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Doing his thing, his career on solid ground, Jim Belushi shares cigars in search of a gentlemen's ritual bond.
(continued from page 5)
"Takes me back," Belushi says, surveying the dimly lighted dining room, an unlighted Hoyo de Monterrey in his hand. "It looks like Chicago in here. It reminds me of my Dad's place. It was a steakhouse. Yeah, just like this."
He rolls the Havana, a double corona, gently between his fingers. There is no need to hurry, no need to light it just yet. "I've been out here, off and on, since 1978," he says. "But it took me a long time to let go of my Chicago life. I missed walking the streets, dropping in on people without calling, having places like this to go where you could just hang out. Urban life."
He strikes a match, moves the tobacco toward the flame. "I used to feel like I didn't belong here, like I couldn't be myself." The glow encircles the tip of the cigar. He takes the first puff of the night. "But you know what? You can be whatever you want out here. You've just got to have the balls to do it."
It has taken Hollywood a while to figure out who Jim Belushi is; there were years when he wasn't so sure himself. Was he a comedian, a character actor, a leading man? Was he a talent in his own right or merely John Belushi's little brother looking for a coattail ride?
The last question, of course, was answered long ago. Ever since his twin-shot of reputation-making performances in 1986 (as a gonzo combat photographer in Oliver Stone's Salvador and as Rob Lowe's loutish sidekick in About Last Night) Jim Belushi's path to stardom has been very much his own, a stream of box-office hits that have seen him star with everyone from Arnold Schwarzenegger (Red Heat) to Charles Grodin (Taking Care of Business) to a German shepherd (K-9).
The past 18 months have seen Belushi go from television (in Stone's cyber-weirdness miniseries "Wild Palms") to Broadway (in Conversations With My Father) to three movie projects that will be released later this year: a thriller called Separate Lives; an action/adventure picture called Royce (set to air on cable television's Showtime this summer) and an improvisational film called Parallel Lives.
"There was no script, only an outline," he says, still buzzing from the experience of Parallel Lives that included working with, among others, Jobeth Williams, Gena Rowlands and Liza Minnelli. "I'm telling you, it's the best movie I've ever done. I'm really jacked about this."
The cigar becomes a baton, then a punctuation mark for the excitement in Belushi's voice. "Do you know how fortunate I am? I'm one of the luckiest men around. I've got a beautiful son. I've got a great career. I've gotten to work with great directors--Michael Mann, Oliver Stone, Walter Hill. I've acted with James Caan, Michael Caine. I'm really having a big time."
Then the cigar stops moving. Belushi's voice goes quiet as if he's suddenly remembered something. "But you know," he says, "I've scraped with the devil, too."
* * *
Belushi did get in trouble a lot. Little things mostly—shoplifting, fistfights and, once, a stolen car. "In Wheaton, Illinois," Belushi says, "I was the crime rate."
Growing up in the white-bread, far-west suburbs of Chicago, the middle son of an Albanian immigrant, Jim Belushi had trouble finding his place in the world. His brother, John, five years older and with a fair trouble-making streak of his own, had a flair for the dramatic, a gift for theater and debate, obvious talents that made him the center of family attention. As much as Jim adored his older brother, he sometimes felt lost in his wake.
"I remember my parents had all kinds of articles up on the wall about John," Belushi says, "and I was pissed because my Mom and Dad never put anything up there of mine, even a little piece of bad art. One time John said, 'Well, maybe we'll put one of your warrants up there.' You know what I did? I tore all the articles down. That's the first time he hit me. John really belted me for that.
"I used to tell him, 'Just you wait till I get bigger than you, I'll get you back.' And I did, many years later. I nailed him on Clark Street in Chicago. He was a movie star then, and he kept going, 'Not the face, not the face.' Even then, he charmed my ass, man. I'm like ready for the fight and he's going, 'Gee, it feels like East of Eden.' But I got him. A clean shot, too. And then we went out and had a great time together."
Belushi never intended to follow in his older brother's acting footsteps. He wanted to be a graphic artist or, failing that, take over his father's restaurant. But a high-school speech teacher, impressed by Jim's improvisational abilities ("I had to improvise, because I hadn't done my homework") cast him in a school play. "In high-school drama classes, it's always like six guys and 20 girls," he says, explaining why he first signed on. "Choir was even better: eight guys, 40 girls. I took home-ec, too. I was the only guy. It was great."
But acting quickly became more to Belushi than a way to get dates. "The first time I walked out onstage with an audience, I was dizzy from the adrenaline," he says. That same year, 1970, John was getting rave reviews for his performances with Chicago's Second City improvisational comedy troupe. When Jim Belushi, 16 years old, went to his brother's show, everything suddenly fell into place. "Right after that show," he remembers, "I said, 'I want to be a part of this.' "
When he set his sights on joining Second City (a goal that would take him six years to achieve) Belushi says he didn't think about being measured against his brother's already considerable reputation. "I was too stupid," he says, asked why he chose such a perilous course. "I just went for it."
In 1978, while "Saturday Night Live" was sending John Belushi's career into hyperspace, his little brother was making a name for himself back in Chicago, not only for his work with Second City but for his performance in a new David Mamet play called Sexual Perversity in Chicago. Soon there would be stints in Los Angeles--for a couple of short-lived sitcoms ("Who's Watching The Kids" in 1978 and "Working Stiffs" in 1979), a small role in the James Caan film Thief in 1980 and then, a breakthrough part in the national touring company of The Piratesof Penzance.
The Belushi family's oldest boys, misfits in their hometown, seemed to have conquered the world. John was already a movie star, Jim looked to be well on the way. And then, on March 5, 1982, it all came crashing down.
Jim was backstage, preparing for a Chicago performance of Pirates when he heard the news that his brother had died. He went on with the show, he would say later, because that's what John would have wanted him to do.
There was a time after that, Belushi admits, "when I kind of lost it," years spent struggling with his brother's legacy. The temptation to follow his brother down a self-destructive path was constantly there, and it was a temptation that Belushi could not always resist. In 1983, he took the biggest chance of his professional life, joining the cast of "Saturday Night Live."
"Everybody told me not to do it," he says, "and I wasn't sure what would happen. But all I thought at the time was, 'if they're gonna kill me, then kill me now. If I'm not going to have a career, then let's get it over with, and I'll go back to serving tables at my Dad's place.' "
Although still in an emotional tailspin, Jim lasted two seasons on "SNL." Long enough to get the parts in Salvador and About Last Night that would launch his movie career. The latter was the film version of Sexual Perversity in Chicago, with Belushi reprising the role he'd originated onstage eight years earlier. The film had almost been made once before with Jim's part offered, ironically enough, to John.
"I told him then, I said, 'Don't do this, man. This is my role. I created this.' He said, 'Don't you understand that if I pass on this they're just gonna offer it to Billy Murray. You can't get it.' I told him I didn't care if Billy did it, I just didn't want him to. I said, 'I can't be seen eating a cheeseburger or with a sword in my hand because of you. Stay away from this one.' He was angry. But he turned it down."
After About Last Night, the movie offers started coming in droves, and Belushi turned few of them down. He had his share of hits (The Principal, K-9) as well as misses ("Mr. Destiny," "Traces of Red"). There were attempts to turn Belushi into a leading man, to smooth out his rough edges and make him into another Cary Grant.
"I lost weight; I got healthy and I tried to be something I wasn't," he admits. "What I really like is playing low-status characters, like the guys in Salvador or About Last Night. I want to play darker stuff, street stuff. I want to be able to be who I am. I swear; I smoke. That's who I am, and those are the roles I like."
Still, Belushi, who turns 40 this year—seven years older than his brother ever got to be-—s not apologizing for taking those softer-edged parts. They made him a bankable box-office star, and for that he is grateful. "My father lost his business," he says, "and John, in a sense, lost his business, too. So there was a real fear in me of losing it. It was very important to get a financial base, and I accomplished that.
"Now I have the luxury of taking some chances. When I was younger I had a wife, a child and a brother who was dead. I had a family with no money, devastated. But we survived. Now Dad's on a ranch, paid for. My younger brother's working; my sister's a psychic. My son is set, education-wise, and he's living in Chicago with my ex-wife, so he's not a Hollywood kid.
The double corona is almost gone. Jim Belushi takes a long, last puff. "We're OK," he says. "Everybody's OK."
* * *
Not too long ago, Jim Belushi found himself at a celebrity roast for Billy Crystal, seated between Harvey Keitel and Roger Ebert and thrilled to discover that, for every guest, a Davidoff had been placed on the table. "You don't smoke cigars, do you?" he said to Ebert. "Would you mind?"
As Belushi took Ebert's cigar and began to smoke, Keitel leaned over. "Do you smoke cigars?" Keitel asked. This struck Belushi as an odd question since he was, at that moment, smoking a cigar. "Yeah," he said, slightly puzzled. "I do."
"No," Keitel continued. "Do you smoke cigars?"
"Yes. I smoke cigars."
"And you enjoy cigars?"
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WASHINGTON Macy's announced that it has teamed up with Reading Is Fundamental to launch the fifth year of Book A Brighter Future, RIF's largest customer supported campaign held at Macy's stores nationwide.
From June 30 through July 31, Macy's customers can give $3 to RIF and receive a coupon for $10 off one purchase of $50 or more at any Macy's store nationwide. Macy's said it will donate 100% of every $3 to RIF.
"Our partnership with RIF demonstrates Macy's commitment to worthwhile causes like children's literacy," said Robin Reibel, GVP media relations, cause marketing and visitor services of Macy's Department Stores. "RIF has a long history of providing books and literacy resources to communities that need them the most, and we are pleased that Book A Brighter Future provides the needed funds to support their mission."

subset: commoncrawl


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Retired U.S. Navy. I am one of those guys that people will say don't believe a word I say. Then 5 minutes later when someone asks for advice they say I don't know ask Tilt...hummmm and they it starts all over
Everything. Life is too short not to see it that way


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Laurens wrote:At the time of the Buddha they didn't understand how earthquakes happened. You can't blame him for making such an assumption.
rahula80 wrote:"This great earth, Ananda, is established upon liquid, the liquid upon the atmosphere, and the atmosphere upon space. And when, Ananda, mighty atmospheric disturbances take place, the liquid is agitated. And with the agitation of the liquid, tremors of the earth arise. This is the first reason, the first cause for the arising of mighty earthquakes." (Digha Nikaya 16)
Sanghamitta wrote:But Pannasikhara, even if it could be shown that the "water" referred to was actually magma..which would be jolly convenient for the literal minded, it still begs the same question...We are still left with the notion that the arising or passing of a Buddha causes a disturbance in the earths subterranean magma...
This is quite clearly the world view that arises with Indic myth...not a statement that describes an objective event in consensual reality.
Sanghamitta wrote:I did and was ageeing with you...the "but" was for the benefit of other readers. I was being your stooge.
Paññāsikhara wrote:"Ayaṃ, ānanda, mahāpathavī udake patiṭṭhitā, udakaṃ vāte patiṭṭhitaṃ, vāto ākāsaṭṭho. Hoti kho so, ānanda, samayo, yaṃ mahāvātā vāyanti. Mahāvātā vāyantā udakaṃ kampenti. Udakaṃ kampitaṃ pathaviṃ kampeti. Ayaṃ paṭhamo hetu paṭhamo paccayo mahato bhūmicālassa pātubhāvāya."
Note the terms carefully, as English renditions are approximate.
"vāta" (noun) translated as "atmosphere"
"vāyanti" (verb) translated as "disturbances"
Both are from the same root, vā, which is the root for a number of terms involving air, gas, wind as nouns, but the dynamic sense of movement in general. These terms are closely connected in the Indic languages, but not really at all in English.
This Great Earth, Ānanda, has the characteristic of "water" within it (not 100% stable). This "water" has the characteristic of "wind" throughout it (energy). This "wind" is unsupported (existing in space).
And when, Ānanda, this "wind" is manifesting itself as the great "wind," it is manifested through the "water." This "water" in turn, is manifested through the Earth. That is the first explanation for the arising of mighty earthquakes.
In 2001, the author, R.Maurer (Chartered Engineer, UK) while on a mineral collecting expedition in Bolivia, noted uplifted but undisturbed alluvial sedimentary beds at the top of the Andes near Potosi. Taken together with his finding of new species of fossilised cretaceous fish and stromatolite beds, these observations prompted him to look at the magnitude of the forces involved in lifting the vast Andean mountain range from approx. 3 km below sea level to approx. 8 km above sea- level.
The author (drawing on his engineering expertise) concluded that the forces needed to sustain the unrelenting and uni-directional movements of the continental plates in a conflicting omni directional heated convection current system (based on the Hess Model) was mechanically unsustainable.
The first clue came with the observation that the precession of the equinoxes (Milankovitch Cycles) [Fig.7.], the longer-term cyclical changes in the inclination and obliquity of the central axis of rotation of the Earth taken together with the observed magnetic polar wandering suggested that the Earth was behaving like an unbalanced rotating cylindrical body. A domestic spin dryer with an unbalanced wet load is a good everyday example of an unbalanced rotating system. Vibrations are induced in rotating bodies when the centre of mass is not co-incident with the centre of rotation. In these cases, counterbalance weights are fixed to balance the rotating system. Another simple everyday example is the positioning of balance weight on the wheels of motor vehicles.
retrofuturist wrote:Greetings Rahula,
The Buddha was explaining this in accord with cosmology as it was understood at the time.
Whether he did know, or could have known otherwise, are rather speculative and ultimately unrewarding questions, that are neither connected with dukkha nor its cessation.
Sanghamitta wrote:Which still avoids the central issue Beeblebrox..which is not the mechanics of earthquakes or the earths structure, but rather having arrived at a consensus at the meaning of that science as seen by the ancients..should we arrive at such a consensus which seems unlikely...whether the mechanics, however described, are modified by the arising or disappearance of a Buddha...
dharmagoat wrote:If there really was an understanding in Buddha's time of how earthquakes were caused, why is fire not mentioned? We now know beyond doubt that the interior of the earth is very hot, the understanding being that this gives rise to the convection currents that are ultimately responsible for shifting the tectonic plates around.
Nibbida wrote:The Buddha repeatedly said that all he teaches is suffering and the end of suffering. Anything he might have said about earthquakes, pizza, or microwave ovens is not really of concern. It would be like consulting the Bible for advice on organic chemistry. It's missing the point.
Return to "Discovering Theravāda"
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THREE people suffered from shock after two cars collided in Bromley Cross this morning.
The smash occured at the junction between Darwen Road and Smith Lane at about 7am this morning.
At first it was believed that three people were injured in the incident but it now appears they suffered only from shock.
The crash involved a blue Ford Focus and a white Volkswagen Golf and police temporarily closed a section of the road.
The road has since re-opened and traffic is flowing freely.


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|Recent | Best | Popular
|35.0847, -106.481 View Map Incorrect?
|Page Views:
|Aaron Hobson, Jason Halladay, Anthony Stout, LeeAB Brinckerhoff, Marta Reece, Kristine Hoffman (sitewide)
|Submitted By:
|Dave Wachter on Jan 24, 2006
|Comments on U-Mound
|Add Comment
|Show which comments —
Comments displayed oldest to newest — Skip Ahead to the Most Recent Dated May 6, 2017
By Dave Wachter
Feb 26, 2008
As noted above, there has been an "official" online site for the U-mound for years ( cs.unm.edu/~moret/u-mound.html ), and it's been the only source of info available for those curious about the area. However, the maps and descriptions are sketchy, grades are inaccurate and often do not reflect first-hand experience, and many of the best problems are left out. The info available here should provide a good, and hopefully more reliable, supplement to that guide.
I'm only submitting problems I've done, and trying to include photo illustrations wherever possible. Please add problems! Photos, too. If you don't have a camera, I'll try to get out and snap a pic of the rock for illustrative purposes.
While this section is by no means complete as an area description, it should at least get you through a very enjoyable day at the boulders. I've included many of the best moderates, particularly those which are relatively skin-friendly, and a few harder problems. I'll add more as I get the time - or be my guest and add some yourself. There are plenty of problems not included here, on both ends of the difficulty spectrum, so go out and explore. But beware - there are a lot of sharp holds just waiting to tear your flesh!
Also beware that as the weather heats up, the rock gets slick, especially in the full sun. Feet and fingertips can pop off without warning, and the dark, smooth blobs that sometimes seem to offer a good way off the ground can become treacherous (knee bangers). Also, bugs can be bad in the warmer months, especially in the evening when temps are more tolerable. Better to head up to Big Block or pack the car (cooler, family, dog, etc.) for a trip to one of the many good bouldering areas further north in that case.
I've tried to give fair ratings here, and when possible I defer to consensus of the local boulderering community. So please write in with comments if you think grades are off. My intent was not to give exact ratings for every problem, particularly given the unusual nature of the climbing for many folks in this area, but rather to try to give a consistent, ballpark sense of difficulty. While many of the grades have been softened in comparison with those on the "official" U-mound bouldering web site, they may still seem stiff if you're not used to granite crimping and pebble-pulling (gym rats take note), particularly at the low end of the spectrum.
By The Piker
From: colo. springs
Feb 26, 2009
|FYI these boulders were popular w/Alb.locals during the 70's.Mainly Gerry Feis and Bob Stauch.
By Dave Wachter
Feb 27, 2009
Thanks for adding routes and correcting names, Lee. I'll try to keep up with changes on the topos, etc.
By the way (anybody), there are a few areas that could use some route descriptions - eg, the north side of the Lower Mound and the cluster of boulders south of the warmup (Jack & Jill) boulders - I think they're called "slabs" and the "Andy's 'Mom likes it' boulder."
By Erick "Turtle" Robinson
From: albuquerque,new mexico
Mar 9, 2009
|Just a quick note. The warm up boulder is actually Brett and Jill. Back in the day someone spray painted it across the traverse. It made the left side really slick. I also made the map (110+ problems) for the Shredfest bouldering comp which my friend John Marino and I started 6 years ago. I have copies at REI if anyone is interested.
By sesser125
From: Boulder, CO
Mar 11, 2009
Dave and friends,
Thanks for the tour of the area and adding these pics and descriptions. This place needs to get some publicity, there are some really good problems here. Definitely worth a stop if your in Albuquerque.
By Dave Wachter
Mar 13, 2009
Glad to hear props from the discerning CO community, sesser125. Let me know if you're headed down again, and we'll give you a more extensive tour. Hope you don't mind having your photos posted.
Interesting to hear your opinion that the area could use publicity; I tend to agree. If this area were in CO or a more populated part of CA, I'd want to keep it secret, but here in ABQ, I've yet to experience problems with crowds. Or run into obnoxious climbers that make the experience unpleasant.
By Orlando
Dec 8, 2010
Hey all.
'Tis the season...for foothills bouldering! The rock is sticky, the bugs are gone and sending temps are plentiful.
But on that note, I was up at U-Mound yesterday evening and the rock looked like a friggen star-gazers map; almost every hold and discernible crystal on the more popular problems (read: most-visible problems) had a mondo blob of chalk on it. If you feel the need to tick your holds, especially if it's to put a mega-tick on anything and everything that even resembles a hold, that's cool, we've all done it, but PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE try to remember to brush them off when you're done. Not only is it courteous to other climbers who like to look for their holds, but it also lessens our visual impact on the rock to the rest of the non-climbing community and frankly, some of the problems up there had some serious "visual impact".
And while you're at it; PLEASE PICK UP YOUR TAPE!!! I mean, really people, how hard is it to put your skanky, used tape in your pocket? It's very simple; as you're removing it, don't let go of it until it is in your pocket, pack, chalk bag, whatever. And before you leave, look around and make sure that said tape is still in your pocket, pack, chalk bag, whatever. Easy as V0 and you'll make your momma proud.
So sorry for the rant - let me know if I'm outta line and I'll kill this comment.
Cheers and hope you all have a great season.
By Eric Whitbeck
Jun 25, 2011
|The overview pics are helpful, but a visiting climber would really benefit from a simple topo, if nothing marking each boulder.
By Dave Wachter
Feb 7, 2012
1) West arete of the Brett & Jill boulders (V1 - best warm up at U-mound) - The finishing jug was apparently smashed off with a big rock we found lying at the base. The rock was compact/ smooth and light-colored, clearly out of place next to the grey featured granite of the boulders themselves. We cleaned the problem up as best we could, but what's left is suspiciously crumbly and there's a crack behind the remnants of the jug so the whole thing might come off if you yard on it. It would suck to come off unexpectedly at that point.
2) The corridor problem - A good left hand crimp about 10 feet off the ground has broken and now there's a relatively sharp pinch instead. I suspect somebody smashed that with a rock as well, as it didn't seem like the type of hold that would come off by simply pulling on it. I may be wrong; it's possible that some innocent burly climber may have broken the hold by pulling really hard or standing on it. If that's the case I'd like to know, because a single act of defacement is a lot less concerning than a pattern of such behavior.
By the way, both of these holds were high off the ground but were reachable by standing on adjacent boulders.
We also found a scattering of human excrement and wads of used toilet paper at the base of the corridor problem.
I'm particularly bummed about this because it seems that the U-mound has been seeing a resurgence of climbing lately. The folks we've met out there have been mostly young, enthusiastic, and psyched to try to figure out how to slap and scratch their way up technical granite. Also nice to see some new problems going up, particularly in the V7/8 range, which has not been well represented.
If you see any suspicious behavior please post it here. I can't recommend confronting anyone but at least making it clear that you're watching could put the kabosh on delinquent acts and save a route from destruction.
By William Penner
From: The 505
Feb 7, 2012
Bummer to hear about folks destroying holds.
Dave, where are these new V7s and V8s being put up at U-Mound?
By Dave Wachter
Feb 8, 2012
|Claude has posted a few on this site. Guess I'm not sure they're actually new problems, but I hadn't known about them before. I've also been seeing chalk on some holds that weren't chalked before in other places, such as on the southeast corner of the Brett and Jill boulders and on the north facing aspect of some of the clusters. Not a new mother lode of problems, and maybe I'm off on the grades of some things that aren't posted. Still, it seems like there's more stuff chalked recently than there's been, and some of it seems reasonably hard.
By Eric Whitbeck
Feb 8, 2012
|The U mound takes a beating again. This is another good reason to explore the other areas in the foothills. Far less likely to see this stuff at Simms, Fat City or the Gun. Those areas have better problems as well.
By claude.
From: ABQ, NM
Feb 8, 2012
Dave, I think you're right about the recent additions not really being "new," since it'd be safe to say the vast majority of obvious lines have already been climbed. U-Mound is also full of contrivances, variations, traverse add-ons and what not, that there's always something "new" at least to me any way. I figure people might like to hear about the fun ones.
I think there are still some hard problems/variations that may/may not have not been done already, although most I'd classify as fun rather than must-do-classics.
Like Eric says, there's A TON of great stuff at other areas as well. Check them out if you haven't already.
By Mark Dalen
From: Albuquerque, NM
Jun 23, 2012
|Sounds like Gabe & Debbie have been at it again ...
By Mark Dalen
From: Albuquerque, NM
Jun 24, 2012
More early U-Mound bouldering ...
By Tim Lowry
May 6, 2017
|Hey all, just wanted to give a quick PSA regarding the U-Mound parking lot. We had our car broken into while bouldering at U-Mound, and several locals that passed by the scene mentioned that this was a relatively frequent occurrence. I'm sure it wouldn't be a huge deal if you live in the area and don't have much in your car, but for those passing through like us, I would highly advise covering up everything in your car. Luckily, due to the amount of traffic in the area from hikers and bikers they were only able to make off with a sleeping bag. Otherwise, the bouldering was quite enjoyable.


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'"I never asked for a number from anybody, even Buffalo," McKee said Saturday night. "I just wanted to sit back and see where the marketplace took it. One of the most awkward things is trying to value yourself. So I had no idea. I had an assumption that there was going to be teams out there that would do $3 million, possibly some at $3.5 [million]. But $4.0 [million], who knows? That wasn't something that I'd say I was expecting."'
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Many women are undertaking the challenge of a marathon either as a motivation to get in shape or to take on something new. Physical activity is a healthy pursuit, but marathons are a bit beyond the scope of a normal exercise routine. The intense physical requirements of training and the marathon itself may lead to more harm than good if you go about it the wrong way. In women, overtraining can lead to health problems called the female athlete triad. The following will help you fuel your intense training while avoiding harm to your body.
It is generally not dangerous for women to train for and run in marathons when the training is done right. Evidence shows that marathon runners (and long-distance runners) have decreased risk of :
The more your run, the better your chances of decreasing the risk of these diseases. But, there can be too much of a good thing.
Certain training habits can lead to a particular set of health problems in women known as the Female Athlete Triad. The triad consists of 3 elements that affect your overall health and your ability to become a top-notch marathon runner:
Knowing the pitfalls that can lead to this triad is the best way to stay healthy. Here is more detailed information about the triad.
Disordered eating associated with marathon training is from not eating enough to meet the demands of training. It should not be confused with an eating disorder like anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa where a person deliberately does not consume enough food. Too little food or poor nutrition choices will limit the fuel your body has to function. As a result, your body will need to tap into your own body tissue (like muscle) for fuel. This will impair your body's ability to work at its best and slow your recovery from intense workouts.
Intense training will need proper nutritional support. In other words, your body will need to replace the extra calories that it burns during training. Unrealistic weight or appearance goals can also create bad nutritional behaviors. Work with a professional to help find a balance to your goals. Tips that may help include:
Once good eating habits are established, the next 2 pieces of the triad will be easier to manage.
Amenorrhea varies with the intensity of physical activity. The amenorrhea of the female athlete triad is caused by a combination of too much exercise and lack of adequate nutrition. The intense demands on your body combined with lack of fuel causes hormonal imbalances that can lead to amenorrhea.
There are a variety of other reasons why amenorrhea may develop. Discuss any changes in your period with your doctor. The doctor will need to know about your current training regimen to help determine if that is a factor in the amenorrhea.
Amenorrhea itself may not cause problems but it may be a sign of imbalance. Your doctor can help you find the cause of the imbalance. In addition, lack of hormones (mainly estrogen) can put you at risk for osteoporosis.
The combination of poor nutrition and amenorrhea can also cause changes in your bones. It can cause a depletion in substances that help to build and repair bone. The bone changes can eventually lead to osteoporosis. This increases your risk of fractures. It can be particularly dangerous when bones are weakened in younger women. Women that do not build strong bones when they are young are much more likely to have problems when they are older.
A great benefit to training for a marathon is that you can eat more—in fact, you have to so you can replace all the calories you burn during training. Be careful to avoid this first point of the female athlete triad, and make sure your diet is adequate to meet your body's increased demands.
Make sure you get enough calcium while training, in fact consider adding calcium to your daily routine. Protein and iron are also extremely important. If you are not a vegetarian, lean red meat is a great source of both protein and iron. Vegetarians should look for alternative means of getting adequate iron and protein.
If you are still concerned about low estrogen levels and losing bone density, talk to your doctor about taking oral contraceptives or other hormones. Research supports that oral contraceptives may be associated with increased bone density and less risk of a stress fracture. Oral contraceptives have other side effects, so it is important to weigh out the risks and benefits with your doctor.
The most important thing is awareness. Listen to your body and give it what it needs. If you train right and eat well, you can prevent serious health problems and conquer a few marathons along the way.
American College of Sports Medicine
Female Athlete Triad Coalition
Canadian Resources:
Dietitians of Canada
Public Health Agency of Canada
Fenichel RM, Warren MP. Anorexia, bulimia, and the athletic triad: Evaluation and management. Curr Osteoporos Rep. 2007;5:160-164.
Gabel KA. Special nutritional concerns for the female athlete. [review] Curr Sports Med Rep. 2006;5(4):187-191.
Hobart J, Smucker D. The female athlete triad. Am Fam Physician 2000;61(11):3357-3364.
Long-Distance runners less likely to have metabolic syndrome. American College of Sports Medicine website. Available at: http://www.acsm.org/about-acsm/media-room/acsm-in-the-news/2011/08/01/long-distance-runners-less-likely-to-have-metabolic-syndrome. Accessed July 20, 2016.
Nattiv A, Loucks AB, et al. American College of Sports Medicine position stand. The female athlete triad. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007;39:1867-1882.
Nichols JF, Rauh MJ, et al. Prevalence of the female athlete triad syndrome among high school athletes. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2006;160(2):137-142.
The Female Athlete Triad. American College of Sports Medicine website. Available at: http://www.acsm.org/docs/brochures/the-female-athlete-triad.pdf. Published 2011. Accessed July 20, 2016.
Troy K, Hoch AZ, et al. Awareness and comfort in treating the female athlete triad: Are we failing our athletes? WMJ. 2006;105(7):21-24.
Last reviewed July 2016 by Michael Woods, MD
Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
Copyright © 2012 EBSCO Publishing All rights reserved.
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| Let Jessye Norman put you in the Valentine's Day spirit with this playlist of classic love songs, all of which are part of her "Hooray for Love!" program, which she'll perform in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage on Saturday.
Jessye Norman
Here at Carnegie Hall, we're hoping that your holiday season is filled with happiness and great music! Enjoy this playlist of holiday songs by Carnegie Hall performers—past, present, and future.
Enjoy this frightful playlist, then head on over to our Facebook page and tell us what you think the spookiest piece of classical music is!


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Saturday, Febuary 2, 2013
Postgame Notes
- Saint Mary's won its seventh straight game and moved to 19-4 overall and 8-1 in the West Coast Conference.
- Senior guard Matthew Dellavedova moved into a tie with former teammate Mickey McConnell (2077-11) for fourth on the school's list for career games played with 124. He needs just nine more appearances to tie record-holder Omar Samhan (133 from 2006-10).
- Dellavedova moved to within one start of fellow Aussie Daniel Kickert (2002-06) for first-place on the SMC list for career starts. He has 121, Kickert has 122.
- Dellavedova extended his school records for assists (694), 3-point field goals made (257) and 3-point field goals attempted (677).
- Randy Bennett moved to 21-6 against the Pilots since taking over the Saint Mary's program in 2001-01. He has 20 wins or more in his 12th season against three WCC programs.
- Saint Mary's moved to 13-0 at home this season.
- Saint Mary's defeated Portland twice this season by a combined 57 points. 60-38 in Portland and 77-42 today.
- Dellavedova surpassed David Vann (1978-82) for third on the school's all-time scoring list. Dellavedova has 1,754 and is 92 points shy of second-place Omar Samhan (2006-10) and 120 from first-place Daniel Kickert (2002-06).
- Junior Stephen Holt registered three steals against Portland to pass David Carter (1985-89) for fifth on the school's career list. He has 131 and is three shy of fourth-place Chase Poole (2000-04). Dellavedova is third with 137 and Diamon Simpson (2005-09) is the leader with 174.
- Portland's 42 points is the third-lowest total for the Pilots in the series between the two schools, which began in 1950. In the last meeting between the two teams earlier this season at Portland, Saint Mary's limited the Piots to a series-low 38 points.


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Bunnies are hopping
Updated 12:28 pm, Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Peter Cottontail and lots of his kin are hopping down the bunny trail and into your home as Easter approaches. Sweet birds join the bunny brigade to make the home sing for spring.
1. Bunny plates; $20, set of four, World Market.
2. Bunny and carrot salt and pepper shakers; $10, Pier 1 Imports.
3. Ceramic cabbage bunny jar; $10, Tuesday Morning.
4. Jay Strongwater Sacha boxwood bunny; $1,900, Neiman Marcus.
5. Baccarat Minimals bunny figurine; $130, Neiman Marcus.
6. Bunny-topped cake stand from Martha Stewart Collection; $48, Macy's.
7. Park Birds salad bowl from Martha Stewart Collection; $86, Macy's.
Lifestyle Channel
8. Little Bird elevated platter; $30, Pier 1 Imports.
9. Juggling bunny kitchen towels; $14 for two, Kohl's.


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The Day Ahead: Serious Dents Remain in the Bull Case
The at-large issue this week is the sheer joy the market bulls are expressing after Monday's beat-down. Exuberance oozes from their mouths, their chests red from multiple self-induced poundings. Heck yeah, they are jacked for being correct -- for two days. Strange how this all works, no? Listen, I have no axe to grind with the market. I call this stuff as I see it -- and, to me, the investing landscape is evolving in a manner that seriously dents the bull case.
This doesn't mean the market is poised to go to hell in a handbasket. On the contrary, it places more of a premium on individual stock research, including locking in on key technical levels and doing valuation sanity checks. It also warrants a healthy understanding that the next three months of global macroeconomic data won't completely support present valuations. As these reads trickle into the picture, the market will experience an increasing number of triple-digit red sessions in the Dow and then seemingly get them back -- but not really....459 more words left in this article. To read them, just click below and try Real Money FREE for 14 days.
There's no substitute for a trading floor to get great ideas, so Jim Cramer created a better one at Real Money and blogs there exclusively. We then added legendary hedge fund manager, Doug Kass, with his exclusive Daily Diary and best investing ideas. Staffed with more than 4 dozen investing pros, money managers, journalists and analysts, Real Money Pro gives you a flood of opinions, analysis and actionable trading advice found nowhere else, and allows you to interact directly with each expert.
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'Lindy Ruff isn't a firm believer that they're lucky, "On a consistent front, you've got to earn your breaks. You've got to create enough that they start going your way. You can look at all the posts we hit at home and Pommer's off the post last night, if you're consistently creating those opportunities, they start going your way. You've got to be able to create them game in, game out. A game like last night which I'd call it even, you could say they won on breaks, but I don't think so. We've got to tip the table our way. It's got to be a 60/40 or 70/30 when it comes to the type of chances and the type of breaks you get in a game."'
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An Auckland-based side crushed its finals dream, but ACT Brumbies skipper Ben Mowen believes escaping the Canberra fish bowl will help the Raiders avoid the same fate against the Warriors on Sunday.
The Brumbies only required a bonus point in their final-round clash with the struggling Auckland Blues at Canberra Stadium, but were left shattered following a 30-16 defeat.
Mowen said the pain of that loss will never leave him, and conceded in hindsight there were telltale signs the Brumbies' attitude was lacking.
The Raiders face a similar situation ahead of their final-round game against the slumping Warriors at Mt Smart Stadium, a match they may need to win to book a finals berth should earlier results not go their way.
And Mowen feels playing on foreign soil gives them the best chance of avoiding the heartache the Brumbies are still feeling.
A $17 chance just to make the top eight a month ago, the Raiders have won their last four games.
Canberra is abuzz with their late-season revival, and Mowen said being able to escape the hype was a huge positive.
The Raiders have performed well away from home this year, having won six from 11, including their last three road games.
''As much as you say they aren't distractions in big games, although there's the advantage of playing at home you're also obligated to fulfil your media duties, to look after your fans, people want to stop you in the street and wish you well,'' Mowen said.
''It's always at the forefront of your mind.
''Whereas when you go on tour you can go into the shell of the team, and if guys don't want to talk about the game, they won't.
''Playing at Mt Smart they won't be bothered by anyone, apart from the captain and coach doing media they'll be left alone and the whole pressure [valve] will just release.
''At this time of the year it's probably not a bad result and they can take the siege mentality over there for three days, get the job done and come home.''
The Warriors have lost their past seven games including some serious hidings, particularly over the past month.
Complacency has hurt the Raiders at times after big wins against top opposition, something they've undoubtedly discussed after last week's 34-6 comprehensive victory over Canterbury.
''The Raiders have been in this position a lot more than a young Brumbies side have,'' Mowen said.
''On reflection we were underprepared in our attitude, but from what I've seen of the Raiders they look like they're firing along nicely.''
Mowen said he sensed on match eve that something was amiss before the Blues match.
''I certainly felt at the captain's run we were a little bit off, which is unusual for us,'' he said.
''There wasn't anything wrong with the execution because they're easy signs to look for, it was more the intensity was just a touch down and the talk out a bit.
''I didn't [say anything] because it's a fine balance between getting the guys in the right zone, but you don't want to spook them in case they were a bit quiet because they understood what was on the line.
''It still hurts a lot. I won't ever get over that I don't think, and I hope we don't.''
New Zealand Warriors v Canberra Raiders at Mt Smart Stadium, 2pm. TV time: Live on Fox Sports 2


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Teaching the Power of Place
D.C. schools now have a stronger American history curriculum along with a corps of teachers who are experts in their specialties as a result of an American University-District public schools partnership.
After a three-year grant to boost the quality of American history teaching in District public schools while creating an improved curriculum and cadre of experts in the subject, 60 D.C. elementary, middle, and high school teachers have benefited from the program.
It all happened because of a $964,000 U.S. Department of Education grant put together by Kathleen Franz, an associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences' Department of History, and Adrea Lawrence, until recently an associate professor in the School of Education, Teaching, and Health. Lawrence now teaches at the University of Montana.
"The Power of Place: Landscapes as Historical Texts, a professional development program for the District of Columbia Public Schools," was a cooperative effort with AU as well as George Mason University's Center for History and New Media and officials at several historical sites. The program helps teachers concentrate not just on subject matter but also pedagogy.
"This has been great," Scott Abbott, social studies specialist for D.C. public schools, who supports kindergarten through 12th grade in developing curriculum, said at an July 19 gathering of enthusiastic D. C. teachers on the AU campus. "Our teachers during the school year get a lot of training that's focused on bigger-picture things—general socialized pedagogy, embedding literacy within their classrooms. When we have time over the summer, we can really get in-depth with a historical topic that is very high interest to them and to their students. You can see how excited people are sharing what they have learned."
During the course of the grant, history and education faculty members accompanied D.C. teachers to historical sites in the Mid-Atlantic from Philadelphia to Mount Vernon. The first two years of the program, teachers looked at the power of place in the American Revolution and during the Civil War. This year, classes concentrated on historical sites and the civil rights movement.
At the presentation of curricula they had prepared for the coming school year, 20 D.C. teachers laid out lesson plans and identified resources that will enrich both their classrooms and those of their peers. Class topics included an examination of why racism still exists and the lessons of Rosewood, Florida, a town that was destroyed by white mobs after a lynching; the African American presence in American history; protest marches in Washington and their effectiveness; a history of Dunbar High School; and a look at the slave trade in Georgetown.
During his presentation, Steve Dingledine, who teaches at Benjamin Stoddert Elementary in Glover Park, noted that Stoddert is about a mile north of the Georgetown University campus. Two hundred years ago, at O and 32nd streets, he discovered that there used to be a slave pen, "a place where humans were held in bondage. And then, just a couple of months ago, President Obama spoke on the Georgetown campus, a few blocks up O Street, on climate change. I think that it's very interesting that over a 200-year period people can go from being held in bondage on one block and then 200 years later, as the leader of the free world, give a speech on a totally different subject than civil rights: climate change."
Dingledine said earlier that the Power of Place project had helped him think more deeply about historical research and to use primary sources more skillfully.
That's exactly what program co-creator Franz wanted to hear.
"One of the things we did when we were writing the grant and planning the application was to survey D.C. public schoolteachers about what they thought they needed in American history, because the goal and mission of the grant program was to train teachers in traditional American history," Franz said.
"The fear that gave rise to the grant money [the Teaching American History grants were the creation of the late Senator Robert Byrd] was that social studies teachers and history in general have been pushed out of pre-collegiate teaching in schools, so there was a really strong feeling in Congress that teachers should know American history. We asked the teachers what they wanted to know and they said they really needed a broad survey of U.S. history. And I think we accomplished that. I think they came away knowing more about U.S. history in general, but the secondary goal and accomplishment was they learned how historians work so they can teach those methodologies of what we call inquiry-based learned. We taught them something about U.S. history but also something about how historians work."


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We understand why the SEIU (the union representing county employees) wants to stop Mendocino County from contracting out mental health services. The union's mission to preserve as many county jobs as possible. We get that.
But by suing the county now to stop the contract process, the union's timing is way off and appears to miss two important points.
First, the county has been moving forward with contracting out mental health services for at least a year. Where was the union at the beginning of this process?
Second, the union cannot with a straight face argue that the county is now providing good, or even adequate, or even barely adequate, mental health services. To try to argue in court that a change would somehow damage a healthy system of care is ludicrous.
This county has a long record of failure in delivering mental health services. The time when anyone could legitimately claim that it's all because the state mental hospital in Ukiah was closed and all these crazy people were left wandering around here is long, long past.
When the county closed its mental health lock-up - known as the "puff" for Psychiatric Health Facility - it lost the lion's share of its capability to even try to help the many seriously mentally ill people living here. The county blamed its budget, but we still believe the county simply let it happen because it didn't know how to go about reforming its mental health staffing. Mental health care has suffered ever since.
It's time to let someone else try.
All the union is doing now - and family members of mentally ill people here are telling us this - is prolonging the period of time their loved ones will continue to go without mental health care.


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Four Signature Icons from the First Movie...
United Cutlery, manufacturer of licensed edged and adult collectibles for the entertainment industry since 1981, announces the availability to order replicas from Peter Jacksons highly anticipated film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Each collectible was exactly replicated from the actual film props created by Weta Workshop for the film production, and each piece includes a certificate of authenticity.
United Cutlery's The Hobbit license currently consists of four signature icons from the first movie, "The Hobbit: There & Back Again."
The Staff of Gandalf is his source of power and his primary weapon. The staff appears to be a natural piece of wood, but the crown of the shaft holds something supernatural. Within the crown, the wood has grown around a hollow, white lattice-shaped bulb. The lattice is vaguely Elven in design, and holds a great power. At Gandalfs command, he can cause the crown to illuminate and light his way at night, or to spark a blue flame to ignite fire. The polyresin Staff is 73 overall, featuring finely cast details and authentic hand painted coloring.
Sting, the sword of Bilbo Baggins was found in a troll lair in Rhūdaur. He wielded the sword through most of the quest, famously using it against the Giant Spiders of Mirkwood to save the Company of Dwarves. After Bilbo had slain his first spider he declared, I will give you a name, and I shall call you Sting. The Sting replica sword is 22 ½ overall, featuring a 15 3/8" stainless steel blade and solid metal hilt parts, and an intricately detailed vine adorning the grip.
Orcrist is the valuable and feared sword of Thorin Oakenshield, the Dwarf Lord. In Third Age of Middle-earth, Thorin Oakenshield and his Company of Dwarves came upon a troll lair in Rhūdaur. There, Thorin found an ancient Elven sword named Orcrist, forged by the high Elves of the West, in Gondolin. Thorin claimed Orcrist for his own and vowed to cleave Goblins with it once again. The replica sword Orcrist is 38 3/4 long and features a 25 7/8" stainless steel blade with an etched runic inscription. The hilt is crafted with solid metal parts, simulated gem stones, and an acrylic resin grip dragon's tooth cast from the original prop.
Glamdring, the Sword of Gandalf, famed in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, is back in The Hobbit. The sword named Glamdring was forged by the high Elves of the West, in the hidden city of Gondolin. Glamdring survived, only to be found thousands of years later by Gandalf and his companions. Glamdring is an exquisite example of the height of Elven swordcraft, and a weapon befitting an Elven king. Gandalf claimed Glamdring for his own and wielded the sword through the Quest for Erebor, using it against the Goblins of the Misty Mountains, and later on the quest to destroy the One Ring. The Glamdring sword replica is 47 5/8 overall, featuring a 35 1/4" stainless steel blade, solid metal hilt parts, faux blue jewel inlays, and a genuine leather-wrapped grip.
To order any of these authentic collectibles, visit www.budk.com/hobbit. There are more replicas from The Hobbit films that will be released over the course of each film release, so look for more information concerning these new products from United Cutlery to be first released at BUDK.com.
We are thrilled to return to Middle-earth and continue our partnership with Warner Bros, said Clint Kadel, CEO and owner of United Cutlery. With Peter Jackson at the helm, the two films based on The Hobbit are sure to be a hit. We are very excited to have the opportunity to give the fans a line of collectibles they will love, while at the same time creating a consistent extension of our The Lord of the Rings line.
2013 additions to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings licenses for United Cutlery will include The Sword of Fili, The Sword of Kili, The Helm of Sauron and The Shield of Gondor.


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Digest — July 2005
By Capt. Patrick Sciacca
Sharing the Wealth
|The Canyon Runner crew catches a lot of fish, but unlike some old-school anglers, these guys will tell you where and how.
When New Jersey native Adam LaRosa was a kid, he'd get one day a week to fish with his father. It was usually on a Sunday, and for those precious eight or so hours on the water, all LaRosa wanted to do was catch some bluefish. However, when the enthusiastic kid angler would inquire with captains and locals as to where the fish were biting, no one would give up the 411. Since LaRosa's father was busy working all week, the duo didn't have time to do on-the-water recon. The youngster was frustrated that no one would help out. He promised himself that if he ever figured out where the fish were, he'd share the information with anyone who asked.
Anxious to learn the ropes, LaRosa started working as a mate on Jersey Shore charter boats at age 12. (He tells me he got away with it because he was big for his age and could pass for 15 or 16.) In addition, he went to every fishing seminar he could, taking copious notes and gleaning potential fish-catching leads. And guess what? He started catching fish. Eventually his family went into the charter-boat business, and soon LaRosa was the one being asked where the fish were. He happily shared his information.
Flash forward a few decades. He's still sharing, only on a much larger scale—like with nearly 800 anglers over two days of hands-on seminars. You might say LaRosa has done more than keep that boyhood promise.
I recently checked out an offshore fishing seminar given by LaRosa and the crew of the Point Pleasant, New Jersey-based Canyon Runner charter-fishing team, of which LaRosa is a one-third owner. (His father, Capt. Joe LaRosa, and well-known New Jersey captain Phil Dulanie make up the remaining two-thirds of this operation.) The seminar concentrated on my favorite type of fishing: canyon fishing. That's right, trips to the edge for tuna and billfish.
As modest as this crew is about its pelagic pursuits, there's a reason this seminar in Huntington, New York, attracted a crowd of 325 and an earlier one in Atlantic City, New Jersey, sold out. The crew has logged more than 300 days in the Northeast canyons over the last three years, 1,800 trips to the canyon in total. (The combined time spent at the edge for the Canyon Runner crew exceeds 5,000 days.) Dulanie has more than 1,000 canyon trips during his career as well as the distinction of catching two 1,000-plus-pound giant bluefin in one day. Oh, and the total tuna count for this boat is 50,000-plus. Needless to say, when this crew talked, everyone listened. It was like one of those old E.F. Hutton commercials.
Next page > Part 2: "We love to help people catch fish." > Page 1, 2
This article originally appeared in the July 2005 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.


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Menacing Matchsticks VTrick brain teasers appear difficult at first, but they have a trick that makes them really easy.
You will need thirteen matchsticks for this teaser. Using all of the matchsticks, make the number 631, as the number would appear digitally.
Now, as the fifth Menacing Matchsticks teaser, try to move only two matchsticks to make exactly 5!
You cannot:
Bend or break the matchsticks.
Stack the matchsticks.
Remove the matchsticks.
HintA different viewing angle will also assist you.
Also, look carefully at punctuation.
AnswerStep 1: Turn the 6 into a 0.
Step 2: Turn the 3 into a 2.
View the matchsticks upside-down. You should get 120, or 5! (5 factorial).
What Next?
See another brain teaser just like this one...
Or, just get a random brain teaser
If you become a registered user you can vote on this brain teaser, keep track of
which ones you have seen, and even make your own.
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|Manufacturer's Part Number
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Bicycle Disclaimer
South Lyon Cycle has one of the best selections of in-stock bikes in the area. However, not all models listed are in-stock. We are happy to special order any model of bike or product from our suppliers. Shipping and handling charges, if any, will depend on the product and time of order.
Price Disclaimer
All product information and prices are subject to change without notice. South Lyon Cycle makes every reasonable effort to ensure the accuracy and validity of pricing provided. However, when mistakes occur the correct price at date of purchase will prevail.


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PF rehab continues on at a pace akin to molasses in January where I live. SLOW. I bit the financial bullet and got a monthly pass to the fitness center in the basement of our small town hospital. It's clean, well kept, and not super busy. The purpose: bike riding and rowing machine. These are the only two machines I am supposed to use so that I'm off my feet as much as possible.
I have known for a while but forgot that I love the rowing machine. I love to kayak, canoe, and basically be on the water too. But the rowing machine I really enjoy. I love how it kicks your butt and leaves you gasping for air until you get used to it and find a rhythm (like running). Not to mention it's a super full body workout. It really tones and tightens a lot of places at one time. I worked my way up to 20 minutes on the rowing machine last night! I also did two 15 minute segments on one of the exercise bikes and 100 push ups. I would ride outside as I had been but the temps are quite cold (40's morning and night) along with waning daylight and consistent rain which is typical for us in the fall.
So I'm rowing at least 4 times a week and hope to be up to 30 minutes by next week before i leave for a business trip to Louisiana. Supposed to be in the upper 80's while I'm there. YESSSSS!!!!!!! I plan to act like a solar panel and store up as much warmth and sunshine as I can. I also hope the hotel I'm at has a decent fitness center or maybe the town has something similar to a gym. It's a small town with a huge casino - Marksville.
I have noticed some weird things lately with the PF recovery. One of them is that I've modified my foot strike even while walking on my left foot to minimize the heel contact. Not good. I'm now working hard to force a nature gait and foot strike pattern when walking so that it transfers to my running when I'm ready. Well, when my feet are ready. I'm ready NOW.
I noticed the Strassburg socks no longer help at night. Not to mention I can't sleep with them on now that I need covers at night. When it was somewhat warm in August, I was able to sleep without anything on my feet so the socks didn't annoy me too much. The covers weigh down on my feet and things get all twisted at night.
Last week I traveled to southern Michigan for work and got my gait and foot strike analyzed and was happy to hear that both are quite perfect. I have no perceived imbalances or problems with either. I had them fit me for new running shoes and I came home with my first ever pair of Mizuno's. Enigma 3 to be exact. I like the way they fit very much and how they don't feel heavy or clunky like my Asics normally did which is why I was trying out Newtons and Altras.
New goal is running a test 1 mile on October 1st. We shall see if I'm pain free by then to do it. Maybe I'll try it anyways. My patience is as thin as a spider web thread right now.


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A renal scan is a nuclear medicine exam in which a small amount of radioactive material (radioisotope) is used to measure the function of the kidneys.
Renogram; Kidney scan
The specific type of scan may vary. This article provides a general overview.
A renal scan is similar to a renal perfusion scintiscan. It may be done along with that test.
You will be asked to lie on the scanner table. The health care provider will place a tight band or blood pressure cuff on your upper arm. This creates pressure and helps your arm veins become bigger. A small amount of radioisotope is injected into a vein. The specific radioisotope used may vary, depending on what is being studied.
The cuff or band on the upper arm is removed, and the radioactive material moves through your blood. The kidneys are scanned a short time later. Several images are taken, each lasting 1 or 2 seconds. The total scan time takes about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
A computer reviews the images and provides detailed information about how your kidney works. For example, it can tell your doctor how much blood the kidney filters over time. A diuretic drug ("water pill") may also be injected during the test. This helps speed up the passage of radioisotope through your kidneys.
You should be able to go home after the scan. You may be asked to drink plenty of fluids and urinate often to help remove the radioactive material from the body.
Tell your health care provider if you take any nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or blood pressure medicines. These drugs might affect the test.
You may be asked to drink additional fluids before the scan.
Some people feel discomfort when the needle is placed into the vein. However, you will not feel the radioactive material. The scanning table may be hard and cold. You will need to lie still during the scan. You may feel an increased urge to urinate near the end of the test.
A renal scan tells your provider how your kidneys work. It also shows their size, position, and shape. It may be done if:
Abnormal results are a sign of reduced kidney function. This may be due to:
There is a slight amount of radiation from the radioisotope. Most of this radiation exposure occurs to the kidneys and bladder. Almost all radiation is gone from the body in 24 hours. Caution is advised if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Very rarely, a person will have an
Fulgham PF, Bishoff JT. Urinary tract imaging: Basic principles. In: Wein AJ, ed. Campbell-Walsh Urology. 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2011:chap 4.
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What's your toddler's personality type?
Knowing this could impact your parenting style more than you realise. more
Your baby's skin is very sensitive. It is not necessary to use shampoos, powders, oils, baby solutions, baby soaps or baby wipes. Some products may contain perfumes and other ingredients that may irritate your baby's skin. Simple is best.
Buy a small plastic squeeze bottle with flip top or nozzle from the supermarket. Mix up a solution of warm water and two teaspoons of sorbolene and glycerine cream. Use this with tissues to clean baby's bottom. Do not store - it needs to be made daily.
ALWAYS READ THE LABEL. Use only as directed. Incorrect use could be harmful. Consult your healthcare professional if symptoms persist. Panadol is a registered trade mark of the GlaxoSmithKline group of companies.
This article was created from the Children's Panadol First Five Booklet.
Last revised: Monday, 1 February 2010
This article contains general information only and is not intended to replace advice from a qualified health professional.


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Beth is great at encouraging and supporting the telling of stories that define our family I love the book format to tell stories. It's so easy to bring along anywhere to show others versus a big photo album. It's easy to capture stories with Beth's guidance. Just talk and she does the work of turning that into a great tale.
Tami B
What a wonderful way to tell your wife you love her - your love story in a book for an anniversary present.
Richard Martin (Creative Director fo RB Content Lab)
Your concept of turning peoples' stories into thin books is exciting. I know I'd like to do this for my grandfathers' stories. I see family members doing this for other family members, so the stories remain alive. What you're doing is amazing.
Hailey (project manager at Odd Dog Media)
Beth, Your self-care journal arrived and it is lovely! Thank you so much. I'm taking it with me to Paris.
Liza Modern Art Media
I have money to burn, and it's time I get my stories into a book. Your service is absolutely remarkable because I don't have the time or attention to do this. You're a life saver.
Beth T
Your Inspiration Journal
" was a wonderful way for people to share their stories during my wife's memorial service and now I see how much this book is going to mean to me."
Kevin R
The diverse nature of your well-crafted books opens up many horizons.
Marcia Orland from
I am very impressed with your writing. I see that talent (which you've got to find), you've got it. I am impressed you've connected with me. I believe we'll be very successful reaching people with your book about me and my CD.
The idea is having a passion (using and enjoying what you do so well ) which is your writing. I didn't expect you to capture me so well in sixty- pages. I can't wait to get more books done with you because this book is swingen.
Ronnie Pierce
Famous Jazz Musician
Beth, what a great meeting today. You are such a beautiful soul! I think you are amazing for being willing to allow the space and guidance for people to write their or their family's stories. Yes, you can use my first name to blog about me. Happy Blogging.
Thank you, Beth, for such a powerful experience in telling you a chapter of my story! I think everyone would benefit in sharing their heart in such a raw way. You are a gem to be discovered by so many.
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text:
Atlantic City: The New Las Vegas?
(continued from page 2)
In gaming company boardrooms across the country and in the casino offices of this East Coast resort, the rumblings are in full swing about just what The Borgata, a billion-dollar hotel palace, will do for the once dilapidated but now relatively prosperous gambling mecca.
At first glance, there's no question that the project has triggered a wave of other investments. In a city where no new significant construction had taken place for nearly 10 years, the transformation is startling. There's a $300 million tower of rooms at the Tropicana; a multimillion-dollar pier project at Caesars with shops and restaurants; a new hotel room tower at Harrah's; and three mega-luxury villas for high rollers at the Hilton. The Sands is getting renovated. Claridge, newly acquired by Park Place Entertainment, the operators of Bally's and Hilton, is set to undergo a sweeping renovation and upgrade.
But just below the surface there's a wellspring of skepticism that the new developments can ever alter the basic nature of Atlantic City -- a magnet for a middle-market crowd that produces some of the highest gambling revenues on the planet. Until recently, the 12 casinos in Atlantic City typically produced gambling revenue on par with the 27 casinos on the Strip in Las Vegas. With that kind of performance, it shouldn't come as a surprise that some casino operators in Atlantic City resisted the early stages of The Borgata's development, which by its very upscale concept promised to force other operators into new, and expensive, investments. One big-time player, Donald Trump, threw up obstacles at every turn of the process. While Trump himself is now publicly supportive of the plan, Mark Brown, the president and chief executive of the Trump Hotel and Casino Resorts, is clear about the long-term prospects: "Atlantic City will never be Las Vegas. We just have to make sure we continue to do as well as we have."
Robert Boughner, the chief executive of The Borgata, which is being erected by Boyd Gaming Corp. with an investment from Kirk Kerkorian's MGM Mirage company, isn't ready to accept the status quo, declaring "Atlantic City will become much more of an overnight destination than it has in the past."
Other casino executives echo that sentiment, believing at least in part that the new hotel will expand the market, and begin to fill new direct flights that are planned into Atlantic City's airport from places like Chicago and Detroit and other major cities. But there's less certainty in those executives' voices when they begin to speculate about whether a newly invigorated Atlantic City will draw the whales, the extremely wealthy gamblers from places like Asia or Latin America, or even Silicon Valley and Seattle.
The two visions of Atlantic City exist side by side. No one is willing to gamble that doing nothing is the right answer. But no one is willing to abandon, or even dramatically alter, Atlantic City's traditional appeal to a market that has proven to be so lucrative.
With good reason. A recent visit to Atlantic City on Friday the 13th shows why: the place is mobbed.
"I don't believe in bad luck," says Harry, an 80-year-old high roller from Westchester County, New York, in for his usual weekend of craps. "Bad days, good days, yes -- but not luck." He's taking a dinner break in a restaurant overlooking the baccarat tables. With him is Tom Fiore, the Taj's senior vice president for national marketing -- the guy who gets to schmooze premier players like Harry, making sure they bring their business to the Taj and enjoy every amenity there, except winning too frequently.
Winningswise, says Harry, this hasn't been a good year. So it helps that the penthouse suite -- with panoramic views of the Boardwalk and the ocean that almost make Atlantic City look attractive -- is free, along with the vintage French wine, the briny oysters and the thick porterhouse steaks done pink, just the way he likes them. Harry deserves regal treatment. "Eighteen years ago, he was placing $25 bets," explains Fiore, 39, who has choirboy looks but gains a decade in toughness when he talks shop. "Now, he's up to $10,000 a roll." Fiore is tired. He's just flown back from the Midwest, where he visited a 68-year-old player who lost a million dollars after 31 straight hours at the Taj's blackjack tables. "Wonderful guy -- I just wish I could have spent more time with him," says Fiore. Harry's response: "Yeah, so he can come back and lose another million."
Harry usually flies here on a plane chartered by the Taj. But most of the nearly 34 million annual visitors to Atlantic City arrive by ground transportation, about a third of them by bus. These visitors are just plain folks like the widows Dotty and Mary Lou from Brooklyn, who twice a month spend a day here (a three-hour bus trip each way and five hours in the casinos). It's a Tuesday morning when their motor coach, packed with aging blue-collar and barely middle-class men and women of every race, crosses the bridge into New Jersey. For the next two hours, there is silence aboard. But then from the wetlands, a flock of white herons explodes into flight above billboards of Johnny Mathis, Barbara Mandrell and other perennials of the gambling circuit. The towering casinos, incongruously large for a city of 39,000 inhabitants, come into view, and a buzz of excitement stirs the bus for the final 30 minutes as gamblers talk about their favorite slot games and their budgets. "We won't lose more than $50 apiece," says Dotty, 76. "If the money's gone, we'll walk the Boardwalk until it's time to go home." She and Mary Lou play only the slots because they are too intimidated by more experienced players at the card, roulette and craps tables. The bus pulls into Bally's. Instead of a "player development exec," a "greeter" climbs aboard and hands out bonus packets of free-meal slips and coins for the slots.
A quarter-century after New Jersey legalized gambling, Atlantic City is itching to morph into a classier gambling mecca that will attract more Harrys and fewer Dottys and Mary Lous. But the simple reality that Atlantic City already has nearly as high gambling revenues as Las Vegas makes everyone a little nervous, and more than a little protective of the status quo.
"When I tell people this -- even smart businessmen -- they look at me like I'm crazy," says Donald Trump. "So we have to be doing something right."
But Las Vegas, as Trump well knows, makes almost half of its total revenues in nongambling operations -- hotels, food and beverage, entertainment and shopping -- while the comparable figure for Atlantic City is only 20 percent. "We have to redesign ourselves like Las Vegas did and become more of a destination resort," says Speros A. Batistatos, president and chief executive officer of the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority. That means many more hotel rooms, activities that can attract nongambling family members, and a lot more flights into Atlantic City's vastly underused airport. It also means overcoming a deep-seated image problem as a second-rate town. "If there were a slogan for Atlantic City," says Jason Ader, a gaming, lodging and leisure industry analyst for Bear, Stearns & Co., "it might be the words of comedian Rodney Dangerfield: ëI don't get no respect.'"
It is in light of Atlantic City's tremendous desire to be taken seriously as an eventual Vegas-style destination resort that the campaign mounted by casino operators and other boosters can best be understood. Decayed housing and similar signs of urban blight have been demolished and replaced with $200 million in new, publicly subsidized residences and green spaces. The entrance to the city has had an $85 million makeover so that visitors are now welcomed by waterfalls and fountains and a 90-foot-tall laser lighthouse. A $268 million convention center, second in size only to New York's Jacob Javits Center in the Northeast, opened four years ago. And this past July a $330 million tunnel was opened, considerably easing traffic flows.
In terms of private investment, the most visible evidence of a new era will be The Borgata, a casino resort jointly owned by Boyd Gaming and MGM Mirage that is scheduled to open in the summer of 2003. The Borgata hopes that it will attract more upscale players than the usual Atlantic City casino resort. "We did a lot of market research and focus groups," says Boughner, The Borgata's boss. "What we heard at all levels was that people wanted to trade up." They wanted more hotel rooms, better meals and shows, even luxury goods stores -- in short, something to do in Atlantic City besides gamble.
The public clamor, apparently, was so great that The Borgata redrew its blueprint, almost doubling its hotel space to 2,010 guest rooms, raising a rose bronze, 40-story tower and fitting in 11 restaurants, a spa, boutiques and three acres of gambling space. Even before ground was broken, The Borgata -- which means "hamlet" in Italian -- had outgrown its name and its original Tuscan village theme. "We now see its design as a juxtaposition of traditional Tuscany and modern Milan," says Boughner, who has hung a framed motto on the corridor wall outside his office that reads: "The chief enemy of creativity is 'good taste.' "
Boughner, a brawny 48-year-old New Yorker who headed to Las Vegas as a teenager and stayed, talks with the MBA vocabulary that casino operators affect nowadays. When he remembers the magic moment that persuaded him to become a casino executive -- the very first time he emptied the slot machines at a Vegas hotel -- he makes it sound like an accounting experience: "I could see the economics of this business was pretty compelling." To explain why Atlantic City casinos must be prepared to invest money in classier boutiques, restaurants and entertainment, even though returns from these luxury businesses will be less than those from gambling, Boughner uses the analogy of a supermarket. "Snack foods provide the highest profit margins and the butcher section the lowest," he says. "But unless you deliver the entire retail experience, you risk losing customers. If you don't offer sirloin, you won't get a chance to sell the Doritos."
Perhaps because he has seen cycles of growth and stagnation in Las Vegas, Boughner views the desert casino capital as something less than an infallible model for Atlantic City. He thinks the image of Vegas as a family destination is overblown. The amusements and nurseries created for young children are gone or going. "Strollers and rollers don't mix very well," he says. Rather than repeat Vegas's mistakes, he believes that Atlantic City should aim for a different family clientele -- baby boomers who will invite their aging parents for a two-day gambling and spa experience at a place like The Borgata.
For a long time, Trump was The Borgata's personal nemesis. For two years, his lawsuits delayed the tunnel project on which The Borgata's construction was predicated. Trump claimed he opposed the spending of municipal and state money on a project that would directly benefit a casino -- an interesting piece of reasoning since his own three casinos along with those of other operators have long benefited from tax breaks and public projects. Probably a stronger motivation for Trump was that his arch rival, Steve Wynn, the Vegas casino king who was planning a Mirage resort called Le Jardin Palais next to The Borgata, would have been the prime beneficiary of the tunnel. Also, Trump's casinos are burdened with so much debt -- $1.7 billion in junk bonds and other high-interest loans -- that after debt service little is left over from gambling revenues to carry out the expansions necessary to compete with amenities offered by The Borgata or the casino resort Wynn had in mind.
But Wynn is no longer a problem. Last year, his Mirage Resorts Inc. fell victim to a takeover by Kirk Kerkorian's MGM Grand Inc. hotel-and-casino empire. The merged company, MGM Mirage, which is trying to digest its $6.4 billion acquisition, decided to suspend Wynn's Atlantic City project and instead assume Mirage Resorts' responsibility in its joint venture with Boyd Gaming to develop, manage and operate The Borgata, a deal entered into in 1996. Nowadays, Trump sounds unconcerned by the prospect of new competition. "The Borgata is a plus for us because new people will come down to Atlantic City," he says, in an interview at his Fifth Avenue headquarters overlooking New York's Central Park. "Then those people will look around for a place they really like. So, I think everybody will be hurt initially, but our properties are so spectacular that we'll end up having more business than ever."
Until now, Trump has used his charisma to gain a business edge over competitors. The other casino operators are anonymous executives who are more comfortable making pitches to institutional investors than glad-handing high rollers. Only Trump has the public profile and chutzpah to put his name on his casinos and his face on billboards. When prospective premium clients refuse to take cold calls from Tom Fiore, the Taj player development executive, he can prevail on Trump to phone them personally and invite them down to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach for a weekend. "We had maybe the biggest blackjack player in the country here last night -- he came all the way from California," says Fiore. "And Donald called three times just to make sure he was having a good time." The guy, who lost an undisclosed amount, left behind $81,000 in tips, according to Fiore.
Of course, Trump, who also has a sizable real estate development business to run back in New York, doesn't have the time to call more than a few players. But Fiore has methods of his own to attract premium players. He has enticed several of Harry's high-roller friends over to the Taj, including a real estate developer who will put up to $200,000 in play in a single evening. On the edge of the baccarat pit, Fiore points out a middle-aged New Yorker in a cream and gray outfit. "He's been coming to Atlantic City for years, and I finally got him over here for the first time tonight," says Fiore. "He's a $40,000-a-night player. I say, forget the million-dollar guys and go for 100 like him who will play 10 straight hours." Given time, the house always wins.
At a blackjack table, Fiore greets another player, whose pile of chips is undergoing a serious meltdown. The man complains that the suite he had taken for his father and himself hadn't been cleaned when they showed up that afternoon. Fiore promises to investigate, and then does a double take when he notices the guy has a dirty fork sticking out of his shirt pocket. "Gamblers can be hard to figure," he says as he walks toward the craps tables. "I mean, they'll put all this money in play and yet they wouldn't consider shelling out $500 for a good suit." He greets Harry, who is $31,000 down. To cheer him up, he gives him a baseball autographed by Derek Jeter.
Last year, Atlantic City took in $4.3 billion in gambling revenues, and the Taj led all casinos with $552 million. This explains why the Trump people are a lot less keen about transforming Atlantic City than the other casino operators, most of whom own properties in Las Vegas as well. "We do very well -- we crush some of the casinos in Las Vegas," says Brown, the Trump Hotel and Casino Resorts CEO. "People go to Las Vegas with a different mindset than here. They're on a three-, four-day vacation. Most people come to Atlantic City for a few hours; they gamble, eat and then go home. I'm not sure we should change to be more like Vegas. We should be ourselves."
This is the sort of smugness that Batistatos, the convention boss, finds annoying. "We're not nearly as far along as we should be as a destination resort because for years we suffered from a lack of leadership," he says. "There was a perception that all we had to do was build the casinos and the rest would fall into place. Nobody stood up and said, 'That's not enough.'" Batistatos reels out a vision of Atlantic City as a "smaller, friendlier, more ethnically rich version of Las Vegas," where people will rediscover the Boardwalk and the beaches, appreciate a history that includes the Miss America Pageant and the early careers of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, and take advantage of deep-sea fishing, sailing and nearby golf courses.
But Batistatos's vision seems a bit of a mirage when one considers the insurmountable obstacles posed by limited plane connections and the acute shortage of hotel rooms. Atlantic City's airport may have one of the longest runways in the world, as its boosters always claim. But aside from a few flights from Florida and the Midwest, the latter route just started this year, there is no regularly scheduled air service, and major airlines refuse to consider making Atlantic City a destination unless the casinos guarantee to buy blocks of seats. That's an idea whose time hasn't come. "We don't have 50 people from, say, Cleveland coming in every day," says Brown.
Then there's the problem of where the airborne newcomers would stay, anyway. In 1999, only 4.2 million hotel room nights were available in the Atlantic City casinos for their 37 million visitors. By comparison, approximately 32.8 million room nights were available on the Las Vegas Strip for 33.8 million visitors. Atlantic City hopes to increase its 16,000 hotel rooms to about 20,000 in the next four years. But that won't be nearly enough to turn the place into an overnight destination. Favored customers -- that is, heavy gamblers -- account for the 94 percent occupancy rates at the Atlantic City casino hotels. That ratio isn't likely to change. Even The Borgata's 2,000-plus rooms will be mostly turned over to what Boughner calls "enthusiastic players."
An increasing emphasis on identifying and courting the loyalty of heavy gamblers -- known as "avid experience players" or AEPs, in the anodyne business language of the casino world -- is marking the emergence of a "new" Atlantic City more so than plans for new hotel rooms and scheduled flights. In terms of zeroing in on such high rollers, no casino does a better job than Harrah's. Five or six years ago, Harrah's became concerned about slowing revenue growth among its 22 casinos spread across the country. Management decided that ways had to be found to pry more dollars from the avid experience players -- those 20 percent of gamblers who account for 80 percent of revenues. A computerized database was set up to track the 19 million people who have bet in a Harrah's casino. "Now we know our customers' preferences: what kind of games they like, what food they prefer, what shows they want," says Tim Wilmott, the eastern division president of Harrah's Entertainment. "And based on this player preference information, we drive all our marketing." So, a decision was made to end all busing to Harrah's Atlantic City casino because lower-income day-trippers like Dotty and Mary Lou were taking up too much time on the slots.
"We operate our business with the mantra that all customers aren't created equal," explains Wilmott. The mantra is enshrined in what Harrah's calls its Total Rewards Program. Operated along the lines of a frequent-flyer mileage program for airline passengers, the program rewards the heaviest gamblers with access to VIP lounges, star-studded entertainment, gourmet items in Harrah's restaurants and access to more secluded spaces on the gambling floor, with "Diamond Card" customers getting the quietest, most exclusive precincts. But with privileges come responsibilities: avid experience players must gamble often enough at Harrah's to avoid losing Total Rewards Program points; if their attendance at Harrah's drops, the assumption is they are giving business to competitors. "We create certain penalties that will exclude customers from better services and privileges if they split their gaming budget with other casinos," says Wilmott. It can be embarrassing for a couple to be told by the smiling hostess at the entrance of the Diamond Card space that she's awfully sorry, but they've lost their rights to gamble with the elite.
Curiously, slots account for almost all the gambling at Harrah's, even in the snootiest Diamond Card spaces. When New Jersey legalized gambling by popular referendum in 1976, the state decreed that no more than 75 percent of gambling space in the casinos could be turned over to slots. This was because the gaming tables, which are devoted to cards, roulette and craps, were thought to project a more classy aura -- worldly European or exciting James Bond images of skilled opponents going mano a mano against each other and the house. Slots, on the other hand, evoked the dumb luck of a lonesome gambler, mindlessly pouring coins into a machine.
But the recent relaxation of the 75 percent limit reflects the reality that most gamblers prefer slots. Even at the Taj, which generates the highest table wins in Atlantic City, slots account for 62 percent of revenues. Casino operators insist that it isn't a question of the dumbing-down of players, but rather a result of the increasing sophistication of slots. The old one-armed bandits -- with three reels of fruits or numbers operated by a spring-loaded mechanism attached to an outside handle -- are long gone. In their place are computer-operated reels offering top jackpots that can result from one of a billion possible outcomes. This allows a casino to tender six- and seven-digit-dollar prizes that will attract bigger bets. Slots have also been made more entertaining with bonus games featuring video and audio clips from old television shows like "The Addams Family," "I Dream of Jeannie" and "Jeopardy" that have a nostalgic appeal for the 50-somethings who account for much of the business. And the more recent slot machines include bonus games like "Battleship" that offer the illusion that a player's strategy and skills might affect the outcome.
But slots are still a matter of dumb luck. "Regardless of what the scam-artist books may say, there is no way for a player to affect the outcome of a normal slot machine," writes Frank Legato, one of the leading gambling analysts, in a recent issue of Casino Player magazine. Nor are payback percentages a function of any one game's programming, adds Legato, but rather "they are a result of casino policy." In Atlantic City, casino policy has turned the local slots into some of the stingiest in the United States. According to Casino Player's Slot Chart, Atlantic City slots average a 92 percent payback, while those on the Las Vegas Strip have a 95 percent payback.
The beauty of slots for casino operators -- and for the institutional investors that look closely at their bottom lines -- is their predictable cash flow. Junkets for high rollers can bring 35 percent profit margins and gaming tables will average 15 percent returns. But high rollers on a winning streak can ruin a monthly or quarterly earnings report. It's so much more comforting to count on an 8 percent take, day after day, year after year, from slots.
So, the Atlantic City casinos are basically slot machine palaces. The trick for operators is to give them each a distinct personality that will attract a profitable market segment. The Trump properties have decided to draw customers who identify with Donald as a high roller in real life. Harrah's wants big gamblers who are upscale enough to drive up in their own cars, as opposed to the hordes who come by bus. The Tropicana is planning New York-quality restaurants and West Coast-like nightclubs to attract a younger, hipper crowd.
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