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TUESDAY, Jan. 10, 2012 (HealthDay News) -- People with dementia are far more likely to be hospitalized than their peers who don't have any impairment in their brain function, a new study finds.
What's more, about two-thirds of the hospitalizations that occur in people with dementia are for potentially preventable illnesses, such as a urinary tract infection, the study shows.
"Hospital admissions for all causes and potentially preventable admissions were significantly higher for those with dementia," said the study's lead author, Dr. Elizabeth Phelan, an associate professor in gerontology and geriatric medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine, and an affiliate investigator at the Group Health Research Institute in Seattle.
Hospitalizations are particularly difficult on people with dementia, Phelan noted. "There have been lots of studies looking at the risks for people with dementia in the hospital. They're at risk for delirium, falls, pressure ulcers; they may need to be restrained, and many never return to their prior level of functioning after a hospitalization. If hospitalizations could be avoided, it would be helpful for preserving cognition and avoiding new problems," she explained.
Results of the study are published in the Jan. 11 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The study included a retrospective analysis of 3,019 people recruited for a study called Adult Changes in Thought. All of the study volunteers were over 65 years old and were members of the Group Health Cooperative, a large health care delivery system. At the beginning of the study, none of the volunteers had signs of dementia.
By the end of the study, 494 people had developed dementia. Of those, 427 (86 percent) had been hospitalized at least once, while just 59 percent of those who didn't have dementia had been hospitalized at least once.
The researchers found that having dementia increased the odds of being hospitalized by 41 percent. They also found the risk of being hospitalized for potentially preventable illnesses was 78 percent higher for people with dementia.
The most common potentially preventable hospitalizations in people with dementia occurred for bacterial pneumonia, congestive heart failure, dehydration, duodenal ulcer and urinary tract infections, according to the report.
Just three of these conditions accounted for two-thirds of the admissions for potentially preventable illnesses: urinary tract infection, pneumonia and congestive heart failure.
"People caring for someone with dementia have an important role to play. They can be the eyes and ears for the care recipient. They can clue into what seems to be typical, and when there's any deviation from that, they can alert the primary care provider, who can then treat proactively," Phelan said.
She said it would also be helpful for people to develop a long-term care plan for people with dementia, so that caregivers would have a better idea of what to expect. In addition, there should be planned follow-up visits for people with dementia, though Phelan added, it isn't clear yet what these visits should include.
"The current paradigm for taking care of patients with dementia is really built in such a way that we are spending inordinate amounts of money for poor quality of life. This study shows an ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure," said Dr. Gayatri Devi, an attending neurologist in the department of medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.
"The major causes of hospitalizations -- primarily urinary tract infections, pneumonia and congestive heart failure -- are all related to trouble with self-care. People with congestive heart failure have to take a number of medications, and when you combine that with memory loss, it's harder to have them take those pills," she pointed out.
Devi recommended simplifying medication regimens whenever possible. For example, giving patients a pillbox, and have a caregiver fill it with the appropriate medicine for each day of the week. She also suggested getting a portable bidet to help prevent urinary tract infections.
In addition, Devi would like to see greater reimbursement and availability of in-home help to care for people with dementia. She explained that she has a patient who is paying out-of-pocket for a home health aide to care for an elderly mother. It costs about $30,000 a year, but the cost of just one week of being hospitalized is far more than that, she noted. "Patients aren't currently supported for staying at home, but taking care of people with dementia at home is a humane thing to do," Devi said.
More information
Learn more about caring for someone with Alzheimer's disease from the U.S. National Institute on Aging.


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A total eclipse occurs when the dark silhouette of the moon completely obscures the intensely bright light of the sun, allowing the much fainter solar corona to be visible.
During the maximum phase of the eclipse, the sun's disk is completely blocked. The sun's faint corona is then safely revealed to the naked eye.
The unique occurrence, the MPs said, should be maximally utilized to market Uganda. " In the whole world, this will be in Uganda alone. We expect more than 20,000 tourists. But if we don't market it well, we may not get any benefits," Bernard Atiku said.
Atiku complained that there's general lack of awareness on this historical event and called on the Ministry of Tourism to even sensitize the locals.
"The Ministry should liase with other government agents to ensure that we benefit from the activity," he added. Sources say, some tour operators have also written to the President requesting for high profile marketing and also resources.
Story adopted from the New Vision

subset: commoncrawl


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Download Burn
I reviewed this bad boy a couple years ago, had some lame things to say like "the most delicate, precise, and beautiful sounds of glass cracking ever recorded" and "an absolute masterpiece in minimal drone soundscaping." It's still all true. Coleclough & Liles fuckin ace it on Burn. I'm hoping most of you know their names and are already downloading this but if you're just joining us, these guys are true masters of sound. Coleclough takes a micro-blow torch to glass panes, exuding an enormous amount of tension (and a little release), and Liles works on haunting tape loops & prepared pianos. Incredible stuff, definitely attention grabbing and pre-conception shattering. Do NOT skip this.


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Photo by Susie Fitzhugh
SEATTLE – Aug. 12, 2013 – A spirited, red-headed girl named Violet who died at age 11 from an inoperable brainstem tumor is the inspiration behind "Project Violet," a "citizen science" drug-discovery project being launched by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
The project is using crowdfunding to enlist the help of the community to develop a fundamentally new class of anti-cancer compounds derived from scaffolds of nature – chemical templates from organisms such as violets, scorpions and sunflowers – to attack cancer cells while leaving healthy cells untouched. The ultimate goal is to develop highly targeted treatments that kill the cancer while sparing patients from the toxic side effects of chemotherapy such as hair loss and nausea.
The visionary behind the project is Violet's doctor, Jim Olson, M.D., Ph.D., a pediatric brain cancer specialist whose laboratory is based in the Clinical Research Division at Fred Hutch and who also practices at Seattle Children's.
Before Violet died last year, she and her family requested a rapid autopsy to enable the creation of important research tools from her brain tumor. She wanted those tools to be shared with scientists worldwide to help kids who are diagnosed in the future.
'The most exciting project I've worked on in my life'
"That spirit of generosity led to the most exciting scientific project I've worked on in my life. It was only fitting that it be named after Violet," Olson said. "I knew that we were going to do this in her spirit, memory and honor."
Project Violet was built on the success of Olson's initial invention of Tumor Paint, a molecule derived from scorpion venom that safely travels through the body and causes cancer cells to light up to help surgeons visually distinguish cancer from normal tissue.
"We were impressed that scorpions have evolved amazing drugs, which led us to begin looking deeply into the drugs produced by other plants and animals. For example, sunflower petals are not eaten by bugs because they make a compound that protects them from hungry insects," Olson said. "Likewise, we found exquisite examples of drugs made by potatoes, spiders, cone snails, sea slugs and, yes, violets."
Optides: Creating precision therapies that spare healthy cells
Inspired by nature's medicine chest, Olson and colleagues created an entirely new class of drugs: "optimized peptides" or "optides" for short. These tiny molecules can be instructed to bind to particular kinds of cancer cells, disabling only those cells. They also can be attached to chemotherapy drugs, transforming them into precision therapies that spare healthy cells. Optides are also potentially less expensive and more powerful than other next-generation therapies.
Olson and colleagues are developing optides that target some of the most treatment-resistant malignancies: brain cancer, melanoma, breast cancer and tumors of the neck and throat.
While developing new cancer treatments is the primary focus of optides research at Fred Hutch, this new class of drugs also offers the potential to develop new treatments for epilepsy, depression, anxiety and other disorders of the central nervous system, Olson said.
"Optides offer unprecedented accuracy – an entirely new class of drugs that are far less toxic, far more effective and flexible enough to be used in a wide range of applications," he said.
Using scaffolds from nature to develop drugs is not a new concept; other researchers and drug companies have been interested in creating new drugs using molecules derived from plants and animals. However, most efforts have failed because there have been huge barriers to making thousands of optide variants inexpensively, rapidly and in quantities large enough to conduct scientifically rigorous experiments.
"Our team at the Hutch has overcome six major barriers," Olson said. He and his collaborators have developed a new optide production system to quickly synthesize thousands of optide variants that can then be evaluated for therapeutic potential.
"Whereas it takes some companies a decade to make hundreds of peptide drug candidates, we can make 12,000 a month and are ramping up beyond that.
"Nature provides the raw materials and we provide the expertise to turn them into lifesaving therapies," Olson said.
How the public can get involved
- Citizen scientists all over the world can help build Project Violet's candidate drug libraries by adopting a drug candidate for $100. By choosing from one of six organisms – violet, scorpion, locust, sunflower, spider or human – they'll also receive an image of their drug molecule.
- The drug candidates will be tested by Fred Hutch scientists for lifesaving properties. If the drug candidate fails at any point, it can be replaced with a new one so the citizen scientist always has a "horse in the race."
- A drug that shows promise will advance to additional testing with the goal of being evaluated in human clinical trials.
- For more information, visit www.projectviolet.org, email firstname.lastname@example.com or visit Project Violet's Facebook page.
- To view Olson's recent TEDxSeattle talk about Project Violet, click here.
Note for media only: Photos of Violet, Olson and images of specific drug candidates are available upon request. To arrange an interview with Olson, please contact Kristen Woodward in Fred Hutch media relations, email@example.com or 206-667-2210.
At Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, home to three Nobel laureates, interdisciplinary teams of world-renowned scientists seek new and innovative ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening diseases. Fred Hutch's pioneering work in bone marrow transplantation led to the development of immunotherapy, which harnesses the power of the immune system to treat cancer. An independent, nonprofit research institute based in Seattle, Fred Hutch houses the nation's first National Cancer Institute-funded cancer prevention research program, as well as the clinical coordinating center of the Women's Health Initiative and the international headquarters of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network.


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Sabbath LawJun 24, 2008
If you're frequent reader at our blog, then you might have noticed that we're just a little bit Apple fanboys. But this is not a case at the moment. We all should know by now, there is a next version of OS X coming. Now new features you might say? I'd say Great!In the second book of Jewish Torah, Exodus 23:10-11, is a Sabbath Law:
For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, but during the seventh year let the land lie unploughed and unused.
By applying this to software development it reads that with seventh release, you add no new features, but instead you look what you've done during last six and remove bloat, clean things up, write some documentation, spec tests and so on.
Now, Snow Leopard is the seventh release of OS X and if all goes well, they won't be adding any new bells and whistles but removing the old, rusty ones. Instead, i'd love to see this already-good operating system only become better.
Sabbath Law is something we're also using while developing Edicy. There are releases during which we only concentrate on squashing bugs and cleaning to get things to solid state for next releases. Bloat is a big star in software entropy so you just have to take some time to get rid of it.


text: Click here for LAST MONTH'S Nike Outlet Thread Thanks to everyone who contributes both regularly and here and there. Again, this thread exists as a source for information, so let's all do what we can to keep it that way. Basic rules - By entering this thread, you agree to follow all rules and accept a warning/suspension when in violation: - Do not quote more than two pics. - NO requests! Any information worth posting will be posted. - Keep junior-high back-and-forth banter or comments to PM. - NO pointless/useless comments like… "Oh darn, wish I was a size __!" "Wack update, thanks for nothing." - Any questions regarding size and fit belong in Sneaker Reviews - Any posts regarding pick-ups from outlets or stores belong in Sneaker Showcase - Any buying and selling belongs in NT Buy/Sell in the respective size forum. - No self promotion (posting referral links). These are not MY rules; these are the rules set by the creators of Niketalk. What's a GOOD update? First and foremost, state the exact location. Do not post a store name and leave readers hanging. Posting phone numbers is not necessary but more info = better update. If you have pics, post them! Need directions or phone numbers for a certain Nike retail location? Nike Store/Outlet Info How to make a phone order: - Call the store - Request the item - Have credit card & shipping info ready Methods for searching for a product (have the style code ready): - Call NIKEFIND at 1-800-806-6453 - Chat (IM) with a Nike Rep Speak with a Nike Rep For those who are a bit hesitant about using Nikefind or the Nike product searching methods, here's a basic step-by-step. I just did it with an item that was in the outlet over two months ago and the entire process took me less than half an hour. 1. Chat with a Nike Customer Service Rep. 2. State you are looking for a product and give the style/color code. Speed up the process by finding the product code before hand. 3. If the product is available somewhere, the Rep will give you a list of locations along with phone numbers. 4. Call the numbers, request the product. Some may have them, some may not. 5. Place your order over the phone with credit card; ask for a manager (for general safety). Why is my comment not showing? We're trying to reduce clutter. Free-posting is NOT allowed. What's considered a 'non-clutter' comment? Anything that provides info. A flaw in a B-Grade item, a store that will/won't price match, and so on. If a question has been answered, don't beat a dead horse.


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Location: 164th Ave NE and NE 83rd St
Project Phase: Complete
Estimated Timeline: June 2013 through 2014
Gary Lee, Senior Planner, 425-556-2418
This project will be home to 208 apartments units, over a parking garage, with approximately 2,000 sq. feet of ground floor commercial space along 164th Avenue NE. The building will be six stories tall along 164th Avenue NE and five stories tall along 165th Avenue NE.


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Ben Laden Group is ready to fund the proposed Egyptian Saudi bridge in the Red Sea according to Yahia Bin Laden during the visit of President Morsi to the Kingdom yesterday.
I am not tired to say that I am totally against the project for ecologically reasons and I think I have explained this several times before. Here is my first post from a year ago : Save the coral reef
Already this area is suffering enough from pollution and human stupidity and inconsideration against the use of God's greatest gift to Sinai : Its coral reef.
I am afraid as most Egyptians do not have ecological culture and we are living under a regime that loves to lie to using religion , that regime does not really care about environment or nature except
Already I remember last year the MB and Salafist supporters accused environmental NGOs of being related to Mubarak regime as well Israel and the States. Some people think that this bridge will make richer and more closer to God !! How can we reach to those people.
I am double angry and frustrated.


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Work one-on-one with an expert funeralOne graphic designer to develop your funeral home's online presence.
Aurora and funeralOne offer you a variety of information to serve your families.


text: Two games on this afternoon: Shakhtar Donetsk takes on Barcelona at Donbass Arena, and Manchester United hosts Chelsea at Old Trafford Stadium. They both start at 2:45, and with Chelsea down a goal on aggregate, they must win to advance. But Wayne Rooney, threat to already-cursing children everywhere, is allowed to play in Champions League games , and he's totally ready to be martyred. The Barca game might not have the same top billing, but it is Barca, and it is a warm-up for a potential semi-final match with Real Madrid — a game that makes our own Brian Hickey "tingle inside with joy." Enjoy.


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Sobey's 3 at the Buzzer Propels Cowboys Past Lehigh, 67-66
Nathan Sobey buried a 3-pointer from the deep left corner off a pass from Josh Adams at the buzzer, and the Wyoming Cowboys topped the Lehigh Mountain Hawks 67-66 in the first round of the CBI Tuesday night at the Arena-Auditorium. The Pokes rallied from a 7-point deficit with five minutes left and closed the game on a 10-2 run for the stunning victory.
Cowboy head coach Larry Shyatt said, "I told the guys at the last timeout that if [Lehigh] scored, we had to get the ball inbounds as quickly as possible, and then whichever point guard got the ball, they had to push the ball up as fast as they could. We wanted the other guards to spot up in the corners and Nate (Sobey) was able to knock it down. It's nice to have a shot fall like that for us at the end."
Wyoming (20-13) was able to tie the game after an unforced turnover by Lehigh's Mackey McKnight led to a Derrious Gilmore lay-up that tied the game at 64 with 21 seconds left. Out of a time-out, the Mountain Hawks worked for one shot, and McKnight found Gabe Knutson for the go-ahead lay-up with 5.4 seconds left. UW got the ball in quickly to Adams, and he drove to the free throw line before he found Sobey for the game-winner.
Sobey said, "Credit to our guards for getting the ball out so quick. I was just open, and Josh drove to the lane, and I was lucky it went in. I didn't even see it go in. As soon as it went up, I was on the ground, and then people just jumped on me, so I didn't even see it. So, I just guessed that it went in."
Lehigh (21-10) utilized a 9-2 run midway through the second half for a 56-51 edge. The lead eventually reached seven before the Cowboy rally. The win was the 23rd-straight non-conference victory for UW at the AA.
Gilmore and Larry Nance, Jr. led the Pokes, as both finished 1-point off their career-highs. Gilmore had 25 points, which included six 3-pointers. Nance added 20 points and 7 rebounds, while Sobey finished with 12 points. Wyoming was 25-46 (54.3%) from the field, 11-19 (57.9%) from deep and 6-11 (54.5%) at the foul line.
Lehigh had two players in double figures. Gabe Knutson ended up with 23 points, and Anthony D'Orazio added 14. The Mountain Hawks were 25-52 (48.1%) on field goals, 4-13 (30.8%) from beyond the arc and 12-15 (80%) at the charity stripe. They out-rebounded the Cowboys 29-24.
UW got off to a hot start shooting the basketball. They hit on 80 percent from deep, as Gilmore knocked down five 3-pointers. They held leads of 17-7 and 30-21, but Lehigh closed the first half on a 15-5 run. The Mountain Hawks took their first lead with 5 seconds left in the period on a lay-in by Knutson for a 36-35 edge at the break. The Pokes shot 61.9 percent from the field and still trailed at half.
Wyoming will host the quarterfinal game in the CBI next Monday, March 25 against the winner of Wednesday's first round game between North Dakota State and Western Michigan. You can listen to Cowboy basketball on Y95 Country next Monday evening.


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I've been so enticed from florals these days, and this lacey floral blouse
was a perfect addition to my summer&spring spin.
As it gets hotter, but not too hot like in mid-summer this kind of
sheer top definitely works well for my go-to pieces!
And of course it will be a great transitional autumn piece with...let's say
denim pants and leather jacket.
top: style Nanda(similar here)
bag: Chanel
belt: asos(here)
shoes: Ernesto Esposito
earrings: vintage
ARIGATO! Thank you for reading!!


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Stopping Runaway Climate Change
Life as we know it will end by 2025.
Find that improbable?
Consider this then. The Arctic is heating up four times faster than the rest of the planet and this thawing has already begun. The consequences are ominous. The thawing of the Arctic will release enormous quantities of methane.
The Siberian bog has already started giving off small amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane. Many natural occurrences are self-regulating, but there is no self-regulation in global warming and more specifically, the Arctic warming. This is a run-away event; a kind of global domino effect.
Significant methane release in the Arctic will start impacting the climate within the next 10 years and the complete flip to a methane atmosphere will take an additional 5 years. Since, methane has 20 times the global warming effect as CO2, the release of methane from the Arctic will then trigger a release of methane from the ocean floor as the oceans warm. This second wave of methane release double-insures no plant or animal will survive. Plant and animal species are inter-dependent on each other. Lower level, plant and animal species die off first and this will result in the death of the higher level species.
2025 is neither a pessimistic nor an optimistic prediction but it is the mid-point of my range of years from 2020 to 2030. Predicting the future is difficult because we do not know the exact release rates of methane from the Arctic bogs and tundra.
My estimate of the Arctic temperature rise and release of methane takes into account:
-the burning of trees
-the increase in wind
-heat transfer by the wind
-less snow cover
-increasing CO2 and methane release from the Arctic
The burning of trees
Trees are the kindling which will add to Arctic warming. Today, forest fires have noticeably increased. Another ½ deg. Centigrade of temperature rise of the planet would be disastrous for forests with more pests and fires. The burning of trees is a vicious circle. Trees burn and winds increase which causes more lightning, which starts more forest fires, which are fanned by the increased winds.
When a tree burns five things happen.
- The tree, mainly carbon, burns and its' carbon is released into the atmosphere as CO2.
- The planet warms from this burning.
- The tree is now gone and also gone is its ability to convert CO2 to O2, which is the tree's photosynthesis, which converts the solar energy to carbon storage.
- The tree was a resistance to the flow of the winds and now it is gone. Winds will increase because the surface of the earth has become smoother, like a billiard ball.
- The buffeting of the Arctic cold air mass by the southern winds creates a heat transfer of cold air out of the Arctic and warm air into the Arctic. This heat transfer was slowed by the heat capacity (sink) of that tree. Now the tree is gone and the heat of the southern winds will stay warmer as they blow north and the cold northern winds will stay colder as they blow south. This is an increase of heat transfer.
In a previous article, I said wind was the cause of the Arctic's 4 times warming. I dismissed the two other possible causes. These other possible causes are increased warm ocean currents or increased solar gain. The one part of solar gain that I could not dismiss is the ozone hole because I do not know whether it is an addition or subtraction to Arctic warming. I leave it to others to comment on the ozone hole. Also, as the Arctic warms, bare areas develop and these areas will absorb solar energy instead of reflecting it. An example is the Siberian bog. These bare areas will add to Arctic warming but it is an effect of Arctic warming, not the cause. I was surprised when, recently, MIT researchers had measured wind and said that winds have doubled when wind intensity and frequency are added together. This new information reinforces and corroborates my research that wind is the cause for Arctic warming
Winds are created by updrafts due to the earth's surface temperature and the earths spin. These winds work against the resistance of the terrain which is mostly trees and hills. The hills and the earth's spin have not changed. The reason the winds have doubled is because of an increase of surface temperature which is due to global warming and a reduction in resistance which is due to deforestation. As one would suspect, most winds are greatest near the equator where the earth's velocity is greatest.
Parts of this article have been built on others work. For example, I am accepting, as reported, that there is a huge amount of frozen methane in the Arctic and under the oceans. There are several articles on the internet which discuss this methane and I have not seen any denials to this information.
The Solution
The Solution is to stop the Arctic thaw by reducing the winds and the resultant heat transfer by the winds.
Trees will block the wind but we do not have time to plant more trees and wait for them to grow. The only, feasible, solution to reduce wind speed is to build and install a massive number of wind turbines to get wind speeds down to pre-industrial levels.
The laws of thermodynamics do apply. A wind turbine takes energy from the wind therefore wind speed must be reduced by that amount of energy.
Obviously, wind turbines were not designed to slow the wind. They were designed to extract energy from the wind, but in this scenario, their primary mission is to slow the wind and stop the Arctic thaw. Their secondary mission is to provide us with energy so we can stop burning fossil fuels and start reducing CO2 levels in the atmosphere. Co-incidentally, wind turbines are also today's best financial solution to generate electricity and eliminate the burning of fossil fuels.
5 to 20 million large wind turbines are needed to stop the Arctic thaw.
My estimate is that 5 to 20 million large wind turbines would lower the wind speeds to pre-industrial levels and get the Arctic freezing again. That is a lot of wind turbines. To put it in perspective. Today, 10 million large wind turbines would supply mans' energy needs. 5 to 20 million large wind turbines is a fairly wide prediction. That is because I lack the data and knowledge to zero in on a more exact number.
If we installed a wall of wind turbines, four deep, across Canada (7,000 km) with a 40 meter spacing, it would require 180,000 wind turbines. This is a good visualization but these 180,000 wind turbines could probably be more strategically placed. There is a lack of trees on the plains of North America and on the rocky coast of Newfoundland and Labrador where the trees are few, stunted and windswept. These are windy places and that is where the wind turbines would best be situated.
Comparing natural rough ground resistance to an equivalent wind farm resistance
Hurricanes and tornados build over flat surfaces, where there is a lack of wind resistance. This point is missed in the weather news. Commentators like to say that Hurricanes develop over warm water. I think this is misleading. Humid air will make rain but it has a net zero effect on wind. A warm surface, whether it is water or plains, is the engine that makes wind and it is the flat surfaces that allow these high wind speeds to develop.
I believe it was hurricane Dennis that grew in the Caribbean, swept across the Yucatan Peninsula, lost speed, then gained speed over the Gulf of Mexico and then lost speed as it hit the mainland. Dennis' strength grew because it was over a warm, flat surface and lost speed once it hit a rugged surface of hills and trees. If we analyze these rugged surfaces and compare them to a rugged surface of wind generators, we may be able to quantify the numbers of wind generators needed to lower the wind speeds. So, imagine bulldozing the trees and hills from the Yucatan and replacing these hills and trees with 50,000 wind turbines. Would that be enough wind turbines to replace the resistance of the missing hills and trees? Obviously, we will not be bulldozing the trees and hills from the Yucatan and installing wind turbines. It is just an example but placing 100,000 wind turbines in tornado alley (US plains) would be a good idea to reduce or eliminate tornados.
Wind turbines in the Caribbean and Florida would slow hurricanes. Wind turbines up the eastern US coast would further slow the winds and wind turbines in Newfoundland and Labrador would further slow the wind. There would be an accumulating slowing effect caused by many wind turbine installations as they slow these Atlantic winds as they travel north to the Arctic.
Doing the Math
Ever try to suck a thick milkshake through a skinny straw? It is painfully slow because the straw is just too restrictive for good flow. Switch to one of those fat, McDonald's type straws and it is easy to suck and the flow is good. Welcome to the world of flow. In the ventilation business, we design duct systems (pipe) by starting with knowing the desired air flow. Then, we just match the resistance of the duct to the horse-power of the blower. Mostly, we just pick the resistance values of duct and the horse-power ratings of the blowers from available tables. To make things easy, we also use a technique called "equivalent resistance". For example 1 duct elbow has the "equivalent resistance" to 5 feet of straight duct. I used this technique to substitute wind turbine resistance for tree resistance. On the Danish wind turbine association website, there was a brief mention of trees blocking the wind if they are in front of the wind turbines. It also states that trees with leaves restrict the air more than bare trees (as you would think). To me, a wind turbine looks more like a bare tree than one with leaves. As there are no tables for the resistance value of wind turbines or trees, I had to estimate an "equivalent resistance". A big wind turbine is 550 ft tall. One wind turbine should equal 50 trees. Multiply this by a factor of 10 due to strategic placement. A hill with trees might be worth 5 wind turbines and so on.
I estimated an equivalent number of wind turbines needed to replace the resistance lost through deforestation plus an additional number of wind turbines needed to counteract the effect of surface warming.
The basic flow formula
flow = square root of pressure / resistance
-Today an increase of surface temperature has increased the pressure of the wind
-Deforestation has decreased resistance
-According to research at MIT, winds speeds (flow) have doubled since 1970
I have estimated that increases in wind are due to surface temperature and deforestation by a ratio of 50/50.
(This is a very "ball park" estimate on my part based only on my experience in air flow. There are no resistance tables for trees or wind turbines and there is no data on increased pressure due to increased surface temperature. A 50/50 estimate is OK for this article. Later when we do some measuring and some computer modeling, we can do an adjustment.)
Wind turbines will replace the missing trees as resistance but also more wind turbines will be added to counteract the rise in surface temperature. This means that, to counteract the doubling of the winds since 1970, we only have to increase resistance by 50% for trees plus 18% for surface temperature. This is very good news since, as per the formula, increasing resistance has an exponential effect on counteracting the increased pressure due to increased surface temperature.
Reducing the wind = reducing the heat transfer
The winds that transfer heat into the Arctic are mostly, "back and forth", buffeting type winds. Warm winds blow north into the Arctic and cold winds blow south from the Arctic. There may even be some balance. A Siberian northern wind may be balanced by a Canadian southern wind? It is helpful to visualize the Arctic as a big bowl of cold air that is being sloshed out because of this increased buffeting.
The obstacles on the ground (hills, trees, rocks, etc.) create turbulence and a mixing effect. They also have heat storage capacity. The ground is warmed by the sun and results in updrafts. Low clouds and fog are a sign of cooling due to mixing. Precipitation adds to turbulence and mixing. Precipitation also transfers heat (or coldness) to the ground. The theory is that the winds transport the heat. At first glance, heat transfer is quite simple. Most of the solar energy heats the surface of earth. If the solar radiation hits snow, most of it will be reflected back into space. If this solar radiation hits dirt, it will be absorbed by the dirt as heat. The dirt will heat the air, this air will updraft and the winds will transport this heat. If the winds are strong this heat will be transported further. This heat transfer system becomes more complicated with the mixing of warm and cold air flows as well as the heat transfer of air to surface whether it is trees, ground or water. Further, there is precipitation and evaporation that transfers heat (or coldness) to ground.
Analyzing the Wind
There is a lot happening within the first 1,000 ft. of elevation.
A 550ft. wind turbine will have a speed reducing effect on the wind speed of the first 1,000 ft. of elevation, but what happens above? The second 1,000 ft of elevation has higher wind speeds but it is slowed a little as it drags across the top of the lower 1,000 ft. The density of air decreases with elevation. At 5,000 ft. of elevation the air is 14% less dense than at sea-level. The temperature of air also decreases with elevation, because it's only source of heat is provided by the updraft from the lower level.
This second 1,000 ft of elevation should provide a lot less Arctic heating. Wind speed increases but it is probably less turbulent because there are no obstructions, to make it turbulent. Only updrafts can cause turbulence in the second 1,000 ft of elevation.
At 3,000 ft of elevation, there is more wind speed, less turbulence and a further reduction in temperature.
Predicting the effectiveness of wind turbines in reducing wind speed and the resultant heat transfer into the Arctic by computer modeling and measuring.
Wind turbines will reduce wind speed. So, how effective are large wind turbines in slowing the wind and reducing the heat transfer into the Arctic? There's certainly lots of room for improvement in my estimate.
In the future, we must establish accuracy in predicting our wind turbine needs. Accurately measuring any decrease of wind speed with the 20,000 or so wind turbines currently installed may be difficult. We may need 200,000 or 2,000,000 wind turbines to get an accurate measurement to determine how many wind turbines are needed to get the wind speed down. In addition to wind speed, we need to measure future global and Arctic warming to see the trends and how we are doing.
Researchers do their global warming predicting with computer models but these models are only as good as the model formulas being entered. To predict future Arctic warming researchers must put into their models: the burning of trees, the increase in wind, heat transfer, less snow cover and increasing CO2 and methane release from the Arctic which add to global warming. A special computer model for the Arctic may be required.
By computer modeling and comparing our model prediction to actual future measurements, we can check the accuracy of our computer model. As more accurate wind speed measurements are taken, this data gets fed back into the model to recheck.
We need to know wind speed reductions due to wind turbines and we need to know heat transfer reductions due to wind speed reductions. Heat transfer reductions will be shown by the Arctic temperature reduction.
At this late date we need to go to war against wind speed and also win the war on global warming. It would be wonderful if "big oil" companies and "big oil" countries realized that the age of burning oil is over and their future is in using oil for non-combustion uses. Now that wind turbines are firmly established as the future direction, "big oil" should be massively investing in wind turbine companies. By investing in wind turbines, they can have their cake and eat it too. If they do not, it may be necessary for Governments to commandeer wind generator companies and finance the quadrupling (X4) of yearly production. With large investments, it is possible to finance the manufacture and installation of 10 million large wind turbines within 5 years.
My theory is that wind turbines will reduce wind speed and result in a decrease of heat transfer into the Arctic. This would keep the methane frozen and not allow it to get into the atmosphere. This article is built mostly on others work. What I have added is my expertise on air flow and heat transfer. I have this, what I call, 2+2=4 ability which is the combining of research into a picture. Also, it should be noted that I have no reason to promote wind turbines. In fact, all my money is tied to the manufacture of energy conservation products which have moved from earth's #1 in priority to earth's #2 priority, now that wind turbines have become earth's #1 priority.
We may have to install more wind turbines for resistance to the wind than what is required for global energy needs. What would we do with the extra energy if 20 million large wind turbines are needed? If we combine a dehumidifier (heat pump) with an air to air heat exchanger, we get a very efficient piece of equipment which is capable of condensing water from desert air.
Then we plant the desert.
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Local agencies aren't sure what to expect Friday when $85 billion in across-the-board federal program cuts are scheduled to go into effect.
Local agencies aren't sure what to expect Friday when $85 billion in across-the-board federal program cuts are scheduled to go into effect.
The sequester — automatic spending cuts that Congress and the White House imposed on themselves as the price for not reaching a budget compromise — will mean Pennsylvania stands to lose 26,000 civilian defense jobs, according to a state analysis released by the Obama administration.
About 3,100 low-income college students statewide will lose financial aid, 2,300 preschool children will no longer be in Head Start, some $849,000 will be cut from senior citizens' meals and $866,000 will be reduced from helping the unemployed find jobs.
Tim Lee, executive director of Pocono Services for Families and Children, was still trying to determine Monday when and how the cuts may reduce the number of Head Start preschoolers the agency serves in Monroe County.
"It's not an immediate cut," Lee said. "Our team is looking at it right now and all the possible options that may be available to us."
Worst-case scenario: Pocono Services would lose $150,000, forcing it to close a classroom of about 20 children and eliminate four or five related teaching and support positions. The reduction would impact about 10 percent of Pocono Services' preschoolers.
"That is absolutely the worst case," Less said. "We don't see that happening right away."
Mimi Mikels, executive director of Monroe County Meals on Wheels, was trying to figure out how the sequester would impact her senior citizen meal service.
"I'm sure all of our programs are going to be affected somehow, but I don't think they're going to be affected March 1," Mikels said. "No one knows — except whatever happens, it isn't going to be good."
Pocono Mountain School District isn't sure how federal cuts in teaching positions and aides, including those in special education, will impact the program there. The district is owed about $1.5 million of the $3.1 million in federal funds it was promised, spokeswoman Wendy Frable said.
East Stroudsburg University was still trying to track down how the sequester would impact work-study jobs for low-income students.
White House aides and U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., held back-to-back conference calls Monday to urge Republicans to postpone the 9 percent cut in discretionary non-defense programs and 13 percent cut in defense programs.
They urged a "balanced and reasonable" alternative of targeted cuts coupled with closing tax loopholes on wealthy Americans.
"I don't think it's in dispute that to let the sequester go into effect is a bad idea," Casey said. "This is all avoidable. There is a much better path."
Federal cuts under the sequester will mean the loss of private sector jobs, too, Casey said, and threaten the economic recovery. He said Congress already has reduced long-term spending by nearly $2.5 trillion.
"The sequester was never designed to be policy," said White House Deputy Press Secretary Amy Brundage. "Some effects will be felt right away. Some will not be felt for a few weeks, or on down in the future."
Unemployment checks will immediately be cut by 10 percent, said Jason Furman, deputy director of President Obama's National Economic Council. Other cuts will evolve between March 1 and the end of the federal fiscal year Oct. 1.


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Wetpixel Lembeh Macro Workshop
Wetpixel ultimate macro workshop, Lembeh
If you are an underwater photographer I am certain that you will already know about Lembeh. The famous critter capital in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. But what I need to tell you is that this is a Wetpixel Expedition with a difference. Typically, Wetpixel runs photo trips for dedicated and enthusiastic photographers, but this is a full-on workshop. That means everything you'd expect on a normal Wetpixel Expedition, plus formal teaching, coaching and encouragement to help you produce stunning images.
The workshop is based at the excellent Lembeh Resort, recently named as one of the top 25 resorts in Indonesia. We will take over the entire resort for the workshop, so we can expect general macro madness! The timing is chosen to coincide with an especially critter rich time of the year in Lembeh, with particularly plentiful encounters with ghostpipefish, hairy frogfish, octopus likely.
Our focus in Lembeh will be macro photography. Lembeh has long been acknowledged as the benchmark destination, the place all muck diving spots are measured against. Lembeh's cast of characters is constantly changing, but we can expect to see some or all of the following: frogfish, ghostpipefish, stargazers, mandarinfish, mimic octopus, wonderpus, hairy octopus, coconut octopus, blue ring octopus, flamboyant cuttlefish, Inimicus scorpionfish, ambon scorpionfish, Rhinopias, seahorses (including pygmies) and countless crustaceans and nudibranchs. They are always finding new critters and the latest star attraction is a green hairy shrimp, although I am sure there will be something new by 2013. Check out the Critters @Lembeh monthly highlight videos to get a feel for what the team at Lembeh Resort have been finding.
The workshop will be run by me (Dr. Alex Mustard, marine biologist and underwater photographer) and will focus on macro, covering shooting techniques, creative lighting, positive space and decisive moments. We will also cover macro post processing workflow. Talks will be done after lunch, so that you can put tips and ideas straight into practice. Leaving evenings free for mandarin dives at dusk, night dives and then finally reviewing images.
To help you get more out of the event, I am being joined on the trip by Wetpixel Editor Adam Hanlon. Adam runs his own photo workshops and has an encyclopaedic knowledge on all aspects of underwater photography equipment. In addition, Lembeh Resort has an in-house photo pro Steve Fish who will also contribute to the workshop.
It will run in the same style as my other workshops. My workshops do not have a competition element because I feel that this really encourages everyone to be open with ideas and work together for the best photos. This benefits the entire group. On my workshops I am proud that you do not just learn from me, but from each other.
The group will not all the dive the same sites at the same time. Instead we will divide between several boats to avoid too many photographers chasing the same subjects simultaneously. This also means we will quickly learn which sites are currently home to exciting subjects and can focus our efforts there. Adam and I will rotate through the boats each day. Diving will be in small groups with the excellent guides from Critters @ Lembeh.
The dates are 12 - 23 October 2013 and the booking is for an 11 night/26 EANx dive package. The full package costs $3199 USD per person or $4049 USD (including single supplement), which includes the fees for Alex's workshop. As you would expect, not included are flights and alcoholic drinks.
Bookings are being handled by Dan Baldocchi. Please contact him soon as places are limited.


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Elsewhere in the WHL, Kevin Sundher played even as Chilliwack saw their six-game winning streak snapped with a 3-2 overtime loss to Seattle, 3-2. The six-footer, who recently capped a streak that saw him score 19 points over 11 games, has produced two assists in his last five outings.
Mark Pysyk (-3) saw his career-best seven-game point streak come to an end as Edmonton lost to Prince Albert, 5-2. Despite the loss the Oil Kings had a chance to clinch a WHL playoff berth with a Calgary win, but their 2012 World Junior partner could not come through.
Corey Fienhage finished -1 as Kamloops lost to Kelowna, 5-1. Neighbor of my brother and donor of old equipment to my nephew, Shane McColgan ('11) had three power play assists to power the Rockets offense. The Sabres get a good discount when scouting Kelowna, and I'm curious where they see McColgan fitting come draft day. A creative forward with grit, McColgan has put together 21-44-65 this season after a 69 point campaign as 16/17 a season ago.
Riley Boychuk returned to the Winterhawks lineup after missing a half-dozen games with a concussion as Portland downed Everett. Three NHL draft picks and another sure to go early this June, Nino Niederreiter, Ty Rattie ('11), Ryan Johansen and Craig Cunningham, blitzed the Tips for four goals in the first five minutes of the middle period to take control of the game.
Matt MacKenzie was -1 as Tri-City lost to Spokane. Anthony Bardaro ('11) scored his 20th goal of the year for the Chiefs.
In the QMJHL, Cedrick Henley registered four hits including a checking from behind minor as Val-d'Or edged Chicoutimi in a shootout, 3-2. The 6'5 project entered the game with points in three straight games.
Marcus Foligno missed his second straight game due to "illness" as Sudbury lost via shootout to Belleville, 4-3.
Gregg Sutch was a healthy scratch as Mississauga defeated Brampton, 6-2.
In the USHL, Christian Isackson notched a pair of assists as Sioux Falls fell to Cedar Rapids, 5-3. The Minnesotan now has 15 points (4+11) in his 14 games.
In the first round of the WCHA tournament, Justin Jokinen did not get on the scoresheet as Minnesota State lost to #6 Denver, 4-2. The Mavericks held a 2-0 lead after two periods before suffering a four-goal collapse in the third.
In game #1 of the CCHA quarterfinal, Connor Knapp watched as Cody Reichard made 17 saves to help #7 Miami to a 4-1 win over Alaska. UFA senior center Andy Miele scored his 20th goal and 62nd points of the season for the RedHawks. Miele, who leads the nation in scoring, has scored points in 14 straight games.
Also from CCHA quarterfinal weekend, Nick Eno served as back-up to Andrew Hammond as Bowling Green lost to #5 Michigan, 5-1.
In the Hockey East tourney, Drew MacKenzie was +1 with three shots on goal as Vermont lost the opener to #10 New Hampshire, 3-1.
Brad Eidsness did not play as North Dakota cruised past Michigan Tech, 8-0. The Sioux will close to close out their first round opponent Saturday.


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Rocky and mostly barren, the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa mountains southwest of Palm Springs offer terrain hospitable only to king snakes, lizards and tortoises. Shade is almost nonexistent, and jagged rocks and barrel cactuses welcome visitors with stinging jabs to the feet and shins.
Still, this is ideal habitat for bighorn sheep and mountain bikers. In the scrubland outside Palm Springs, the sheep are endangered but the bikers are flourishing.
For mountain bikers, the more rugged and treacherous the terrain, the better. The hilly desert landscape around Palm Springs is crisscrossed with enough single-track trails and perilous, rocky descents to keep a hard-core rider entertained for days.
Golf and tennis dominate outdoor activities in this desert town, but bicycling, particularly mountain biking, is gaining appeal, especially among young adrenaline junkies in Southern California.
"More and more people are doing it compared to last year," said Anthony Hysell, a sales manager at Funseekers, a bike rental shop in nearby Palm Desert.
But you don't want to try the parched Palm Springs trails in the summer, when desert temperatures rise from merely hot to habanero hot. And even in the cooler months, Hysell advises bikers who ride the desert trails to pack plenty of water, food and a fully charged cellphone.
"You can get lost out there," he said. "You can start on the 'goat trails' and end up in Idyllwild."
The "goat trails" are a network of popular hiking and biking paths, started, I assume, by the endangered sheep, in the hills south of Palm Springs. As an on-again, off-again mountain biker, I learned about the goat trails from several online forums as well as bike shop owners in Palm Springs.
On a recent weekend, I filled a backpack with water and snacks and headed for the entrance to the goat trails that begin as an unmarked dirt road, conveniently next to the Rimrock Shopping Center parking lot on East Palm Canyon Drive.
The trails were what I expected: rough, unforgiving and gloriously fun.
On my full-suspension bike, I tried to follow a 5- to 7-mile loop outlined on a map I found on the Internet. But the goat trails are largely unmarked and shoot off in myriad directions around clumps of desert sage and rutted rocks.
Several bikers and hikers I met on the trails told me I needed to summit a peak called Murray Hill, elevation 2,200 feet, to complete the loop. But with my lungs burning and my legs cramping, I made it only halfway up the hill before I quit.
That was OK because I had gained enough altitude to take in a great view of Palm Springs and the surrounding desert. I was also up high enough to zoom down the hill, jumping over rocks and skipping over dips, with spear-shaped lizards scurrying to get out of my way. It was like a sweet dessert after a hearty meal.
The next day, I was too sore and depleted for another hill-climbing ride. Instead, I signed up for the San Andreas Earthquake Bike Tour, a 20-mile ride that featured another seemingly desolate stretch of desert.
The ride is offered by PS Bike Tours, a one-man company run by Clotaire Castanier, a French expatriate who offered Palm Springs tourists hot-air balloon rides for more than 20 years before grounding his balloon to launch bike tours.
In the morning, Castanier arrived at my hotel in a van to take me and another rider — a psychologist from Canada — to the start of what he said was a gentle downhill cruise along the San Andreas Fault.
The friendly Frenchman drove us east on Interstate 10 to the exit for Box Canyon Road, about 30 minutes out of town. There he pulled our bikes off the van and followed as we rode easily along a mostly vacant paved road that ended in the tiny town of Mecca.
Every few miles, Castanier pulled over to offer us drinks and snacks while explaining the tectonic forces that had pushed up banded cliffs of rock and dirt along the road. The craggy rock walls were streaked with bands of olive- and rust-colored minerals, a striking contrast to the pale blue desert sky.
In this thick French accent, he raved about the desert landscape — how it conveys a stark beauty, whether you view it from a hot air balloon or a bicycle.
I had to agree with him, although I prefer to see it on two wheels.


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Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Sure Signs That I've Been Cursed
I fell down a flight of stairs yesterday.
And it wasn't one of those "Whoops!" kind of things where you almost miss a step and grab the handrail and then look around to see if anyone saw. No, it was a full-on Chevy Chase, end-over-end, bounce-off-both-walls, land-in-an-obscure-yoga-pose-with-your-underwear-showing spectacle. The only move I left out was landing face-first in a wedding cake.
There has been a flock of crows in our backyard for a week now.
Seriously, even a junior sorcerer-in-training can tell you what that means: you are in for a supernatural shafting to the 10th power.
Our cockapoo keeps dragging her butt on the rug and growling.
Now do you believe me? Animals can sense this stuff, you know. Obviously, she can see that my aura - usually a sparkly goldish-aqua - has gone all crappy gray and she's trying to warn me of my impending doom. Good girl! [Note to self: make carpet-cleaning appointment.]
I can smell it.
For days now, I've been aware of the lingering scent of Ms. Leisenring, my sixth-grade P.E. teacher and freelance emotional terrorist. By this I mean that I have detected the tang of Hai Karate - her signature scent - in my billiard room, in my grocer's freezer section, even in my Monday-night welding class. If being unable to get the image of her salt-and-pepper bob and cat's-eye glasses out of my mind is not a curse, then I don't know what is.
Other possible evidence.
I received the following message on Twitter this morning:
Yeah, you're right. I'm probably just being paranoid.
74 comments:
- April said...
You're freekin hilarious. LMAO.
- November 11, 2008 at 10:58 PM
- KiKi said...
Oh, honey. Do you need me to grab a priest and come by with some holy water? Do we need to perform an exorcism? Or pull out a Ouija board and make a party out of it? Do I need to help kick some Twitter-Ass?
Feel better! Hope you aren't too sore from that fall!
xo - Ki
- November 11, 2008 at 11:08 PM
- Sabrae said...
OMG you are toooo funny!!! The crows could mean something is dead out there. Your dog could be in heat. And if there is a lingering scent on a teacher... maybe you should remind her that there is a shower... somewhere there is a shower... or leave a stick of deodrant somewhere she will find it. Also... you falling down the stairs... hmmm no explaination on that one. And the twitter person is nuts! :) There you go I sloved all your problems! lol
- November 11, 2008 at 11:52 PM
- Swirl Girl said...
Ms. Ballbricker from Porkeys was your gym teacher?
...and that's why I don't Twitter.
- November 12, 2008 at 12:02 AM
- Marinka said...
That is hysterical. Or super duper scary. It really depends on how attached you are to life, and to your carpet.
- November 12, 2008 at 1:49 AM
Well the good news is that if you are being hounded by the living dead and other unhallowed creatures then they aren't bothering the rest of us - chin up!
- November 12, 2008 at 3:48 AM
- Kelley with Amy's Angels said...
Oh my!
That's all I got. Oh my!
- November 12, 2008 at 6:06 AM
- Tiffany T said...
I've got to get me one of those Twitter curses to throw out there! :)
- November 12, 2008 at 7:14 AM
- Linda said...
Jeeze Girl! You're a riot!
I'll bring the Tequila (medicinal purposes Ha! snort!) and the shovel (best zombie killing tool there is)
- November 12, 2008 at 7:21 AM
- Natalie said...
I highly recommend not biting into any shiny red beautiful apples offered to you by the woman seen in that icon. Not a lot of people know this but she's actually a witch, and is trying to poison you. Trust me...I've seen the documentary:" 7 Little People, Big Disney World" or something to that effect.
- November 12, 2008 at 7:26 AM
- Anna Lefler said...
Breaking News of the Damned:
I just left a comment on a blog and the word verification was "coven."
I kid you not.
- November 12, 2008 at 7:27 AM
- Mandy @ Adventures of a Millennium Mom said...
First of all, I hope you are okay after your fall down the stairs...Sounds like it hurt!!
Also,The p.e. teacher w/ Hai Karate cracks me up!!
- November 12, 2008 at 7:43 AM
- Bubbashelby said...
Falling down, weird smells - a brain tumor, maybe?
*in best Governator voice* "It's not a tumah!"
- November 12, 2008 at 7:55 AM
- MammaDucky said...
So you spilled that nail polish on your aura huh? Get some acetone and shine that baby back up. Then get a B.B. gun for the birds. I hate birds.
- November 12, 2008 at 8:15 AM
- Always Home and Uncool said...
Maybe your books are overdue. My Lab starts chewing on mine when their tardy which only compounds the sin in the eye of our local Toad-Necked Librarian from Hell.
- November 12, 2008 at 8:21 AM
- Shan said...
Ah man, thats a rough one homeslice. I say get a good security system, some bird shot and dont get out of bed. Of course I give advice to not get out of bed all the time. Its cause I am long to spend a day in bed doing nothing. Maybe flip through some magazines, nap, get waited on hand and foot... Back to your problem. Convince the birds to move to your neighbors back yard. We could make this fun and watch someone else squirm. Good luck to ya!
- November 12, 2008 at 8:39 AM
- Florinda said...
I think YOUR life definitely keeps getting weirder :-). And block that Twitterer, STAT.
I do have to agree with you about the cockapoo - butt-dragging dogs are never a good sign of anything.
BTW, you will be very much missed at Sunday's event :-(.
- November 12, 2008 at 9:49 AM
- Lynda said...
So what part of you did hit the wedding cake?
- November 12, 2008 at 12:10 PM
- Petra a.k.a The Wise (*Young*) Mommy said...
Damn, that sucks. I hate it when I get cursed...
- November 12, 2008 at 12:15 PM
- Maggie said...
LOL Hilarious!! Man, you could have really hurt yourself on those stairs - be more careful next time, will ya?! You might break your neck and then where would we go for a good laugh??? =)
- November 12, 2008 at 1:32 PM
- LarryG said...
no 1 - stairs == gravity, surely you are an apple of someone's eye!
no 2 flock of crows == plant more popcorn next year, you and a whole flock of crows can't all be wrong!
no 3 cockapoo == woof woof woofy wooferson
no 4 smell it == finally the brownies are done and out of the oven!
no 5 paranoia == NOW YOU ARE ON TO SOMETHING!!! (better you than me)
this is so rich with humor - i really love the way you write and think!
- November 12, 2008 at 1:41 PM
- angie said...
This is the funniest thing I've read all day. I did hear that you've been cursed.........:)
- November 12, 2008 at 2:13 PM
- Michelle said...
Hmmmm.....funny how the description of your PE teacher could fit just about every PE teacher we ever had. Coincidence? I think not!
- November 12, 2008 at 2:19 PM
- Kimberly said...
I don't think you are being paranoid. Consequently, I think we were separated at birth and I have a similar shafting to the same power coming soon.
But have you ever ran from a Canadian goose, in pumps, only to wipe out on wet grass in order for the entire glass side of your work building watch... and send you emails that they "saw your panties today"?
- November 12, 2008 at 2:25 PM
- Hairline Fracture said...
Hope you're okay by the time you read this comment!
- November 12, 2008 at 2:30 PM
- La Belette Rouge said...
I have an eye of knute I can loan you that I use whenever I am cursed. Twitter me and I will send it right over.;-)
- November 12, 2008 at 3:12 PM
- Tug said...
You have a billiard room?!
I so need to work on not being poor. :]
- November 12, 2008 at 3:32 PM
It sounds like you need to weld some extra hand-holds to your stair rail. All kidding aside, I'm very impressed with your fortitude and worried for you at the same time. You need a protective amulet or something LOL! Your post is too funny! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog :)
- November 12, 2008 at 5:10 PM
- Melodie said...
- November 12, 2008 at 7:21 PM
- horatio salt said...
okay, here's what you do. go and buy a big white canvas tent like the ones people are always getting married in in (can you use 'in' twice in a row like that in the state of california without a special permit?) Hugh Grant movies, cut up the tent into a big rectangle 10x20 feet, spread it out on top of your carpet, give your cockatoo a big bowl of three kinds of Jell-O all mixed together for dinner, like maybe the yellow Jell-O, plus the red and the green, and wait. when he rubs his butt all over the canvas, call Sotheby's auction house and tell them you have just found an unknown Jackson Pollock painting. i'll take 10% of the selling price as my cut, thanks, babe.
- November 12, 2008 at 7:29 PM
- horatio salt said...
did i say 'cocka-too'? that's because i'm not allowed to say 'poo' or 'pooh' or i'll get in trouble with the estate of A.A. Milne. you can look it up.
- November 12, 2008 at 7:34 PM
- MuseSwings said...
Was your underwear clean and tidy? That's all that really matters. And that you're alive. As for the crows, it really depends on how many. I read something about counting crows. Jackie Kennedy used to do that all the time. One number meant certain death, another number meant nothing more than lots of bird poop on your wash line.
The dog butt thing I wouldn't worry about- drop the dog off at the 10 minute oil change for an hour and they'll fix what ever it is. But that teacher thing - that's bad. I'll send my silver cross and voodoo candle set. Stay in bed for the rest of the week.
- November 12, 2008 at 8:12 PM
- nikkicrumpet said...
I hesitate to even leave a message here...for fear the bad mojo will follow me back to my blog and attach itself to me. I already struggle with the whole stair thing...I lose the cadence coming down and once that happens...forget it! I'm pretty sure that wizened old crone that hexed you was sacrificing a goat in our nearby cemetary last night. You might want to crawl into the nearest closet and cover yourself with rubber and fleece!
- November 12, 2008 at 8:41 PM
- Cristin said...
I'd say you're completely screwed. Start drinking. Now.
- November 12, 2008 at 8:49 PM
What mean f*** sent you the curse?
I'm sorry. But I laughed hysterically at the description of your fall. I'm sorry. You're ok though, right?
- November 12, 2008 at 9:36 PM
- bernthis said...
a cockapoo draggin it's butt across your rug, now that is an image I will never be able to forget no matter how much I want to and I do. :)
- November 13, 2008 at 12:05 AM
- Maggie said...
Come on over to my blog; you have an award waiting for you! =)
- November 13, 2008 at 6:37 AM
- Nimue926 said...
I am so glad I found your blog today. It's FANSTASTIC!!!
- November 13, 2008 at 6:45 AM
- Mandy @ Adventures of a Millennium Mom said...
Drop by my place to claim your award!
- November 13, 2008 at 7:14 AM
- Braja said...
Swing on over here and have a dip in the Ganges, all curses dissolved, guaranteed. No, really...
Have NO IDEA how I stumbled upon you but glad I did. Now, get on over to mine and pay me some attention, woman...
- November 13, 2008 at 8:54 AM
- Dorkys Ramos said...
Yipers, woman! I hope you're taking the necessary precautions (like just hide under your covers for the rest of the year).
And coven? This is some mighty curse you're dealing with!
- November 13, 2008 at 10:16 AM
- Christa said...
I had an emotional terrorist PE teacher too. PE teacher hate the fat kids. I think they have to as part of their contract.
Gross visual about your dog wiping his ass on the carpet. Glad I finished my lunch before reading that. I hate when I barf on my keyboard.
- November 13, 2008 at 10:55 AM
- Temple said...
I love it! You know what is good for a curse? Tequilla...lots of it...preferably in a pretty glass rimmed with salt...Or even if it doesn't work on the curse, after like 3 or 4 you just won't care! ;)
- November 13, 2008 at 11:29 AM
- Rhea said...
OH, my. I hear if you were your clothes backwards and inside out and sprinkle yourself with glitter every hour no matter where you are, you can be UNCURSED.
Make sure someone takes photos, ok?
Did you really fall down the stairs? Holy crap, I'm so sorry.
- November 13, 2008 at 3:16 PM
- MuseSwings said...
Hope all is well and you're not in a voodoo trance from those crows or anything. If you are, stop over - I have an award for you
- November 13, 2008 at 4:30 PM
- Queenie said...
No, no, I feel it, smell it, even my Spaniel is dragging his bum around the kitchen floor. This is more than fate that brought our blogs together, or is just that my dog needs worming and I'm a nut case????????
- November 14, 2008 at 3:35 AM
- Eudea-Mamia said...
It's Friday - you still here?
And I'm what my husband calls somewhat niave, but did someone really Twitter you that?!
That closes the door for me. I thought that thing was pure evil before - no way now man!
- November 14, 2008 at 5:02 AM
- My First Kitchen said...
I had a freelance emotional terrorist as a PE teacher, too. His name was Mr. Jones. He used to whip my with his whistle. On my hindparts. Yeeeah. I think I probably would've done the whole press-charges thing if I'd known it would work.
- November 14, 2008 at 5:39 AM
- Bar-b said...
you had me at junior sorcerer-in-training.
- November 14, 2008 at 7:08 AM
- phd in yogurtry said...
are you sure the hai-karate scent isn't your cockapoo's butt juice? (marinka sent me)
- November 14, 2008 at 7:38 AM
- Grand Pooba said...
Oh, poor little hexed soul! I feel for you but don't come near me, I hear those things can be contagious or something!
Thanks for visiting me, I LOVE your blog, funny, entertaining. Can I come back and visit? Please please please?
- November 14, 2008 at 7:39 AM
- Michele said...
OK, this was the funniest thing I have read in a long time...it brought tears to my eyes...the laughing kind, not the whiney kind. You are one talented hexed lady. I wish I had half your wit!
- November 14, 2008 at 9:51 AM
LOL! Hope you didn't hurt yourself...
- November 14, 2008 at 10:01 AM
- La Belette Rouge said...
I have given you yet another award. You are going to need a bigger mantle. Hope this award proves definitively that you are not cursed.
- November 14, 2008 at 10:37 AM
- Rick said...
I wouldn't worry. Your cockapoo probably just likes the feel of your carpet on her butt. Now when she does that on your cheeseburg!!!... then you've got problems.
- November 14, 2008 at 10:52 AM
- Queenie Jeannie said...
I almost peed that was so funny!! But just to be safe....stay away from k? :-)
- November 14, 2008 at 11:04 AM
- Laura said...
you are so funny. I can still remember my 6th grade PE teacher MR.Krebs who we all thought was pregnant. He and his wife had 11 children between them and he was so over weight us 12 year olds thought he might be helping Mrs. Krebs with having some of the kiddies.
- November 14, 2008 at 12:06 PM
- Heather said...
I think some well-placed garlic is in order here. I realize that's usually reserved for vampires, but it could work here too.
- November 14, 2008 at 12:58 PM
- Imogen Lamport said...
Have either the 4 horsemen of the apocolypse appeared over the hill?
Has the grim reaper come knocking?
Are you sure you just haven't eaten something dodgy that's given you strange hallucinations and none of this is real?
- November 14, 2008 at 1:10 PM
- Elise said...
Obviously you have been doing this forever and so it might not be that special to hear....But I am sooo excited that you are my first follower and my first comment. You have made this blog thing a reality!
Now, (not to try to sound tooo stalkerish) I have been reading you the whole time......You are HILIRIOUS!!!
Keep in mind....Margaritas can cure many things!!
- November 14, 2008 at 1:36 PM
- Temple said...
Thanks for the well-wishes... although, considering your curse status, not so sure I need your support :)
Seriously-thanks! I and puppy are doing better!
- November 14, 2008 at 2:21 PM
- horatio salt said...
i come back here every day. and each time, i read "i fell down a flight of stairs yesterday." how many times can a girl fall down a flight of stairs??? at least strap a pillow on your ass if this thing is becoming part of your regular routine. i'm getting worried about you...
- November 14, 2008 at 3:30 PM
- Nanny Goats In Panties said...
I wouldn't worry about any threats from CursedYouAre until she UNfollows you. Then, run for the hills, lady!!!
- November 14, 2008 at 5:21 PM
- Reddirt Woman said...
If you are going to fall down the stairs, you might as well do a bang-up job...
get a spotlight and a timer to come on every hour for 15-20 minutes all night long. The birds hate to have their beauty sleep interrupted.
Worm your cockapoo... that's why (usually) they drag their butt on the carpet... unless, of course, it just makes her feel so good it brings out the beast in her... but it you can smell it, it's probably worms.
Burn candles, Girl, Burn candles...anything but citrus scents.
Make an appointment with a good hypnotherapist (I know they must have them in Cal-i-for-ni-a)and have them replace the gray bob and cat's eye glasses with any one of the Chipmunk dancers or Chippendale Chair Guys or whatever they are called. Being an er...uh.. older, respectecled lai-dy, I don't know for sure about those stripped or strippered men dancers with the hot hunky bodies... oh, my, I think I'm having a hot flash. I think I'll call my cell phone now... I just learned how to turn it on to vibrate...
Anyhow I hope I have dispelled your concerns about hexes and your sparkle comes back into your life...
Feel free to not print this dissertation... it was only intended to help and I just got carried away.
Oh, my, my phone is ringing.. I must go now...
- November 14, 2008 at 5:29 PM
- the mama bird diaries said...
That all does sound a bit troubling.
Oh - marinka sent me.
- November 14, 2008 at 6:47 PM
- Andy said...
I'd say watch out for black cats, but those damn crows are probably eating one in your backyard already
- November 14, 2008 at 7:44 PM
- WheresMyAngels said...
Oh that gave me a good belly laugh!
Yuck on your dog, I hate when they go across the floor like that! Specially, when my kids would be crawling after them.
- November 14, 2008 at 8:39 PM
- "Annie" said...
I think we had the same P.E.teacher/"freelance emotional terrorist" because mine also had a salt and pepper bob and cat eyed classes.
As a matter of fact she looked a lot like that witch who sent you the message on Twitter. Do you think that awful message could be from her?
Golly, that witch looks angry...but to be fair, if I had to look at that face in the mirror every morning...well... I don't know what I would do.
I guess putting hexes on people via the internet is the only job opportunity available for a retired "emotional terrorist."
And I don't think you're cursed...because talented and kind people are never cursed. That's what I think anyway, and I think it because I want to.
And you're absolutely hilarious. I'm glad you survived your fall~
Because I want to give you a Quiz Whiz badge for cleverly answering Tuesday's Question on A Nice Place In The Sun.
I think it's the third post on my main page. I've been trying to let everyone who received a badge know, but I was running behind for another deadline.
Thanks for the laugh and congrats on your badge.
Have a happy Sunday~ :))
- November 15, 2008 at 11:04 PM
- Amy@Bitchin'WivesClub said...
Do not, I repeat, DO NOT accept apples or any other too-good-to-be-true snacks from any crones tha may cross your path.
- November 16, 2008 at 8:57 AM
- musing said...
Hey, you might try the Protego protection spell. It worked for Harry Potter.
Also, I'd love to quote you on my blog. Would you email me about it?
- November 16, 2008 at 1:32 PM
- Heather said...
So, are your murder of crows gone? Because on Friday morning, there was a strangely high number of them lining our street as I walked my kiddo to the bus stop for school. She even noticed and commented - there were crows perched atop neighboring houses, in the front yards, and a couple on the sidewalk in front of us, all cawing in this creepy, horror-movie type way (think: the avian equivalent of Vincent Price's laugh at the end of Thriller).
I tried to put on a brave front for Kiddo's sake - they were clearly making her nervous, and my kid is a regular Doctor Doolittle, so this was unusual in and of itself. I also was nervous though, because it was SO dang WEIRD.
Flash forward twenty-four hours: Kiddo suddenly develops a raging fever, I rush her to the pediatrician's office where she proceeds to upchuck all over the both of us while awaiting test results (detailed in all the gory glory over on my blog). Mere hours later, *I* am upchucking everything from the shredded wheat I ate for breakfast that morning to the Trick or Treat-sized boxes of Milk Duds I'd inhaled two weeks prior.
So, curse of the crows, or coincidence? Hmmmmmm........
- November 16, 2008 at 4:21 PM
- Blicky Kitty said...
Oh crap! Just stopped by to lend you that lucky rabbit's foot you loaned me after I got kidnapped by really cute male ecoterrorists. Turned out it wasn't a curse.
Anyhoo... the curse must be spreading because I've somehow missed some posts here. I've got to get caught up.
Or you know, maybe it wasn't a curse after all. Maybe a burly officer of the court was just about to serve you papers for your last jaywalking infraction when you slipped and fell. He decided to flee and get the charges dropped after you fell because he feared legal reprisal.
- November 17, 2008 at 6:33 AM
- jennifersusan said...
That explains my entire high school experience. I was always falling down stairs (the Chevy Chase way, of course), but instead of a yard full of crows it was a target on my head with pigeons. I swear, how often do you get bulls-eyed by pigeons on a weekly basis? Way weird.
I hope you get your curse lifted soon!
- November 18, 2008 at 9:37 AM
- HappyHourSue said...
LOL- "Hai Karate"...I thought she wore "Canoe".
- November 20, 2008 at 9:40 AM