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By Jeremy Deaton
You may have heard about the hole in the ozone layer, which hovers over Antarctica. It has shrunk over time thanks to policies that curbed the use of ozone-depleting chemicals. In the nearly 40 years that NASA has kept track, it has never been smaller. That's the good news.
Polar stratospheric clouds activate the chemicals that deplete the ozone layer. NASA
- Healing Ozone Layer Shows Why Environmental Treaties Matter ›
- Saving the Ozone Layer 30 Years Ago Slowed Global Warming ... ›
- Record Ozone Hole Over the Arctic Has Closed - EcoWatch ›
By Stephanie Woodard
Many Americans are now experiencing an erratic food supply for the first time. Among COVID-19's disruptions are bare supermarket shelves and items available yesterday but nowhere to be found today. As you seek ways to replace them, you can look to Native gardens for ideas and inspiration.
Aubrey Skye, Standing Rock Sioux tribal member, tills gardens for himself and other tribal members. He does some by hand, and others with this tractor. Photo by Stephanie Woodard.
- 'This Is History in the Making': Cherokee Nation Is First U.S.-Based ... ›
- Three Sisters Garden — How to Plant Corn, Squash & Beans Together ›
EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
By Kristeen Cherney
Skin inflammation, which includes swelling and redness, occurs as an immune system reaction. While redness and swelling can develop for a variety of reasons, rashes and burns are perhaps the most common symptoms. More severe skin inflammation can require medications, but sometimes mild rashes may be aided with home remedies like aloe vera.
When Aloe Vera for Redness May Treat Irritation and Inflammation
Aloe vera has anti-inflammatory properties that may help soothe skin rashes. As a bonus, aloe is also thought to have antimicrobial capabilities, which may in turn help to prevent infections. Additionally, aloe vera gel is known for its ability to help moisturize your skin without leaving any residue that heavy creams sometimes can.

While aloe vera can't cure any skin disease or treat every single instance of skin inflammation, here are the instances where it could possibly help:

Burns

Aloe vera gel is perhaps best known for its ability to help treat burns. If you've ever had a sunburn, you may have used an OTC gel to help reduce itchiness, redness, and overall irritation. The same concept may apply to mild heat or chemical burns.

To use aloe vera for burn treatment, apply it liberally to the affected area multiple times per day. You may know it's time to apply more if your skin starts feeling hot. Aloe vera is safe to use until symptoms of your burn start to improve after a day or two.

While aloe vera may provide temporary burn relief along with a cooling effect, it won't reverse any damage that may have been done to your skin. It also isn't an appropriate treatment for more severe burns, which can include symptoms such as boils, blisters, and peeling skin.

When Aloe May Worsen Symptoms
Aloe can help alleviate symptoms of skin rashes that are mild in nature. However, it's not considered an effective treatment for more serious inflammatory skin conditions. Aloe vera may also—in rare cases—cause skin inflammation. Don't use aloe vera if you have an allergy to it.

Can aloe vera cause a skin rash?

While considered safe for most people, there is a risk of an allergic reaction to aloe vera. In such cases, you might see signs of contact dermatitis, which can develop when your skin comes in contact with an irritating or allergenic substance. Symptoms may include:

redness

hives

itching

skin rash

If you've never used aloe vera before, you should conduct a patch test to make sure you're not allergic. This involves applying the gel to a non-conspicuous area of skin, such as the inside of your elbow. The downside is you have to wait at least 24 hours to see if any irritation develops. If no such reactions occur, then it should be safe to use the product on your skin rashes.

Can Aloe Vera Make Eczema Worse?
Aloe vera won't likely make eczema worse unless you're allergic to it. The greater risk is relying on aloe for eczema treatment when it may not actually work. Aloe vera gel could temporarily alleviate feelings of burning, but it can't treat the underlying causes of your eczema rashes.

Sometimes eczema rashes may bleed due to scratching. You should not apply aloe to broken skin, as this can increase burning sensations.

When to See a Doctor
Aloe vera can help soothe certain cases of skin inflammation, but most effects are temporary at best. If your symptoms last longer than a few days, get progressively worse, or spread throughout your entire body, then it's time to see a doctor to evaluate your skin rash.

A doctor may also refer you to a dermatologist, who specializes in the treatment of skin disorders. They can help diagnose the cause of your rashes and help treat the underlying source of inflammation, rather than the symptoms alone.

You should also see a doctor if you experience any negative reactions after using aloe gel. This could indicate an allergy to aloe vera. If you suspect an allergic reaction, stop using aloe right away.

Never take aloe vera gel or cream, aloe latex, or whole-leaf extract orally.

Seek immediate medical care if you suspect your rash is infected. Signs may include fever, blisters, and pus-filled lesions in your rash. Extremely painful rashes also require medical attention.

Takeaway
Due to its ability to soothe inflammation and wounds, aloe vera can be a temporary solution to treat the symptoms of a mild burn or skin rash. However, aloe vera isn't a viable treatment option for more severe burns or severe inflammatory skin conditions, such as eczema and rosacea. Stronger medications are needed for more severe skin rashes.

While rare, aloe vera may also cause an allergic reaction in some people. Always conduct a skin patch test for use, and discontinue any aloe gel products if you notice any new rashes.

- 9 Health Benefits of Aloe Vera Juice - EcoWatch ›
- 8 Best Vitamins and Supplements for Dry Skin - EcoWatch ›
- 8 Health Benefits of Antioxidant-Rich Aloe Vera - EcoWatch ›
By Katie Lambert and Sarah Gleim
The United Nations suggests that climate change is not just the defining issue of our time, but we are also at a defining moment in history. Weather patterns are changing and will threaten food production, and sea levels are rising and could cause catastrophic flooding across the globe. Countries must make drastic actions to avoid a future with irreversible damage to major ecosystems and planetary climate.
- Cut Beef Consumption in Half to Help Save the Earth, Says New Study ›
- Bill McKibben: How to Save the Planet From Trump - EcoWatch ›
- 50 Ways You Can Help Save the Earth - EcoWatch ›
Blue Light Disrupts Your Sleep
Your body has an internal clock that regulates your circadian rhythm — the 24-hour biological cycle that influences many internal functions.

Most importantly, it determines when your body is primed for being awake or asleep.

However, your circadian rhythm needs signals from the external environment — most importantly daylight and darkness — to adjust itself.

Blue-wavelength light stimulates sensors in your eyes to send signals to your brain's internal clock.

Keep in mind that sunlight and white light contain a mixture of various wavelengths, each of which has a significant amount of blue light.

Getting blue light, especially from the sun, in the daytime helps you stay alert while improving performance and mood.

Blue light therapy devices may help treat depression, and blue light bulbs have been shown to reduce fatigue and improve the mood, performance, and sleep of office workers.

Yet, modern light bulbs and electronic devices, especially computer monitors, likewise produce large amounts of blue light and may disrupt your internal clock if you're exposed to them during the evening.

When it gets dark, your pineal gland secretes the hormone melatonin, which tells your body to get tired and go to sleep.

Blue light, whether from the sun or a laptop, is very effective at inhibiting melatonin production — thus reducing both the quantity and quality of your sleep.

Studies link melatonin suppression in the evening to various health problems, including metabolic syndrome, obesity, cancer, and depression.

Summary

Blue light in the evening tricks your brain into thinking it's daytime, which inhibits the production of melatonin and reduces both the quantity and quality of your sleep.

Tinted Glasses May Help
Amber-tinted glasses offer the easiest and most effective way to avoid blue light exposure at night.

These glasses effectively block all blue light. Thus, your brain doesn't get the signal that it's supposed to stay awake.

Studies show that when people use blue-light-blocking glasses, even in a lit room or while using an electronic device, they produce just as much melatonin as if it were dark.

In one study, people's melatonin levels in the evening were compared across dim light, bright light, and bright light with tinted glasses.

The bright light almost completely suppressed melatonin production, while the dim light did not.

Notably, those wearing the glasses produced the same amount of melatonin as those exposed to dim light. The glasses largely canceled out the melatonin-suppressing effect of the bright light.

Likewise, blue-light-blocking glasses have been shown to spur major improvements in sleep and mental performance.

In one 2-week study, 20 individuals used either blue-light-blocking glasses or glasses that didn't block blue light for 3 hours before bedtime. The former group experienced major improvements in both sleep quality and mood.

These glasses have also been found to greatly improve sleep in shift workers when worn before bedtime.

What's more, in a study in older adults with cataracts, blue-light-blocking lenses improved sleep and significantly reduced daytime dysfunction.

That said, not all studies support the use of blue-light-blocking lenses or glasses. One analysis of several studies concluded that there's a lack of high quality evidence supporting their use.

Nevertheless, blue-light-blocking glasses may provide some benefits.

Shop blue-light-blocking glasses online.

Summary

Some studies suggest that blue-light-blocking glasses may increase melatonin production during the evening, leading to major improvements in sleep and mood.

Other Blocking Methods
If you don't want to use glasses every night, there are a few other ways to reduce blue light exposure.

One popular way is to install a program called f.lux on your computer.

This program automatically adjusts the color and brightness of your screen based on your timezone. When it's dark outside, it effectively blocks all blue light and gives your monitor a faint orange hue.

Similar apps are available for your smartphone.

A few other tips include:

turning off all lights in your home 1–2 hours before bedtime

getting a red or orange reading lamp, which doesn't emit blue light (candlelight works well, too)

keeping your bedroom completely dark or using a sleep mask

It's also important to expose yourself to plenty of blue light during the day.

If you can, go outside to get sunlight exposure. Otherwise, consider a blue light therapy device — a strong lamp that simulates the sun and bathes your face and eyes in blue light.

Summary

Other ways to block blue light in the evening include dimming or turning off the lights in your home and installing an app that adjusts the light your laptop and smartphone emit.

The Bottom Line
Blue light, which is emitted from smartphones, computers, and bright lights, may inhibit your sleep if you're exposed to it at night.

If you have a history of sleeping problems, try reducing your exposure to blue light during the evenings.

Amber-tinted glasses may be particularly effective.

Several studies support their ability to improve sleep quality.

Working From Home During the Pandemic Has Environmental Benefits — But We Can Do Even Better
Junjira Konsang / Pixabay
By Matt Casale
For many Americans across the country, staying home to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) means adapting to long-term telework for the first time. We're doing a lot more video conferencing and working out all the kinks that come along with it.
The author (above) wrote this while working from home, baby in tow. Emily Anderson (author's wife/home office mate)
The coronavirus will pass, but it's looking more and more like remote work will stick around. This time has demonstrated that, despite the ups and downs many of us have experienced, telework works for way more of us than we knew.

Even before this we knew that there were several benefits for both employers and employees to sidestepping the office. Studies have shown that it can lead to increased productivity, higher morale and lower employee turnover. It can also reduce real estate and office operation costs for employers.

We may now also be seeing some larger societal benefits that make the case for taking telework even further. Our current situation has provided a window into how a reduction in driving, buoyed, in part, by a greater adoption of telework, could relieve some of the stress on our overburdened transportation system and help heal at least a portion of the environmental damage it causes.

Today, roads that would normally clogged at all hours of the day are virtually empty, even during rush hour. And the reduced car travel leads to fewer crashes and less air pollution, which harms human health and contributes to global warming. Air that's usually cloudy with smog has cleared. Los Angeles, which has notoriously pollution-choked skies, could recently boast having the cleanest air in the world. And this year, experts predict, the transportation transformation will contribute to the largest-ever annual decline in global carbon emissions.

Virtually empty Los Angeles streets on May 7. Chris Yarzab / CC BY 2.0
Clearly not every job can be done from home, and it's not just commuting for work that has come to a halt during coronavirus lockdowns. In 2017 only around 28 percent of total miles driven were work-related. Even if telework continues or expands on a much larger scale, non-work-related car trips — shopping, recreation, visits to doctors and the like — can be expected to go back to normal.

Still, telework's potential for taking cars off the road can clearly have an impact on global warming emissions and air pollution. Just how much of an impact could telework have? As it turns out, the answer is a significant one — and with a few important steps, the benefits can be even greater and more sustainable.

How Much of the Workforce Could Reasonably and Permanently Transition to Telework?
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 5.2 percent of U.S. workers — around 8 million people — worked from home in 2017. But that's still just a fraction of potential teleworkers. Earlier this month researchers at the University of Chicago found that 37 percent of U.S. jobs can plausibly be performed at home. The U.S. workforce reached 164.5 million in February 2020, before the pandemic, meaning approximately 61 million of those workers could plausibly telework permanently once the economy starts up again.

Of course, the full economic consequences of this public health crisis are still unknown. It's possible that coronavirus-related job losses will impact the overall number of those employed for some time. But for these purposes, this assumption of 53 million new remote workers will be useful to illustrate the potential impacts of telework.

How Much Driving Would Full-Capacity Telework Avoid?
In 2019 Americans drove a total 3.23 trillion miles, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The DoE doesn't break that down by reasons driving, but we know that in 2017 there were 683 billion total commute miles driven. Reducing the commuting workforce by about 32 percent (37 percent of total workers who could telecommute minus the 5.2 percent of them who already do) would theoretically decrease commuting totals by about 219 billion miles.

A traffic jam on January 17. Raphael Labaca Castro / CC BY-SA 2.0
Of course telecommuting won't let us avoid logging all of those miles, since people may occasionally still need to travel to an office for meetings and may need to make new trips they wouldn't otherwise have taken (you can't stop at the grocery store on the way home from work when you work at home). Various studies have found that telecommuting actually reduces driving somewhere between 60 and 90 percent of commute vehicle miles traveled (VMT). We'll split the difference and calculate that telework reduces commute miles by about 75%, meaning the new teleworkers could avoid around 164 billion miles driven.

U.S. Department of Energy, Alternative Fuels Data Center
Still, that much of a transformation may not work for everyone, as people will still need to do face-to-face work — and, let's be honest, the other thing the lockdowns have taught us is to appreciate the value of regular social contact. That said, even if most people worked from home two to three days a week and the actual VMT reduction were closer to 2 or 3 percent, the difference would still be significant — especially considering that VMT has been steadily rising since the 1970s, except for a few years during economic downturns. Even if just a quarter of American workers started working from home one day a week, total vehicle miles traveled would fall by 1 percent — not a huge amount, but enough to make a difference on a grander scale.

Impact on Global Warming Emissions
The cars and trucks we drive every day are major sources of air pollution and global warming emissions. Transportation as a whole accounts for 28 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., more than any other source. Light-duty vehicles and medium- and heavy-duty trucks are responsible for 82 percent of the transportation sector's emissions.

The average American car or SUV emits 404 grams of carbon dioxide (CO2) per mile traveled. So reducing commuting by 164 billion miles would avoid 66 million metric tons of CO2 emissions annually. These are significant emissions reductions, but they'd only make a small dent in total transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions, which reached nearly 1.9 billion metric tons in 2018.

Impact on Health-harming Air Pollution
People across America regularly breathe polluted air, which increases their risk of attacks and other adverse health impacts, and even premature death. In fact, in 2018 108 million Americans lived in areas that experienced more than 100 days of degraded air quality. Our cars and trucks are a major source of this pollution, which includes ozone, particulate matter and other smog-forming emissions.

There's a reason the air has cleared over many of our major cities during the coronavirus lockdowns. When you remove cars from the road, you also remove smog. The lockdowns have resulted in an extreme reduction of VMT — between 68 and 72 percent across the country (and in some places closer to 90 percent). Assuming that telework has contributed something close to its peak potential reduction of 7 percent, it seems likely that it has played at least a supporting role in helping to clear our skies.

Additional Emissions Reductions From Reduced Traffic
The average American commuter wastes 54 hours a year stuck in traffic. That's lost time with friends and families, lost productivity at work, wasted money, tons of unnecessary stress, and a lot more pollution from idling cars.

Traffic patterns are complicated because traffic is non-linear, meaning there isn't a one-to-one ratio of percentage of cars removed to percentage of traffic alleviated. As such, just a few extra cars on or off the road can have an outsize impact on traffic. Reducing commute VMT by up to 7 percent would have a huge impact on rush hour traffic (when bottlenecks are at their worst and most of that driving occurs). A greater adoption of telework could give people back some of those 54 hours so they can spend it doing the things that matter to them. And slow moving or stop and go traffic results in greater emissions than free-flowing traffic. So freeing up the roads and alleviating traffic for the remaining will result in even greater emissions reductions.

What Needs to Happen for Telework to Live Up to Its Potential?
It's clear that telework can have significant societal benefits, including less global warming pollution and cleaner skies. But significant benefits are only possible if everyone whose job could plausibly be done from home has that opportunity.

To reach that goal, several barriers must be overcome:

Technology: We've all had technical mix-ups when using Zoom or Google Hangouts or one of the other conferencing platforms. But the real technological barrier is access to broadband. Roughly three-quarters of American adults have broadband internet service at home, but the rate of access is much lower in rural parts of the country, according to a report by Pew Research Center. Those locations often don't have broadband infrastructure and even 14 percent of households in urban areas lack access, usually because they are not able to afford it. States should make funding available to develop broadband capacity in underserved areas.

Employer policies and managerial reluctance: Coronavirus lockdowns across the country have forced employers and managers to adapt to large-scale telework quickly on an emergency basis, meaning these barriers are less likely relevant now than before. But general employer and manager reluctance to embrace working from home has slowed this transition. Cities and states can encourage employer acceptance of telework by providing tax benefits or other incentives for greater adoption.

Car-centered transportation policies: Our current transportation policies often incentivize driving or parking. From commuter and parking benefits to decades of outsized spending on highway infrastructure, we tip the scales toward getting behind an automobile's wheel. In other words, our transportation policies are meant to move cars rather than incentivize things, such as telework, that would take cars off the road.

We need to rethink this approach and shift toward better "Transportation Demand Management." This requires the implementation of a set of strategies aimed at maximizing traveler choices. Those strategies should include greater employer and employee incentives for telework, as well as policies designed to facilitate more walking, biking, ridesharing, vanpooling and public transportation use.

Bikeshare in Milan, October 2019. Guilhem Vellut / CC BY 2.0
That's important, because the potential gains we'd see from telework would only be sustained if that shift were paired with other policies to ensure those commuter miles aren't just replaced with other trips. We usually talk about this in relation to widening or building new highways, but when you open up highway capacity, it usually fills quickly. This is what the wonks call "induced demand." People who otherwise would have driven at a different time of day, taken a different route, taken public transportation or would have avoided traffic on the highway some other way, come back to the road. The same could happen here if additional measures aren't taken.

It's likely that, even after the coronavirus lockdowns are over, telework is going to become more and more common in the American workforce. As it does, the environmental benefits will be significant. In a time when climate change presents an existential threat to life as we know it and millions of people across the world are subjected to unhealthy levels of air pollution, we need to be taking an all-hands-on-deck approach to solving these problems. Telework can clearly be a significant part of the long-term solution — especially if we take further steps to maximize its potential.

- Social Distancing Is Also Helping the Climate - EcoWatch ›
- Working From Home? Why Detachment Is Crucial for Mental Health ›
- Earth Is Shaking a Lot Less Now That Everyone Is Staying Home ... ›
Public Parks Matter More Than Ever During a Pandemic
By Richard leBrasseur
The COVID-19 pandemic has altered humans' relationship with natural landscapes in ways that may be long-lasting. One of its most direct effects on people's daily lives is reduced access to public parks.
Making Healthy Places
Olmsted was born in 1822 but became a landscape architect rather late in his career, at age 43. His ideas evolved from a diverse and unique set of experiences.

From the start, Olmsted recognized the positive effect of nature, noting how urban trees provided a "soothing and refreshing sanitary influence." His "sanitary style" of design offered more than mere decoration and ornamentation. "Service must precede art" was his cry.

Olmsted's 1874 plan for the U.S. Capitol grounds in Washington, DC. Architect of the Capitol
Olmsted came of age in the mid-19th century, as the public health movement was rapidly developing in response to typhoid, cholera and typhus epidemics in European cities. As managing editor of Putnam's Monthly in New York City, he regularly walked the crowded tenement streets of Lower Manhattan.

At the U.S. Sanitary Commission during the Civil War, Olmsted led efforts to improve sanitation in Union Army military camps and protect soldiers' health. He initiated policies for selecting proper camp locations, installing drainage and disposing of waste, ventilating tents and preparing food, all designed to reduce disease. And in 1866 he witnessed adoption of New York's Metropolitan Health Bill, the first city law to control unhealthy housing conditions.

Antidotes to Urban Stress
The insights Olmsted gained into connections between space, disease control and public health clearly influenced his landscape architectural career and the design of many urban park systems. For example, his design for the interlinked parks that forms Boston's Emerald Necklace foreshadowed the concept of green infrastructure.

This system centered on stagnant and deteriorated marshes that had became disconnected from the tidal flow of the Charles River as Boston grew. City residents were dumping trash and sewage in the marshes, creating fetid dumps that spread waterborne diseases. Olmsted's design reconnected these water systems to improve flow and flush out stagnant zones, while integrating a series of smaller parks along its trailways.

Boston's Emerald Necklace park system today. Emerald Necklace Conservancy / CC BY-ND
Olmsted also designed America's first bike lane, which originated in Brooklyn, New York's Prospect Park. Of the tree-lined boulevards in his design for Central Park, Olmsted said, "Air is disinfected by sunlight and foliage. Foliage also acts mechanically to purify the air by screening it."

In all of his urban parks, Olmsted sought to immerse visitors in restorative and therapeutic natural landscapes — an experience he viewed as the most profound and effective antidote to the stress and ailments of urban life.

Parks in the Time of COVID-19
Today researchers are documenting many health benefits associated with being outside. Spending time in parks and green spaces clearly benefits urban dwellers' psychological, emotional and overall well-being. It reduces stress, improves cognitive functioning and is associated with improved overall health.

In my view, government agencies should work to make these vital services as widely available as possible, especially during stressful periods like pandemic shutdowns. Certain types of public green spaces, such as botanical gardens, arboretums and wide trails, are well suited to maintaining social distancing rules. Other types where visitors may be likely to cluster, such as beaches and playgrounds, require stricter regulation.

There are many ways to make parks accessible with appropriate levels of control. One option is stationing agents at entry points to monitor and enforce capacity controls. Park managers can use timed entries and parking area restrictions to limit social crowding, as well as temperature screening and face mask provisions.

- National Parks to Start Partial Reopening - EcoWatch ›
- Singapore Uses 'Scary' Robot Dog to Enforce Social Distancing ... ›
- COVID-19 Reveals a Crisis of Public Spaces - EcoWatch ›
What Are Chelated Minerals, and Do They Have Benefits?
Minerals are key nutrients that your body requires to function. They affect various aspects of bodily function, such as growth, bone health, muscle contractions, fluid balance, and many other processes.
What Are Chelated Minerals?
Minerals are a type of nutrient that your body needs to function properly. As your body cannot produce minerals, you must obtain them through your diet.

Yet, many are difficult to absorb. For example, your intestine may only absorb 0.4–2.5% of chromium from food.

Chelated minerals are meant to boost absorption. They're bound to a chelating agent, which are typically organic compounds or amino acids that help prevent the minerals from interacting with other compounds.

For example, chromium picolinate is a type of chromium attached to three molecules of picolinic acid. It's absorbed through a different pathway than dietary chromium and appears to be more stable in your body.

Summary

Chelated minerals are minerals bound to a chelating agent, which is designed to enhance their absorption in your body.

Various Types of Chelated Minerals
Most minerals are available in chelated form. Some of the most common include:

calcium

zinc

iron

copper

magnesium

potassium

cobalt

chromium

molybdenum

They're typically made using an amino or organic acid.

Amino Acids

These amino acids are commonly used to make mineral chelates:

Aspartic acid: used to make zinc aspartate, magnesium aspartate, and more

Methionine: used to make copper methionine, zinc methionine, and more

Monomethionine: used to make zinc monomethionine

Lysine: used to make calcium lysinate

Glycine: used to make magnesium glycinate

Organic Acids

Organic acids used to make mineral chelates include:

Acetic acid: used to make zinc acetate, calcium acetate, and more

Citric acid: used to make chromium citrate, magnesium citrate, and more

Orotic acid: used to make magnesium orotate, lithium orotate, and more

Gluconic acid: used to make iron gluconate, zinc gluconate, and more

Fumaric acid: used to make iron (ferrous) fumarate

Picolinic acid: used to make chromium picolinate, manganese picolinate, and more

Summary

Chelated minerals are usually joined to either organic acids or amino acids. Most mineral supplements are available in chelated form.

Do Chelated Minerals Have Better Absorption?
Chelated minerals are often touted as having better absorption than non-chelated ones.

Several studies have compared the absorption of the two.

For example, a study in 15 adults found that chelated zinc (as zinc citrate and zinc gluconate) was absorbed around 11% more effectively than non-chelated zinc (as zinc oxide).

Similarly, a study in 30 adults noted that magnesium glycerophosphate (chelated) raised blood magnesium levels significantly more than magnesium oxide (non-chelated).

What's more, some research suggests that taking chelated minerals may reduce the total amount you need to consume to reach healthy blood levels. This is important for people at risk of excess mineral intake, such as iron overload.

For example, in a study in 300 infants, giving 0.34 mg per pound of body weight (0.75 mg per kg) of iron bisglycinate (chelated) daily raised blood iron levels to levels similar to those caused by 4 times that amount of iron sulfate (non-chelated).

Yet, not all studies give the same results.

A study in 23 postmenopausal women showed that 1,000 mg of calcium carbonate (non-chelated) was more rapidly absorbed and raised blood calcium levels more effectively than the same amount of calcium citrate (chelated).

Meanwhile, a study in pregnant women with iron deficiency found no significant difference in blood iron levels when comparing chelated iron (ferrous bisglycinate) with regular iron (ferrous sulfate).

In general, animal studies indicate that chelated minerals are absorbed more effectively.

However, these findings should be interpreted with caution, as animals have significantly different digestive tracts than humans. These differences can affect mineral absorption.

Given that the current research is mixed, more research on chelated minerals is needed.

Summary

Current research provides mixed results on whether chelated minerals are absorbed better than regular minerals. More studies are needed before one can be recommended over the other.

Should You Buy Chelated Minerals?
In some situations, taking the chelated form of a mineral may be more suitable.

For instance, chelated minerals may benefit older adults. As you age, you may produce less stomach acid, which can affect mineral absorption.

Because chelated minerals are bound to an amino or organic acid, they don't require as much stomach acid to be efficiently digested.

Similarly, people who experience stomach pain after taking supplements may benefit from chelated minerals, as they're less dependent on stomach acid for digestion.

Nonetheless, regular, non-chelated minerals are sufficient for most adults.

Plus, chelated minerals tend to cost more than non-chelated ones. If cost is a concern for you, stick with regular mineral supplements.

Keep in mind that mineral supplements are unnecessary for most healthy adults unless your diet doesn't provide enough to meet your daily needs. In most instances, mineral supplements aren't a suitable replacement for dietary mineral intake.

Still, vegans, blood donors, pregnant women, and certain other populations may benefit from regularly supplementing with minerals.

If you plan on taking chelated minerals, you should speak with a healthcare professional beforehand.

Summary

Some individuals, such as older adults and those who have difficulty tolerating regular supplements, may benefit from chelated minerals.

The Bottom Line
Chelated minerals are those bound to a chelating agent, such as an organic or amino acid, to improve absorption.

Though they're often said to be absorbed better than regular mineral supplements, the current research is mixed.

For certain populations, such as older adults and those with stomach issues, chelated minerals are a suitable alternative to regular minerals. However, for most healthy adults, there's no need to choose one over the other.

By Tara Lohan
The Sargasso Sea, an area of the Atlantic Ocean between the Caribbean and Bermuda, has bedeviled sailors for centuries. Its namesake — sargassum, a type of free-floating seaweed — and notoriously calm winds have "trapped" countless mariners, including the crew of Christopher Columbus's Santa Maria.
Results from the global data-driven conservation planning analysis showing priority areas to be considered for protection (green) in marine areas beyond national jurisdiction. Visalli et al
Quantifying the Great Unknown
The high seas make up two-thirds of the ocean, much of which is remote. Scientists are still learning about the diversity and complexity of life there.

"We're discovering new species in the high seas all the time," said Morgan Visalli, lead author of Marine Policy study and a project scientist with U.C. Santa Barbara's Benioff Ocean Initiative.

But at the same time, her colleague and study coauthor Douglas McCauley, director of the Benioff Ocean Initiative, said there's also a lot we do know that can help guide conservation.

They began their study by reaching out to networks of colleagues across the world to help gather data.

"I was really impressed by how much we actually know — how much data we have for what is out there, biologically speaking," he said. "And also what people are doing in that space. We can't fall back on the excuse of not knowing enough."

The researchers ended up analyzing 22 billion data points — a huge data-processing challenge — to identify areas of the high seas that could warrant protection.

That included looking at indicators such as seafloor habitat, ocean productivity, diversity and richness of species, and extinction risks. They also identified certain physical features — like seamounts and hydrothermal vents — where changes in elevation and temperature help foster biodiversity.

Their results identified priority regions in nearly all the major ocean basins, with the largest areas in the South Pacific Ocean. Key areas also included the Sargasso Sea, as well as the Costa Rica thermal dome in the Pacific Ocean; the South Tasman Sea; the Emperor Seamount Chain northwest of the Hawaiian Islands; the Mascarene Plateau in the Indian Ocean; and the Walvis Ridge, an undersea mountain range off southwestern Africa.

UCSB analysis; Marineregions.org; Natural Earth. © 2020 The Pew Charitable Trusts
Their model avoided areas of high fishing activity in order to avoid what the study calls "real or perceived negative socioeconomic impacts" of setting aside conservation areas. It also took into consideration how climate change could alter biodiversity by selecting areas critical today and ones likely to be important in the future as well.

The Need for Protection
The research comes at a critical time for the future of the ocean — and the high seas, specifically.

A new United Nations treaty to protect and conserve biodiversity in the high seas is currently being negotiated, and a focus of those talks is how to create a framework for establishing marine protected areas outside of national waters. This could help ensure that unique ecosystems like the Sargasso Sea and others identified in the Marine Policy study aren't overexploited.

The current law that governs the high seas, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, was finalized in 1982. But since then, our collective impact is starting to reveal gaps in governance.

Marine shipping traffic is up 1,600 percent and plastic pollution has increased 100-fold. At least one-third of fish stocks are being overharvested, and many migratory fish species, such as tuna, have declined more than 60 percent. Technological advances have led to more prospecting in the ocean's depths for minerals and other genetic resources, as well as more destructive practices, like trawling along the ocean floor. Climate change, which is warming waters and increasing acidification, poses even more risks to ocean life.

Coral bleaching in the Gulf of Thailand. Petchrung Sukpong / CC BY-SA 2.0
This has all taken a toll.

A landmark report last year from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services found massive declines in biodiversity globally — including in the ocean, with one-third of all reef-forming corals and marine mammals threatened with extinction.

A recent study in the journal Nature, published just a few days after the Marine Policy study, suggests that we've come to a critical crossroads.

"We are at a point at which we can choose between a legacy of a resilient and vibrant ocean or an irreversibly disrupted ocean, for the generations to follow," wrote the researchers, led by Carlos Duarte, a professor of marine science at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.

They posited that with enough resources and global will, we can see a "substantial recovery of the abundance, structure and function of marine life" by 2050. But to do that, we need to scale up efforts to protect vulnerable species and habitats, reduce pollution and — most critically — curb climate change.

That's why Visalli and McCauley believe efforts like the emerging high seas treaty are important.

So far fully implemented marine protected areas span just 5 percent of the ocean. And the vast majority of these reserves are in national waters, which are only one-third of the ocean. But a high seas treaty would help create a framework to more easily set aside conservation-rich areas in a much greater expanse.

"Even though there is industry out there and it has been increasing over the past several decades," said Visalli, "there is still a lot of wilderness in the high seas, and we are at this moment where we have an opportunity to protect these wild places before industry continues to expand even further."

To truly protect and restore ocean health, scientists have been calling for a bare minimum of 30 percent of the ocean to be protected. More protected areas in the high seas are important for meeting that goal. But just as crucial as how much space, is also where that space is.

The Need for Protected Spaces
The major driver for changing and threatening biodiversity in the long term is climate change, said McCauley, which makes protecting these spaces vital in the short term.

"We are already seeing the first manifestation of these threats and we need to think about climate change and always manage the oceans — from fishing regulations to ocean parks — with that in mind," he said. "Climate change is changing where biodiversity will be in the high seas, and we can use data to plan for that."

Duarte and authors of the Nature study wrote that "Climate change is the critical backdrop against which all future rebuilding efforts will play out." But well-managed marine protected areas, they said, can help ecosystems be better equipped to handle threats from climate change, like warming temperatures and changing ocean chemistry.

Getting there won't be cheap. A global network of marine protected areas that conserves 20–30 percent of the ocean could cost $5–19 billion a year, the researchers write in Nature.

But supporting local economies, feeding communities, and fostering biodiversity don't have to be mutually exclusive. The money spent on conservation will be more than returned in economic gains from the new jobs, revenue from ecotourism, restored fisheries, and protections for coastal areas, their research found.

But establishing the policy and international agreements, like the high seas treaty, to set plans in motion will require a lot of compromise, said McCauley.

"We need that space to have an ocean economy and we need that space to have biodiversity," he said. "Can we find a sweet spot?"

Rainforest Deforestation More Than Doubled Under Cover of Coronavirus
As the COVID-19 virus was spreading around the world, deforestation in the world's rainforests rose at an alarming rate, the German arm of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said in a study published on Thursday.
Indonesia Forests Hit Hardest
The forests most heavily hit by deforestation in March were in Indonesia, with more than 1,300 square kilometers lost.

The Democratic Republic of Congo saw the second-largest forest loss with 1,000 square kilometers followed by Brazil with 950 square kilometers.

The Brazilian non-profit research institute Imazon told news agency DPA that deforestation was up in April as well. The institute recorded a loss of 529 square kilometers in the Amazon in April, a rise of 171% compared to last year.

Tied to COVID-19
The WWF says there's ample evidence to suggest the boom in rainforest deforestation is being fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

With stay-at-home orders and strict lockdowns in place in countries around the world, authorities haven't been able to patrol nature preserves and indigenous territories as often — a situation that criminal organizations and illegal loggers have been using to their advantage.

The virus has also prompted massive job losses in many countries, leaving many newly-unemployed people increasingly desperate for sources of income.

By Tonya Russell
A few years ago, my fiance and I got into an argument on our way to spend Christmas with my family.
As we drove through unfamiliar territory, we began to notice a lot of people who appeared to be without a home. This started to break up the tension as we turned our thoughts to this bigger issue.


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The dental clinic deals with the diagnosis and treatment of dental and oro-facial problems. We have the latest and high-end equipments, to provide state of the art dental care to our esteemed patients. Our aim is to prevent dental disease and save the natural tooth as much as possible. For this we use a minimally invasive and conservative approach. We provide general dental care as well as specialized dental treatment with the help of our team of highly qualified, internationally trained and experienced dentists. We cover all aspects of dentistry.
About us
The department of dentistry and maxillofacial surgery is headed by Dr. Chirag Desai. He is a renowned oral and maxillofacial surgeon. He has authored a number of articles in indexed journals. He has also presented various papers and posters at national conferences. He has conducted extensive research in the field of bone grafting and ridge augmentation. Dr. Chirag is a Nobel Biocare (US FDA approved) certified implantologist. His conservative approach and patient customized treatment protocol makes him a sought after implantologist by Indian and international patients.
a)Oral medicine and radiology – deals with clinical and radiographic examination and prescribing medicines for problems related to teeth, gums, jaws, facial muscles and other adjacent structures.
b)Preventive and Pediatric dentistry – we provide specialized pediatric dental care for your little ones, with counselling and behaviour management. Fillings, extractions, root canal treatment, Habit breaking appliances, space maintainers, etc. are done.
c)Conservative dentistry and endodontics – deals with filling and restoring damaged teeth and root canal treatment. We use the best in class tooth coloured fillings to give you the original look and feel.
d)Periodontology - deals with gum problems like bleeding gums, pain in jaws, bone loss etc.
e)Oral and maxillofacial surgery - is the surgical speciality of dentistry that deals with diseases in teeth, gums, jaw and overlying structures. Treatment is provided not only for cysts and tumors in orofacial region, fractures of facial bones,infections in maxillofacial region,salivary gland disorders ,but also for temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders, correction of jaw position (orthognathic surgery) ,cleft lip and palate.
f)Dental implants – replacing lost teeth by placement and loading of dental implants and following adjunctive procedures like Grafting, Bone augmentation, Sinus lift procedure (direct and indirect), Ridge split ,Nerve repositioning
We also follow "immediate loading protocol" in selected cases for reduction in treatment duration and number of visits.
g)Prosthodontics – deals with replacing lost teeth by removable and fixed prosthesis like removable partial dentures, crown and bridge, Cast partial dentures, flexible denture,BPS dentures
h)Orthodontics and dentofacial orthopaedics – malaligned teeth are treated by various options like Metal braces, Ceramic braces, Lingual orthodontics, Myofunctional appliances for growth modification, Extraoral appliances
i)Oral pathology – deals with biopsy and examining the oral pathologic specimen histologically and planning further treatment
j)Public health and community dentistry – we conduct dental camps creating awareness for community benefit and public welfare.
k)Geriatric dentistry – specialized dental care for senior citizens, early morning or preferred appointments.
l)Cosmetic dentistry – smile enhancement, digital smile designing (DSD), laminates, veneers, dental jewellery, etc.
Keeping in mind your busy schedule, we have an evening OPD to make it convenient for our patients. We are available to see our patients at any time in case of emergency.
Professional memberships:
Indian Dental Assocoation (IDA)
Indian Society of Oral Implantologists (ISOI)
Maxillofacial surgery is the speciality that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, anomalies, defects and injuries of the craniomaxillofacial complex ( skull, head, neck, face, jaws and overlying musculature and skin). The domain of Maxillofacial surgery is huge and covers many procedures. ...
Dentistry is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity and adjacent and related structures and tissues, particularly in the jaw and facial area.
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery is a speciality in dentistry which relates to conditions of the face, mouth and jaws, including a routine assessment and treatment for common oral surgical conditions.Some areas for treatment covered are:
|Bed Category
|Multi bed
|Bed Category
|Multi bed


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The absolutist voices have always dominated the abortion debate. But as it flares again in Congress and in legislatures across the country, the fight this time is heading into complicated political terrain, stirring the ambivalence that most Americans feel about the issue. In Texas, one of the most restrictive and closely watched abortion laws in the country appears headed for passage this week after Republican Gov. Rick Perry resurrected it by calling a special session of the legislature. On Wednesday, the state House voted 96 to 49 to approve the controversial antiabortion legislation that has prompted two special sessions. The bill bans abortions after 20 weeks of gestation and imposes new limits on abortion clinics, doctors and pills. The state Senate is expected to add its approval later this week. Meanwhile, in North Carolina, another GOP governor, Pat McCrory, is threatening to veto a measure that contains some of the same provisions, saying he is concerned that its new regulations on abortion clinics might cross "a fine line between safety measures and restrictions." Fine lines are not something activists on either side often recognize. But four decades after the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Roe v. Wade, the views of most of Americans on abortion remain complex and conditional. "While there are very well organized and very ideological pro-life and pro-choice groups, your average citizen is in neither of these groups. He or she is in the middle," said Tom Smith, head of the General Social Survey at the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center, who has been tracking public sentiment on abortion since 1972. Except in the first few years after Roe v. Wade made abortion legal, when public acceptance grew, sentiment around the issue has not moved much. Nor is there a large generational divide. That distinguishes abortion from other contentious social issues, such as same-sex marriage and marijuana legalization, where overall public opinion -- led by the young -- has shifted dramatically in favor of a more liberal position. For decades, polls have shown that most people want abortion to be available to women, at least in the early stages of pregnancy, when the vast majority occur. But Americans get increasingly uncomfortable with the procedure as a fetus gets closer to viability. In December, a Gallup poll found roughly six in 10 saying abortion should be legal in the first three months of pregnancy, but support dropped to 27 percent in the second trimester and to 14 percent in the third. Data just released by the National Opinion Research Center show that most Americans think the woman's decision to have an abortion is justified in some instances -- rape (where 78 percent support abortion as an option), fetal deformity (77 percent) and serious danger to her health (87 percent), for example. But they do not support it when an abortion is sought because the woman believes she is too poor to have more children (a situation in which 45 percent say they approve of an abortion) or doesn't want to marry the father (42 percent). The fact that there are so many facets to when and why a woman may seek an abortion means the political argument around it -- even more than most issues -- is likely to be won by the side that more agilely frames the question. If the focus is on the woman, abortion rights advocates have found they can usually gain the upper hand. "The more you have people think about woman's personal decision-making -- how you can't have someone else make that decision, especially politicians" -- the better it goes for those who support abortion rights, said Democratic pollster Celinda Lake. But if it centers on the fetus or the details of the procedure itself, opponents are in a better position. Particularly in the early years after Roe v. Wade, "there was too much abstract debate," said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, which promotes female candidates who are against abortion. "We have found that the more specific you are about the thing you are talking about, the more public opinion will move your way." Both principles have been at work over the past few election cycles. In last year's election, Republicans lost two U.S. Senate races in large part because GOP candidates made insensitive comments about pregnancies that result from rape. Democrats rallied their base by accusing Republicans of waging a "war on women" with their efforts to defund Planned Parenthood and through legislation, in states including Virginia, that would require women seeking abortions to have intrusive and medically unnecessary transvaginal ultrasounds. More recently, abortion opponents -- who saw their ranks increase in state legislatures after the 2010 midterm elections -- seem to be gaining ground. In the first six months of this year alone, legislatures in 17 states placed 43 new restrictions on the procedure, according to figures compiled by the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion-rights advocacy organization that produces data cited by both sides in the debate. The bill under debate by the Texas Legislature falls into the middle of abortion's political crosscurrents.
The bill gained national attention when state Sen. Wendy Davis of Fort Worth waged a 13-hour filibuster against it in the waning hours of the legislature's previous session. One of the provisions -- banning abortion after 20 weeks' gestation -- is a move that polls favorably. Currently, 41 states impose a ban at some point during a pregnancy, eight of them at 20 weeks after fertilization. Last month, the U.S. House also passed a 20-week ban, largely along party lines, but it appears to have no chance in the Senate. More difficult to measure is the political fallout from the part of the bill that would require abortion clinics to upgrade to the standards of ambulatory surgical centers -- a requirement only six of the state's 42 abortion facilities meet. Abortion opponents portray that as a move to protect the health of women, one that is necessary since the trial of Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, whose clinic was shown to be a house of horrors. Gosnell was found guilty of three acts of first-degree murder in the deaths of infants born alive while he was performing late-term abortions. The other side, however, says that is just a pretext to put the vast majority of the state's abortion clinics out of business. North Carolina's state Senate last week passed a similar set of regulations on clinics in a bill dubbed the "Family, Faith and Freedom Protection Act." Only one of the state's 17 abortion clinics meets the stricter requirements. But North Carolina's Health and Human Services secretary, Aldona Wos, has questioned whether the higher standards are necessary for safety reasons, given that her agency maintains a vigorous inspection program of all medical facilities across the state, including abortion clinics. During his 2012 campaign for governor, McCrory had promised that he would not sign into law any additional restrictions on abortion.


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Thin Hair Treatment at Home -Thinning Hair Solution For Women
Thin Hair Causes -
Check if hormonal causes are at play. The most popular reason for thinning hair for both women and men is a genetic condition where our sex hormones cause hair to drop out in a specific pattern. While female or male pattern hairloss is permanent, there are evidently measures you can take to gradual it down and deal with it.
Often hormonal fluctuations cause impermanent baldness. Ladies who are pregnant, have discontinued birth control, or even are going via menopause may find that they have impermanent hair thinning.
Managing the hair softly, making a proper use of all natural products of hair as well as altering the style of your hair can help slow the development of hormone-related thinning.
Determine whether it's a medical condition or not. Particular medical conditions may cause baldness. Treating these medical conditions can assist halt or slow baldness. If you are concerned that maybe you have one of the following conditions, consult with your physician about beginning a therapy program so your locks will begin growing back in.
Read More
20 Best Hairstyles For Thin Hair
Thyroid concerns – Whenever your thyroid isn't functioning appropriately, you could observe a lot more hair falling out than regular.
Scalp infections as well as skin problems. Baldness might result from a skin condition just like ringworm. Treating the problem can assist the locks grow back.
Alopecia areata – It is an illness where the body's defense mechanisms basically attacks the follicles of hair.
Look at your medications. Particular medications cause baldness. if you're on a treatment that lists baldness as a side-effect, you may talk about other available choices with medical expert. Perhaps it may not be possible for you to switch to an alternative treatment, but it's really worth looking into. Medicines used to treat the following situations generally cause hair thinning:
- Arthritis
- High blood pressure
- Depression
- Heart Problems
- Cancer
Thin Hair Treatment and Solution:-
So Find out if stress is the culprit. Baldness can derive from mental or physical shock along with ongoing stress. Any kind of shock to the system is going to have a physiological impact, and baldness is a very common circumstance when these conditions are at play.
If you're chronically stressed out, dealing the reasons behind your stress is an essential solution to maintain yourself in good health condition.
Try to make a proper use of some gentle products for thin hair. Whenever you discover your hair is thinning, making the change to all natural, gentle products of hair is a great idea. A lot of shampoos, conditioners, hair sprays as well as other products include chemical substances which are hard on the scalp and locks and can accelerate baldness and destroy the locks that's remaining.
Thin Hair Treatment at Home:-
Try to make a proper use of hair shampoo that doesn't include sulfates as well as any kind of alcohol. These types of substances are extremely drying and also damaging to locks.
Search for conditioner that doesn't include silicones. These weigh down the locks and also require sulfate shampoos to cleanse.
Look for well-being meals stores for locks styling products made with natural active ingredients.
Comb as a substitute for brushing. Brushing your locks tends to pull more of it out, specifically whenever you brush your locks while it's moist. The gentlest solution to get the tangles out is simply by utilizing a wide-tooth comb. Begin close to the tips of your locks, combing out the tangles at the bottom first, and then move at your own pace up to the roots.
Allow it air dry. To avoid pulling out too much locks after your bath, pat it softly with a sleek or soft towel – don't wring it out or even towel it roughly. Allow it air dry rather than using a hair dryer, since the heat from a hair dryer may cause locks to dehydrate and break. Permitting your locks air dry as much as possible will help enhance the new growth of hair.
Making a proper use of heat-free styling methods. Along the exact same lines, stay away from using curling irons, straightening irons, or even any kind of hot styling tool for the purpose of styling your locks. Try embracing your texture of natural hair as well as allowing it alone whenever you can actually. Whenever you do use heat styling tools, use the minimum, coolest setting you can.
There are many strategies to style your locks without heat – experiment with different ways to curl or straighten your locks as well as discover what technique is good for you.
Stay away from hairstyles that pull on your locks. Tight braids, weaves, as well as other pulled-back hairstyles may cause locks to pull out without difficulty. You should try to wear your locks down or pulled back raggedly. Stay away from locks elastics and also barrettes which may tug on your locks.
Massaging your own scalp. It is declared that massaging your scalp can encourage the growth of hair by enhancing circulation around the follicles of your hair. Making a habit of massaging your scalp while you're in the bath. Place the pads of your fingers on your scalp and then massage your scalp in a circular movement. Begin near your forehead thereby making your way along the sides and also back of your head, paying attention in areas which are getting thinner.
You may use natural oil to massage your own scalp for a much more revitalizing impact. Argan oil, almond oil coconut oil and jojoba oil are said to encourage the growth of hair.
Think about attempting a treatment for hair growth. The most common hair growth medication is minoxidil, also called as Rogaine. It is available in the form of a cream or foam which is applied to the scalp two times a day, and it may take up to twelve weeks to begin working.
Eat omega-3s. in order to create a new hair our body needs omega – 3 fatty acid.
- Sardines
- Avocados
- Walnuts
- Salmon
You know that protein is one of the building blocks of your hair. So, try to eat more protein.
- Dairy products.
- Fish, chicken, beef and pork
- Tofu
- Black beans, chickpeas and other legumes
Sleep as much as you can. Don't be tensed or worried without any reasons. It may cause a bad effect on your hair. You can also try for some yoga or meditating.
Finally, those are some thin hair treatment at home for women.Hopefully, you will be benefited by reading this article.


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Frank opened with a new political protest and citizen activism song: The Sand in the Gears. You can find it on youtube and you can watch it over and over, like I have.
The audience was REALLY into it. (Silver Spring is very close to DC.) Also, the audience was super-warm throughout the evening. It's the kind of show where you feel like you're surrounded by friends.
The setlist rarities were a solo performance of Hits & Mrs (aided by a fan who bought and distributed kazoos to a ton of first-row audience members) and a stirring rendition of Love Ire and Song (which is going to be a staple on this tour).
The next night in Philly had a setlist that was pretty much the same set except for playing Recovery earlier in the set, a solo version of Vital Signs, and a solo electric version of Broken Piano (which was absolutely mesmerizing.)
Frank announced that this would be the last North American tour for a little while, as they are going to record a new album once the tour is done.
I love the man and I love the band and I love the way they're all about respect, empathy, inclusion, and looking out for each other.
Silver Spring, 1-19-2017 and Philly 1-20-2017
Talk about upcoming shows, discuss shows that have happened, this isn't rocket science you know
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While you don't have to do this next suggestion, I always like to prepare baked potatoes by rubbing them with a bit of olive oil and sprinkling each with coarse salt. This allows the skin to get crisp and delicious with a salty bite that we enjoy. If you don't care for the skin on the potatoes, you could just skip this part.
The time needed for baking the potatoes will completely depend on how "large" they are... we needed to wait just over 60 minutes for ours to be tender enough - I think you could certainly do this part ahead of time and just refrigerate them once they have cooled, if needed. As the potatoes baked away, we continued on by sautéing a cup of thinly sliced leeks until they had softened and just began to turn golden. Minced fresh ginger and a couple cloves of garlic are then tossed in until they release their supreme fragrant aroma - once you smell them, the leek mixture is then spiced up with ground coriander, cumin and turmeric for a ting of golden color. Green peas, along with a little water to help cook them, are the last addition and take just a couple of minutes.
When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, most of the potato innards are scooped out - be sure to leave about a 1/4" border on the inside to give some integrity to the spuds skin. The potato meat is then smashed with a healthy dose of pureed silken tofu, with the leek and pea mixture being folded in last. This is then spooned back into the potato shells (or transfer it to a sturdy zip-loc bag and pipe it in!) and the filled shells go back into the oven to thoroughly heat through and the tops get a little crunchy.
Of course, I told Jeff after he scarfed down his portion if he noticed anything unusual - the only thing he commented on was the interesting (in a good way) blend of spices and how he loved the creaminess of the potatoes! Score another victory for tofu - of course, he gave the evil eye when he heard "tofu" and "hidden", but I think he was happy I didn't hide mushrooms inside! He did try the "but... but... but... I don't like peas!!" trick, however once again he ate them with a silly little satisfied grin! These are a little more adventurous than your average stuffed potatoes, but we are now both very excited to have the leftovers at lunchtime tomorrow!
Spicy Mumbai Potatoes


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M State has taken the initiative to establish a number of cooperative agreements (curriculum articulations) with four-year colleges within and outside of the Minnesota State system. Such agreements ensure that students completing specified coursework or degree programs at M State will transfer into designated programs at partner universities/colleges per the terms of the agreement. This cooperative effort eliminates or minimizes the questions and confusion that sometimes accompany transfer and allows our students to be confident that their degree from M State will satisfy a substantive portion of the completion requirements for the bachelor's degree at the university/college they will be attending.
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Making a call with hidden caller identification
Using call waiting on my mobile phone
Making a video call with my mobile phone
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Turning the screen lock on my mobile phone on or off
Follow these easy instructions to turn your mobile phone on and off. Remember, you need to insert your SIM and battery into your mobile phone before you turn it on.
Turn on your mobile phone
Tap On/Off until your mobile phone is turned on.
Slide your finger across the display to turn off the screen lock.
Enter PIN
The PIN is used to protect your SIM from unauthorised use. If you enter an incorrect PIN three times in a row, your SIM will be blocked.
If required, key in your PIN and tap OK.
If your SIM is rejected:
Contact your mobile phone store or your service provider.
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MLB Notebook: Two aces win NLDS openers
Cardinals' Wainwright fans nine and Dodgers' Kershaw K's 12 in GM 1 victories
From 1903-2012, 11 pitchers enjoyed a Game 1 start that featured at least nine strikeouts and no more than three hits allowed. And really, there are no surprising names on the list -- all 11 make sense; reflect a sense of, "That fits."
For the record, this group -- which grew by two with Thursday's efforts from the Cardinals' Adam Wainwright and the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw -- starts with Allie Reynolds in 1949 and works its way up through history, collecting Dave McNally, Kevin Brown, Orlando Hernandez, Curt Schilling, Randy Johnson, Josh Beckett, Kerry Wood, Cole Hamels, Tim Lincecum and Justin Verlander.
2013 National League Division Series: Pirates at Cardinals
The Cardinals used a seven-run third inning to support a stellar effort from Wainwright, and defeated the Pirates 9-1, to take a 1-0 lead in their NLDS matchup.
• Wainwright improved to 2-0 in five career postseason starts. With nine strikeouts in this contest, Wainwright raised his postseason total to 51, the third most in Cardinals history. Bob Gibson leads with 92 and Chris Carpenter has fanned 68. With Thursday's effort, Wainwright broke out of a tie with John Tudor and passed Matt Morris (44).
Wainwright, who in 2013 posted the modern era's 23rd-best strikeout-to-walk ratio, became the first Cardinals pitcher (and just the 18th pitcher overall) to have at least nine strikeouts and no walks in a postseason game.
This performance marked the second straight season Wainwright had fanned at least nine in the opening game of an NLDS. In 2012, he struck out 10 Nationals batters. With two such efforts, Wainwright joined Bartolo Colon and Johnson as the only pitchers to have multiple LDS Game 1 efforts featuring nine or more K's.
• Carlos Beltran's three-run home run in the third inning -- his only hit in a 1-for-5 day at the plate -- gave him 15 career postseason home runs, tying him with Babe Ruth for the eighth most in postseason history.
Beltran's 15 homers are the third most for any switch-hitter, behind the 22 from Bernie Williams and the 18 from Mickey Mantle, and they are the second most in NL history behind Albert Pujols' 18. When Beltran has gone deep in a postseason game, his team as won 10 of 12 games.
Beltran has collected 25 extra-base hits in 35 career postseason games. No other player has accumulated more through his first 35 postseason contests, with Nelson Cruz having 23 and George Brett 22.
• The seven-run inning -- one made up of four hits, three walks and a hit-by-pitch -- was the highest-scoring postseason frame for St. Louis since they tallied nine in the second inning in Game 4 of the 1985 NL Championship Series against the Dodgers. Those nine represent the NLCS record for the most runs in an inning.
As for the NLDS record book, Thursday's seven-run outburst set a new high mark for an inning, with the previous record of six having been accomplished four times, including twice by the Cardinals.
• The Cardinals improved to 7-4 in opening games of the NLDS, and this win snapped a three-game losing streak. In the six previous times they won Game 1 of the NLDS, the Cardinals went on to capture the series (1996, 2000, '02, '04-06).
• Cardinals third baseman David Freese went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and has driven in 27 runs in 32 career postseason games. That total through that many games places Freese in a tie with Ryan Howard and Cruz for the fifth most. The top four: Lou Gehrig (35), David Ortiz (31), Jim Edmonds (30) and Lance Berkman (29).
• Pirates starter A.J. Burnett (two innings. six hits, seven runs) became the fourth Bucs hurler to allow at least seven runs in a postseason contest. In Game 5 of the 1903 World Series, Brickyard Kennedy surrendered 10 (four earned) in seven innings, and two other pitchers -- Deacon Phillippe in Game 7 of the best-of-nine 1903 World Series and Lee Meadows in Game 3 of the '27 Fall Classic -- allowed seven.
Burnett walked four while not striking out a single batter. The most recent time he'd exited a game with no strikeouts occurred on June 30, 2004.
2013 National League Division Series: Dodgers at Braves
The Dodgers' battery of A.J. Ellis and Kershaw propelled the club to a 6-1 victory in Game 1 of their NLDS matchup with the Braves.
• Kershaw allowed one run and three hits in seven innings of work and struck out 12. The 12 K's were the third most for any Dodgers pitcher in a postseason game, behind 15 from Sandy Koufax in Game 1 of the 1963 World Series and the 14 from Carl Erskine in Game 3 of the '53 Fall Classic. Kershaw's 12 strikeouts were tied for the eighth most for any pitcher in Game 1 of any series. Bob Gibson's 17 K's in the opener of the '68 World Series were the most.
Kershaw's dozen punchouts were the fifth most for a southpaw in a postseason game. In addition to Koufax's15 K's in 1963, the others with more were John Candelaria, with 14 (Game 3, '75 NLCS), Johnson, with 13 (Game 4, '97 ALDS), and Cliff Lee, with 13 (Game 3, 2010 American League Championship Series).
• Ellis, with two doubles and an RBI, became the sixth Dodgers catcher to have a pair of extra-base hits and an RBI in a postseason game. Roy Campanella did this twice (Games 3 and 4 of the 1955 World Series), Steve Yeager did it in Game 5 of the ''81 Fall Classic, Rick Dempsey managed the feat in Game 5 of the '88 NLCS, and Russell Martin added his name to the list in Game 3 of the '08 NLDS.
Ellis was the fourth catcher to mark his postseason debut with two extra-base hits and an RBI. Hank Gowdy (1914 World Series), Steve O'Neill ('20 World Series) and Victor Martinez (2007 ALDS) are the others.
• The Dodgers improved to 3-5 in NLDS Game 1's, and that was after dropping their first five. Los Angeles had lost in a Game 1 in '81, '95, '96, 2004 and '06 before winning in '08 and '09.
• The Braves, who have not won a postseason series since sweeping the 2001 NLDS, have lost eight consecutive Game 1's (this includes their loss in the one-game Wild Card Game last year). The most recent series in which Atlanta won the opener was in the 2001 NLDS.


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Pocket PC/Windows Mobile 2003 are supported by pluto home using bluetooth. Is this correct or not?
sorry, won't be of any help, but would like to contribute vote for extending support over wider range of mobile smartphones. I'm also after QTEK S100, but I'm not sure if this is supported or not.


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The Story Snob
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You don't have to put a story in your game, but if you do, try to make it not suck.
Totally nailed me on the Sonic Unleashed trick, you jerk. Also, yes, yes a thousand times yes. I want to wrap this column around me like a warm, safe, blanket and tell myself everything will be ok.
Hey game developers, when it comes to story less is always more! Portal, Shadow of the Colossus, Fighting Games, etc.
If that seems like a cop out to you, then don't try to build a fifty hour story, build a world that will sustain 50 hours worth of player-built narratives.
Really good way of putting it. Wish I'd put that in the column.
This is why i thought Avatar was good.
This is true, and where the world of FF13 went wrong in my opinion.
I love story, and narrative, but worlds never seem to be able to sustain them long enough
Now that just nails it... you do need an overarching narrative, but the experiences need to be there; the world needs to create the story almost genetically, it's got to have the story baked into it (Sort of like the Portal laboratory - you go through that, and with the limited exposition, and the screens and notes and things you read / look at, you learn the story).
It's consistency, and self-referential consistency at that. If you go to point A, and learn Interesting Fact (IF) X, then go to point B, and learn IF Y, IF X and IF Y should make sense when viewed together...
This article pretty much sums up the reason why I have built a shrine to BioWare in my stationary cupboard.
Different Strokes for Different Folks I guess. As a lifelong writer and roleplayer I really dislike this intense focus on "nonexistant" narrative in games, that somehow a story "invented" by the player and not present in the game is better than one put forward. If I wanted to create my own story, I could write one myself and if I wanted to create a story with other people I could play a pen and paper game.
Sorry folks, "Player Driven Narrative" as shown in games where there is basically no story is a cop out. This isn't a ringing endorsement of cutscene heavy storytelling either mind you, I just demand dialogue, interaction and plot, not silence and minimalism that barely soaks through the scenery.
Lol, no I did read it. :P
Im so much of a sucker for story I still wanna buy FF13 (Played first few hours on a mates copy) and skies of arcadia? :D
See, this has always been my opinion about stories and video games. I only think a story can really be considered detrimental to the experience when it is constantly being shoved in your face.
I know mentioned Epic as being guilty of producing games where this is an issue, but I would disagree, at least for the first Gears of War. The story was very basic and fairly dumb, with none of the characters being particularly likable and a number of stupid moments. However, to me this was never an issue because the story just felt like a way to move you from various locals and engage in more gunfights. They never had a long, lengthy cutscenes which unloaded tons of exposition onto the player. Whenever they did yank control away from you, it was just to explain why you were going to another area and what your goal was. So while the story was bad, it didn't ruin the game since it didn't keep me away from the game play.
Compare this to Tales of Symphonia. I complain about this game having a horribly dumb story a lot, but that's only because it really does become detrimental to my ability to enjoy the game. While I think the game play is great, the fact that I have to keep sitting through long cutscenes and listening to exposition I don't give a damn about irritates me. If the cut scenes were short and got straight to the point, it wouldn't be so bad. That's the advantage that Gears of War has over Tales of Symphonia. Both have bad characters and dumb plots, but one of them has enough sense to keep it tucked away most of the time and let you enjoy the actual game rather than make you slog through painful dialogue.
Good God man, no mention of Mafia in an article about storytelling in games?!
Anyway, a great read - one that reflects my views exactly.
I'm having a hard time discerning what kind of story telling you actually like. Just to clarify, what methods tell a decent story in your opinion? Legend of Zelda's cutscenes at regular intervals maybe? or do you prefer the on-the-fly dialogue of say, Uncharted 2?
Either or really, my dislike comes in the form of people feeling that Portal, Half-Life and Left 4 Dead tell "TEH BEST STORAIZ EVAR!" considering they barely have characters, barely have dialogue and barely have plots. What they have is good storytelling, not good stories in and of themselves. I guess it's a "Just because a game doesn't have cutscenes doesn't mean it's brilliant" gut reaction.
Even then I suppose this was a mostly a misdirected rant at Multiplayer Storytelling.
Games don't need a story to be good. See Unreal Tournament 2004.
If your going to put a story in, make sure its good, and not a pain. Otherwise just don't bother.
And nice job with that Sonic Unleashed thing. I laughed.
Forgot to mention Grand Theft Auto IV.
The reason the story is so good here is because it flows so well with the game play. For example, I decided to play in such a way that I could complete all the side missions without finishing the main quest line... but no matter how you play, the main story catches up with you in surprising ways.
First off I think 2 hours of car chaces, explosions, gunfights and sword fights with no sembalance of plot would be awsome. Other than that I agree with the article. Shoe horning a story into a game because "no game is complete without a story," is a bad idea. Some of my favorite games don't have any thing resembeling a traditional story in them. Civilization 3 and Mount & Blade being examples. Perhaps I am drawing a different conclusion from this article than the author, but there are many games today that could be greatly improoved by stripping out of all story element.
Curse you! You beat me to the punch!
Relevant to the topic at hand, I share Mr. Young's opinion on this matter. So much so, that I have nothing whatever to add to it. It makes me feel like I haven't accomplished anything. Thanks a lot. Also, I approve of the taunting. It's awesome.
I won't argue Half-Life or Portal (since I think Half-Life had good storytelling for its' time, with 2 being rather bad and not having played Portal). But Left 4 Dead has a totally different idea of storytelling I think. The idea is not that we are to follow the outbreak or get to see how it is handled or anything. The idea is that the players build their own Survival Horror story throughout the episodes being played.
In roleplaying terms (since I am a game master myself) it is the difference between White Wolfs Storytelling system and its' heavy focus on narrative and Dungeon crawling in a classical D&D session. One is all about telling an engaging story, the other is all about making a memorable experience.
wow you totally got me with the Sonic unleashed thing. I was totally gonna come in here and ask WTF, but i have the decency to read all the way through.
Anyway story belongs in games at different levels. A 40 hour RPG i want to have alot of story tellingme why i'm still playing at hour 28. Shooters i don't need story at all. I've always hated halo for a number of reasons but #2 is because to get to the shooty shooty i have to sit through several minutes of terrible story flat characters and sci-fi BS to get to it. I want to kill aleins is that so hard? CoD is actually pretty good about this (sometimes) but i may have a higher tolerance for it because history (and warfare in general) appeal to me.
best story in a shooter i've seen; Team Fortress 2. I just bought like two weeks ago i've sunk about 28 hours and it's just now getting pretty good.
Best story i've seen in a game so far; Tiny Tank or Kingdom Hearts 2.
Kmadden2004, in your cupboard that doesn't move? Does this mean you also have mobile cupboards?
I'm of the opinion that a story inexorably hurts the gameplay... unless that gameplay is some paper thin concept like "When Mario woke up, he was in the Mushroom Kingdom...". I would much rather see developers focus on the mechanics of the gameplay and leave story far behind.
I suppose if you consider a quizzical eyebrow raise a forced emotional reaction, then consider your trolling successful.
This coming from someone with a Chrono Trigger (CT being an RPG) avatar seems a bit backwards to me.
Just Cause 2 sounds like your wet dream then, sir or madam
Good article as always, but what do you think about games where the stories are largely unimportant, such as a Mario game (By which I mean a platformer like Super Mario World, not an RPG like Paper Mario). While you may have your own opinion on whether or not the gameplay is any good, should the designers strive to create a meaningful story, or focus on getting the gameplay perfect?
Also, you got me with sonic unleashed, Bravo.
Soooo glad I searched for a disclaimer at the bottom before reading anything else in the article
Good work with the Things About Stuff by the way, kinda reminds me of my Physics teacher
FF13 really let me down in that respect.
I'm cool with linearity, long cutscenes, JRPG tropes, turn based combat etc. but I was really hoping for a balls to the wall plot filled experience that merrily dragged me from one cool local to another whilst letting me fight cool bosses and watch melodramatic cutscenes. Instead I get stuck with long stretches of running through straight or slightly curved hallways fighting wave after wave of repetitive enemies with sometimes an hour or more passing between interjections of story. Even then it seems like the cutscenes are more about the characters ruminating on the dungeon they're in or throwing jargon back and forth more than it is about the overarching story.
Oh you son of a bitch, you almost had me with the Sonic Unleashed bit! I was very nearly about to jump straight to the comments and demand to know what legally questionable substance you were ingesting or inhaling and where you procured it.
Well, I am one of those few who finds storytelling a very important part of a game, and when it fails me I consider the game bad. My favourite games are such because of great story - anything from Bioware qualifies (also everyone should check out Witcher). Bottom line either do a good story or don't bother with it at all - don't do a half assed story just because you feel like you have to, because it will only make things worse.
I actually played through the campaign JUST because it was so silly. I laughed the whole time.
True. Sometimes the bad stories are the most entertaining.
Got me with Sonic Unleashed.
As for all this player driven stuff, I do consider a story put forward superior to player created yarns. Now that said, I do like atmospheric, wordless stuff like you'll often find in say, Fallout 3, but only as a SUPPLEMENT to a proper tale.
It does not help that FF13's storyline is, how do we say, outlandish putting it nicely and pants on head retarded putting it bluntly. But many games when you come right down to it have stupid overal plots.
Another game with very scant story but a self sustained world is STALKER; Shadow of chernobyl.
Here is the basic plot; "Man gets amnesia. Man tires to find out why and kill some dude. Oh yeah and there might be a maic thing that makes wishes come true but there proabaly isn't" That's really it. But the richness of the Zone makes traditional plot come second, it's about mystery, expolartion and survival. Like L4D it's all premise but there are other things that happen along the way that you are never told, you experience them.
To go back to my FF13 example you just get dumped with loads of text (and i mean LOADS) to try and fill in the stuff in the story no one ever bothered explaining. This goes counter to the notion of "Interactive story telling" you know, being a game?
This article explains so much and makes sense and is how I feel. But I am a huge story lover and very picky about the story in games.
I find it funny that we were talking about this earlier today.
O.T. I think I may have to link this article to my friends who constantly spout @stories in games aren't important." because you pretty much summed up my views Shamus.
The reason stories have become so integral to a game's value is actual gameplay has become so completely homogenized by rigidly defined genre labeling, with the graphics all relying entirely upon unreal3 or source, that only thing game can use anymore to set themselves apart from other entries into a particular genre is... story.
Thus, "story snobs" aren't so much expecting games to be movies, they're expecting games to be good in the only way they really can be anymore.
Another problem with gaming going mainstream is its now in a state of rot. None of the big developers need to change much of anything about the formulas they currently employ, because for every person whos bored by [mainstream game #27b], two more people will have their socks blown completely off.
A problem with gaming in general (that will simply make the mainstream all the worse), is compared to movies, art, writing, etc, gaming's mainstream is defined by level of excess that makes everything else completely insignificant. Sure, [baysplosion movie 94d] will cost a ton of money and make a ton of money, but because of the low basic costs of film (get people, film), independent works can compete on a real level, and push the format forward no matter what hollywood says or does (the fuckers). The point I'm trying to make is the mainstream of gaming is like [baysplosion movie 94d] and independent gaming is like a 15 minute long silent movie with a pipe organ soundtrack. Meaning all advancement must come from the mainstream... meaning gaming is fucked.
Of course, hollywood has stepped up their game in ensuring no forward progress of "their" format with the "indie" genre. Films that exist only to subvert the viability of true independent work.
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