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IRCS is a great school. My family's experience has been with the middle school and high school. The teachers are excellent and are very knowledgeable in their given subject area. The sports and fine arts programs are first class. Each year high school students are offered an opportunity to do a mission trip. It really makes a difference in a young person's life. The school leadership is very approachable and makes decisions on what is best for the community.
I am a proud parent of an Indian Rocks Christian Middle School student. This is our second year there and I can't imagine my daughter being at any other local school. The teachers go out of their way to make learning fun and are always available for any extra help if needed. The campus is gorgeous and there is an extra curricular activity for every interest from bowling to football. The student body is kind and respectful to each other & staff. Most importantly, my child is safe in an enviroment that is secure.
Indian Rocks Christian School (IRCS) is an outstanding school that offers rigorous academics, athletics, arts, music, etc., superimposed upon a bible-based curriculum. This is a rare jewel in Pinellas County, especially in this day and age when God is stealthily being removed from the classroom. History reveals that early intellectual education that led up to (Ivy League level) was primarily bible-based & other academic subjects were built upon this foundation. IRCS has many graduates that have gone many highly competitive colleges as well as into the Ivy League-- IRCS recognizes that education and character building starts at home with parents/caregivers who are intentional about their children's academics & spirituality, the direction of their lives after college, and their impact and influence in society and the world. IRCS offers a Christian-based, scientific-factual-responsible education that not only prepares students for college and careers. it prepares them for life and beyond. All that is academic, scientific, artistic, creative, and athletic, is just a derivative of the biblical -- Just ask God.
Unfortunately, this school puts the priority on the "bible" vs. any actual needed education. If you really want your kids to go out into the real world and try to get a job while stating that Noah had dinosaurs on the ark, then this may be the school for you! Just don't expect your child to get into an Ivy-league school or gain any sort of scientific-factual-repsonsible education. They graduate from IRCS and go directly to fast food service.
IRCS has been my home now for 15 years and my husband and I have never given thought to belonging anywhere else before. There is comfort in knowing that the staff you teach along side each day genuinely cares about each other. And their love and concern is for both staff and students alike. Our two children have attended IRCS since kindergarten and I believe it is because of the staff that we have continued to raise them here. I believe in IRCS and will continue to support the goals and direction that our administration has for our school. There is assurance in knowing God has a plan for my family and that IRCS is a part of it!
Our daughter has been at IRCS for 13 years and we have never regretted our choice to make the sacrifice to send her there. We are extremely satisfied with the education she has received and feel it has prepared her well for college. Dee Bates, the MS/HS guidance counselor, has always made herself available to help our daughter make informed decisions regarding class selection, dual enrollment choices and college prep tests. Additionally, and most importantly, the administrators and teachers have always made us feel that our daughter's future matters.
My three children have attended Indian Rocks since pre-school and thrive in academics, sprirtually and personally. My son just graduated and did not want to go to another school when given the chance. He liked how he was challenged both academically and spiritually by the teachers and coaches. All three of my kids feel safe and comfortable - they actually WANT TO ATTEND SCHOOL. They thrive because the teachers really do care about them and that goes a long way. My oldest daughter did try public school one year and regretted it for many reasons and missed the teachers and coaches. She is back again at IRCS, happy and is thriving and planning for college. I would not have them go anywhere else.
I graduated several years ago. I am thankful to the Lord that I was blessed to be able to attend this school. Wonderful teachers.
We Love IRCS! Here's why... Our three children have attended IRCS since kindergarten. Our son is a senior this year, one daughter a freshman and the youngest now in middle school. IRCS has prepared our son for college in many ways; Duel credit college courses, AP and honors classes, SAT/ACT prep class, practice ACT's/ SAT's and a challenging academic course track. He has excelled in athletics as well and will participate in track and cross country in college. He has had the opportunity to serve in countries around the world through our school's mission program every year in high school. The best part of it all is that my children are in a Christian environment with teachers, coaches and staff that really care about every child. I know my son is prepared for his future education and my daughters will be too. Yes, I have sent my children to only one school their entire lives, but I didn't do it with blinders on. I have explored other educational options like the IB program, magnet programs and high school collegiate programs, but I always come back to this... my kids love their school. That speaks volumes to me.
I LOVE IRCS! My kids went here from Kindergarten through graduation. The teachers and staff are wonderful, smart and very caring. There is something for everyone whether in the Arts department, sports, media, etc. When my son was at a University he thanked me for sending him to IRCS because it really prepared him for college. There is a diversity of students that attend. It doesn't matter what your race or religious background is you are made to feel welcomed and loved. You are taught straight from the bible not by religion, fair and equal. For HS they offer a lot of dual credit and AP classes. The Elementary school is wonderful! I always felt that my children we very safe and secure. All the teachers really care about the students! The discipline is pretty strict which I appreciate. When you spend this much money you don't want disruption in your classes. If you want an awesome education and wonderful friends for your children this is the place to be! If you have problems with your child this is not a place for them to be "straightened out"! The teachers are busy teaching and the students won't put up with it! Even though it was a sacrifice to send our kids here it was worth!
My daughter has attended IRCS since VPK and she is in 1st grade now. Instead of helping her in areas she struggled in, they are asking her not to come back to the school. Are you serious? This is what you do to a child that is struggling instead of helping them. Do not recommend this school! They are all about money!!!
If you attend the church and you are committed to the specific theology, this school may be for you. If you do not get excited about the church, and do not have teachers (who must attend the church) as friends, you probably can do better elsewhere. The pricetag is high for a school that sends most of its college bound students to SPC. Preferential treatment is rampant. This is also so in the public schools, but you can experience that for free in those schools. I see a lot of positive interaction between teachers and parents, but that is very selective and is not an across the board event. For a Christian school that costs $9000 per year with less than superior teachers, I don't think you get what you pay for academically or spiritually. You do however get a safe environment relative to the public schools and the opportunity for extracurricular participation in your child's field of interest regardless of skill level based on the school's relatively small size. The school may be for you, but it may not. If I had it to do over again, I would not send my kids here because the Christian example in general and academic aptitude of the teachers is lacking for the price paid.
We could not be happier with our choice for our daughter's school. IRCS has a caring staff and a challenging curriculum that is preparing our daughter for college, and helping her grow in her Christian walk. The school has great lines of communication with teachers & staff. They are easily approachable & respond quickly. Top-notch value for what we are investing in our child's future
This is our family's second year at IRCS and our kids and my wife and I love the education they are recieving! My wife is a teacher, and I'm a pastor, so we've been around education, and Christians education, for over twenty years. The kids at IRCS are revieving a great education in a godly environment. The administration and the teachers not only have outstanding qualifications, but they also care about the kids. All three of our kids, grades 7, 8 and 12, are also involved in sports and band. Their leaders and coaches do a wonderful job instilling character values through these activities. Bottom line, we are so blessed that our children can go to IRCS!
We love IRCS! The kids are recieving a great education. They offer AP, advanced classes and dual enrollment for highschoolers. The teachers are very helpful and do a great job of preparing our students for college. Additionally they are purposeful in teaching students to serve the community and the Lord through service learning projects. While in highschool they take out one week a school year to take students on missions trips. Students can stay in the country or go out of the country on these trips. We love the well rounded education our students are receiving here at IRCS.
Ive been attending IRCS since Kindergarten and I graduate in 2 years. I have really begun to appretiate what makes this school different. The teachers, coaches and teachers/coaches are definately the best. They put in so much more than what they are paid for and I now know they truly love their jobs. As far as the students go, you get out what you put in. If you come, dont have preconcieved notions about Christians. Unfortunatly some parents think IRCS is a school to send their kids who dont want to put in any effort towards acedemics. Those parents think IRCS is a school that will "straighten out" their kids. Please, send your troubled kids to CCC or Faragut, if they need discipline. If you want a great Christian education with the best coaches and teachers, send them here
IRCS is an awesome school! The teachers and staff are caring, supportive and encouraging. The facilities are secure,and the technology used in and out of the classroom is state of the art. The coursework is challenging and the variety of courses offered is numerous; including dual credit, honors and AP courses. The students can participate and excel in any number of extracurricular activities. Our twin girls have grown in their relationship with the Lord and enjoy the school mission trips offered to the high school students. The investment in our girls' education at IRCS has been worth every penny!
We have three kids at IRCS and couldn't be happier. The school feels like an extension of our family. God is at the center of so much that they do. I am proud to see my kids growing in their relationship with the Lord and getting a quality education as well. The tuition is very reasonable compared to other Christian schools, the facilities are excellent and the teachers truly care about the kids. I look forward to my graduating for IRCS in the years to come.
I am currently a student at Indian Rocks; The teachers are amazing and really love what they do. The students, on the other hand, are just plain mean. They are cliquey and not accepting at all. They both physically and mentally abuse younger classmates. The teachers talk about the problem but don't take any action. At Indian Rocks you will get "points" for almost anything like not getting something signed or being "unprepared" for class. If you are being beat up by another student then they fail to do anything. I do not recommend this school to anyone! I feel bad for all of the kids who have to go through the abuse that they receive at this school. We are looking to transfer schools.
The staff and administration are just a phone call or email away, they always answer promptly. The academics are challenging and well-suited for each interest level. The fine arts program is excellent and the athletics program has numerous sports to choose from. The facilities are secure and very well maintained. I love that throughout the years, no matter what grades my children were in, they were on one campus. Christian character and valus are not only taught, but shown daily through the staff and administrators. Chapel services are wonderful. We love IRCS!!
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The Community Rating is the school's average rating from its community members (e.g., parents, students, and school staff). The highest possible rating is five stars; the lowest is one star.
12685 Ulmerton Rd
Largo, FL 33774
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I'm not saying I think ND should go "green" with pot. In fact, with the old folks that run our state, I doubt it will ever happen. However, it's working out real nice for Colorado. Somehow they believe that they could earn more than $100-million a year when it's all said and done.
And, don't forget, North Dakota House Majority leader, (A Republican of course-who isn't,) thinks that we make too much money in our state already. Remember when he asked Joel Heitkamp, "how much more than $5-BILLION do we need?" That was when he was in favor of offering corporate welfare to the oil fat cats in Texas and Oklahoma. Remember? We have it on tape.
By the way, while talking with Herr Carlson I mentioned that there was no scientific evidence of medical harm done by marijuana. I said that after he likened smoking tobacco products to marijuana. When he heard my assertion, he said, (wait for it...) "SMOKE IS SMOKE." Obviously, an unenlightened member of the H of R. Oil car blaze smoke is the same as marijuana, cigarettes, chimneys and smokestack effluvium. They're all the same. Smoke is smoke. Hmmm. Nice try Al.
Anyway, the point is, there might be another way to make more money for our state. Look what Colorado is up to....IF YOU DARE....

subset: commoncrawl


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After scandal, what's next for Wal-Mart?
The company faces a slew of legal and commercial repercussions in the wake of a report alleging that its Mexican unit paid $24 million in bribes to local officials.
Worse still, the report alleges that top executives in the U.S. covered up the bribes when a whistleblower brought them to light in 2005, instead of coming clean to U.S. and Mexican authorities. Some of the executives involved have since risen to the top of the Wal-Mart ladder, including CEO Michael Duke, who in 2005 was named the head of Wal-Mart's international divisions.
Here, a look at what Wal-Mart faces in the future:
1. U.S. authorities will go after Wal-Mart aggressively
The Justice Department may treat the Wal-Mart scandal as "a prominent case to demonstrate the need for vigorous enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act," which prohibits U.S. corporations from bribing foreign officials, says Peter J. Henning at The New York Times. The government encourages American companies to disclose possible violations of the law, and rewards their honesty by reducing fines and dropping criminal charges. If the Justice Department finds that Wal-Mart did cover up the scheme, it could come down even harder on the retailer.
2. The investigation could spread to other countries
Wal-Mart "faces an uphill battle to convince U.S. regulators that its problems are confined to Mexico," say Jessica Wohl and Carlyn Kolker at Reuters. Wal-Mart has major operations in Brazil and China, and is banking on emerging markets in India and Africa to boost its profits in the coming decades. A wide-ranging global investigation, which could last as long as four years, will likely hamper its overseas growth.
3. Executives could face dismissal and even prison
Wal-Mart will likely face "pressure from shareholders to take action against any executives who didn't act on the bribery allegations sooner,"say David Welch and Thom Weidlich at Bloomberg News. Indeed, cleaning house could be a prerequisite for any out-of-court settlement with the U.S. authorities. And experts aren't ruling out "potential jail time for Wal-Mart executives," says Roland Jones at MSNBC.
4. Congress will get involved
Reps. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) have already announced that they are launching an investigation into the scandal, requesting a face-to-face meeting with CEO Duke and other Wal-Mart officials so that they "can respond to these allegations."
5. Wal-Mart's stock is being hammered…
Wal-Mart's share price fell by 5 percent the day after the story broke, as investors weighed the numerous factors that could hurt Wal-Mart in the future, such as large legal fees and stunted international growth.
6. …And so is its reputation
Perhaps most damaging of all is the public-relations hit the company is taking. This is a "huge black eye" for Wal-Mart, "which prides itself on its reputation for integrity and transparency," says Henry Blodget at Business Insider. The report undermines a years-long "campaign to improve its reputation as a good corporate citizen by changing its practices in such areas as labor relations," says Ben W. Heneman Jr. at The Atlantic.
7. Still, Wal-Mart could fight back with legal technicalities
The retail giant could argue that the bribes were "facilitating payments," which, for example, are made to speed up the approval of permits, says Nathan Vardi at Forbes, and that such payments are technically legal under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Because the alleged bribery scheme unfolded in the mid-2000s, Wal-Mart could also foil the Justice Department's efforts to prosecute, by invoking the FCPA's five-year statute of limitations.
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Icthelite Wrote:
Dec 25, 2012 1:03 PM
You mean no one in the liberal black community don't you? Yes there are many that will snort out some snide remark and throw the article down. These are mostly the ones living on the dole and don't like to be exposed for what they are, the parasites of our communities. You have a good holiday season, I'm glad I was able to provide it for you.


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IRVING, Texas – The typical criticism poured down on quarterback
Owner/general manager Jerry Jones described Romo's 506-yard, five-touchdown performance as the best game he's ever seen his franchise quarterback play, and the rest of Romo's teammates echoed similar sentiments, despite the fourth quarter interception.
"Just what I've been saying, he's just a premier quarterback and he played his butt off for us," said defensive tackle
The defensive players placed the blame of the game entirely on their own shoulders for letting up 51 points in a three-point defeat.
They don't blame the quarterback who set the franchise record for passing yardage in a single game, even with the late pick. Romo is currently No. 1 in the NFC in completion percentage (71.8), touchdown passes (13), interceptions thrown (2) and quarterback rating (114.3).
He's in the top five of every major passing category in the NFC besides attempts, where he resides in sixth place. The only player beating him in all those categories is the AFC quarterback he went toe-to-toe with Sunday, Peyton Manning, who's having an unprecedented start to the season.
"Tony played fantastic in the game," said linebacker
The defense never forced the Broncos to punt once. Denver was, however, forced into three field goals, a fumble and an interception, which gave the Cowboys' offense a fighting chance. Three Cowboys players went for more than 100 yards receiving, including
"They've got a great quarterback across the way, maybe the best ever, but No. 9 played pretty well today," Witten said. "Probably the best game I've seen him play in a long time – if not the best. I'm proud of him."
Even when Romo plays one of the best games of his career, the late interception is still what will resonate for many pundits across the nation. That will typically happen for the most polarizing quarterback in the league, particularly when his best game ever is also a loss.
"I thought Tony played a fantastic football game," said head coach Jason Garrett. "You know, we were up and down the field, he made critical throws throughout the game all over the field. Unfortunately, in that particular case, they made the play and that was the difference-making play."


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Ask the Readers: Personal Finance During a Health Crisis?
Published on - June 22nd, 2007 (by J.D. Roth)
What would you do if you knew you were dying? How would a cancer diagnosis affect your personal finance decisions? The Travelin' Man from Stuff You Oughtta Know isn't dying yet, but he's had a scare.
Here's his story (this is not written by J.D.): I was given my very first cancer scare last week. I have to tell you — it freaked the hell out of me. For that matter, "scare" may not be the most accurate word. The doctor told me that I have cancer — I am waiting for the results of the biopsy before I am really willing to accept his diagnosis. Anyway, the "freaked out" part is that I just don't know what to do — and there isn't as much information out there as you would think, about the things that I care about.
Just in the past week I have found myself doing the things that I normally do — and then stopping and questioning the sanity afterwards. For instance, I added to my long-term stock holdings last week. Again, I don't think I am going to die, but should I be more conscious of potentially needing the money to be spent on something else short-term — that would be more important than a few more shares of stock?
Some of the questions I have are (and all assume the worst-case scenario, for the sake of discussion, even though I don't think I am in the worst-case scenario boat):
- Should I alter contributions to my 403b retirement plan? I get a match of 100% up to 5% of salary. I currently contribute 10%.
- Should I divert more of my paycheck earmarked for investment into a high-yield savings account, at least for the short-term?
- Of the money I already have invested, do I need to consider re-allocating my assets to a less risky portfolio (Hey, I am young — it is almost all stocks — and weighted heavily to international ~35% or so)?
- I don't have a will or living directive written. Is there a process that I need to follow?
- I am single with no dependents — how would that alter your way of thinking versus being married with a few kids to take care of?
- My employer is very generous with paid leave, and I have about 400 hours of sick time accrued. How important is it to manage that time versus looking at things like short-term disability (pays about 2/3), or is that even an option?
- Given the likelihood of remission, but possibly having to deal with this again in the future, how would you alter choosing health insurance packages? Would something like AFLAC be beneficial during the next sign-up period?
- At 35 years old, is it too early to start thinking about long-term care insurance (again, single with no dependents)?
- While my credit is not stellar, I have made great strides to improve it (the only outstanding debt I have right now is my mortgage and student loans – the total of which is about $45k). Are there any "best ways" to handle in the impending medical expenses?
- Are there any other spending or saving habits that you would adjust?
This just scratches the tip of the iceberg of questions that are flowing through my head now, but it is a start.
Let me say that I am not looking for sympathy (heck, I don't even think the cancer diagnosis is true yet!), and, even if it is true, I don't think I am going to die. I am not looking for an outpouring of support and prayer (though, I am not going to kick anyone away with a better pipeline to the "Big Guy" than myself), but what I hope to find is excellent, practical, situational personal finance advice for a niche that seems to be lacking. Thanks for reading all of this gibberish. Now back to your regularly scheduled program.
Again: this is not my story — this was written by Travelin' Man. But his question hits home for me. My family has a history of cancer, especially at a young age. My father died from cancer just before his 50th birthday. My 46-year-old cousin is fighting it now. I am 38. This stuff worries me every day. Madame X at My Open Wallet addressed this question today at her site. What advice can you offer for Travelin' Man?
This article is about Ask the Readers, Planning, Real-Life
Hi. For a single person, I think the best advice is to identify someone who is willing to be your health advocate–someone to go to appointments and take notes, help with understanding your work options (even with all that vacation time, you'll probably need to talk with HR about eligibiblity under the "family leave" policy (assuming you're at a company of over 50 workers), help do internet research, and so on. This may be harder for men, but it is really necessary!! I spent 2005 having cancer treatments, and the help of my partner (then, now my husband–that's one change having cancer led me to make), and it was totally helpful to have his concrete support. We were lucky that his employer understood that this wasn't just my diagnosis, that his life was being affected as well and who let him use his vacation/sick time as needed to help me.
But, enough of that digression — now, two years later, (but still taking follow-up medications and dealing with the side/after effects of my treatments) I've found that cancer has made me even more determined to retire early. I don't know if or how much cancer may have shortened my life, but certainly it hasn't changed my mind about wanting to live in a way that minimizes the time I work and maximizes the time I spend at my own devices.
One thing I haven't done is buy long-term care insurance. I just have never seen a policy that seemed worth the money.
I can't speak to much, as I am a newbie, at 39, to all of this. What I can say is that you must get a living will and advanced directive! I know you can get one at the hospital if you're being admitted. Other than that, you can talk to your doctor. There may be other resources. My mil had a stroke a few years back. They couldn't find her living will and advanced directive, of which my dh was the executor. The hospital and other family members went against her wishes and did brain surgery. Now she is completely dependent on a full time nursing staff. She is blind in one eye and can't move the left side of her body. Because she can't speak, all health care decisions have been taken out of her hands because no one, except my dh, can understand her. We live three states away. It's very sad. She wanted to die if it came to it.
When thinking of these issues, it's very important to think of the feelings of those who would be left behind, those who would be caring for you or arranging things. Keep in mind their financial limits, which are huge unless they are millionaires. Another mouth to feed is one thing, medical care is another.
Also keep in mind that humans are emotional beings. Logical decisions are rarely made when someone you love is in a difficult position. Relatives may do what makes THEM feel better, not what you want. While you have no dependents now, that could change. What's more, someone will be left making decisions for/with you. That person needs to know your feelings and wishes. And, if those feelings change, tell someone.
Good luck with your decisions. Good health and long life.
I have to also emphasize the will, living will & medical advocate.
Make a will, keep it up to date & make sure it (and all other important documents) are easily available for your loved ones. Having to hunt for important papers after the death or incapacitation of a loved one is the *last* thing our friends and family want to deal with.
The living will is very key. Lay out what you want to happen to you in particular circumstances, should you be unable to speak for yourself. You may assume that your mother/wife/whomever will know, but, unless you lay it out for them, you can't know for sure.
Mistakes happen in the medical profession. They happen because of poor communication & human error. Having an advocate to keep up with things when you are unable (whether because you're too exhausted or literally incapacitated) is key. Nurses have neglected to look at patient charts & have given patients who were scheduled for surgery full meals or medicines to which they were allergic. Doing your best (or having an advocate do THEIR best) to stay on top of things & catch those mistakes before they become a problem saves you time & difficulty.
Lastly, most funeral homes will let you put together a funeral plan. It sounds morbid, but, again, it will save your family from having to deal with it later. It lets you get the funeral you want (people DO fight over these things after the death of a loved one), and, you can look at the expense to your family.
My family went through this a few times unfortunately. My only financial advice would be to have a good amount of cash on hand. Health plans don't always provide the best care immediately, and there are many more services you could get access to if you're willing to pay out of your own pocket.
I don't know if I can help with too many of your questions, but I would like to throw this piece of advice out there: find an attorney if you haven't already. With ~400 sick hours available to you, I'd take a day or two off and talk to an attorney about making a will. Even if God himself tells you that you're not going to die until you hit 100, it's still a good idea to have one and have one early. From what I hear, it's a relatively painless process and there's even places online that can help you write one up. As a big proponent of "Getting Things Done", I think getting that this part knocked out will be a big relief now and in years to come.
I think that if the money you have invested is mostly in retirement funds you should leave it where it is. You still have twenty years until retirement. Whether or not you make it that far is irrelevant. If you wound up eventually with a reduced life expectancy, and/or the desire to retire earlier, you'll probably appreciate the extra growth and can adjust then.
I agree with the comments about a healthcare advocate and also a living will. I'd also add that you need to continue to live sensibly and not resort to lots of credit card debt, probably the second worst scenario is that you are ok but permanently sick/disabled. High credit card debt would not be helpful at that point.
I'd suggest reading your healthcare plan carefully, and making sure that someone else knows it thoroughly too. If you know whats covered you'll have a better idea of the out of pocket costs you might face.
1. get a will/living directive
2. make some of your investments more liquid
3. make your retirement portfolio a little more conservative until you know your prognosis.
4. you can only get std benefits if you are disabled in your ability to do your job, not because of a diagnosis. if you are disabled, take the std benefit. even though it is 2/3 only, it is most likely not taxable. also i f you are disabled, look into ltd benefits at work.
5. you have no dependants, which means it is less critical to have life insurance (it will be very hard to get covered for this in future if you do have cancer, i found this one out with my wife).
6. as far as aflac in the future, your premiums will be sky high with a diagnosis of cancer. same goes with long term care insurance.
7. liquidizing some investments will make it easier to cover medical bills. and remember as long as you show good faith with monthly payments most medical businesses will work with you.
8. remember that most cancers are very curable nowadays, so still plan for the future.
9. i wish you the best of luck, and i'm sure you'll do great.
cheers, dave.
Following up with what 60in3 mentioned, hopefully your medical insurance will cover the financial end of things. I've seen too many examples of people being blindsided by their insurance and the fine print in their policies.
Take the time to check out your medical insurance and find out what you are covered for. Then, as you deal with the doctors, you know what other questions you should be asking regarding types of procedures and medications that are available.
It would also give you insight into whether or not you need supplemental insurance.
If it turns out that you do accumulate medical bills that are not covered, you can eventually consolidate those expenses with your other debt and make the repayment more manageable while you recover.
I don't have any practical experience to offer, but I think the answer to your question, "Should I divert more of my paycheck earmarked for investment into a high-yield savings account, at least for the short-term?" is yes. The liquidity of that money seems well worth the interest earnings you would lose. That liquidity will help you keep things off credit cards, make co-payments, pay for medications, travel, meals, and all the extra things you can't think of right now.
As far as Aflac, they do offer cancer coverage, but because you have been diagnosed you can't get it. Or rather, you can get it, but it will only cover some future diagnosis that is not a recurrence of this particular cancer. If you have a cancer with a high cure rate and good prognosis, it might be worth it, but personally I'd put this off until after your treatments are over. It's not pressing.
It's great that you have so much sick time saved up. Check your employer policies. Some places require that you use it all before going on disability or taking FMLA leave. Your doctor may be able to tell you what to expect from treatment in terms of how many days you'll probably be sick. Some people don't take much leave, others do.
I'd just build up as much of a cushion – of money, concrete offers of help from friends, leave time, and energy as possible.
Good luck.
I can't stop thinking about the story of a guy (mid 50s) that was diagnosed with terminal cancer. So he spent everything he had (savings, retirement, etc). A few years later, they learned it wasn't terminal cancer, but he was already out of money.
I have enjoyed reading your blog and wish you best of luck beating this cancer.
I can sympathize with you to a certain extent. My family has a history of early aged cancers. Most of the women died before they were 40 to breast or skin cancers. It's something that's always in the back of my mind while I plan for things.
The only concrete suggestion I can think of is to get a will and a living directive in place. We don't want to think about worse case scenarios but it's something as adults we need to do.
Good luck JD! You'll make it.
The "right" advice would seem to be one thing if you've got, say, a rather mild form of skin cancer and another completely if you've got, say, pancreatic cancer.
Getting a will and a living will, though, are not expensive in absolute terms. If you've got absolutely no relatives you can perhaps do without the will (though I would spend $100 – $250 on a consultation with a good estate attorney before making that decision), but there's no reason to be without an advance directive (living will) which will tell physicians under what circumstances to stop extraordinary lifesaving efforts.
Not for you, but for other folks in the same situation: If you have kids and you haven't decided who you want to raise them in the event something happens to both you and their coparent (if applicable), this is probably the wakeup call to 1.) talk to the person(s) you want to take on that role and confirm they're OK with it and 2.) get that put into your will. That also falls into the category of things all people should have (but most people don't).
As to whether you should alter your spending habits….depends on your current financial situation, how your treatment would affect your work life, and what your insurance is? I could see it being anywhere from no impact whatsoever to being a massive lifechanging thing. My family's had some experience with that, so I wish you all the best, travellin' man, I sincerely do.
As someone who has been through this (my wife, who sadly passed away after an 18 year battle), I recommend that you start socking away as much cash into liquid investments (money market type accounts) as you possibly can.
When you beat the disease and get going again you can always invest the extra again.
Until then you need as much cash flow to help pay for treatments (alternative treatments are generally not covered by insurance) and if you need to be out of work for a while you will be OK. SImplify as much as possible.
I agree with Victoria — so many people say, "He has cancer", which is only slightly more informative than saying "He has a virus." Your prognosis will be affected both by the type of cancer you have and the stage in which it was caught. And that will affect the financial decisions you make.
Others have given more good financial advice than I could, so let me just say that, in this day and age, "I have cancer." is not even close to synonymous with "I'm dying", so don't jump to conclusions.
You do have income insurance don't you? I think it's one of the most important insurances to have (after home/ contents and car).
It doesn't sound like you have a family to worry about taking care of or a lot of assets (I'm assuming that's what all that school debt means). You might be fine with one of the simple will books, which your public library probably has a copy of. If you have a People's Memorial in your area, that's a great thing to join for cheaper funeral arrangements. But frankly, I'd recommend both of those things whether or not you get the diagnosis. Might as well be prepared.
As a healthcare professional, I have cared for patients who have been diagnosed with terminal cancer.I myself have had a recent melanoma scare that turned out to be benign. I believe it's very important to have your financial house in order. But it is also important that you not lose sight of life's "wake-up call". When I read your list of concerns,I didnt see anything regarding emotional attachments, family ect. My advice is to hire a financial advisor and let him worry. You need to stop and be introspective as to why you got hit with this "cosmic two-by-four".Cancer or not, this may be an oportunity to learn something about yourself and the people who love you.
The best advice I can provide has little to do with money and everything to do with your health. Use Word or Excel or even a large notepad to keep track of all of your medical appointments, doctor's recommendations, and the results of medical tests. I had a very complex medical issue that resulted in visits to more than 20 doctors. In the doctor's office you are likely to forget the details of your diagnosis and a detailed description of your medical history will make certain you don't forget any vital information. You'd be surprised how quickly you forget things when scary men in white coats lean over you. After each appointment go home and append the document so that it's as up to date as possible. Also if possible get your hands on each and every test result. Having the actual reports in hand is extremely helpful.
Lastly, if you feel close to someone ask them to come to as many of your medical appointments with you as possible. Originally my husband went with me for emotional support, but by the end he was answering the doctor's questions and advocating for proper treatments. There can be a lot of red tape in the medical world and it helps to have someone fighting for you when you are fighting to survive.
JD – Thanks for highlighting this story. I think it is important for people in my (this/similar) situation to have additional information about their personal finances. In times when there is so much else to worry about, I don't want to rely on the idea that "the money will work itself out."
To all who have left advice, or stopped by my own blog and sent well-wishes, I also offer my thanks. It is amazing the outpouring of support from people who you don't even know when times are tough.
I will have an update posted within the next day or so as to the next course of action. Disappointingly, my Thursday procedure did not settle much for me.
Nice post. I have to go for an endoscopy soon. I have been fearing the worst because I haven't been feeling too well since my last couple of tests. It is comforting to see all the people that care out there. On behalf THE TRAVELIN' MAN, thanks to everybody too!
Buy a telephone tape recorder. You'll need it to tape your conversations with insurance companies. I'm not kidding.
More important (in my opinion) than a living will is a durable power of attorney. No one can sit around their kitchen table and know what they will choose when the tough decisions come.
I watched my wife suffer a stroke at 35; she was able to ask for a feeding tube, something she would almost certainly have rejected in a living will. You can't know what you will choose. I think the best you can do is select someone who loves you (more important than your feelings about them) and tell them you want them to do their best. Of course you should discuss general wishes and desires.
Personally, I want my loved ones to take their best guess what I would want if I can't decide for myself. I realize they might get it wrong, and I'm o.k. with that. I still think that's a better bet than a living will.
Don't pay any bill from anyone that hasn't been fully processed by your insurance company, discounted appropriately, and had the insurance company pay their part. A hospital/clinic/etc. can be very helpful resolving bills with your insurance company, but they have no incentive to help you if you're sending them money.
This doesn't change if your bill goes to collections. Read the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act in that case, so you know your rights.
If you have a disease that will disable your ability to manage the disease, you're going to have to find someone you trust.
And give them durable power of attorney (or living trust with them as a trustee).
Also you want a healthcare power of attorney that designates that person as health care agent (not just a living will)
We were very fortunate that mom had all that in place when she was diagnosed with dementia in her early 50s (her particular non-Alzheimer dementia usually hits in one's late 40s/early 50s)
Well, we did set up the living trust after the diagnosis (the attorney makes the call as to whether or not the grantor is competent to do so)
I was set up as co-trustee on the trust (not successor), since we both knew she would not be able to make decisions in short order.
[...] Today I'd like to introduce you to The Travelin' Man. He's a frequent commenter on Lazy Man and Money and occasionally we'll go into longer e-mail chains. Unfortunately, I received a recent e-mail from him that was a far different topic than any we've ever discussed. His doctor says that he might have bladder cancer.. You can read his original e-mail at Get Rich Slowly. [...]
Not a finance suggestion; however, if you have a cancer that is treated initially by surgery, have the best possible surgeon perform the operation.
I'm a seven year survivor of ovarian cancer. My surgeon was one of the best in the country, and I believe that played a huge role in my survival. I've met many women since that had less than optimal surgery, and they did not do well. Those that I have met with a good initial surgery seem to do much better.
It can be very difficult, if not impossible, for later care to make up for a botched initial surgery.
NCI-designated cancer centers are a good place to look for a qualified surgeon.
Once you have a diagnosis of cancer it is almost imposible to get health insurance…you will be considered uninsurable for some time…this can vary from company to company. SO…keep the health insurance you have…what is the out of pocket limit per year? That is the maximum you will have to pay each year…you will need to at least have that on hand in an emergency fund…if you have disability insurance keep it too…in fact don't cancel any insurance that you might want in future…they can't take it away from you when you get a cancer diagnosis, but if you cancel, you many not be able to replace it for a long time, if ever depending on the impact of the cancer on your health…
You should ideally have a 6 months emergency fund for living expenses….
As a fifteen year cancer survivor those would be my inital financial concerns…
Take the rest a day at a time…find out if in fact you do have cancer, get the probable diagnosis, and then make decisions concerning changing retirement investments,etc. You can always pause retirement contributions and just maintain those you already have and play catch-up later…at 39 you are young enough to get caught up…
Hope you do not have cancer, but if you do, it's not the end of the world…death is inevitable, and once a person grasps that, it can change your perspective for the better….don't make any important decisions in haste….
I am so sorry this is happening to you.
1. Get more information about your diagnosis before you make any big decisions. Ask about life expectancy and proposed treatments. Understand the numbers your doc will give you are averages – ask about the "range" of possibilities. For some common and well-understood cancers, life expectancy might be three years with treatment, on average, but the range might be two to four years (pretty tight) or, for rare less well-understood cancers, the range might be two months to twenty years. Pretty loose. You want a sense of how likely that average is to apply to you.
2. Then get a second opinion from an oncologist at a major academic medical center. Be prepared to pay cash. Ask to have your pathology sample reviewed by an expert pathologist. All of this will probably be a few hundred dollars or so, but worth every penny. Ask your academic oncologist if there are clinical trials you might be eligible for. A lot of your medical costs might be covered by participating in the trial, and outcomes are sometimes better in clinical trials since patients are watched so closely. If you can't commute to the academic medical center for your treatments, ask the expert who in your local area he or she would recommend, and the course of treatment he/she'd recommend. Compare this to what you're hearing from your local doc.
3. Designate a health care proxy or power of attorney. In some states, they can't be the same person as your financial power of attorney. Discuss your wishes with your health care power of attorney. Most of the boilerplate language in standard health care proxy agreements is too vague to be of use in medical decision making. It's more important that your proxy have a good general sense of your wishes about the degree of disability/impairment you'd be willing to tolerate long term. Are you more of a Terry Schiavo or a Dr. Kevorkian? In many states you have to explicitly state whether feeding and nutrition were discussed – so discuss it and document accordingly that this person understands your wishes, including regarding nutrition. (You don't have to document the details of the decisions – just that this person knows your wishes). Then he or she is empowered to make decisions on your behalf no matter what the medical complexity. A lot of people wouldn't mind a feeding tube for three days in an ICU while they recover from a car accident; a lot of people would not want to be on a feeding tube for 12 years. The issue is rarely a specific treatment, but rather the degree of disability you'd be willing to tolerate in exchange for pursuing a certain course of treatment.
4. Designate a financial power of attorney immediately. Make sure your major banks and financial institutions have a copy of your financial power of attorney on file. Give this person a detailed outline of your assets and liabilities, account numbers, passwords. Set up automatic billpay for everything, but tell your power of attorney when the bills come in each month, how much they usually are, and what the autobillpay mechanism is. Some financial powers of attorney are triggered only by significant disability on your part, but proving that can take time and introduce delays that can cause big financial problems. I'd suggest picking someone you truly trust and empowering them right away. Consider registering all of your accounts with Mint.com and giving your financial power of attorney access – makes it much easier to take a quick snapshot of your financial picture and keep track of bills due etc.
6. Discuss all of this with your family – even if you're not super close to them. They need to understand your wishes and your plans. If you're estranged from your family, make sure your health care team understands your wishes regarding decisionmakers – the default is family.
7. Meet with your benefits administrator in HR, and the office manager/billing person in your oncologists' practice. Learn their first names. Become friends with them. Read through the fine print on your policy carefully together with each of them. The language is often diabolically misleading. Try to get a general plan of treatment from your doctor. Try to get something in writing from your insurance company about the costs that will and will not be covered.
8. I agree with earlier commenters: stop saving for retirement and instead stash your cash in something liquid.
9. Once you know what your out-of-pocket expenses might be, see if your company has a Cafe 125 plan or health savings account in which you can stash pre-tax dollars to use for any out of pocket expenses. Educate yourself about which expenses are covered by this. And see if you can elect to put more of your pre-tax dollars in this account.
10. Save all of your paperwork and receipts. Meet with a tax accountant and discuss a tax strategy. Even with good insurance it's likely that your medical bills may very well exceed the threshold that allows you to take a significant tax deduction.
11. You are probably uninsurable for life insurance, disability, health insurance, and long term care insurance on the individual market – the premiums are likely to be so high that your money is better spent elsewhere.
12. Understand if your treatment is with a goal of cure, in which case, I'd suggest going for broke, literally, if needed. You can recover from bankruptcy if you have to. If your treatment is palliative, then be really choosy. US oncologists make a lot of money giving chemotherapy, and patients are often loathe to "quit" attacking their disease. As a result, US cancer patients get a lot more chemo than Europeans, but mostly just have more side effects and bigger bills. There is a role for palliative chemo, but if you're trying to keep an eye on costs, be upfront with your doc that you'd prefer hospice care and good pain control over aggressive palliative chemo of questionable benefit.
13. See if you can take out a home equity line of credit, apply for some extra credit cards. Do what you can to increase your access to credit now while you look great on paper.
14. Generally, student loans die with you and don't have to be paid out of your estate, so don't roll student loans in with any other types of debt into a consolidation loan.
15. If you're trying to hold down a job while getting cancer treatments, schedule chemo administrations for Friday afternoons so you've got the weekend to recover. Choose an oncologist whose office runs on time so you don't miss half a day of work in a doctor's waiting room. Ask the front desk staff what time appointments are most likely to run on time. Avoid any elective hospitalizations on Friday – nothing happens in hospitals over the weekend but you have to pay for two extra days of care. Schedule elective admissions and surgeries for Mondays or Tuesdays.
16. Join a support group. Patients with strong support networks tend to do the best. Ask for help when you need it – meals, help with laundry, whatever it is. You need to concentrate on getting well.
17. Chemo is awful, and cancer is worse, but I have a special loathing of alternative therapies for cancer. There are more snake oil salesmen peddling false hope in a jar to cancer patients via the internet than there should be. The ones who actually believe in what they're doing are probably the most dangerous. Be careful. Most are all too happy to separate cancer patients from their cash in exchange for false hope. Some even have slick pseudoscience that makes false promises. Most of us are savvy enough to recognize that a face cream won't really make us look ten years younger, or that a pill makes penises ten times bigger, but all too many otherwise sophisticated consumers get pulled in by the siren songs of cancer quacks. Eat right, exercise when you can, take a multivitamin if you want to, and watch out for promises that seem too good to be true.
18. Longer term, try to think if there's a way to continue your profession while working for state or federal government. You need to work for a large, stable employer with generous benefits for the rest of your life. The kinds of frequent unemployment increasingly experienced by white collar workers in the private sector is untenable for people with uninsurable diagnoses. Even if the salary is lower, the financial security you'll gain is irreplaceable because you may have access to disability and long term care policies via this mechanism.


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HARRISONBURG, VA – Aided by strong all-around performances from Elizabeth Fittery (Denver, PA) and Lorena Johnson (Liburn, GA), the Rutgers gymnastics team (3-2, 0-2 EAGL) defeated James Madison 192.375-191.350 in a dual-meet on Saturday.
The win was the 200th for head coach Chrystal Chollet-Norton in her 27-year coaching career. It was also her 150th win at Rutgers.
The Scarlet Knights had three of the top finishes in the vault to score 48.175 points, led by Nicole Bradder (Dover, NH) (first, 9.700), Johnson (second, 9.650) and Jamye Shelton (Griffin, GA) (second, 9.650). Fittery finished in a tie for fourth place with a 9.625.
"The vault team really stepped up for us today," said Chollet-Norton. "This was a tough stretch for us with three meets in seven days, but I thought the girls gave it their best effort, and I'm proud of the way they competed."
On the uneven bars, Stephanie Zick (Pittsburgh, PA) and Johnson finished second and third, respectively. Zick scored a 9.800 and Johnson notched a 9.750. Tracy Heckler (Laurel Springs, NJ) and Sveta Shterenberg (Sharon, MA) placed fifth and sixth, respectively.
Lisa Abrams (Mt. Ephraim, NJ), coming off her record-setting score of 9.925 on the balance beam in a victory over Temple on Wednesday, finished firth with a score of 9.825. Caitlin Wight (Washington, PA) finished in a tie for second place with a score of 9.750.
Johnson took top honors in the all-around, scoring a 38.375. Bradder and Fittery finished in third and fourth place, respectively, with scores of 37.950 and 37.875.
On the floor, Johnson finished in third place with a 9.800 while Wight and Zick were part of a three-way tie for fourth place (9.750).
Rutgers returns to action next Saturday, Jan. 31, when it hosts Southern Connecticut and West Chester at the Livingston Recreation Center.
Rutgers 192.375, James Madison 191.350
Vault – Rutgers 48.175, JMU 47.650
Bars – Rutgers 47.400, JMU 46.800
Beam – JMU 48.125, Rutgers 48.075
Floor – JMU 48.775, Rutgers 48.725


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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Okay, all you guys that are whining that it is hard to do the early Cata quests in Wrath gear need to knock it off. If all you are going to do is put on your superman cape and blast through content it's really not very fun and frankly makes as much sense has buying a game for $50 then using cheat codes so you can beat it on the first weekend. The quests should be suitably hard that they challenge you to learn the mechanics of the character but not to where you can't beat them. It's okay to die or to run away a lot while you are leveling. That's part of the learning experience.
Going into Cata I had 3 toons in Wrath quest blues or some purples. These characters were easy to level and frankly a bit boring. Since then I've started 6 more toons, 3 of which are at 85. I never twink them with cash or gear and I never buy gear while leveling. I also don't use heirloom gear. They all have top end flying they paid for themselves and I'm working on getting them into epics. The point is I'm enjoying the game as I level each character and haven't needed anything except what's already in the game and obtainable through questing to do so.
I think it's really great that you enjoy the challenge of leveling and the huge adjustment in difficulty from wrath to cata. Its obvious that others see it as a shock when you come from BC through wrath just nuking everything in your path then you are limited to pulling 1 or 2 at a time in cataclysm. Whether you think the challenge is warranted or not, some people see the transition as unusually difficult.
The last toon I leveled was a pally BS so I made all the starter gear with no issue. However, the furthest he had gone questing was sholazar then dinged 80 and headed into hyjal. The gear gap was tremendous! If it weren't for BS I would have died repeatedly on the opening quests.
It may not be necessary but it will certainly be helpful.


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Bay Area News Group movie critics Charlie McCollum and Randy Myers join critics from the Los Angeles News Group, Salt Lake Tribune, Denver Post and St. Paul Pioneer-Press to discuss the Oscar nominations at noon PT on Thursday.
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Top 10 female country artists of all time: Who makes the list?
Martina McBride, Dolly Parton and Patsy Cline certainly make the list. Who else makes the Top 10?
(Jacques Brinon)
Keanu Reeves finds fan in his house in middle of night
Dude, where's my security? The "Point Break" actor calmly spoke with woman until police arrived.


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The Best Way to Separate an Egg Is With Your Hands
Tips from The Kitchn
That brilliant yellow egg yolk is a surprisingly delicate thing, and separating the yolk from its white without breaking it can be an exercise in frustration. I say forget those fancy gadgets and forget tossing the yolk between sharp-edged shells — the most reliable, sure-fire way to separate an egg is to get your hands dirty.
The method is simple: Crack an egg into a shallow bowl and discard the shell. Lower your fingers into the bowl and gently cup them under the yolk. Hold your fingers loosely, with a hair's breadth of space between them, and lift the yolk out of the bowl. The whites will stream through your fingers and back into the bowl, leaving you with one perfect yolk cradled in your hand. Place the yolk in a second bowl and transfer the white into a third bowl, then continue separating as many eggs as needed.
I like this method for separating eggs for a few reasons. One, your fingers are blunt and soft — there are no edges that are going to snag or break the yolk (though be careful if you keep your fingernails long!). Your fingers are also much more sensitive than any other tool, so you can actually feel how carefully the yolk needs to be handled at any given point. If you're separating a bunch of eggs, you can also go faster — crack the egg, scoop, and you're done.
It feels a little gross and gets your hands dirty, but I haven't had a yolk break on me for years using this method. Do you agree? Or do you like a different method?
More on Separating Eggs!
(Image credits: Emma Christensen)
15 Comments
Too messy for my OCD. I prefer the plastic bottle method.
Totally agree with you, though the egg seperator that looks like a guy with a stuffy nose is just priceless. ;)
yup, this is how I do it. My mom taught the 2 shells/pour back and forth method, but I broke too many yolks that way. I don't usually crack the egg into a bowl, though. I just pour it into my hand above where I want the white to end up.
This is a good method but make sure your eggs are cold when you do this. A room temp egg doesn't seperate easy. Actually the cold egg tip is best no matter which method you choose. I like to pass the egg back and forth to catch the yolk.
Slotted spoon seems to work just fine, thanks!
I love separating eggs like this. There aren't any better tools than your hands sometimes!
I love separating eggs this way! I think it feels cool, and I like to feel what I'm cooking and get messy, so it works great for me! Plus it has always worked for me, no broken yolks. And I'm going to be washing my hands a million times anyway as I bake, so no worries!
Not gonna happen. Not in a million years.
I already go a little nuts washing my hands carefully whenever I crack open a raw egg, so I'm not a fan of the idea of dunking my whole hand in the egg. For some reason I rarely break the yolk when rolling it back and forth between two halves of the shell so I'll stick with that. If it does break and drip into the bowl, I usually find that a quick scoop with half of the shell pulls the bit of yolk back out of the white.
I read somewhere that you shouldn't do this if you're planning to use the egg whites in an angel food cake or a souffle or the like, because the oils from your skin will prevent the whites from puffing up properly. Is that not true? This would be a whole lot easier!
any egg will separate easily by any means (including the shell-to-shell) as long as it's fresh.
I usually aim for shell-to-shell but if something looks like it might go awry, I'll get my hands dirty if necessary.
I didn't like this at first but separating over 20 eggs in culinary class one day changed my mind. It's so much faster to use your hands.
Love it! I've done the back-and-forth between the shells method for years, but this sounds more dependable and, dare I say, fun!
I usually do by by hand, the fastest way. I have an egg separator, but usually use if only doing 1-2 eggs on rare occasions. I haven't tried the plastic bottle method yet.
@edgy13 - I've separated eggs like this for years, and working in bakeries for the past 6+ years, and I've never had a problem with the eggs not whipping up due to any oils on my hands. I think if you're really concerned about it, a quick soapy wash of your hands with hot water before you separate the eggs by hand should eliminate any trace oils that could potentially screw up your meringues/souffles/etc :)


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Executive Club Rooms
The Executive Club rooms at Crowne Plaza Marlow offer all the benefits of our Standard Rooms but in addition guests gain exclusive access to the Club Lounge. The Club Lounge serves a complimentary breakfast each weekday morning. The rooms also benefit from a spacious work area and upgraded toiletries.
the club lounge
Those staying in the Executive Club rooms are entitled to use the Club Lounge, located on the ground floor. Complimentary continental breakfast is served every morning from 6.30am - 10am. Soft drinks and tea & coffee are available throughout the day and can be consumed in these exclusive surroundings. Beers and wines are available at specific times (subject to fair use policy).


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The start of summer lures many Marylanders to the Chesapeake Bay and area rivers for a dip along the shoreline. It also brings increased monitoring of beach and water quality, and sometimes dire warnings about bacteria levels.
This week, South Riverkeeper Diana Muller took 11 water samples along beaches south of Annapolis. All but one tested above safe swimming limits, prompting her to post the bacteria counts on Facebook with the caption: "I just received my bacteria results — PLEASE DO NOT SWIM in the SOUTH RIVER!!"
Stormwater, wildlife waste, sewage leaks and other factors add to bacteria in the rivers and bay, which can make them unsafe for swimmers who risk upset stomachs, diarrhea, eye and ear infections, and other illnesses.
Anne Arundel's coastline, with 533 miles of waterfront dotted with more than 100 community beaches, becomes one of the most tested regions in Maryland in summertime. Not only is routine water testing performed by the county Health Department but also environmental groups and private waterfront communities, creating what many consider the state's most robust effort to police beaches.
The county's Health Department issued no-swim advisories this week for three beaches in the county — Londontown on the South River, Beverly Beach on the Chesapeake and Upper Magothy Beach in Severna Park — after tests found high levels of enterococci, a bacterium found in the waste of warm-blooded animal. Earlier this month, officials warned people of potentially dangerous levels of bacteria in the water days before the annual Great Chesapeake Bay Swim.
The advisories, and the yellow warning signs posted on the beaches, stay in place until the bacteria counts come down, said Gerry Zitnik, a Health Department program manager who oversees testing at more than 90 beaches in Anne Arundel.
"There are some people that maybe ignore the warnings and go into the water," Zitnik said. "We try to give people the best information possible so they can make good decisions on their own whether they and their family members should swim in the water."
All Maryland counties with shorelines test water quality and use criteria from the federal government to designate "bathing beaches" where bacteria testing must be done.
In Anne Arundel, the most popular beaches — including Sandy Point State Park near the Bay Bridge — get weekly tests. Smaller and less popular beaches have biweekly or monthly tests.
While enterococci is just one of many water contaminants that can cause problems for swimmers, officials only test for that one. "It's an indicator organism that tells us other things may be there that may be potentially harmful," Zitnik said.
In Anne Arundel, the government's monitoring program is supplemented by a network of environmental and neighborhood groups that pay for testing at dozens of additional sites in cooperation with Anne Arundel Community College.
"As a big, large county with so many waterways that run through it … I think there's a much bigger attachment to the water," said Anne Arundel County Councilman Chris Trumbauer, who is riverkeeper and executive director for the West/Rhode Riverkeeper organization in southern Anne Arundel.
In each case, a trained worker or volunteer takes a sample of water. The samples are taken back to a lab, where the bacteria is grown on special media and counted under a microscope. It takes at least 24 hours to get results, which are reported as numbers of colonies per 100 milliliters of water.
For most beaches, the limit for safe swimming is 104 colonies. In some cases, though, beaches have counts well into the hundreds or thousands of colonies.
Riverkeepers such as Muller and Trumbauer and private communities don't have the authority to issue advisories at beaches — those can only come from the county government. But they can post the data on their websites and send email blasts warning people not to swim.
"My philosophy is transparency and letting people know that they're swimming in ooey-gooey yucky water," Muller said. Her organization, the South River Federation, also flies a bright red flag from the office that's visible from the river whenever bacteria counts are high.
"Because we're not a regulatory agency, we can't close the river down," she said. "But being a riverkeeper, I can caution people about it."
Trumbauer said his weekly bacteria count emails for the West and Rhode beaches are the most-read of all the messages his organization sends out. And the messages often get forwarded.
"All I can do is make people aware," Trumbauer said. This week's sampling on the West and Rhode rivers showed 13 of 14 sites with unsafe bacteria counts.
The Maryland Department of the Environment gets about $70,000 a year from the federal government for the water testing. Funding is expected to decline because of the budget cuts known as sequestration.


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Book Description:
"The Powerpuff Girls" is Cartoon Network's highest-rated show among kids 2-11. It's a mega-hit! And so are Scholastic's books -- last year's Valentine Book hit #9 on the NY Times Kids' Bestsellers.Mojo Jojo is sick and tired of The Powerpuff Girls foiling all his plans. So he decides to form the Townsville Villain Academy, a school to train bad guys in the art of being evil. Now Professor Mojo Jojo is headmaster-mind of a class that includes Him, Fuzzy Lumpkins, Princess Morbucks, the Gangreen Gang, and Femme Fatale. Can The Powerpuff Girls defeat this all-star criminal conspiracy? Or... will the day be ruined for the very first time, thanks to Mojo Jojo?!
Tags: Childrens-Books, Action-Adventure,


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Could this be the end of Jerricho Cotchery? Lisa Zimmerman of cbssports.com and thejetsblog.com is tweeting tonight that wide receiver Derrick Mason is set to take a physical for the Jets on Thursday and if he passes, the Jets are expected to sign him.
Santonio Holmes, Plaxico Burress, and Derrick Mason? That's one heck of a top three receiver set for Captain Sanchez.
Next Jets Game View full schedule »
Sunday, Sep 2828 Sep1:00Detroit LionsBuy Tickets


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Smart TVs, as well as the Xbox Kinect, PlayStation Move, and the Nintendo Wii have already mastered the art of taking hand and body gestures, and translating them into functions. Now it looks as if this same technology may make it to the automotive realm.
Rumors began swirling a few months ago when Microsoft placed a help wanted ad that alluded to the use of body movements for various automobile controls. Now there is actually a little confirmation that at least one company is actually working on this technology. Harmon, creator of automotive audio systems and other aftermarket electronics, released a concept car that actually uses various body motions to control different features.
You want to turn the radio on, simply wink, adjusting the volume is as easy as tilting your head slightly. You can even skip tracks on a CD or change stations on the radio by tapping your hand on the steering wheel. Oh, and if you want to make a Bluetooth hands-free phone call, just make the universal hand signal for a telephone – you know, thumb to the ear with your pinky extended.
This technology isn't completely new, as Cadillac's CUE system uses some of this technology, but you still have to contact the screen, much like a Smartphone or tablet. The full use of gestures and infrared sensors to control a car's various features is supposed to help avoid driver distraction by eliminating the need to search for buttons to press or knobs to turn.
Where we see this failing is the fact that the learning curve on most gesture-based systems is typically very steep and requires a ton of memorization. We can see new owners reaching for their car's manual to see how to turn up the volume and putting their car into a ditch.
To say the least, this will definitely require some very intense planning to accomplish. Harman claims that the system should be ready for production in about two to three years.


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Since changing from Vista to Windows 7 a few months I can't retain any colour management.
At the changeover we reloaded everthing without any major problems.
I use a Colormunki use the latest version and have asked them for advice but the only solution seems to be reprofile every time I turn on.
The default position is so bad I can't bare to look at the screen so there is no danger of accidently working on anything important.
I've tried to find a solution on the net but without any success.
Is there anybody out there who can help ....Pretty please
XRite have been having problems with Windows 7 since it's release, they really should have got over the 'old' software issue by now.Here's their 'walkthrough' for the problem.Helpful Post!
Penny follow Keith's link - I too had problems when I moved to Windows 7. The details in the link takes some following, but you need to get the Windows defender bit right to allow the program to update. Ensure you get the right one (I take it 64 bit). I have several uploads that I should really delete as I had the same problem for about a week - 10 days before I finally resolved it.
EDIT: See you've already found it usefull whilst typing this - I hope its now resolved.
Have you made sure that Adobe Gamma isn't running at startup?
Thanks Keith, I shall sit quietly and give it a try. I've been in contact with their support in both USA & UK without being directed there, from a quick look it could be the answer. I'll report back later.
If I understand you correctly, are you saying that the profile is not kicking in when you fire up your computer? If it is, I have the same problem - albeit an intermittant problem with my Spyder software. This is a known issue with Vista & 7. The way to make the profile kick in is to do it manually. Go to your startup menu where you should see the Colormunki ikon. Hold down CTRL and drag it onto your desktop. Then double click on it when you want it to kick in. I can't say for definate this will work, but it works for me on my Spyder.
As also mentioned, ensure that Adobe gamma is disabled as this too can cause issues with profiles.
Well, I followed the instructions and found the ? suggesting a driver problem but was told it was OK.
Reprofiled, switched off & when it came back on even the curser wouldn't move.
Switched off & on again, same old colour problem but this time the curser moved and I reprofiled once more but for the first time had some 'on screen' instructions that have never appeared before. After switching down & up once more this time the profile was the same as the one before. Eureka,..... I only hope it lasts.
Thanks Keith.
It does seem that the UAC was the problem. If it keeps the profile can I turn the UAC back on now?
Thanks Dave I'll keep the manual method in reserve if the improvement doesn't last.
Sad to report I went back to square 1 this morning. Eyeballs blasted with glare so bad that I couldn't look at it for more than a few seconds so it's back to reprofiling everytime I switch on.
I suppose I'd better try again.
I'm sorry to say that I'm still having big problems and I'm back to reprofiling every time I switch on. We've tried all the suggestions on here and they did work for a day or two but it soon reverted to malfunctioning.
Could it be the monitor itself? Factory reset does produce very strange looking results.
If it is the monitor any suggestions as to a good buy?
It's the calibration data that kicks in at startup on a Windows PC. The Win 7 desktop is not colour managed, so it doesn't use the monitor profile.
It's not clear to me Penny where things are breaking down with the Colormunki, but I am a bit thick. Are you able to calibrate and profile the monitor, or does the software stop working during this process? Or is it simply that the calibration data doesn't load at startup?
Does seem like a software problem rather than one with your monitor, so it might be a drastic move to switch the screen, unless it's due for renewal anyway.
Thanks Glen,
I have been in touch with Xrite who can't suggest anything to help apart from to continue reprofiling every time we switch on. The profile we get is perfect but it just isn't retained in the system although it show up as the default profile in the Colour Manager. We've followed the link from Keith, checked all the drivers, have the latest Color Munki 64bit compatible download,& asked our local guru.
It was fine until we switched to Windows7, there were a few minor problems at first but all have been resolved except this one.
When we turn on the computer the monitor blasts out an eye-popping 100% brightness necessitating a factory reset just to read the emails.
BUT, sometimes all this doesn't happen and it behaves perfectly lulling us into a false sense of security.
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Diet for Healthy Weight Gain
If you are a person concerned about their slim and you're looking for a diet to help you gain a few kilos in a healthy way. Here you have a weekly menu.
Breakfast: 1 plain yogurt with honey or sugar, breakfast cereals, seasonal fruit into chunks or nuts.
Lunch: Bowl of porridge. Eggs any style with lettuce. Cheese of your choice.
Snack: ham sandwich. A fruit juice
Dinner: Cream of carrot. Nuggets of cod. Pineapple in syrup.
Breakfast: 1 glass of skimmed milk with chocolate. Toasted bread with olive oil and tomato. 1 fruit juice.
Lunch: salad of avocado. Meatballs to the gardener.
Snack: Banana with chocolate chunks.
Dinner: soup julienne. Fried chicken with tomato. Grapes.
Breakfast: 1 coffee with semi-skimmed milk. Breakfast biscuits with jam. Juice of 1 orange.
Food: Rice with vegetables. Chicken with apples. 1 fruit yoghurt.
Snack: 1 bread and pate. 1 fruit juice.
Dinner: Strawberries and kiwi and fresh cheese. Squid. 1 pear.
Breakfast: 1 coffee with semi-skimmed milk. Toast with butter and honey. 1 fruit juice.
Lunch: Garden salad with a serving of meat and cheese. Peaches in syrup.
Snack: fruit plate with yogurt.
Dinner: Egg and spinach with tomatoes "cherry". 1 flan.
Breakfast: 1 plain yogurt. Breakfast cereals. 1 banana.
Lunch: salad vegetables. Salmon with mashed potatoes. 1 kiwi.
Snack: Cottage cheese with honey.
Dinner: Chicken breast and vegetables, 1 cup low-fat milk.
Breakfast: 1 coffee with semi-skimmed milk. Churros. Juice of 1 orange.
Food: Potatoes cooked to taste. Baked fish with salad. 2 tangerines.
Snack: bread with olive oil and tomato. 1 cup low-fat milk
Dinner: Mashed Potatoes. Loin steaks. 1 slice of fresh pineapple.
Breakfast: 1 coffee with semi-skimmed milk. 1 piece of bread or homemade pie. 1 fruit juice.
Food: Seafood Paella. Mixed salad. 1 custard.
Snack: 1 yogurt with nuts.
Dinner: tortilla soup, baked fish with potatoes. 1 pear.


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KOOTENAI COUNTY, Idaho -- Officials at Kootenai Health in Coeur d'Alene are trying to limit just how many people are coming in and out of the hospital each day.
Officials said the numbers of patients they are treating is very close to capacity. The ICU is just about full and the regular hospital floors are well over 90 percent full. Hospital officials said flu season is partly to blame.
Administrators at Kootenai Health are telling people to stay home if they have flu symptoms.
The hospital also wants to limit patient exposure to the flu. There was already one reported flu death in North Idaho in 2014 in January. Hospital officials said the particular 2014 flu strain tends to make people sicker. They said if you have any symptoms like a sore throat or runny nose, do not come visit someone in the hospital, even if you are a family member.
"It is pretty clear that people underestimate the severity of the flu when it really hits them. And our concern is that we keep our patients as well as our community as safe as possible," said Kootenai Health Chief Medical Officer Walt Fairfax.
The hospital said if you are a family member and do have the flu, it will make special arrangements to allow you to visit. They said it cannot take any chances for anyone else.
Officials encourage everyone else to constantly wash their hands and get a flu shot.


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Prosecutors will not be seeking the death penalty and a jury trial date was set for the man accused of murder in the 2012 death of an elderly Tulsa woman at an arraignment Monday morning.
Tyrone Woodfork, 21, is accused of breaking into the North Tulsa home of Bob, 90, and Nancy Strait, 84, on March 14th, 2012, severely beating both of them, and also sexually assaulting Nancy Strait, who died from her wounds a day later.
Bob Strait passed away shortly after.
According to Assistant District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler, the decision to not seek the death penalty for Woodfork stems primarily from the suspect's mental limitations.
"There was much debate within our office as to whether we should seek the death penalty on this Defendant because of the egregious nature of the crime and the age of Ms. Strait. But ultimately the fact he had a borderline IQ score, as well as other mental history, led us to our decision," First Assistant District Attorney Doug Drummond said.
Woodfork is now scheduled for a jury trial on October 21, 2013.
Drummond said the D.A.'s office hopes the trial provides the victims' family members with closure from the tragedy, and the decision to not pursue a death sentence was discussed with them beforehand.
Woodfork is charged with first-degree murder, first-degree rape, rape by force & fear, two counts of robbery with a firearm, assault & battery with a dangerous weapon and burglary.
He has been held in the Tulsa Co. Jail since his arrest last year.
Evangelist Franklin Graham prayed on a sidewalk outside the Pentagon Thursday after his invitation to a prayer service inside was withdrawn because of comments that insulted people of other religions. More>>
Channel 8's Ethan Calloway reports from Taft.