.
Categories: Drug Facts, Opiate Addiction Detox, Opiods
Medical scientists in Boston say early exposure to opioids like methadone, heroin, Subutex and opioid prescription painkillers may lead to permanent genetic changes in some infants, and that these changes could increase babies' sensitivity to addictive substances later in their lifetimes.
It's already well known that using opioids while pregnant causes Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) – "cold turkey" withdrawal symptoms – in the newborn infant.
And it's also well known that some infants have a much worse time of this horrible experience than others.
Scientists have theorized for some time that drug-related genetic changes in the mother or baby may explain why symptoms are more severe in some babies than in others. Now, researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) have completed a study that appears to confirm the theory. But it also suggests an even more important theory – inherited genetic potential for addiction.
First of all, it's known that in opioid users, changes occur to a specific gene called the mu-opioid receptor (OPRM1). Opioid receptors are the targets for opioids in the nervous system, and the OPRM1 gene is considered essential for opioid dependency in adults. The OPRM1 gene also plays an important role in dependence to other drugs of abuse, such as nicotine, cocaine and alcohol.
When opioids or alcohol hit the receptor, the receptor triggers the release of beta-endorphins, which in turn releases dopamine. This is the body's "feel-good" reward system. The final result is more craving for the drug or alcohol, opening the door to dependence and addiction.
For the study, the researchers examined genetic data from 86 infants whose mothers had taken opioids while pregnant. As expected, some of the infants suffered far worse NAS withdrawal symptoms than the others. Their suffering not only was more intense, the babies also needed more medication than the others and their withdrawal lasted longer.
When the babies' genetic information was compared, it was found that the infants who suffered severe NAS withdrawal symptoms had high levels of what's called "DNA methylation" in their bodies. This told the researchers that the OPRM1 gene in those babies had been "silenced" or shut off – the typical effects of dependence. Such changes are also caused by external forces – called "epigenetic" changes – and they're usually permanent.
What appears to be most interesting to the researchers is the distinct possibility that the change in the infant's OPRM1 gene was inherited from the mother's DNA at conception – she passed on the effects of her own opioid abuse to the baby, who was then born with the genetic mutation typical of an opioid, alcohol or cocaine addict.
"What makes these results so intriguing is that these epigenetic* changes could be passed on from mother to child, resulting in these children potentially having future issues and sensitivities around opioid and other addictive substances," said Elisha Wachman, MD, a staff neonatologist at BMC and assistant professor of pediatrics at BUSM.
This is certainly food for thought for women who use and abuse addictive substances such as opioids. It's bad enough to think you've caused your baby days of extreme discomfort. But it's quite another thing to realize that your substance abuse might make your child more prone to substance abuse later in his or her life.
Here at Novus Medical Detox Center, we don't treat pregnant women or babies. This is purely the job of expert neonatologists – specialist pediatricians who care for premature newborns or those with serious illness, including NAS.
What we try to do is to encourage women of child-bearing age to be extra careful to avoid pregnancy while they're using or abusing any addictive substances. But even more important, we urge them to seek help to get and remain sober.
If you're dependent or addicted to opioids and could possibly become pregnant, we ask that you make the all-important decision to get here to Novus for a medically supervised detox before you become pregnant. We are experts at providing safer, more comfortable opioid withdrawal for people who want to recover drug-free lives.
* processes by which inheritable modifications in gene function occur without a change in the sequence of the DNA
If you have teenagers in the house, or pre-teens who are on their way to adolescence, this blog is for you. And if you have teens in trouble with substance abuse, or know of any who are, keep reading, because you're already involved.
Addiction experts and social scientists at Columbia University have reported that substance use and abuse by America's teenagers should not be taken lightly. Rather than treating it as a harmless phase that all teens go through, it should be at the top of our list of adverse social situations.
The massive, 420-page report from the University's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASAColumbia), says it all by its title: Adolescent Substance Use: America's #1 Public Health Problem. Smoking, drinking, using illegal drugs and misusing prescription drugs "is by any measure a public health problem of epidemic proportion, presenting clear and present danger to millions of America's teenagers and severe and expensive long-range consequences for our entire population," the scientists said. Ignoring or minimizing the problem not only adds to the soaring medical costs of substance use and addiction, it puts the future of America at risk, both socially and economically.
The report details the messages that pervade American culture that promote teen substance abuse, and then it examines the results:
- Widespread impairment of physical and mental health among millions of teenagers because of risky substance abuse
- Countless injuries, suicides, homicides and other fatalities related to substance use
- Risky driving, risky sex, and drug-related violence and crime
- The tragic losses of educational and life opportunities for tens of thousands of substance injured and addicted young people
- The terrible impact on families of the loss of sons and daughters to addiction
- The immeasurably negative loss to America's vital work force
Adolescent substance use is also responsible for "the largest preventable and most costly public health problem in America today" says CASAColumbia. Teen substance abuse itself is costly, but research has shown that almost all adult substance abuse and addiction begins in adolescence:
- Annual costs directly stemming from teen substance use include $68 billion for underage drinking and $14.4 billion for substance-related juvenile justice programs.
- Annual costs to federal, state and local governments for all abuse and addiction are at least $468 billion a year – roughly $1,500 for every single person in America every year – and most of the problems originated in adolescence.
This comprehensive report drew from sources all across the country, including:
- National surveys of 1,000 high school students, 1,000 parents of high school students and 500 school personnel (including teachers, principals, counselors and coaches)
- Analyses of 7 national data sets
- Interviews with approximately 50 leading experts in a broad range of fields related to this report
- 5 focus groups with students, parents and school personnel
- A review of more than 2,000 publications
CASAColumbia say that educators, health professionals and parents need to become more aware of the seriousness of the situation. Everyone needs to learn how to identify at-risk teens, while the health care system needs to provide more and better treatment for kids already in trouble with substance use and abuse. The report is aimed at everyone who has a stake in our future, and is in a position to do something about it:
- Parents
- Health Care Professionals
- Policymakers
- Educators and Community Organizations
- Media
- Researchers
- Teens
The report has a comprehensive list of recommendations for each category of involvement. If you're in this list, you're involved. You can download your own copy of the report here.
Here at Novus, we couldn't agree more with the CASAColumbia recommendations. Novus isn't an adolescent treatment center, but we do deal with dependence and addiction on a daily basis. And it's vital to understand that so many adult patients can trace the beginnings of their substance use problems back to their teenage years.
Picture credit: CASAColumbia
Categories: Alcohol Addiction Detox, Alcohol Facts