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Obituary & Guest Book Preview for Alexander (Andy) Bogert
Alexander (Andy) Bogert Obituary
Published on Pennlive.com and in The Patriot-News from Jan. 4 to Jan. 9, 2011
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: Alexander (Andy) Bogert passed away on the morning of Friday, December 31, 2010. He was born in Corry, PA, on April 22, 1952 to Richard...
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Madeira Funchal Car Rental
Customer Reviews About Sixt
- Five star pick up service at port.The lady who picked us up was a credit to your company,she was very friendly and helpful and we were impressed with her English, so easy to understand 5***** all round.. | 26.02.2013 00:00
- We were very happy customers throughout the rental process!Thank you very much | 12.11.2012 00:00
- Good service and friendly staff(especialy the guy that took the returning car) will make me to choose Sixt next time too. Thanks! | 05.11.2012 00:00
- Gostei de todo servi�o fim check in pela internet, fiz pr� pagamento o que reduziu o pre�o o que foi bastante bom e o carro que me deram era novo gostei bastante correu tudo mt bem e mais barato que em qualquer outra rent car de certeza que vou optar pelos vossos servi�os outra vez | 27.10.2011 00:00
- Mindennel meg voltunk el�gedve, k�l�n�sen tetszett a gyerek�l�s min?s�ge �s tisztas�ga. | 22.07.2011 00:00
- Da Madeira sehr gebirgig ist und man mit dem Mietwagen 'zwagsweise' sehr steile und kurvige Stra�en zur�cklegt, w�re eine Empfehlung nicht die kleinste Mietwagenklasse zu w�hlen, sehr fein gewesen. Aber auch so hat alles wunderbar geklappt! | 21.07.2011 00:00
- Tosi hyvin sujui kaikki ja auton hintakin oli tosi kilpailukykyinen | 14.07.2011 00:00
- Os Meus Parabens ao vosso colaborador de Apelido Sr Maia que foi ex�mio nas suas compet�ncias excedendo as minhas expectativas enquanto consumidor. | 13.01.2011 00:00
- Thanks, we wanted the car for an extra 2 days at short notice. Due to demand we could only get one extra day, but thanks for your flexibility. | 26.08.2010 00:00
- Meget professionel og venlig betjeningBil i meget god stand | 26.07.2010 00:00
- |
- |
|Rua do Vale da Ajuda, 52
|9000-116 Funchal PT +351-29-1706070
|GDS - Code:
|Mo. - Fr.
|09:00 - 18:00
|Sa. - Su.
|09:00 - 17:00
|Bank holiday
|09:00 - 17:00
Welcome to Madeira Funchal Sixt rent a car
The city of Funchal is the capital of Madeira and very interesting to the tourist. How is a city totally turned to tourism, has several points to visit and too see, such as theBotanical
Garden, the Farmers' Market, Church Hill and the Cathedral of Funchal, can still see the beautiful landscape from the cable car from Funchal. Lest we miss anything during your stay, we provide a
varied fleet to meet your needs.
( Branch Manager )
Location details
Opening Hours
|Mo. - Fr.
|09:00 - 18:00
|Sa. - Su.
|09:00 - 17:00
|Bank holiday
|09:00 - 17:00
Contacts / Lost & Found
SIXT # Madeira Funchal FNCC03
|Rua do Vale da Ajuda, 52
|9000-116 Funchal
|Phone no.
Location plan - how to find us
The Sixt branch is located at the rear of Forum Madeira Shopping Center.
The airport is situated about 13 km outside of Funchal city and can be reached over the VR1.
Outside open hours - pick-up & return
Pick-up out of opening hours is possible for an additional charge. This service is bookable on request. Please provide your address and credit card details, e-mail address and mobile number.Out of hour return possible.
Return out of opening hours is possible for an additional charge. This service is bookable on request. Please provide e-mail address and mobile number.
Categories and services at this location
- Compact Cars & Sedans
- Sports cars & convertibles
- 4x4 / SUV
- Truck
- Other Sixt countries: Germany Switzerland Austria UK France Spain Netherlands Denmark

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Hotels in 96125 - Sierra City CA
Only hotels in 96125 zip code are listed below. Search for cheap and discount hotel rates in Sierra City, CA for your upcoming leisure or conference / group travel. We list the best 96125 hotels and motels so you can review the Sierra City hotel list below to find the perfect lodging. Hotels in Sierra county and area code 530 are also listed.
96125 Hotels/Accommodations
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In Innovation, U.S. Said to Be Losing Competitive Edge
- Details
- Published on Wednesday, 25 February 2009 19:13
The competitive edge of the United States economy has eroded sharply over the last decade, according to a new study by a nonpartisan research group.
The report by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation found that the United States ranked sixth among 40 countries and regions, based on 16 indicators of innovation and competitiveness.
Source: New York Times


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Double Team The Teen #3
Double Team Studios / Year: 2013
Available On
Customers Who Bought This Product Also Bought
These hot young teens are eager to get fat dicks shoved deep in their pussies, all the way inside their throats, and straight up the ol' tail pipe!
Product Information
DetailLength 2 hrs. 27 mins.
Rating XXX
Released Apr 23 2013
Added Apr 23 2013
Production Year 2013
Empire SKU 1653300
Studio Double Team Studios
Number of Discs 1
UPC Code 830531106588
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18+ Teens, All Sex, Threesomes


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These are just plain yummy. I made a batch for my daughter for Mother's Day. She follows the Specific Carbohydrate Diet to control Crohn's Disease. Here's a link to the recipe.
These are just plain yummy. I made a batch for my daughter for Mother's Day. She follows the Specific Carbohydrate Diet to control Crohn's Disease. Here's a link to the recipe.
May 06, 2015 | Permalink | Comments (0)
When I shared this cooking tip with my daughter, Amy, she suggested I write a blog post about it. She eats lot's of hard-boiled eggs for her special diet and was getting pretty sick of struggling to peel them.
So here's the deal. You have a nice batch of 12 freshly boiled eggs. You're all egg-cited about the batch of deviled eggs that you're going to bring to the neighborhood potluck. As you peel the eggs, 2 of them give up their shells willingly, but the other 10 resist... their shells sticking and tearing off layers of fragile white and making an ugly mess. You decide to make egg salad.
The trick is to cook cold eggs in boiling water, but first, so the cold shells don't crack when they hit the boiling water, you poke a tiny hole in the round end of the egg. That allows the shell to expand.
1. Bring a pot of water to a boil.
2. Carefully pierce a small hole in the rounded end of the egg with a thumb tack.
3. Slowly and carefully lower the eggs, one at at time, with a large spoon or pair of tongs, into the boiling water.
4. Boil the eggs, gently, for 15 minutes.
5. Drain off the boiling water, leaving the eggs in the pan, then flood them with cold tap water.
6. Crack the eggs gently against the side of the sink.* The peels will release easily.
7. Return the peeled eggs to cold water bath until completely cool.
I store peeled hard-boiled eggs immersed in a container of salted water in the fridge for up to a week.
*or you may leave the eggs in their shells until cool. Refrigerate unpeeled hard-boiled eggs until ready to use, then crack shells and peel under warm, running tap water.
April 28, 2015 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Sinus infections, asthma, allergies... I've been plagued with them most of the winter. Round one hit me right after Thanksgiving, requiring 2 courses of antibiotics. It took a month, but I finally was well enough to do my normal life, getting through Christmas okay, but I still not feeling 100%.
Round two hit me after an overnight visit to my daughter's house in mid-February. She had just gotten two kittens. I am highly allergic to cats. My 2-year-old grandson had a bad cold and lots of hugs for me. It was the proverbial one-two punch... allergy + virus. I came home wheezing. The next day I was full-on sick... coughing, congested, and draining like crazy.
A week later, when my standard home-treatments, Sudafed and neti-pot, (along with tons of extra water... more about that later) failed to clear my symptoms, off I trotted to the doctor... told her about my cat allergy, and how I would really like to be able to visit my daughter's house without getting sick. I also mentioned that on Thanksgiving weekend I had spent the better part of two days at my sister-in-law's house. She also has cats. My doctor asked me to consider going on a maintenance drug... a steroid nasal spray or an antihistamine or both... an albuterol inhaler if necessary.
I already had an albuterol inhaler. As a kid I had asthma and used a Benzedrine inhaler nearly every day and also took allergy pills. I didn't have much allergy trouble in my teens and 20's. In my 30's and 40's I struggled with allergic rhinitis, which I controlled with Allegra-D and Nasacort. Over the past 10 years, my allergies have been much better... easily controlled with regular use of saline nasal spray. But if I got cold, usually one or two every winter, I always ended up with a sinus infection and on an antibiotic.
With the latest sinus infection, in addition to the neti-pot, Sudafed, and two courses of antibiotics, one of which, Biaxin, made me extremely nauseous, I also decided to double my fluid intake, determined to flood-out the bug.
The sinus infection cleared up. Sort of.
Because I was still draining like crazy... and trying to picture how I was going to survive an upcoming visit to my daughter's. I decided to do a trial run of antihistamine as the doctor had suggested. I got some Claritin. I was still drinking tons of water and herb tea. Two days later I felt like I had a bladder infection and couldn't sleep. Back I went to the doctor for a test. There was no infection but it turns out that Claritin can cause urinary retention. And insomnia. Great. So I tried Flonase. It made my drainage worse. So did Nasacort. They also kept me from sleeping. So did Allegra.
I gave up on the medication idea.
In desperation, I Googled "natural allergy relief" and the top item was something called "Water Cures"... claiming that every ailment from allergies to zombies is caused by dehydration. How could I be dehydrated? I was drinking more water than normal already. Read on.
In a nutshell, Water Cures has you do a calculation of how much water you need to drink each day, divided into six to eight 8-16 oz. portions. For me that boiled down to 9 cups of water. Other beverages don't count. Only water. But the thing that distinguishes Water Cures is that, before drinking the water, you dissolve a certain amount of sea salt in your mouth, then swallow it with the water. Because, according to Dr. Fereydoon Batmanghelidj, the creator of Water Cures... without salt, the body can't properly hydrate.
The Water Cures website also says to drink the water within 15 minutes of the sea salt. In other words, chug it. You drink a big glass of water 30 minutes before meals and 2.5 hours after. That supposedly helps with digestion. You are only allowed sips of water with meals.
Coffee, tea, and alcohol are banned because they're dehydrating. Caffeine-laden chocolate is also on the nix-list. Since I'd been sick, I'd been avoiding alcohol (it makes me wheeze) so that didn't seem like too much of a sacrifice, and I don't drink caffeinated coffee or tea... but seriously... chocolate? That's where I draw the line. Those two itty-bitty pieces of dark chocolate I enjoy at lunch couldn't possibly dehydrate me that much!
In addition to all that sea salt with the water (for me, it added up to nearly a tsp. a day) the website encourages you to liberally lace your food with sea salt too.
I jumped right into Water Cures and experienced instant relief from my congestion. But 3 days later, I had a dull, persistent headache, nausea, and a burning tongue from all that salt. I couldn't sleep. My fingers were puffy and tingly. The website says to stop the protocol immediately if this should happen and to go slower, especially if you're not accustomed to drinking so much water. (But I was accustomed to drinking all that water... I'd been drinking large amounts of water for 2 weeks.)
The next day I made my own modifications to the protocol, drinking the recommended amount of water, but cutting the salt amount in half. I also drank my usual decaf tea in the morning, smoothie at noon, decaf tea in the afternoon, milk with dinner, and decaf coffee after dinner. Along with the 9 cups of water I drank, it added up to 16 cups of fluid.
Two days later, my congestion was still improved, but I still couldn't sleep. I had no appetite and my skin was getting very dry. I was peeing tons. And another thing... I'd lost 3 pounds.
I was also reading Dr. Batmanghelidj's book: You're not Sick, You're Thirsty. Filled with convincing theorizing on the myriad medical conditions caused by dehydration, all based on individual case studies... there are no double-blind studies to back up his work... Dr B. clarifies the water/salt protocol... he states that it might take a little doing to find the right balance of salt to water, and one should work with their doctor to find the correct balance. I hadn't called my doctor yet, but I was close.
The next day I did a bunch of online research on dehydration.
Facts: plain water is adequate for hydration... no need to take extra salt. Most people get plenty of salt from their diet. Too much salt dehydrates. In spite of the amount of salt I was using, I was peeing tons... no doubt my body's attempt to rid itself of excess salt. I guessed that the insomnia and nausea was caused by my adrenals pumping out extra cortisol in response to the dehydration. I have a hair-trigger cortisol response to stress of any kind. Clearly, my body was stressed.
The next day I switched to plain water. The nausea got worse. Any time I tried to drink plain water I got queasy. It's like my body was rejecting water.
I online searched "how to drink water." Found an article that advises to drink water slowly throughout the day. It said that if you chug a large amount of water all at once just runs right through you. So I tried that... sipping the requisite water throughout the morning. By noon, I simply could not drink water at all. I had no appetite and a dull headache... felt like I had the flu. I cracked open a can of Sprite and poured a small amount over ice. It tasted wonderful. I sipped Sprite every time I felt queasy... for the rest of the afternoon.
That night for supper all I ate was chicken noodle soup. Went to bed early and woke up every hour to pee. I had a small sip of water every time I woke up. At 4 a.m. I woke up ravenous and could not go back to sleep. I got up and made a peanut butter sandwich and drank a glass of milk. By 5:30 I was peacefully sleeping in my recliner.
I woke up at 7:30. Then I Googled, "I drank too much water." Came up with this: The Dangers of Drinking too much Water. Then I called my doctor. She thought that I was suffering from Hyponatriemia. That's what you get when you drink too much water and deplete your body of sodium... So I had gone from too much water with salt to too much water without salt. She said since I was starting to feel better, I would probably recover on my own, but to keep track of my fluid intake for several days, and not exceed 9 cups. She said that all fluids count, except alcohol and if my symptoms did not continue to improve, to come in. That was Thursday.
On Friday, I headed to my daughter's, arriving at her house around 10 p.m. I was feeling even better and was eating and drinking normally... still fairly congested, though, with a bit of asthma that I was controlling with albuterol. (As soon as I stopped taking the sea salt, my sinus/allergy symptoms returned.) I told her my entire ordeal, including the part about how it doesn't seem that there is a medication that I can tolerate for my allergies. She asked me if I had ever tried Zyrtec, which had worked well for her the last time she had a cold. I said that I had avoided Zyrtec because it causes drowsiness. But she encouraged me to try it anyway. She had some in the house and I took one. Within 20 minutes my congestion cleared and I felt very relaxed. I went to bed and slept 9 hours... the first good night's sleep in 3 weeks.
All the next day, Saturday, I kept my distance from the kittens... not holding or petting them and avoiding the room where they sleep. My daughter doesn't let the kittens in the guest room. Fortunately, none of the grandkids had colds.
Saturday afternoon I headed home. My daughter gave me several Zyrtec to take with me. That night I took Zyrtec again. I didn't sleep as well... I woke up 4 times to pee (sipped a little water too.) Sunday night I only took ½ a Zyrtec. Woke up 4 times in the night again and woke up for good at 5:30 a.m.
On Monday I didn't feel quite myself during the day... irritable, groggy, with a very dry mouth... hungry all the time. After supper I felt a little wheezy, but not bad enough to need my inhaler. About 9 p.m. I dozed off in my recliner while watching TV. I was exhausted. Headed up to bed at 10 hoping for a good night's sleep. Took a ½ Zyrtec. Within 10 minutes, I was wide awake. It took me a good ½ hour to fall asleep. In spite of how tired I was, I woke up 4 times.
The next day I looked up Zyrtec side effects, sleepiness, insomnia, irritability, dry mouth, wheezing, increased appetite... the list goes on.
So now I'm off Zyrtec too. Not sure what I'm going to do about my allergies. It seems like antihistamines and nose sprays, even saline nose spray, makes me drain like crazy... come to think of it... spraying anything up your nose is a little unnatural.
The good news is that I've been a good girl... tracking my fluid intake for several days, sticking to the 9-10 cup limit and my drainage is much improved.
I have been off antihistamines for 3 nights and am sleeping better, waking only once in the middle of the night. That's normal for me.
If I get too congested, Sudafed helps, but I only take one 4-hour tablet, ½ the adult dose, in the morning. It lasts me all day and wears off before bedtime. Most medications are too strong for me and take twice as long to wear off as it takes for most people.
What I am sure of is that next time I'm sick, I won't flood myself with water. Lesson learned. Hyponatriemia is not something you want to mess with. For that reason, I recommend steering clear of Water Cures. Any physician worth his salt would probably say that Dr. Batmanghelidj and his Water Cure is pure quackery.
This post is not intended in any way, shape, or form to be medical advice. Please consult your doctor before starting any diet/health program.
April 03, 2015 | Permalink | Comments (0)
For the entire month of December, it was like I was on the cookie diet. Between baking cookies and eating cookies... cookies that I baked, cookies that friends baked, cookies that were given to us as gifts, and cookies at parties, not to mention party food like chips and dip and cheese and cocktail weenies and meatballs and fudge and eggnog and... the list goes on... I must have consumed several thousand calories in addition to my normal food.
Enjoyed every bite of it. And the fear of gaining weight was not such an issue, since I knew that all this indulgence was temporary.
Because the holidays are just that. Holidays. Holidays from normal on so many levels. Intentional indulgence. Extravagant giving. And special, once-a-year cookies. In the midst of the celebration normal takes a back seat for a month.
Most days, I did my IF... an 8 p.m. to 12 noon fast... that means no breakfast. There were few notable exceptions. I just had to partake of the homemade cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning, and there were a couple holiday food-fests that extended later than 8 in the evening.
Most days I had my usual smoothie lunch, except when we were out-of-town during the few days before and after Christmas. And most nights I ate a normal balanced meal for dinner, at the usual time.
But when there's 8 kinds of cookies around, you really need to have one of each for dessert, right? I mean it just wouldn't be right to leave anyone out. There's nothing worse than being shunned... especially if you're a cookie.
The crowning moment was New Year's Eve. It always involves creamed herring, a lovely steak dinner, champagne and chocolate covered cherries for dessert. Anything less just wouldn't be right.
But in spite of all my splurges, on Jan.1, my weight was only up a pound. Gaining one pound over the holidays is the national average. No problem if you lose it. But the problem is, the thing that contributes to the expanding national waistline is that most people gain that pound, or more, and never lose it. And one pound a year can really add up.
Many of you know, I lost 20 pounds in 2013. It took me 10 months. I don't intend to gain it back. If I do gain a pound or two I won't go on a diet. I hate dieting. I won't depriving myself of the foods I love and that includes cookies. Just not 8 kinds of cookies every day.
As soon as the holidays were over, I went back to my normal... back to eating the amount of food that I've learned will sustain my weight (152-154) over the long run. It was easy because the way that I eat is easy. After 4 weeks of back-to-normal eating the extra pound went packing.
And just to make sure that I didn't let myself feel deprived, on January 1st I baked cookies... a big batch of chocolate chip peanut butter. I ate two every night after dinner for a couple weeks. Because life just ain't worth living without cookies.
This post is not intended in any way, shape, or form to be medical or dietary advice. Please consult a reliable health care practitioner before starting any diet/fitness program.
February 16, 2015 | Permalink | Comments (0)
"Serious" art. It's what I've done for years. Portraits and landscapes. Florals and still lifes. And since I painted mostly from photographs, I mostly knew, at the beginning, what the ending would look like. My realistic watercolors got into quite a few shows. Even won an award or two. Every so often I sold one, but never the portraits. Most of them were of my daughters... it's hard to sell a painting of your child. This one hangs over my mantle. It's of my oldest... Amy, painted sometime in the mid-1990's.
But every so often I'd get the urge to throw care to the wind and try an abstract piece. This one, a watercolor resist done in 1997, to my surprise got into a regional art exhibit.
A few years ago, I took another trip to abstract land. A workshop where we cropped magazine photographs into tiny, abstract compositions, was the inspiration. I really liked my piece, but when it was done, I wasn't sure which way should be "up," so I asked my friend, Doug Baker, who does wonderful abstract work, to help me. I didn't have much confidence... didn't know how to think about it... but it ended up winning an honorable mention in a local show. It was a short excursion, though, after which I high-tailed it right back to realism.
Then last summer it was like a switch flipped in my head. I knew it was time for a change but I wasn't quite sure what the change needed to be. So I decided to try acrylics. Well within my comfort zone, a good place to start when you're working in a new medium, I painted a portrait of a Mexican Dancer from a photo taken at a Cinque de Mayo celebration. Getting used to the goopy, opaque acrylic paint was a challenge after all those years of puddling around with watercolors. But it was still realism.
After finishing the portrait, I was still itching for change. I contacted Doug and asked him if he'd give me an abstract lesson. We set a date for late August. Toting a homemade cherry pie (he wouldn't let me pay him) I showed up at his studio. He had prepared several small squares of plywood with neutral backgrounds and a few collaged bits. He told me that we were going to work on them together, taking turns painting and collaging. At the end of the lesson, he let me pick two pieces to finish up at home. Here's one of them:
The neutral tan and blue-gray paint is pure Doug, the little piece of crossword puzzle, one of his signature elements. I added the string, the purple paint (a little humorous touch... Doug detests purple), and the decorative circle and rectangle to the left.
Soon, I was off to the races making my own mixed-media pieces. This one's called "Happy Birthday."
Not knowing how a given piece will look when it's finished forces me to delve deeply into my imagination, letting the piece be what it wants to be instead of trying to make it conform to a preconceived notion of what I think it should be. It's so much fun experimenting with colors and textures. The more I play, the more confident I get. And what I'm doing feels more authentic, in a weird way, than anything I've done before.
I'm not saying that I'm done with realism forever. I still love to draw and I still love realism... but I'm not going to worry about that for now because I'm having way too much fun with this abstract kick.
Crazy-fun. Seriously.
February 02, 2015 | Permalink | Comments (1)
I do yoga... that is, my version of yoga... a personalized combination of moves that are easy on my old-lady knees. Up until a month ago I also did cardio, until I read this article by my current "guru" Mike O'Donnell, suggesting that cardio workouts might not as good for us as they were previously thought to be... they might actually increase levels of stress hormones, increase inflammation, increase free-radical damage, and be making us fatter!
Cardio. That bastion of the fit, I've been doing cardio since the 1980's. Back then I was a modern dancer. Dancing is a lot like sprinting... unless you're in a dance marathon, most stage performances are 3-4 minutes max... and in class we're talking brief bursts of activity punctuated by lots of standing around waiting for your turn. In those days, I was slim, strong, flexible, and coordinated. I never questioned whether or not I was in shape until, while rehearsing a dance to a piece of Switched on Bach with my friend Judith Brooky, a dance consisting of 2 minutes of breakneck running, jumping, and leaping around the stage, I realized that I had absolutely zero endurance.
We joked that maybe we should have an ambulance waiting by the stage door, just in case we succumbed.
In the 80's, aerobic dancing was all the rage... the kind where you learned a canned routine to canned pop tunes and followed an energetic instructor through her paces, pausing only to measure your heart-rate every 10 minutes.
But Judith and I were real dancers... We had always mocked the whole idea of aerobics. It was so uncreative... unaesthetic... mass produced... beneath us.
That is, until our humbling experience with Switched on Bach. If we were going to survive, we had to have what they had. Stamina. Endurance. We swallowed our pride and signed up.
We joined an aerobics class that wasn't too obnoxious at a local health club. It was full-on, high-impact aerobics alá Flashdance (yes, there was even a routine to Maniac) leg warmers and all!
Embarrassed to say, we were instant converts. It was so much fun... also an ego boost. It was pretty obvious that we had dance training... I guess you might say we were stand-outs. After a few weeks our stamina was right up there with the instructor's and it wasn't long before we decided that we wanted to teach the stuff ourselves. We took certification workshops and soon Judy and I were teaching, I at a local dance studio, she at the Y.
Within a few months my knees started bothering me. I'm not blaming aerobics entirely. I had 15 years of ballet and modern dance teaching and performing behind me... none of it in the kind of footwear that the aerobics set wore, footwear with well-cushioned soles and arch supports.
While my knees were falling apart, high-impact aerobics was falling out of favor. Everybody was switching to low-impact. That helped for a while, but eventually even low-impact became too painful. I would get these awful shooting pains in the backs of my knees. I made an appointment with an orthopedist. He did MRI's and concluded that I had patello femoral syndrome and the beginnings of degenerative arthritis. He said I had the knees of a 70-year-old and I was only 29. He scoped my worst knee, the left one, smoothing the back of the patella and flushing out debris.
That bought me 10 more years of relative comfort... in addition to teaching aerobics I was also directing a dance group and teaching and performing modern dance. In time the pain became unbearable again and there was nothing more that could be done surgically except a lateral release, a procedure designed to realign my knee caps with a 70% success rate. I wasn't exactly thrilled with that option so at age 39, I retired from dance.
I've been in knee preservation mode ever since.
But I haven't escaped surgery entirely. 10 years ago, suspecting torn cartilage in my left knee that turned out to me nothing but debris, I had my left knee scoped and flushed again and 3 years ago I had surgery to trim an actual torn cartilage in my right knee.
I still have pain and swelling in both knees if I do stupid stuff like running, jumping, or walking too fast on uneven terrain. Dancing is limited to an occasional spin around the dance floor at a wedding. And I have to grab the ice right away if I bump my knees into stuff like furniture or the car dash board.
If I have a flare-up, I manage to recover in a few days with ice, compression, and rest. So far, I have not had joint injections, but they may be on the horizon. Knee replacement is at least 10 years away... in 10 years I'll be 70. But honestly, I really don't want to have that done if I can avoid it... I have a HUGE aversion to having my knees yanked and bionic ones installed.
20 years ago, when I quit dancing, I started power-walking and biking for cardio. But even that has become problematic. Last fall, in addition to knee pain, mostly the right, I began having hip pain too... could I be getting arthritis in my hip? X-rays revealed minimal hip arthritis if any. My orthopedist told me to stop power-walking and stick to biking. He referred me to a physical therapist for core exercises. He told me that because of the missing chunk of meniscus in my right knee, it will always be uncooperative.
The physical therapist gave me a set of simple core exercises and showed me how to tape my knees to encourage the quadriceps to work more evenly, creating better knee-cap tracking. For 3 weeks I stopped power-walking, did the exercises and the taping. My knee and hip pain cleared up.
Now, anytime I know that I'll be walking a long distance, like in an airport, or at the mall, or on our annual Vegas vacation (you can't go anywhere in Vegas without walking miles) I tape my knees.
But lately I've really been missing my beloved power-walking. My knees have been feeling really good. I haven't needed to tape them much at all. I thought... maybe it would be okay to try power-walking again.
I taped my knees and spent 20 minutes walking on the treadmill. I got that exhilarating feeling... that adrenaline rush that I love and miss so much. It felt SO good. I was back!
To be extra cautious, I iced my knees immediately after walking. But the next day my right knee was swollen and sore. So was my hip. That was that. I gave up aerobics again.
For the time being, "yoga" is going to have to be enough. Since my trick knees prevent me from doing many of the traditional poses, I'm hybridizing my yoga practice with some light weight training... and of course, those core exercises that I got from my physical therapist.
In answer to my query: "Is yoga enough?" this article from Yoga Journal suggests that it is.
This post is not intended in any way, shape, or form to be medical advice. Please consult a reliable health care practitioner before starting any fitness program.
January 06, 2015 | Permalink | Comments (0)
"The real cycle you're working on is a cycle called yourself."
-Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values
Many of us have done it. Lost weight. A little or a lot. Maintained the loss for days, weeks, months... only to eventually gain it back.
Those of you who follow my blog know that 4 years ago, I resolved to never diet again. I was sick of yo-yo dieting. My record of losses and gains are rivaled only by the stock market.
I stopped weighing myself. Tossed out my forbidden food lists. For more than 2 years I ate whatever I wanted (mostly healthy), as much as I wanted, whenever I wanted. I figured that my body would eventually stabilize at an easily maintainable weight. It did. According to my doctor I was overweight, but he wasn't concerned since the rest of my health indicators were good.
I tried hard to accept my larger body. I really did. I journaled about it. I blogged about it. I read fat-acceptance websites. I wrote a cookbook that featured all my favorite (non-diet) recipes. I even did a local speaking tour promoting my cookbook and sharing my body acceptance story.
Many days I felt okay with my size. But many more days I felt... well... fat.
In January of 2012 I got fed up with the amount of jiggle around my middle and went on a diet. The details are in this series of posts but suffice to say, I lost 20 pounds in 18 months. They say that permanent weight loss is easier if you take is slowly. I took it very slowly.
Happy (enough) with my slimmer body which was not exactly thin, but at least a normal weight for my height... a few pounds below the "overweight" category, I began to think about "maintenance."
Here's the rub. Dieting, for me, is easy. Watching those numbers decrease week after week is an exhilarating, self-motivating brass ring.
But maintenance is harder. It lacks the thrill-factor of losing. And it's scary. Especially if it looks like you're gaining.
There's no consensus about what constitutes maintenance but this abstract defines it as a weight change of <3% of body weight. Based on my current weight of 154 pounds, that boils down to 4.6 pounds of leeway for me. For the past 9 months I've stayed within a 3 pound, give-or-take, range of the 20 pounds I lost. So far so good.
Still, emotionally, I ricochet back and forth between fear and faith. Fear that I'll regain the weight if the scale tips up a pound or two. Faith that I'm doing everything right when it tips down.
At times like these what I really need is Facts.
Fact: If my caloric intake and expenditure stay pretty much the same, long-term, then my weight should stay pretty much the same, long-term.
Fact: Daily weight fluctuations are irrelevant... for instance, if I have an extra-salty dinner it might create temporary fluid retention which will show up as a weight gain the next day. (This always happens when I have pizza for dinner.)
Fact: My body is fine just as it is. I constantly need to remind myself of that. I am at a normal weight for my height. Let me say that again... a normal weight for my height.
Here's the crux of my thin-obsession... until I hit my 40's and my knees gave out, I was a dancer... performer, teacher, choreographer. Being thin was everything. Except for my two pregnancies, all of my teen and adult life I yo-yo-dieted.
My desire to be thin was as engrained as breathing.
I would crash-diet down to my dancer-thin weight, the weight that enabled me to look good in a leotard and the fashion trend du jour. In 1969, when I was15, Twiggy was IT. Everyone wanted to look like her.
When I finally hit my goal weight, I'd bask in the glow of my accomplishment for a while... wearing tiny sizes and being told by everyone how great I looked. But sooner or later overwhelming urges to eat anything that wasn't nailed down assailed me. Especially high-calorie "forbidden" foods.
Slowly, or not-so-slowly the pounds crept back. I felt helpless. Embarrassed. Ashamed.
Sick of watching the numbers increasing I'd quit weighing myself. Stash my "skinny" clothes in the back of the closet. Resort to stretch pants.
I hope this time it'll be different.
First of all, this time I'm not trying to stay at an impossibly low weight that can only be maintained by a steady diet of carrot and celery sticks. What I'm doing involves a simple change in meal timing. It's sustainable. All my favorite foods are allowed. I'm not starving myself.
Second, ignorance is not bliss. Since those who weigh regularly may have better success at maintaining weight loss, I plan to continue weighing myself every day, first thing, writing it down, and averaging the daily numbers once a week, which is a more accurate way to keep track. The challenge, though, is not getting down on myself if my weight is up a pound or two on any given day/week.
I like this quote from an article by Dr. John Briffa: "One mental trick I've found is not to compare ones current weight to the weight the week before, but the weight one started at. Feeling good about having lost 20 pounds overall is a lot more likely to maintain motivation and enthusiasm than focusing on the pound you gained over the last week (which might have nothing to do with fat gain anyway.)"
So I need to give, and continue to give myself credit for losing those 20 pounds. And keep doing what I'm doing. Believing the Facts. If I do that, everything, at least where my weight is concerned, should be just fine.
For related posts, click here.
This post is not intended in any way, shape, or form to be medical or dietary advice. Please consult a reliable health care practitioner before starting any diet/fitness program.
November 19, 2014 | Permalink | Comments (1)
What is my problem? Why do I have such a low tolerance for noise, crowded places—especially if it involves a room full of strangers, and why do I get so overwhelmed when I have too many things to do.
Why do I get so stressed when I have house guests? Why is it so hard for me to have my young grandchildren staying at my house for more than a couple of days? I love them to death but the noise and confusion...
It all came to a head this summer, when the kids and their parents spent their 5-day summer vacation here. By the 3rd day, I'd morphed from "fun-grandma" into "cranky-grandma" who needed to take frequent self-imposed time-outs in her quiet, upstairs bedroom.
After they went home I Googled "I can't tolerate noise." This website, popped up. I took the self-test and scored 24 out of 27. I immediately ordered the book, The Highly Sensitive Person, by Elaine Aron. Then I scheduled an appointment with my therapist.
I told her about the inhospitable way I had behaved during my family's visit."What's wrong with me?" I lamented. "Why can't I be a gracious, warm, welcoming hostess for more than a day or two?"
I asked my therapist if she'd heard about HSP's. Handed her my test scores. With a knowing smile, she pulled Aron's book off her shelf. "Read this."
"Guess what," I said, "I ordered it yesterday."
4 days later The Highly Sensitive Person arrived in my mailbox. I dove in. I couldn't put it down. I was like I was reading my life.
The answer to my question, "What's wrong with me?" Absolutely nothing. I am just one of the 20% that are HSPs. And the fact that I'm "houseguest challenged," goes with the territory.
HSP's are easily over-stimulated by noisy, busy, chaotic, crowded environments. Hyper-arousal, they call it. Exquisitely sensitive to details and subtleties of smell, sight, sound, taste, touch, and mood, HSP's are your deep thinkers and feelers. They tend to be detail oriented, creative, intelligent, intuitive, empathetic... this can be a blessing and a curse. A blessing when you're creating a work of art, or tending your sick child... a curse when that scratchy little label in the back of your sweater is driving you nuts, or the neighbor's dog won't quit barking, or you have to mingle at a social event.
There are HSP's that are introverts. There are HSP's that are extraverts. I'm an introvert. I've know that I'm an introvert for years. It's why, for me, a quiet night at home always trumps a noisy night on the town.
Knowing that I'm an HSP, that there's a scientific term for how I'm wired, has been a revelation. I'm not alone. A minority, but not alone.
My therapist says that my personality is a wonderful gift... deep thinker and feeler... creative, intelligent, intuitive. I'm all of that.
But on the flip side, there are many things I need to consider... self-care things that I should do in order to minimize hyper-arousal.
I need to get plenty of sleep at regular times. I need to get enough exercise and nutritious food. These seem pretty obvious, but for HSP's they're critical.
I need to have a plan for what I'm going to do if I start feeling overwhelmed in social settings. For instance, a trip to the washroom for a few slow, deep breaths during a noisy, crowded event can provide a few moments of respite for an over-stimulated brain.
Background sound like music and TV should be mostly off. I avoid CNN headline news like the plague.
I have always been a maker of lists. My to-do lists can rule my life if I let them. I feel like I've failed if I fail to do my to dos. A couple weeks ago I read The One Thing. It was exactly what I needed. According to this book, a to-do list is just a way to offload things that I think of, not a list of absolute musts. I need to plan days that have ample time to tackle the important stuff... the creative stuff... putting on virtual blinders to the barrage of distracting trivia that can easily divert me... because HSP's notice EVERYTHING.
My husband, who is not an HSP, is my strongest ally. Protective, loyal, and kind, he would do just about anything to help. He runs interference for me when necessary. (Like booking us a motel when we visit the grandkids.)
At my therapist's suggestion, he also read Aron's book. He gets me now even better that he got me before.
Recently, he and I traveled to a 3-day family reunion in California. I wore earplugs in the airplane. I had nutritious snacks in my tote-bag. He got us passes for one of those quiet lounges in the airport during our lay-over. California is a 3-hour time change for us. That messes big-time with my internal clock... the whole sleeping, eating, pooping schedule goes tilt. They say that the best thing when travelling East to West, especially for a short stay, is to get to bed early and get up early while you are there. But most of the rest of the people I wanted to spend time with, my California family, are on California time so I stay up much too late.
By the 3rd day, I was (predictably) exhausted. That afternoon the reunion gang proposed a 2.5 mile hike to the beach. In a former time, I would trooped along, suffering in silence, rather than be a party pooper. But knowing what I know now, I didn't hesitate to beg-off in favor of going back to my hotel room to rest. Because now that I know what I know, it's unapologetically all right to care of me.
November 04, 2014 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Still maintaining a 20# weight loss (it's been 6 months) using IF (intermittent fasting), which has proven to be effective and sustainable for me. At this point it feels like a permanent lifestyle.
I changed it up a little at a family reunion a couple weeks ago... didn't have my usual smoothie lunches... ate potluck food for lunch and dinner for 3 days. It was nice break from my usual routine... and didn't gain any weight. (I still skipped breakfast though, which was an in-hotel, free groaning-board, where one could easily down an entire day's calories in one sitting.)
I was glad to return to my smoothie lunches though. I like the consistency... a mid-day-no-brainer-break-fast. Then I save my creative juices, cooking-wise, for dinner.
Over the months, I've come up with a grocery list that I use, for the most part, every time I go to the store.
I love to cook, I make almost everything from scratch and I avoid like the plague preservatives and hydrogenated fats. I don't obsess about things having to be organic though. I try to keep portions normal-size and eat until full and satisfied. I rarely overeat because I hate feeling stuffed. I have 2 main meals and one late afternoon snack, mostly because I hate cooking dinner when I'm starving.
Plus there's something classy about a cocktail hour.
So here's my grocery list:
frozen berries
frozen kale
assorted green veggies
ice cream
cottage cheese
sour cream
dark chocolate (Dove)
decaf tea/coffee
Dijon mustard (an absolute must)
whatever additions ingredients I need for whatever I'm cooking/baking
BTW, the banana, orange, apple, and kale go in a smoothie that I drink at noon.
My eating pattern, most days, looks like this:
Morning: tea, water (This is usually when I exercise.)
Noon: smoothie, 1 serving of grain, nuts, dark chocolate
3 p.m.: tea
5 p.m.: 1 oz. cheese, a handful of cherry tomatoes and carrots, a glass of wine or beer
7 p.m. a balanced meal including all food groups and a small dessert
For related posts, click here.
This post is not intended in any way, shape, or form to be medical or dietary advice. Please consult a reliable health care practitioner before starting any diet/fitness program.
June 30, 2014 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Since January, my weight hasn't varied more than 2 pounds. I guess you might say I'm maintaining. Actually, looking back I've maintained an 18 pound weight loss (down from 173 in January of 2102) since December... that's 5 months. So hooray for me! It's getting easier. I'm trusting myself to stay at this happy place where all my clothes fit... reasonably slender (and at a normal BMI) with a sustainable lifestyle. I don't have to be model-thin to be happy. My body is fine just the way it is.
I'm still doing I.F. (Intermittent Fasting.) For me that means getting all my food in during an 8-hour time period between approximately noon and 8 p.m. This was not an easy life-style change. But I got great results... a slow, sustained weight loss which has brought me to where I am today. A gal who, for the first time in her life, sees a future free of yo-yo dieting.
Mornings, I stick to hot tea and water.
My noon meal consists of a fruit/veggie/protein-packed smoothie, a small handful of nuts, a couple pieces of dark chocolate, and a cup of decaf.
About 3 p.m. I brew another cup of tea.
I eat whatever I want for dinner... a balanced meal.
I don't avoid carbs, fat, salt... nor do insist that everything I eat be organic. I do avoid processed food. I love to cook so I try to make most things from scratch, especially baked goods. (I draw the line at grinding my own flour, churning my own butter... you get the picture.) I eat dessert every day and most days I have a glass of my favorite libation.
Exercise, for me, must be restorative and must not be primarily about burning a calories. I generally do about 30 minutes of moderate aerobics 3 days-a-week. On alternate days I do "yoga," my own knee-friendly kind (I have osteo-arthritic knees.) And I don't panic if I miss a workout here and there, because, as I said before, it's not about burning calories. I exercise because it feels good to move and to maintain strength, stamina, and flexibility.
One of my favorite things to do, besides actually cooking, is to watch "Chopped" while riding my stationary bicycle. Then I go make dinner.
For related posts, click here.
This post is not intended in any way, shape, or form to be medical or dietary advice. Please consult a reliable health care practitioner before starting any diet/fitness program.
May 12, 2014 | Permalink | Comments (0)


text: George Benson's latest album, Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole, is a tribute to his hero. Greg Allen/Courtesy of the artist hide caption itoggle caption Greg Allen/Courtesy of the artist Music Interviews George Benson Follows The Path Of His 'Unforgettable' Idol July 6, 2013 Benson and the late Nat King Cole have a lot in common: Both started as acclaimed jazz instrumentalists, but became pop stars when they started singing. Cole was a huge influence on Benson, and the guitarist — who turned 70 this spring — pays tribute on his latest album. Listen Loading… 8:13 Playlist Download Embed Embed Close embed modal <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/199075230/199363067" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no">


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STARmeterSEE RANK
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April Stewart (I)
April Stewart was born on February 8, 1968 in Truckee, California, USA. She is an actress, known for South Park (1997), Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011) and The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015). See full bio »
Born:in Truckee, California, USA
More at IMDbPro » Contact Info: View agent
Represent April Stewart? Add or change photos


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VoIP - Voice over Internet Protocol
VoIP is short for Voice over Internet Protocol.
Voice over Internet Protocol is a category of hardware and software that enables people to use the Internet as the transmission medium for telephone calls by sending voice data in packets using IP rather than by traditional circuit transmissions of the PSTN.
One advantage of VoIP is that the telephone calls over the Internet do not incur a surcharge beyond what the user is paying for Internet access, much in the same way that the user doesn't pay for sending individual emails over the Internet.
There are many Internet telephony applications available. Some, like CoolTalk and NetMeeting, come bundled with popular Web browsers. Others are stand-alone products. VoIP also is referred to as Internet telephony, IP telephony, or Voice over the Internet (VOI).
See Wikipedia's Comparison of VoIP software.
See also "The Difference Between VoIP and PSTN Systems.
Top 5 VoIP Related Questions
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***PLEASE READ*** Help save 12 year old McKenzie Lowe
I don't often ask this type of request, but this is a little girl that has been attending school with my boys, She is the age of my oldest son, Aaron. Her family was at Parent/Teacher conference night in tears begging people to sign this petition.
She has a rare type of inoperable brain tumor that is growing. Her doctors feel that there is only ONE medication capable of treating this specific type of tumor, but she has to petition the FDA to be added to a list of people allowed to take it, under a compassionate use exemption.
Her grandfather said to me, personally, that she will likely die without this treatment. The median survival rate is 9 months, and she's been sick for almost a year to date, and is getting worse.
Of course, I signed the petition. But as of today, they still need 88,691 signatures. It's a staggering amount, but with the help of social media, they can get there. Please read her story and consider signing it, and passing the link along to others as well.
***SIGN THE PETITION HERE***: Change.org Petition of McKenzie Lowe
You can also "Like" the Friends of McKenzie Lowe Facebook Page to follow her story and progress. The Boston Bruins have joined in asking for help and some Boston News Stations are joining in as well. It is heartbreaking to me to think that the FDA would allow a child to die before allowing her to try every medication available. She IS getting some treatment now to try and keep it under control until she gets approval for this medication.
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20 thoughts on "***PLEASE READ*** Help save 12 year old McKenzie Lowe"
This petition still needs close to 50,000 signatures. I'm praying for a Christmas miracle.
ellen beck
signed and shared!
Cori Westphal
This absolutely makes me sick. What kind of government would put up these road blocks for a child? Unreal. I signed and will share!
michelle koerner
I signed and shared on facebook and twitter. I really hope this little girl gets the medicine and care that she needs!
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Posted by 4950486080369818996 on Apr 17, 2014
the best hyaluronic acid i tried. You'll feel the difference not more than in a week. Alpha lipoic acid influences skin also in a good way.It was my first ha with such components...but wont look for another. Certainly, i recommend it to all people, who are looking for ha)
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A system for detecting P waves samples a cardiac signal during first and second time periods set by a clock signal. Comparators determine whether the signal increases in voltage during the time periods by a predetermined value, testing whether the slew rate of the signal falls within a range corresponding to the slew rate of a P wave. Latches responsive to the comparators provide input to a logic circuit whose output clocks a counter. Three successive positive samples input into the counter will cause the counter to generate a signal indicating a P wave has been detected.
1. A system for detecting the P wave on an intracardiac lead, comprising
means for synchronously generating a test signal proportional to the signal on the cardiac lead, thus having approximately the same slew rate as the intracardiac signal,
sample timing means for establishing alternately long and short relative sample time windows,
means for resetting said test signal to a known level at the beginning of each of said sample windows,
means for registering whether the test signal exceeded a predetermined threshold during said sample windows, respectively, and
means responsive to said registering means for producing a good sample signal when said test signal exceeded the threshold during the long sample window but did not exceed the threshold during the short sample window,
whereby the good sample signal indicates that the corresponding intracardiac signal waveform was within a predetermined range of slew rates characteristic of the patient's P wave.
2. The system of claim 1 further including
counting means for producing a detection signal when a predetermined number of good sample signals occur within a predetermined number of cycles to said sample windows.
3. The system of claim 2, further including
means for incrementally changing the durations of said sample windows if said detection signal is absent for a predetermined time.
The invention relates generally to the sensing of cardiac signals, and more particularly to a system for readily identifying the P wave portion of the signal.
There are two major pumping chambers in the heart, the left and right ventricles. Simultaneously contracting, these chambers expel blood into the aorta and the pulmonary artery. Blood enters the ventricles from the left and right atria, respectively. The atria are smaller antechambers which contract in a separate action that precedes the major ventricular contraction by an interval of about 100 milliseconds (ms), known as the AV delay, approximately one-eighth of the cardiac cycle. The contractions arise from a wave of electrical excitation which begins in the right atrium and spreads to the left atrium. The excitation then enters the atrio-ventricular (AV) node which delays its passage via the bundle of His into the ventricles.
Electrical signals corresponding to the contractions may be displayed on an electrocardiagram. A small signal known as the P wave accompanies atrial contraction while a much larger signal, known as the QRS complex, with a normally predominant R wave, accompanies the ventricular contraction. Repolarization prior to the next contraction is marked by another small signal in the electrocardiagram known as the T wave. Reliable detection of the P wave is greatly desirable because the P wave is an extremely useful timing signal for devices that artificially stimulate the heart muscle.
For example, one of the problems treated by cardiac pacers is heart block caused by impairment of the ability of the bundle of His to conduct normal excitation from the atrium to the ventricle. It has long been apparent that in treating this form of heart disease, it is desirable to base the stimulation of the ventricles on the unimpaired P wave cycle. This synchronization maintains the heart's normal physiological pacing pattern. Thus, the sino-atrial node, which governs the interval between atrial depolarizations (i.e., the atrial rate) according to the body's needs, controls the artificial ventricular rate in the normal manner.
The functioning of so called physiological pacing systems based on atrial timing depends on the accuracy of intracardiac detection of the natural P wave. AV sequential pacers operating in the double demand (DDI) mode, for example, also depend on P wave discrimination for inhibiting unnecessary and potentially detrimental atrial stimulation.
For these and other reasons, the ready identification of a P wave in intracardiac systems is desirable.
In an article entitled "Characteristics of Intracardiac Electrograms II: Atrial Endocardial Electrograms" by Victor Parsonnet et al., appearing in the journal Pace, Vol. 3, p. 406 (July-August 1980), it has been proposed that the differences between amplitude and slew rates of P and R waves recorded from the atrial appendage should allow sensing amplifiers to easily distinguish them by means of appropriate filter design.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a P wave intracardiac detection system, and particularly one that discriminates against R wave related signals appearing on the atrial lead.
These and other objects of the invention are accomplished by providing a P wave detection system that does not rely on amplitude discrimination or analog filtering but employs sampling means for receiving a cardiac signal and sampling it for periods substantially less than the duration of a P wave, the sampling means including adjustable timing means for determining whether the sampled cardiac signal has a slew rate within a predetermined range of slew rates and means for generating a signal when said sampled cardiac signal is determined to have a slew rate corresponding to the slew rate of a P wave.
In the preferred embodiment, a sample clock generates consecutively alternating first and second sample windows of long and short durations, respectively. The sampled cardiac signal is checked to see whether it has a slew rate great enough so that the voltage increase of the signal exceeds a predetermined voltage level within the first window, and has a slew rate low enough so that the voltage increase of the signal falls short of the same predetermined voltage level within the second window. A first latch means is arranged to be set only if the sampled signal rises above the predetermined voltage level, and a second latch means is arranged to be set only if the sampled signal does not rise above the voltage level during the second duration. A logic circuit connected to the latches produces an output signal indicating that the slew rate criterion is satisfied. The preferred embodiment also includes counting means arranged to receive the output of the logic circuit, for counting a predetermined number of output signals generated in successive sampling cycles to indicate that the sampled cardiac signal has a slew rate corresponding to the slew rate of a P wave. Time varying means may also be included for automatically adjusting the duration of the first and second sample windows.
FIG. 1 is a timing diagram of waveforms undergoing the sampling process according to the invention;
FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the P wave detection system according to the invention; and
FIG. 3 is an electrical schematic diagram of the P wave detection system of FIG. 2 in more detail.
The system illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 is designed for detection of P waves appearing on a typical pervenous intracardiac atrial lead for use in either cardiac pacing or monitoring. The objective in this embodiment is to discriminate against spurious R waves on the atrial lead in favor of P waves. Because the amplitude of the cross-coupled R wave on the atrial lead is capable of confusing ordinary sense amplifiers, the discrimination strategy is based solely on whether the slew rate of the sampled signal (i.e., the rate of change in amplitude) falls within a prescribed range of slew rates characteristic of the patient's P wave.
A typical intracardiac P wave lasts about 50 milliseconds. The duration of the sampling periods used in the system to be described is on the order of 1 millisecond. As a result, a sufficiently accurate picture of the slew rate of the cardiac signal being sampled may be obtained. Because of the sampling rate there is time to take several samples, count them, and generate a P wave detection signal only if a number of successive acceptable signals from the first stage of detection are received.
As shown in FIG. 1, the duration of the first of the sampling periods T1 is typically one millisecond and that of the second T2, 154 microseconds. During both sampling periods the test is whether the change in voltage of the sampled cardiac signal exceeds 0.5 millivolts. If the sampled cardiac signal change rises above 0.5 millivolts during the first time window of one millisecond, it is above the minimum slew rate determined by that time and voltage (0.5 millivolt/millisecond). If the sampled cardiac signal change fails to rise above 0.5 millivolt during the second time window of 154 microseconds, it is below the maximum slew rate determined by that time and voltage (0.5 millivolt/154 microseconds). The minimum and maximum slew rates are chosen to bracket a range of slew rates characteristic for the patient's P waves.
While the maximum and minimum slew rates against which the cardiac signal is tested can be varied by changing the sampling windows to accommodate different patients, the voltage threshold may remain at 0.5 millivolts. The durations of the sampling windows may be easily varied by a microprocessor. The microprocessor can, for example, determine the maximum slew rate of the P wave of a particular patient by initially setting T2 at a very long duration (i.e. 0.8 milliseconds) and then decrementing the T2 duration with each heartbeat until the threshhold of 0.5 millivolts is not reached within the T2 time interval. Similarly, the microprocessor can determine the minimum slew rate of the same P wave by initially setting T2 to a very short time (i.e. 50 microseconds) and then incrementing T2 with each heartbeat until the threshhold is reached within the T2 time interval.
In the timing diagrams of FIG. 1, the time window line 10 of FIG. 1 illustrates the sample windows. T1 indicates the length of time of the first test period, T2 indicates the length of time of the second period. The long and short time windows alternate. The intervals 12 between the sampling periods indicate where, by discharge of a series input capacitor (22 of FIG. 2), the voltage sample is restored to a zero level. Thus at the beginning of each sampling period the signal (TP, FIG. 2) to be tested starts out from ground and rises at approximately the same rate as the signal on the atrial lead.
FIG. 1 shows a segment 14 of signal TP being tested. The signal TP is one of rising voltage that, during the time, T1, of the first window, rises an amount equal to the difference between ground (or zero) 16 and the threshhold level 18. During the time, T2, of the second window, the signal TP does not rise to the threshhold level. Thus in this instance the slew rate criterion for a bona fide P wave is satisfied.
FIGS. 2 and 3 show a functional block diagram and a corresponding electrical schematic diagram for a circuit that performs the testing function. The electrical components shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 are illustrated using conventional electrical notation.
Referring now to FIG. 2, the intracardiac voltage signal appears on an input lead 20 connected to the atrial lead. The lead 20 presents the cardiac signal to the testing circuit at one side 21 of a capacitor 22. The other side 23 of the capacitor 22 is connected via a first clock-controlled transmission gate 24 to ground 26 and via a second complementary clock-controlled transmission gate 28, through a linear amplifier 30, to parallel positive and negative comparators 32 and 34. A clock signal, generated by a sample clock circuit or microprocessor 36, is presented to the clock signal input 38 of a decoding and pulse generating circuit 40, to the clock-controlled transmission gates 24, 28 (to the first clock-controlled transmission gate 24, via an inverter 42), and to a "HI/LO" flip-flop circuit 44.
The flip-flop circuit 44 controls third and fourth transmission gates 46 and 48 that pass the output of an OR gate 50, whose inputs are the outputs of the comparators 32, 34, to the set inputs 52, 54 of a low limit latch or flip-flop 56 and a high limit latch 58 respectively.
The output of the latches 56, 58 is directed to the decoding and pulse generating circuit 40. The decoding and pulse generating circuit 40 provides a pulse to the reset inputs 60, 62 of the latches 56, 58 at the completion of each sample. The decoding and pulse generating circuit 40 has a synchronizing pulse output 64 connected to the reset input 66 of the flip-flop circuit 44. Finally, the decoding and pulse generating circuit 40 produces an output 68 when three successive samples show all the samples to have had a slew rate between the maximum and minimum slew rates, or the "slew rate window," established by the circuit 40.
FIG. 3 shows greater detail for the circuit of FIG. 2. In particular the logic circuitry of the decoding and pulse generating circuit 40 is illustrated. The output of low latch 56 and complement of the Q output of high latch 58 are fed to AND gate 70 whose output forms the clock input to two-bit ("good samples") counter 72. The parallel outputs of counter 72 are ANDED for "3" in gate 74 and passed to two-input AND gate 76, whose output forms the "good sample" signal. The other input to gate 76 is from the Q2 output of two-bit ("No. of samples") counter 78 clocked by the Q-bar output of HI/LO latch 44. The Q1 and Q2 outputs of counter 78 are ANDED in gate 80 and fed via OR gate 82 to reset the good samples counter 72. Three-bit master reset counter 84 is connected as shown in FIG. 3 to count the sample windows from sample clock 36. The leading (positive-going) edge 86 (FIG. 1) of each sample window forms the clock input to the counter 84. The outputs of counter 84 are ANDED for "7" in gate 88 whose output is capacitively coupled as shown to the master reset line 90 which resets all other counters and latches in the circuit of FIG. 3, as shown. In addition, latches 56 and 58 are simultaneously reset by the Q output of "new sample" flip-flop 92 clocked by the complement of the output of HI/LO flip-flop 44.
In operation, starting from the zero count, a "good" sample sets low latch 56, fails to set high latch 58 and clocks good sample counter 72. Unless the next two samples are "good", counter 72 will not reach "3" since it is reset to zero after three samples by counter 78. After seven samples all of the logic is synchronously reset by master reset line 90.
The system of the invention performs excellent discrimination between P and R waves on the atrial lead, so that synchronous operation of implanted cardiac pacers dependent on detection of P waves will be reliable. However, the slew rate detection system is also applicable to ventricular leads to distinguish between T waves and PVC's, for example.
If a microprocessor is used to control or generate the "sample clock" signal, it can also determine the slew rate of an individual patient's P wave and more precisely set the slew rate limits of the detector circuit accordingly. For example, a tracking slew rate window system may be implemented by scanning the slew range limits stepwise until a predetermined number of good samples are found. After a predetermined interval without any good samples, for example, the slew rate window would begin to scan. In this manner a factory-set P wave detection system can adapt itself not only to different patients but to differing conditions within the same patient. Alternatively, or in addition, the slew rate parameters can be externally programmable.
The advantages of this system also include eliminating the need for setting amplifier sensitivities. A single sense amplifier can be used for both atrial and ventricular channels by multiplexing. The system also enables the possibility of eliminating refractory periods in cardiac pacers by discriminating against T waves and cross-coupled R waves.
Other modifications and adaptations of the circuit of the illustrative embodiment may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention set forth in the following claims.
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GENIUS Women's T-shirt
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- GENIUS spelled out with the Periodic Table of Elements on front
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- Ge.- Germanium is sold commercially in ingot bars that have an internal crystal structure, and is used in light emitting diodes and semiconductors.
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Home > Games & Toys > Models & Replicas > Commercial Airplane Models > AT-5C Ford American Airplane Model
SAVE AT-5C Ford American Airplane Model
One of your favorite miniature planes!
The Ford Tri-motor was a rugged, dependable transport airplane, which won a permanent place in aviation history. It underwent several design changes. They were flown by more than one hundred airlines in the United States and all over the world. It first flew on June 11, 1926.
The two main production versions of the Ford Tri-motor the 4-AT and the 5-AT was introduced in 1928. The 5-AT-C was built in 1929. The Ford Tri-motor was dubbed as the Tin Goose and it also appeared in a variety of official and unofficial modifications. It was operated with wheel, float or ski landing gear and had served with all branches of the US military. The Ford 5-AT-C was still operating in the Scenic Airlines of Las Vegas in the 1990s.
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Contact Steven L. Rosenhaus at email@example.com
Steven L. Rosenhaus is respected as a composer, lyricist, arranger, conductor, author, educator, and performer. His concert music has been called clever, deftly constructed and likable by the New York Times, and Back Stage magazine has called his music and lyrics for the off-Broadway show Critic sprightly, upbeat, and in the ballad repertory, simply lovely. His works have been played throughout the world by such performers as the United States Navy Band, the U.S. Naval Academy Band, pianist Laura Leon, violinist Florian Mayer, conductor Milko Kersten and the Dresden Sinfonietta, the New Hudson Saxophone Quartet, the Meridian String Quartet, conductor Paul Popescu and the Ploiesti Symphony Orchestra (Romania), and the Chicago Chamber Orchestra, Dieter Kober conductor.
Dr. Rosenhaus is Adjunct Assistant Professor of Composition at New York University (NYU), and also serves on the faculty at Nassau Community College. He holds a Ph.D. from NYU, as well as M.A. and B.A. degrees from Queens College, C.U.N.Y.; his composition mentors included George Perle, and Hugo Weisgall. Dr. Rosenhaus has conducted a wide variety of service, professional, amateur, and educational instrumental and choral groups, including the U.S. Naval Academy Band, the 108th Army Reserve Band, the United Choral Society (2001-2002) and, in 1998, the New York premiere of Sussex Celebration for orchestra on the main stage at Carnegie Hall. He currently has over one hundred original works and arrangements in print with E.F. Kalmus, Alfred Publishing, Music-Print Productions, and others; recordings of his works can be found on the Capstone, Music for a GDay, and MPP labels.
Stevens recent works include: Rescuing Psyche for flute and piano; Horns of Plenty for trumpet, 8 horns, double bass, and timpani; Accordances (Symphony No. 2) for orchestra; Variations on a Neapolitan Theme for band; and The Apian Way for piano. In addition, the book Writing Musical Theater by Allen Cohen and Steven L. Rosenhaus is published by Palgrave/Macmillan.
Steven Rosenhaus is a Yamaha Piano Artist, and has received numerous awards and grants from ASCAP, the American Composers Forum, and Meet The Composer, Inc.
For more information, please click here.
Steven L. Rosenhaus composes for:
* Orchestra
* Band
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No matter what the results are for a previous tournament, there's usually another opportunity right around the corner.
That's how the Longhorns Baseball team out of Starkville are treating the United States Sports Specialty Association 11-year-old AA World Series in Gulf Shores, Ala., this week.
After not making it out of pool play at the state tournament in June at the Starkville Sportsplex, the Longhorns are looking to make a much better run at the World Series.
To subscribe to the E-edition, please click here.View more articles in:


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WVASFAA is a professional organization devoted to enhancing professional competency, assisting in the development of effective programs, facilitating communication, and providing training opportunities in the field of student financial aid services.
Our association has been in existence since 1967. In that time, we have had several name changes, a few constitutional revisions, and a significant impact on training in the financial aid profession.
Credit Card payments now accepted via PayPal.
You must register for your event or membership & have
an invoice number prior to paying by credit card.


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It's pretty much a given that the '90s changed the game when it came to horror films. Take Scream, which was the first example of a sort of meta horror: a film that flipped classic scary-movie tropes [1] on their heads. This week, Deadline broke the news [2] that I Know What You Did Last Summer would be the latest horror reboot. But we kind of feel like it's fine just the way it is. To find out why it's one of those '90s classics that simply shouldn't be messed with, keep scrolling for all the reasons we love it.
The Title Is Just So Quotable
That Dastardly, Totally Badass Hook
Um, Ryan Phillippe's in It, and He's Shirtless
This Perfectly '90s Insult . . .
. . . And This Other '90s Insult
It's Infused With Real Talk
All the '90s Clothes, From the Overalls to the Tied Shirt
Those Classic "Jump Out at You" Moments
It's Still Righteously Gory
It's the Start of the Golden Duo That Would Later Star in Cruel Intentions
Jennifer Love Hewitt's Well-Displayed — Er, Assets
Um, and Let's Not Forget About Freddie Prinze Jr., Either
Classic Horror Tropes, Like Screaming, Dragging . . .
. . . And Chasing
It's Self-Aware
Plus, Ryan Phillippe [3] looks, like, really good in that tank top.


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Papillotte Chicken
|Skinless boneless chicken breast halves
|1 1⁄2 Pound (4 Halves)
|Olive paste
|3 Tablespoon (Green Or Black)
|New potatoes
|12 Ounce (3 Nos)
|4 Small, cored
|Vegetable oil
|1 Tablespoon
|Freshly ground black pepper
|To Taste
|To Taste
1. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
2. Remove the tenderloins from the chicken halves and reserve them for some other use. Rub the olive paste on both sides of each chicken breast half.
3. Cut the potatoes into 1/16-inch-thick slices, and thinly slice the tomatoes. Set four 12-inch squares of aluminum foil on the counter. Lightly oil the center of each piece of foil, and spread some potato slices in the middle; season them with salt and pepper. Cover the potatoes with a chicken breast half, then cover with more potato slices, salt and pepper, and the tomato slices. Wrap the chicken airtight, and set the packages on a baking sheet. Bake until all is cooked through, 30 minutes.
4. When the chicken is done, unwrap the packages carefully (steam will escape when you open the packages). Transfer the chicken, potatoes, tomatoes, and the natural juices to shallow bowls.


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|ISSN 1088-6842(online) ISSN 0025-5718(print)
Six new factors of Fermat numbers
Abstract | References | Similar Articles | Additional Information
Abstract: A new prime factor is given for each of the Fermat numbers , , , , , and . A summary of search limits and recent results is included.
Retrieve articles in Mathematics of Computation with MSC: 10-04, 10A25
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After I watched Helen tonight, it occurred to me that there are only very few films that deal solely with depression.
"Depression is a common mental disorder that presents with depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, low energy, and poor concentration. These problems can become chronic or recurrent and lead to substantial impairments in an individual's ability to take care of his or her everyday responsibilities. At its worst, depression can lead to suicide, a tragic fatality associated with the loss of about 850 000 lives every year. […]
Depression is common, affecting about 121 million people worldwide." (WHO)
So what are the reasons that there are in fact very few films dealing solely with issues of depression? Is it too difficult to portrait (maybe because it's a condition characterised by inactivity)? Or is the subject of depression still too much of a taboo in general?
There are plenty of films dealing with various forms of alcohol/drug-related disorders, psychotic disorders, dementia, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, borderline, self-injuring, suicide, anorexia, autism, social phobia, paranoia, pedophilia, sexual masochism/sadism, etc. but very few about depression per se.
What are some other films that you know of (excluding the Comedy genre – so no Garden State or Royal Tenenbaums please)?
- Helen (2009)
- Prozac Nation (2001)
- …?
This also may not be what you're looking for, but I (and others) find Antichrist to be one of the most interesting expressions of depression ever filmed.
Bob has gone into great detail about this but the short version is this: if Christ is joy, then depression is its absence, and certainly this is a joyless film. The marriage is wrong, their parenting is wrong, their sex life is wrong, their vacation is wrong, nature is wrong—it is the absence of good in life. Chaos reigns.
Polarizing film, I'm aware, but I think often for the wrong reasons.
In my opinion, the best is Louis Malle's Le Feu Follet. I have written extensively about it on this site.
Another that comes instantly to mind is 'Night Mother, adapted from Marsha Normans play. And Rossen's Lillith.
I suffer from bouts of depression myself and Antichrist was a revelation for me . It's difficult to elaborate such my feelings about the film as I feel that I connect with the film on a personal level. von Trier himself suffers from bouts of depression himself, severe enough that he has to be hospitalized. The film is not a vision created from a mad man but one from one that is very depressed.
I've asked myself if I were to make a film in this state if it would it look like Antichrist, filled with primordial fears and scenes of utter desperation. I think the answer is yes.
I cannot criticize von Trier for creating something about his own issues and problems when I myself understand where he is coming from.
I was thinking of Le Feu Follet, but the trouble with this subject is that it's not very sexy, can obviously be a downer. If handled seriously we can be brought to empathise closely and share some of the protagonist's feelings; and if handled otherwise for more diverting effect, well it wouldn't be very credible i expect. Maybe a Woody Allen turn? So little wonder it's less common in films than various other mental health problems
Interesting take by Ben on Antichrist
There's not a whole lot that instantly springs to mind…
I remember seeing a doc a few years ago called A Summer In The Cage which was an excellent document of a seriously depressed individual.
José Luis Torres Leiva's The Sky, The Earth and The Rain also deals with severe depression, and is quite a film (At least I thought so).
I've wondered much the same thing, Grey. I'd be interested to see Helen.
Ben, your post is very similar to the way I feel about Antichrist and the reasons I connected with it.
It's quite painful to have the realization that at 2:00 you cannot sleep because you are suffering from a bout of depression and the only phrase that sums up your life at the moment is "Chaos Reigns".
I didn't laugh at the scene with the fox because it isn't funny.
the swimmer
the razor's edge
the night of the iguana
under the volcano
winter light was a act of therapeutic projection on the part of bergman ,the gradual erosion of his faith ,and a forced reconciliation with his estranged parents made him speculate on an alternative present where he had followed his father into the clergy.the depression suffered by the pastor reflected the indeterminate mental state bergman found himself in at this time. separation by jane arden ,is another film which draws on the writers own conflicted past and present as a source of depression .
But actual depression is not the one which has no apparent cause or at least very "banal" ones?
I wonder if there is a film which depicts this state of mind. We know for certain the cause in Antichrist. The mentioned films belong to this kind?
Laurence Olivier's Hamlet
I felt that Pierrot le fou dealt with depression in some levels, though not as well as Antichrist (which was a revelation for me also, glad I'm not the only one.). Ferdinand's depression is what gets him in his situation, it propels his aimless wandering, his first attempt at suicide, and the only thing that really abets it is Marianne's presence. Once she double-crosses him, he decides to finally end it, even though he changes his mind at the last moment. I felt a theme of depression throughout the film, maybe I'm just grasping at straws, though…
depression m is always rooted in the seemingly banal ,its the accumulation of those banalities along with a predisposition to mental illness that ferments all depression.sufferers from depression are stigmatized precisely because there appears to be little to no reason for their illness.
Antichrist deals with primordial fear as well as depression. Is it a coincidence that Dafoe has his genitals crushed and is then he is bound to a grindstone? People who suffer from depression often have anxiety issues as well. What primordial fear do men have? Castration and bondage. I can only imagine these are an expression of von Trier's primordial fear as a man not all pierced body parts and crushed genitals.
And what of the ending? Women, faces blurred forgotten by time, climb a hill to confront He, the cause of thousands of years of opression.
It's brutal and effective but the von Trier's state of mind is difficult to explain unless you have been in such a state yourself.
If you were to make a film about yourself, your worst fears and how you saw the world in such a state would you not make a film similar to Antichrist?
jane arden the co director and writer not only of separation but also the more theoretical the other side of the underneath, had problems rooted in the realm of the abstract, that found physical expression in alcoholism. she committed suicide in her early 50s.
Depression is a pyschologists term, I prefer to use them term anguish. Sorry I cannot propose any recommendations at this moment, unless of course we were talking about the great depression.
godard ,who we must remember was briefly hospitalized by his farther,has always seemed to possess a manic intensity which has fueled his creativity.his aggression and paranoia towards his friends and associates show the dark side of that mania.
this thread has ground to a premature halt,must be a case of compassion fatigue
I don't think that anyone has mentioned Red Desert yet. It may not have been what Antonioni intended, but Giuliana's inconsolable instability seems to me to have the texture of clinical depression.
Not sure but:
Taste of Cherry
Rocco and His Brothers
Je T'aime, Je T'aime
The World
Prozac Nation
Harold and Maude
The Hours
The Royal Tenenbaums
Love Liza
how about Rosetta?
The Hours
Harold and Maude
Hamlet and Wuthering Heights – depressed almost brooding Olivier
the documentary Boy Interrupted
and for that matter, the film Girl Interrupted
The seventh continent … Michael Haneke
This film made me feel sick, a really sad sad sad story man :(
Germany year zero (Rosselini) truly dark film.
Tokyo Story (Ozu) I don't know if this film is considered to be depressing, but I have been very sad for years by this film, but It is a beautiful sadness, I am aware of more things while I am depressed. Happiness is overrated JA
The Fire Within (Malle) This film is the film of depression.
Land of Silence and Darkness (Herzog) I was depressed of how some people actually live, without any kind of language.
The Cove – A recent film here, I was sick and depressed when I saw the japanese killing those intelligent dolphins, It was like watching a Human slaughter.
Some films actually about DEPRESSION:
In a year with 13 Moons (Fassbinder)
About a transexual who has a life of depression but she has a terrible and sick need of love.
Winter Light (Bergman)
About a depressed priest who really lose his faith in God.
Bangiku (Naruse)
Depressed women in a dark landscape, yes there are causes, but they cannot exit this mania for their broken dreams.
Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions so far! I agree with Kenji, the trouble with this subject is that it's not very sexy. I'll admit, I still haven't seen Le Feu Follet yet, but I will watch it soon. I thought Lillith was more about schizophrenia, but I'll revisit that movie. Night Mother might fit although I wouldn't characterize the role Sissi Spacek played was in state of severe depression. Thanks for mentioning A Summer in the Cage which is more about a bipolar (manic/depressive) person though. The character Hoffman plays in Love Liza is a good example of what I'm looking for (although the film has it's comedic elements). The Sky, The Earth and The Rain looks interesting… gotta check it out.
Helen remains the only film I can think of which shows us an authentic portrait of a person's battle with depression.
[SPOILER] What I liked about it was the fact that there's no reason given in the film as to why the protagonist suddenly suffers from depression (because the cause often remains unknown). [/SPOILER]
One other film that comes to mind, which I forgot to mention earlier, might be Gus Van Sant's Last Days.


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Parmesan Spinach Omelette
|Frozen chopped spinach package
|10 Ounce, thawed, undrained (1 Package)
|Chicken broth
|3 Tablespoon (Either Homemade Or Canned)
|1 Clove (5 gm), crushed
|1⁄4 Teaspoon
|Parmesan cheese
|1⁄4 Cup (4 tbs), grated
|Egg substitute
|2 1⁄2 Cup (40 tbs)
|2 Tablespoon
|Corn oil margarine
|2 Teaspoon, divided
In a small saucepan over medium heat combine spinach, broth, garlic and pepper; cover.
Simmer for 20 minutes.
Add cheese.
Cook for 1 minute or until cheese melts, stirring constantly.
Set aside.
In a bowl combine Egg Beaters and water; beat lightly.
Spray a 10-inch omelet pan or heavy skillet with vegetable cooking spray.
Add margarine.
Place over medium heat until just hot enough to sizzle a drop of water.
Into the heated skillet pour half the Egg Beater mixture.
With a spatula lift the edges of the mixture gently as mixture starts to set so uncooked mixture flows underneath.
Cook until set.
Over half the omelet spread half the spinach mixture.
Loosen with spatula; fold omelet over.
Onto a warm serving plate slide the omelet.
Repeat with the remaining margarine, Egg Beater mixture and spinach mixture.