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CHIP featured in Penn Today
The Center for High Impact Philanthropy was featured in Penn Today, the University of Pennsylvania's all-community newsletter and website. Read the story below or click here for the story on Penn Today's site.
The holiday season brings a renewed attention to giving and with it, competing demands on donors' time and attention. That's where the Center for High Impact Philanthropy (CHIP) comes in, says Katherina "Kat" Rosqueta of the School for Social Policy & Practice (SP2). "For us, it's all about getting people off the sidelines. Everybody can practice high impact philanthropy," she says. "High impact philanthropy is not about the amount you give. It's about giving in a way that leads to a better, stronger, safer, more vibrant world."
CHIP creates an annual tool kit to help donors do just that. The theme of this year's high impact giving guide is "a more secure future for all," says Rosqueta, CHIP's founding executive director.
Almost three years into the COVID-19 pandemic, people are returning to work, and "it's feeling a little more normal," she says. Yet, for others, the future is still uncertain. The pandemic, along with inflation and economic pressures, has contributed to precarity, Rosqueta says.
In the coming year, CHIP is concentrating on expanding educational opportunities, financial security, addressing structural inequality, strengthening democracy, and promoting effective disaster response.
Expand educational opportunity and school success
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted learning for children of all ages. "There's now a lot of research around findings that remote learning wasn't good," Rosqueta says. "It was particularly bad for children in resource-poor settings who didn't have supports like a place to learn, reliable WiFi, or parents who could stay home and basically become their teachers." Even if learning losses from the COVID pandemic are recovered, there remains a learning gap between children from low-income families and their middle-class counterparts, she says.
"We want everybody to have a more secure future," Rosqueta says. "That means accelerating gains, so that young people have the educational opportunities that we know are tied to life opportunities."
How can philanthropy help? "All children need a web of support to develop their full potential," Rosqueta says. "That web of support consists of the adults in their lives—parents, caregivers, teachers, and others—who help them meet their physical, social, emotional, and academic needs." CHIP gives the example of All Our Kin, a nonprofit that provides training and support to family childcare educators for what Rosqueta calls "a triple benefit: providing children with better early childhood learning experiences, helping their parents stay in the workforce, and strengthening the finances of child care business owners."
"Even though businesses are opening and more people are working, we are still feeling the financial effects of COVID," says Rosqueta. Add inflation to economic losses, and a lot of American families are "in really precarious financial situations, households that are living right on the edge, she says. "Bringing financial security to those folks is critical."
Reliable income to meet current needs, along with savings for financial goals and unexpected emergencies are necessary elements of financial security, Rosqueta says. Pioneering research by SP2's Center for Guaranteed Income Research have shown how direct, unconditional, and consistent cash transfers—also known as guaranteed income— provide a flexible, efficient, and swift means of addressing financial insecurity. Guaranteed income has been used as a tool to help with a range of other issues that funders are concerned about, including mental health, physical health, school achievement, and employment, Rosqueta says.
"Programs designed to help families build savings can also allow them to look beyond the immediate crisis to a more secure future, one that includes owning a first home or having their children pursue college," she says. Rosqueta points to two examples: Compass Working Capital, a nonprofit that helps families in public housing save for an apartment or first home, and public-private partnerships like Baby Bonds, which helps families save for college as soon as their child is born.
Structural inequality
COVID-19 exposed and exacerbated disparities, often along lines of race, gender, socioeconomic status, age, and/or geography, Rosqueta says. "Those disparities often the result from structural inequality, where certain lack equal access to health care, education, and economic development."
As an example of an organization that directly addresses structural inequality, CHIP cites CDD India, which develops decentralized wastewater treatment systems for localities that don't have sewers.
Strengthen democracy
"We're living in an era of hyper-polarization, where a lot of people are feeling like government is not paying attention to what really matters to them," Rosqueta says. CHIP identified five components of a healthy democracy: empowered citizens, fair processes, responsive policy, information and communication, and social cohesion. "These elements reinforce each other." she says.
One of the best ways donors can help is by providing access to trusted, reliable news and information at the local level, Rosqueta says. "Nearly 1,800 communities in the U.S. have no source of local news, which is linked to greater polarization and prevents citizens from holding their representatives accountable." Nonprofits like Report for America work to change that by selecting, training and matching reporters to local newsrooms.
Effective disaster response
Disasters—whether natural, like hurricanes, or human-made, like war—overwhelm the systems that help people stay safe and secure, Rosqueta says. Effective response involves thinking across all four stages of disaster relief: response, recovery, preparation, and risk mitigation, she says.
CHIP recommends looking into organizations that consider an additional long-range perspective in disaster response. For example, National Geographic's Pristine Seas targets the problem of climate change by creating protected marine areas, addressing environmental sustainability as well as food and financial security.
"If you read the news, you can be overwhelmed by all the work that needs to be done, all the problems that need to be solved," Rosqueta says. "There's a lot of noise out there. Our team exists to cut through the noise, so that anybody who's raising their hand and saying, 'Hey, gosh, I want to give,' has the tools to do so well. That's why we call it a giving tool kit."
Authors Patience Marime-Ball and Ruth Shaber discuss gender diversity at CHIP event


We live in a body-conscious world. No one can escape the pressure to be thinner, eat right, look a certain way or wear a certain perfume/cologne. The messages bombard you every time you turn on the TV, read a magazine or walk through a mall. Hundreds of diet books and health magazines line the shelves of bookstores across the nation. Why? I'll say it again: because we live in a body-conscious world.
The Christian life, however, directs us to look at the body differently than the world sees it. The Bible tells us that our body is a temple. In fact, if you look in the Old Testament and read the details that went into forming the temple, you'll find a vast amount of information. Page after page describes the incredible care and detail that went into creating the House of the Lord. Psalm 139 tells us that the Lord created us with the same detail and care. He knit us together in our mother's womb. You were fearfully and wonderfully made. The Lord, our Creator, took care when He designed us. Still, because the world's body-conscious message can be found anywhere at any time, the probability of missing God's message increases.
Too often we don't treat our bodies well. Whether it is sexual immorality, poor eating habits, lack of rest, or drug and alcohol use, we would be wrong to think that the damage to our body does not affect our spirit. The Lord made our bodies special; a place where the New Testament says the Holy Spirit will live within us. He leaves it up to us to take care of our bodies.
Robert Murray McCheyne, a Scottish theologian and pastor, was never known for having great health, but throughout his seven years of ministry he was forced to take time off periodically due to his overworking and exhausting himself. Robert Murray McCheyne said to a friend as he lay dying at the age of thirty, "God gave me a message to deliver and a horse to ride. Alas, I killed the horse and now I cannot deliver the message." The horse he referred to was his own body.
The Lord made you special and unique and with great purpose. He also gave you a body in which to deliver your message. Regardless of calling or station in life, you have a message and a purpose in Christ. So, don't kill the horse. Take care of your body and keep delivering your message.
1. What are ways you are not treating your body well? How can you make changes?
2. Why is it often hard to hear above the voices of people to hear the Lord? What are ways you can be deliberate in seeking peace with Him?


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"Using Twitter To Identify Psychopaths"
by Kashmir Hill
"People's nasty traits have a way of revealing themselves on social networks: in writing. Or rather in how they write. That means an analysis of how someone tweets could reveal whether he or she is narcissistic, Machiavellian, or psychopathic, according to researchers who plan to present their findings at DefCon next week. What are some of the Twitter stylings of these undesirables? Curse words. Angry responses to other people, including swearing and use of the word "hate." Using the word "we." Using periods. Using filler words such as "blah" and "I mean" and "um." (I suspect that an analysis of the Twitter streams of many a blogger would suggest they are potentially a narcissist, a psychopath or an avid reader of "The Prince." Which may well be an accurate assessment.)
"The FBI could use this to flag potential wrongdoers, but I think it's much more compelling for psychologists to use to understand large communities of people," says Chris Sumner of the Online Privacy Foundation, which collaborated with Florida Atlantic University and big-data competition site Kaggle to conduct the study. He imagines the algorithmic models his team developed could be used to compare character traits between different countries based on Twitter. The study came about as a response to a paper published by Cornell researchers last year who had studied the writings of clinical psychopaths and found discernible patterns. "It led to a lot of sensational headlines," says Sumner. "The next obvious stage was the application of the study to people's social media usage."
One of the articles to come out was: "Can twitter help expose psychopath killers' traits?" Sumner wanted to find out whether that was actually a possibility. As you may imagine, based on his organization's name, he's concerned about the intrusion on privacy posed by developments like this and the impact they will have on people's enjoyment of the Internet. Klout, which rates Twitter users' influence, gave rise to Klouchebag, which rates their, um, "klouchiness." This study could theoretically give rise to a "Klychopath" rating. Talking to him, I got the sense that he hoped the study would disprove the usefulness of this type of analysis. But that didn't turn out to be the case.
The research team recruited regular Twitter users to take part in the study. Those efforts were helped by British actor/comedian Stephen Fry and skateboarder Tony Hawk who each tweeted about it, and sent users to BigFive.me, where participants took a personality test which rated them from 1-5 for eight traits, including the "dark triad: psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism," says Sumner. Over 3,000 users then allowed their public tweets to be downloaded for study - Incentive: one lucky participant won an iPad - and over 2,900 of those were put into a data-set that the Online Privacy Foundation turned over to Kaggle users to work their big data magic on. Of the 2,900, about 41 users were certifiable, i.e., rated high for all of the nasty traits. Everyone else fell in a spectrum. (We all have these traits, to a greater or lesser extent.)
To determine their degree of darkness, participants were asked to say whether they agreed with statements like these:
1. Payback needs to be quick and nasty.
2. I like to pick on losers.
1. I have been compared to famous people.
2. I insist on getting the respect I deserve.
1. You should wait for the right time to get back at people.
2. Most people are suckers.
Before handing the data over to Kaggle - a site where data scientists compete to create predictive models - the researchers translated tweets into 337 data points, which denoted linguistic characteristics, Klout scores, and the frequency of their tweeting, among others. "It's like someone changed the tweets into numbers but we don't know how they did it or even what the numbers represent," says Willie Liao, a Kaggle user who developed one of the winning models.
The Twitter data set was then split in two. With one set, the competing scientists were given the opportunity to reverse engineer the personality assessment. The scientists tried to build a model that correlated the Twitter data with the scores the Twitter users received on the personality tests. Those predictive models were then applied to the second set of users to see which one most accurately predicted the scores the Twitter users had gotten on their tests. "With machine learning you can really increase the odds of making an accurate prediction," says Sumner. "It far exceeded my expectations."
Sumner doesn't like the idea of this technique being used to find and target particular psychopaths on Twitter. There would be the inevitable problem of false positives. As noted above, I'm sure many a commentator on Twitter would be flagged for angry tweets, curse words and period use. "Just because someone scores highly doesn't mean they're criminally minded," says Sumner. "Using this to try to spot someone who's going to commit a crime is going to result in catching people who aren't going to. But in general it's interesting. You can use it to look at large groups of people and ask are we becoming more antisocial?" "We do realize that in the future it might be used," he says, pointing to some programs - not necessarily involving social media - that are already in place to predict crimes, including Florida's use of IBM technology to predict whether juvenile delinquents will offend again. "Our default position is that it's a bad thing."
Part of the inspiration for this study was the flood of research over the last year about the possibility of analyzing people's Facebook activity to see if they would make good employees. "According to one survey, 48% of organizations use social media for pre-screening," says Sumner. "There are so many problems with that: no context, the fact that people behave differently online and offline, differences in generational behavior." Sumner admits though that his study could be applied to employee assessment as well. "If you want a competitive environment, you might want people with high levels of these traits," he opines. (Psychopaths make great CEOS, after all.)
What's the best protection against getting a Klychopath score at some point in the future? "Make your tweets protected," says Sumner, though admitting he wouldn't do that himself as Twitter is a useful broadcasting tool. "Or society has a debate - what are the acceptable uses for this stuff and what's unacceptable?" Sumner is now playfully using that same sensational headline from last year for the DefCon presentation that he and Randall Wald of Florida Atlantic University are giving next Sunday."
- http://www.mail.sott.net/
Labels: Kashmir Hill
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Yesterday we arrived at Stow school ready to play a football tournament. First e played against Cold Aston Primary and we won three nil and Toby made some outstanding saves. Then we played against Swell and we beat Swell two-one. We all knew that now we must win our last match to win our group and we drew so that meant that Bledington and Stow drew in the group but Stow finished top as they had scored more goals than us. So we went on to play Rissington in the semi-finals and we drew with them too so we had to go to a penalty shoot out to decide the winner. We won on penalties and went through tot he final to play Bourton. Unfortunately we lost 1-0. Well done to Toby, Noah, Euan, Oscar, Leo, Archie, Freya, Connor and Mr Wootton for reffing.


Softness, warmth, sensuality, charm: the quality and uniqueness of knitting yarn are determined by a set of elements and details that, in perfect balance with each other, they create a perfect product, durable, malleable and, especially , comfortable and stylish. The very nature of the knitting yarn is eclectic, variable, heterogeneous composition of the plots and atmosphere evoked by them: colors, fragrances and landscapes of beautiful and distant countries.
Precious and refined, the knitting yarn of Marfil meet all production requirements, from knitwear industrial furnishings, fit the complex creativity of hand knitting, fulfill every desire of color, mood and originality. With an infinite range of shades, from the most subtle to the most vibrant tones to dark, from the effects mélange yarns embellished by the addition of sparkling lurex, the knitting yarn mix, merge and intertwine raw materials of high quality, whose origin different bears a pleasant touch of cosmopolitan, refined nomadism, of innovative elegance.
Woolen threads glossy and shiny, brightly colored, delicate mohair, soft and fluffy, ancient and precious yarns like cashmere and silk, cotton and linen, meet and intertwine with each other to create volumes, emotions, contrasts , playing sometimes with fibers of a different nature, velvet, chenille, synthetic fibers, to build a collection of knitting yarn full of surprises and enchantment, in a rainbow of colors and patterns that can find the right size for every shape and every idea.
Products following high quality standards, the Marfil knitting yarn are stunning to look at, and perfect to make garments elegant and precious, with the guarantee of high quality of both the materials, both in production techniques.


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Fall Out Boy Returns to Tempe Having Saved Rock and Roll, Themselves
Nicki Escudero
Nicki Escudero | June 11, 2013 | 7:00am
Fall Out Boy is to blame for a lot of what was bad about the middle of the last decade: The broad acceptance of 19-word song titles; males wearing the jeans that inspired Kanye West to rap, "They just buy tight jeans 'til they nuts hang all out, boy"; even the continuous presence of Ashlee Simpson, who married FOB bassist Pete Wentz.
So when Fall Out Boy announced its indefinite hiatus four years ago, it seemed everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Juding by the band's 2009 Tempe Beach Park performance, where fans booed as singer Patrick Stump looked dejected, even Fall Out Boy appeared to be sick of Fall Out Boy.
Fall Out Boy is scheduled to perform Tuesday, June 11, at Marquee Theatre in Tempe.
Four empty years passed, with members' half-hearted solo projects unable to compare to the power the group had together. Stump couldn't even sell out Martini Ranch when he came to Scottsdale as a solo artist, and his new "soul punk" tunes seemed too much for even his more mature fans to enjoy. Wentz and his band, Black Cards, "toured" at The Mint but never released an album. And guitarist Joe Trohman and drummer Andy Hurley's new group, The Damned Things, dissolved last year.
Which is why, when the group announced it return the same day it dropped its new single, "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light 'Em Up)," still-devoted fans rejoiced, propelling the song to number two on the Billboard Hot 100.
Read More: I Saw Fall Out Boy Before They Got Huge
The ensuing tour, which saw the band forgo the huge venues it played at the end of its initial run, quickly sold out -- including today's stop at Marquee Theatre. And FOB's latest album, Save Rock and Roll, boasts guest stars ranging from Big Sean to Courtney Love and Elton John.
The "new" sound isn't too big an evolution from the band's previous disc, Folie à Deux, but on Save Rock and Roll, Fall Out Boy sounds more confident than ever. Lyrics like "We've already won. We are wild. We are like young volcanoes" and "We can take the world back from a heart attack. One maniac at a time, we will take it back" tell the story.
And a recently announced arena tour with labelmates Panic! at the Disco suggests that Fall Out Boy is doing just fine with its stated goals. In a music world increasingly reliant on the sale of singles, Fall Out Boy's long-suffering fans are a rare and precious commodity: They buy the whole album, more than 150,000 copies in the opening week.
Besides the profitable fruits of their labor, getting back with the guys has placed the band members' mindsets in the right place.
Hurley told Rolling Stone he went through the worst depression of his life after the breakup, while Wentz said, "I went through a really, really dark, weak period, and then at the same time I didn't have an outlet to express myself."
The band's fans felt the same way. By its hiatus, Fall Out Boy had become a joke to a lot of music fans, and seemingly an obligation to some of its members, but the fans -- the ones who'd followed them through nine years together -- were crushed.
Whatever else it's responsible for, Fall Out Boy makes kids happy and helps save some people (including its members) from depression. Guyliner or not, how could you hate on that?
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The Father William Most Collection
The searchable theological works of the late Fr. William G. Most (bio), an internationally-acclaimed theologian and Scripture scholar.
Browse the complete works.
View the complete list of titles of more than 230 theological works by Fr. Most and select any work for reading or download.
Search for specific information.
Use the Most search screen to look for key words and return all the paragraphs which contain what you need.
The late Fr. William G. Most was one of the most distinguished Catholic teachers, theologians and Scripture scholars of our time. His long teaching career, extending well over 50 years, was marked by unswerving fidelity to the Magisterium of the Church, theological brilliance, and an ability to communicate clearly to layman and professional alike.
Free eBook: Catholic Quagmire


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St Hilary Community Website
...because the community matters
Along the A48
Scroll down to see details of:
Dyffryn House and Dyffryn Gardens
Tinkinswood Burial Chamber
St Lythans Chambered Tomb
Natural Burial Ground
Dyffryn House
The Dyffryn estate dates back to the 7th century when it was formally known as the Manor of Worlton. In the 16th century, the manor was acquired by the Button family who built the first house. The name was changed to Dyffryn in the 18th century when the estate was sold to Thomas Pryce who built the first building which is known as Dyffryn House. In 1891 the Dyffryn estate was sold to John Cory who built the present house in 1893. After John Cory's death in 1910, the estate passed to Cory's third son Reginald, and on his death in 1934, the estate was passed to his sister Florence. On her death in 1936, the estate was sold to Sir Cennydd Traherne. In 1939, he leased it to the Glamorgan County Council for 999 years.
Dyffryn Gardens
Thomas Mawson was commissioned by John Cory to design a garden to complement Dyffryn House. Dyffryn Gardens is symmetrical in the way it lines up with the windows of the house. After John Cory's death in 1910, the job of further developing the gardens fell to Cory's third son Reginald who was a leading figure in the RHS and a keen horticulturalist. During the 1900s he sponsored several plant hunting expeditions worldwide.
Dyffryn House and Gardens are now looked after by the National Trust.
This beautiful chambered tomb stands in splendid isolation in the middle of a field. Its massive capstone is 4m (14ft) long, 3m (10ft) wide, and 0.7m (2.5ft) thick. The insides of the two portal stones have been smoothed and the back stone has a port-hole on its top. This Neolithic burial chamber is oriented East-West, and a mound of earth or stones probably once covered it. Still unexcavated, St Lythans is unusually high and therefore it may never have been completely covered.
Source: www.stonepages.com
Tinkinswood is also known as Castell Carreg, Llech-y-Filiast, Maes-y-Filiast and Gwal-y-Filiast: names possibly connected to King Arthur's saga. Built around 4000 BC in a small valley in the Vale of Glamorgan, this long wedge-shaped cairn contains a rectangular stone chamber. The enormous capstone measures 7.4m x 4.5m (24ft x 15ft) and weighs about 40 tons; it is believed to be the largest in Britain and it would have required the efforts of some 200 people to lift it into position. Inside the chamber were 920 pieces of human bone, nearly all broken, showing that at least 40 people of both sexes and all ages were buried here in Neolithic times. The horned entrance faces north-east and in the mound itself, behind the capstone, lies an enigmatic stone-lined pit, whose purpose in unknown. Corpses were probably left exposed in it before the skeletons were finally interred in the burial chamber. The remains of other bones, soft red Neolithic ware, and Beaker style pottery were also found, showing that the tomb was probably used by a small community over a long time, maybe up to the early Bronze Age.Source: www.stonepages.com
The first "natural" burial ground in the Vale was opened in June 2008 at Coedarhydyglyn, off the A48 at the top of the Tumble, St Nicholas. The burial ground is in a traditional meadow and pastureland. It is a spectacular location with elevated views across Cardiff to the Severn Estuary with glimpses of the Millennium Stadium and, on a clear day, the Severn Bridges. To the north there are fine views of St Fagans, Castell Coch and the Garth Mountain; to the south the Bristol Channel. The burials at the ground use biodegradable coffins and there are no headstones or surrounds to graves as these would detract from the natural landscape.
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Animal Concentration Areas (ACAs) are self-explanatory—animals congregate there and it gets bare, quickly. ACAs are one of the potential sources of pollution runoff from a farm. Managing manure and sediment runoff from an animal concentration area (ACA) is required under Pennsylvania's Clean Streams Law and Nutrient Management Act.
Whether an ACA is called a turn-out lot, exercise lot, corral, barnyard, heavy use area, or sacrifice lot, good management is critical. Unmanaged ACAs become a primary source of sediment and nutrient pollution in water. Overloaded with manure and bare soil, one heavy rain can cause polluted water to flow off site.
Minimize the size of the denuded area(s).
Select a good location for the ACA. Pick an area that is high and dry.
Divert clean water away from the ACA by installing swales to redirect storm-water from up slope fields or pastures.
Direct polluted runoff into a storage area or a correctly sized, well maintained vegetative filter strip.
Remove accumulated manure from the ACA routinely.
Even under the best management, in wet conditions ACAs can become an unattractive, muddy mess. When properly managed, ACAs do not cause environmental concerns, but they can still be unattractive to neighbors and passers-by. It is best to keep ACAs to a minimum size, and away from property lines or areas highly visible from the road.
To make sure an existing ACA is well managed, compliant with regulations, or for technical assistance to create a new ACA, contact your local County Conservation District or NRCS office.


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A Brief History of Ridiculous Celebrity Endorsements
By Kate Morrison
Cher reading the bible? Hmmm … something doesn't quite add up. As far back as the 1760s, celebrity endorsements have been used to promote products, whether it was microwavable meals or the newest smoke on the market, someone was always there to seemingly believe in the product. In honour of National Bible Week in 1971, Sonny and Cher gave permission for the use of their image in an advertisement attempting to make the bible seem groovy. Using religion in a form of advertisement is something we perhaps see less of in this day and age (certainly not endorsed by our favourite pop stars), but as I delved into the archives of endorsements past, I found no shortage of strange celebrity and product pairings as you're about to see…
Doris Day, on a road-roller. At first impression, I thought she may have grown up a farmer's daughter of some sort, but it turns out she didn't. In fact, her mother was a house wife and father was a music teacher. The bewilderment continues…
When everyone from Santa Claus to the then-future President of the United States was hawking cigarettes. Ronald Reagan himself did not actually smoke, but his modeling relationship with the tobacco industry dates to at least the 1930s.
In the 19th century, Pope Leo XIII personally endorsed Vin Mariani (an alcoholic drink based on cocaine and wine), lending his face to the brand's advertising campaign and even awarded it the Vatican gold medal. (Read more about how the wine and cocaine cocktail became Coca Cola).
Though created more than 250 years ago, endorsements didn't enter their heyday until the late 1800s, early 1900s. But these weren't like normal ads you would see today in newspapers and magazines or on television– they were even better: pocket-sized! And who doesn't love something you can fit into your pocket? Commonly referred to as trade cards, these dainty advertisements would be slipped into consumer's bags or product packaging.
By the early '30s, endorsements were popping up everywhere featuring mainly athletes, but by the mid 40s movie stars entered the limelight as the most popular endorsers due to the popularity of "talkie" films.
Cigarette trading cards featuring Walt Disney and Micky Mouse as well as silent film star Buster Keaton (c) Pristine Auctions
As time ticked, and technology continued to bloom, especially in the popularity of the television, what constituted as a 'celebrity' continued to evolve. Soon, TV personalities and entertainers, musicians, and even public figures entered the world of brand endorsements.
The glory and interest in all these early endorsements comes from the fact that they essentially had no outstanding regulations on what was promoted to the public. Hence, the nonchalant ads of tobacco and liquor endorsed by celebrated stars. No punishment came of these published ads, which is why we here at Messy Nessy are truly mesmerized by them.
Wine sprinkled with ice? Nice touch, Mrs. Ball.
You may be just as confused as I was when I first saw this ad. Why is Muhammad Ali endorsing roach traps? After a little research, things started to make a bit more sense. The marketing line for this whole campaign ended up being "d-CON four/gone. Knocks out bugs in a whole room." Clever d-Con, very clever.
And we'll leave you with the most "tremendous" celebrity endorsement of them all…
Photos sourced via Pinterest.
A Brief Compendium of Vintage Cigarette Dispensers
Radioactive Jockstraps and other Lethal Cures to Improve ones Sex Life
How a Wine and Cocaine Cocktail Became Coca Cola
COCAINE COWBOYS AND THEIR "MAD MEN" MARKETING
Oh, Just an Abandoned Hobbit Castle Built for Sheep
Tokyo's Forgotten Botanical Gardens look like Jurassic Park
The USB Sticks Hidden in Walls Across the World


Prime Hvac Solutions repairs, installs and services all your HVAC needs in the Philadelphia area.
Even though your HVAC is such an important part of making your home livable, you have to hope that nothing ever goes wrong with it because it is incredibly complex repair job for the average homeowner. Luckily, in those dire moments when your HVAC goes awry, help is only a phone call to Prime Hvac Solutions away.
Prime Hvac Solutions is a team of HVAC repair contractors that have extensive experience working with heating and cooling systems in all sorts of homes in the area. Whether it's an installation, a repair or just providing regular maintenance to the system, Prime Hvac Solutions's HVAC technicians are committed to giving all of our customers quality work with the best possible service in the area.
From start to finish, Prime Hvac Solutions's customers enjoy a stress-free experience where they are treated with respect.
Like any home appliance, eventually, after extended use, your home's HVAC system will start to encounter problems. Some of them will have simple solutions, others will have more involved work to be done. Either way, there is no job too big or small for Prime Hvac Solutions's technicians who are proud to specialize in home HVAC systems.
At Prime Hvac Solutions, we are constantly updating our staff on the latest industry practices and teaching more efficient techniques for greater customer satisfaction. All types of contractors, not just those who specialize in HVAC repair and maintenance, are typically met with scrutiny. Most homeowners have had unpleasant experiences dealing with contractors, assuming they are only in it to make a quick buck.
Prime Hvac Solutions is different because our priority is building trust with our clients. We want you to have no reservations recommending our services and that you know exactly what you are getting when you call our HVAC repair contractors when you call us in for help.


Another week, another weigh in, let's see how I've improved…or not improved…since last week's post.
We're moving in the right direction, slowly but surely!
Keeping it short tonight because it's late. We saw Wonder Woman earlier. Fantastic movie!!


With close attention to detail and exceptional service, Fairlawns creates an intimate atmosphere where some of the globe's most vibrant personalities converge. The chic, upscale suites are individually decorated in varying themes ranging from Eastern influence to French provincial, each featuring every desired modern amenity. The hotel also caters to a variety of culinary tastes with an array of elegant dining experiences to choose from. Located in Johannesburg - South Africa's largest city and gateway to the rest of Africa - Fairlawns is situated just 6 km from central Sandton, and 20 km from the Johannesburg city centre to offer the upmarket traveller a delicate mix of luxury and convenience. Established in 1997, Fairlawns, or "FBH" as it's come to be affectionately known by Managing Director, Michael Kewley, is a property proud in heritage and character. Previously a luxury private residence, it is only fitting that the property has transformed "herself" into the stylish hotel, with an air of eclectic sophistication, that Fairlawns is today. This your invitation to consider Fairlawns Boutique Hotel and Spa your home away from home, where exceptional service and heartfelt hospitality can be soaked up like the African sun.


text:
Q: Is it possible to have dynamic groupBy in Prometheus and Alertmanager? In my Prometheus alert configuration, I have some great summary annotations, containing different labels.
- alert: PodsPending
  expr: kube_pod_status_phase{phase="Pending"} > 0
  labels:
    severity: high
  annotations:
    summary: "Namespace {{$labels.namespace}} has pods stuck in Pending"
- alert: Failures
  expr: sum(application_responses_percent{status="500"}) by (environment, app, otherlabel) > 80
  for: 5m
  labels:
    severity: high
  annotations:
    summary: "({{$labels.environment}}) Too many errors in {{$labels.app}}"

In Alertmanager, I would like to group the alerts by these summaries. This way the set of labels to group by can be dynamic per alert since they are part of the summary.
However, since the summary is an annotation, it cannot be directly used in Alertmanagers groupBy configuration as it can only use labels. How can I use summary, or another dynamic way, for grouping alerts?
I've tried to check metric-relabel-config if the annotation could be transformed to a label, but there is no annotation data there.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Kishida Seeks Diplomatic Efforts over Labor Issue with S. Korea
Politics Jan 15, 2023 09:41 (JST)
Washington, Jan. 14 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday called for diplomatic efforts to resolve the issue of South Koreans requisitioned to work for Japanese companies during World War II.
"I want diplomatic officials to continue efforts (over the wartime labor issue) as leaders of Japan and South Korea have agreed to work on resolving the matter at an early time," Kishida said at a press conference in Washington to sum up a tour of France, Italy, Britain, Canada and the United States, all members of the Group of Seven forum of major democracies.
He refrained from commenting on the South Korean government's recent announcement of a plan for a domestic public benefit foundation to pay compensation over the issue on behalf of Japanese firms involved. The Japan-South Korea relations have deteriorated sharply due to the wartime labor and other issues.
Kishida said that he hopes to keep in close communication with the South Korean government to restore the soured bilateral relationship back to a healthy state and develop it further.
Still, he said that the friendship the two countries have developed since their diplomatic normalization in 1965 continues to be the foundation of their relations, reiterating Japan's stance that the labor and other wartime issues with South Korea were resolved by a bilateral agreement on property and claims of the same year.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
Jiji Press


RIB boats combine the best qualities of seaworthiness, maneuver capability, speed, strength, vitality and stability. The entire hull is made of fiberglass (6-8 mm). Slip resistant structure of the deck floor looks presentable and prevents watermen from sliding.
RIB Base models contain front and stern lockers. RIB Complete models are equipped with center consoles with a helm. Standard transom (h 390mm) can be replaced by a larger one (h 500mm) according to your request.
Admiral Trade offers a 4 year warranty for AM 410 RIB.


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We are engaged in manufacturing a wide range of Brick Making Machine, which is capable of working under high pressures. The machine is equipped with standard pumps and valves including other accessories. It is available in various sizes, shapes & dimensions and can be customised as per the requirements of the clients.
We are leading manufacturer of Automatic Fly Ash Brick Making Machine.
No. Of Bricks/Stroke: 10 Nos.
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Links for information and people we deal with.
On this page you will find people we are happy to promote or work with.
School Workshop is an online directory where you will find all sorts of information which may be helpful to you and your school. We do recommend you have a look.


If you are in the market for a manual SLR camera, then the Canon AE 1 35mm Film Camera might be the right selection for you. We will take a look at the features that are included with this camera and the pros and cons of having an older camera, as well as some similar types of cameras that can be compared to this one. When making this type of purchase there are many points to consider before making a decision.
By the end of the review, you should have a good deal more information and a general idea if this is the right camera for your needs.
This camera has five controls so that you can fine tune the settings to exactly whatever your environment and style of photography demands.
The camera is lightweight and weighs 2.4 pounds.
The Canon AE 1 uses 35 mm film.
The camera has a 1:1.8 lens.
The camera uses 1 lithium battery to enable operation.
This model of camera has enjoyed great popularity over the years since its release. One of the reasons for this is the fact that there are plenty of controls that allow you to manually adjust filters and focus so that you can get the perfect shot for whatever your environment may be. You can create fantastic and professional looking photographs with the Canon AE 1 camera.
This is a great camera for those individuals that are just learning the finer points of photography or are taking a class in photography. It will help those that are still learning the art become familiar with lighting and angles as well as how to adjust the camera to different environments to get the best shot possible.
Film cameras will give a soft touch to photos that the cameras of today may not be able to achieve. They have their own special quality that film camera enthusiasts cherish.
This camera is lightweight and easy to handle when you are trying to position yourself for the perfect shot.
It features controls that will let you know if you need a tripod or if the shot is not in focus or if there is too much movement to get a clear shot.
The price of 35 mm film can become inconvenient. Film cameras are not the cheapest option for taking pictures but the results are worth it if you are a fan of film cameras.
This camera may be a bit labor intensive for those individuals that are used to having a digital style camera that can automatically focus and adjust to the lighting of your surroundings. You have to control the focus and exposure manually which also means some time using the camera (and film) to learn how to get just the right effect. This may add up to time and money that may go into learning how to get the most out of the camera.
The camera is not as streamlined as some other cameras on the market may be. It is an older camera and does not look modern and sophisticated like some of the newer models may look. It is a matter of what the camera does have to offer versus the look of the camera. It is up to the user to decide if that is really a factor that should be considered before the purchase is made.
Repairs for this type of camera may be difficult because it is a bit outdated. You would have to find a place that specializes in these types of camera repairs if anything breaks. The cost of repairs may also be higher.
TheCanon AE 1 35 MM is a great camera to start learning with and it takes very high-quality photographs that are actually more professional looking than many of the other film cameras in its class.
It has a few extra functions that people really like.
This film camera is also quite a bit cheaper than many of the other comparable cameras by several hundred dollars.
It offers overall better quality and price than a lot of 35 mm SLR cameras that are on the market.
I suggest that you do a good bit or research to determine if this is the right camera for your needs. It is older and may be hard to have repaired so that is something to keep in mind.
The film can also run up your costs when using this type of SLR camera. Film costs can quickly add up especially if you are just learning and going through a good amount of film to get the hang of using the product.
It also delivers softer style photographs so it doesn't deliver the super crisp final product that the cameras of today can. It is more of a nostalgic type of quality.
If you are interested in learning the finer points of photography and ways to manually focus and perfect the frame, then this particular camera is highly suggested for this type of use. Many photography students buy this type of camera just for this type of use. It is also fairly lightweight and not hard to use once you get used to the controls and nuances of this model. The price for this product is pretty good considering that many other cameras that are similar cost several hundred dollars more than the Canon AE-1.
Overall if you don't mind the manual settings and like the idea of using 35 mm film then this is a good buy that you will be happy with for many years as these cameras have a history of holding up well.


Comprehensive list of Sicklerville, New Jersey based companies, stores and contractors offering quality home improvement services, repairs, maintenance and tools for sale.
With over twenty five years knowledge within the construction industry you can be sure of a a best quality project at realistic prices. My experience ranges from building tiny sheds to huge commercial warehouses and office facilities. You can be confident that your project will be 1st class. My career began in 1978 working with several old timers who took immense pride in their work.
Thank you for choosing John Schoener Carpentry. Please browse through our website to view several of our exceptional home renovations and repairs that we currently have done over the past few years. Like what you saw, then call us and schedule a no obligation appointment. John Schoener Carpentry has an established reputation for providing best quality workmanship in all aspects of home remodeling.
Do you need a custom-built deck that can accommodate your family and friends and look great attached to your home? Is it time to update the flooring from carpet to pretty stone or wood? Does your home just need some restoration? South Jersey Wood & Tile is the one to trust with new installations, repairs and restorations.
Change your space for the better. Whether you are creating a new space or just rethinking your current one, making the best decisions for your home and simplifying the transformation process is what is most important. Each home is uniquely individual. By involving you in the process, we can make the style or design look you are after and show you how to make the finest use of your decorating budget.
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Deck Restoration Plus is recognized as an industry leader in the restoration of exterior wood as well as the manufacturing and distribution of quality products to achieve outstanding results. Deck Restoration Plus was established in 1992 by a contractor who recognized that many decks, cabins, wood siding, fences and other exterior wood surfaces were not being restored properly.


text:
Saturday, December 1, 2012 0
Survey says: You can avoid family feuds during holidays
(Chicago Sun-Times) To avoid conflict during the holidays, it's important to seek out common ground instead of dredging up past grievances during get-togethers…
However, if you feel that detente is not possible within your family you might consider another option. Maybe it's time for new celebrating traditions limited to immediate family and friends who might otherwise be alone.
According to social psychologist Dr. Susan Newman, author of The Book of NO: 250 Ways to Say It and Mean It and Stop People-Pleasing Forever, there is still another way to avoid dysfunctional family gatherings. The solution lies in one simple word: no. It eliminates the need to push yourself to the max or to spend the holidays somewhere other than where you want to be.
"Learn to put yourself and your family first and say no to family gatherings you know will likely become toxic — then don't obsess about the consequences," said Newman. "Most people are understanding, especially during the holidays. And, if they're not, do you really want them in your life? Remind yourself daily that 'no' is extremely liberating and needs no explanation. And to say it is your right."
Making Your Holidays Special
(Andrew Weil, M.D.) Rituals - activities that link past, present and future and help us to step out of ordinary time - play a strong and important role in emotional health…
To make your holiday gatherings more meaningful, consider reinvigorating old traditions and creating your own holiday rituals. Handmade presents - a great way to spend time with friends and loved ones while creating the treasures - often express more meaning than generic, store-bought gifts. Having everyone share a favorite thought of holidays past can fill a room with laughter and good memories. Taking a moment before a meal to remember loved ones who have passed on can be deeply meaningful.
Even new rituals can be rewarding; think of something you would like your family to carry on throughout the years, and put the ritual in place.
When good cheer makes you say, 'good grief'
(Chicago Tribune) It's the season of merriment and joy — or at least that's what every TV commercial, magazine ad and thousands of other messages will keep telling us over the next month.
But what if you don't feel buoyant and twinkly? If you've lost a loved one in the past year, the non-stop bombardment of good cheer can make you feel even more lonely and out of sync with the world.
[Therapist Ruth Field:] It's important to acknowledge what we feel badly about. I'd encourage (the survivor) to just get it all out there. Imagine that (the deceased) is sitting with you and have that conversation…
It's important to have every family member weigh in on this ... and do it before you make your final plans. Ask yourself, "Who do I want to be this year?" Maybe I can't handle being a partygoer, but I can be a helper and work in a soup kitchen.
Five Slimming Solutions for Surviving Holiday Parties
(Appetite for Health) Tis the season to…gain weight? Holiday time is often an excuse to indulge in fattening fare, sip on caloric beverages, and forgo the gym. In fact, research shows that the number of Americans who exercise regularly drops to its lowest point during December. Fortunately, with some strategic planning before your next holiday affair, you can save hundreds of calories–without feeling deprived. Employ these five waist-friendly tips throughout the holiday season to ward off weight gain:
Skip the chips and dip:…
Instead, have a high protein snack, like a nonfat Greek yogurt or handful of nuts, before the party. This will help to curb hunger so you aren't tempted to overindulge…
Sip on spritzers and seltzer:
Instead of eggnog and other caloric drinks, opt for a white wine spritzer…
Pile on the greens:…
When making your plate, fill half with vegetables first. This way, you will have less room for the more indulgent fare, while still being able to try your favorite holiday classics…
Bring a low-cal dessert…
Avoid BLT's:
I'm not talking about the sandwich here–BLT's stand for bites, licks, and tastes. Did you know each little BLT has around 25 calories?...
Have a sense of awareness of your hunger, stick to your game plan, and don't deviate!
Greek Steak Pitas
Serve a Mediterranean-inspired meal in minutes. These stackers are stuffed with bright flavors including Greek seasoning, lemon juice, red onion, and feta cheese. Creamy hummus rounds out this meal.
Greek Steak Pitas with Dill Sauce
Egg, Avocado, and Crispy Prosciutto Pitas
Mashed Chickpea Pitas
Creamy Turnip Soup
In this recipe, the humble turnip is transformed into a rich turnip soup made creamy with just 1 tablespoon of butter. Serve it as a starter or side soup. The mini salad on top is optional, but we love the bit of texture from the greens and pop of flavor from the vinaigrette.
Leek, Asparagus & Herb Soup
Curried Carrot & Apple Soup
Mediterranean Grilled Vegetable Soup
Bread 'can keep fresh for 60 days'
(The Telegraph) American researchers claim to have found a way to keep bread fresh for 60 days by "zapping" it in a special microwave…
The microwave designed by MicroZap, a private company founded by academics in Texas, was first intended to get rid of salmonella and MRSA. However, when researchers tested it on bread they discovered that they were able to keep it fresh far beyond the ten day period in which mould would normally set in…
Unfortunately, the technology is not quite ready for the home kitchen: the microwave is currently about the length of a small car.
Community: Will the bread makers buy the machines? Probably not, since it would reduce their sales.
Higher Meat & Poultry Prices Poised To Lift Retail Food Prices In Early 2013
(The Supermarket Guru) Based on the upward trend seen in wholesale food prices recently, The Food Institute projects that retail food prices will move marginally higher in early 2013, more closely mimicking that upward trend than in recent months. Nothing extraordinary is projected at this time in the overall retail price index for food at home overall, although certain categories will be impacted more than others.
Higher beef and poultry prices will account for a good portion of the overall advance as noted below. Pork prices may add to that advance later in 2013 as could anticipated hikes in processed vegetable prices and dairy.
Do Older Adults Need Vitamins, Supplements?
(WebMD Health News) At least half of adults age 65 and above take daily vitamins and other supplements, but only a fraction actually need them, says an Emory University expert. The majority of older adults, he says, can improve their diet to get needed nutrients…
Duffy MacKay, ND, vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs for the Council for Responsible Nutrition, an industry group representing dietary supplement makers, agrees that starting with a good diet is the best way to get needed nutrients. But he says that is not always reality, especially for older adults who may have obstacles such as a reduced appetite…
In particular, he says, older adults may lack calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, potassium, and fiber. Changing the diet can be difficult for older people, he says. Living on fixed incomes may make fresh produce too costly. Some older adults don't know how to cook. For others, ill-fitting dentures or a reduced appetite may make eating difficult. "Where dietary changes are difficult, a dietary supplement can be a responsible, reasonable solution," he says.
Vitamin D Tied to Women's Cognitive Performance
(Science Daily) Two new studies … show that vitamin D may be a vital component for the cognitive health of women as they age.
Higher vitamin D dietary intake is associated with a lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, according to research conducted by a team … at the Angers University Hospital in France.
Similarly, investigators … at the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis found that low vitamin D levels among older women are associated with higher odds of global cognitive impairment and a higher risk of global cognitive decline.
Mistletoe may help treat colon cancer
(UPI) Extract of mistletoe could either assist chemotherapy or act as an alternative to chemotherapy as a treatment for colon cancer, researchers in Australia said…
"Mistletoe extract has been considered a viable alternative therapy overseas for many years, but it's important for us to understand the science behind it," [Professor Gordon] Howarth said in a statement.
[Researcher Zahra] Lotfollahi found one of the mistletoe extracts -- from a species known as Fraxini, which grows on ash trees -- was highly effective against colon cancer cells in cell culture and was gentler on healthy intestinal cells compared with chemotherapy.
HPV tied to throat cancers: study
(Reuters Health) A sexually transmitted infection usually thought of in connection to cervical cancer is also tied to a five times greater risk of cancer of the vocal chords or voice box, a new report suggests…
Along with tobacco and alcohol, having a poor diet and exposure to certain chemicals can increase a person's risk of laryngeal and other head and neck cancers.
CDC warns about bedbug pesticides
(Consumer Reports) If you've got a bedbug infestation, you probably want to do whatever necessary to get rid of them, including spraying your home with pesticides. But earlier this week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned about a steep rise in injuries from misuse of pesticides to control the bugs.
Health effects ranged from mild to serious, including one death. Using pesticides that are designed for outdoor use indoors or using too much pesticide were often the cause.
Read more, including tips from the CDC on fighting bedbugs safely.
Vaccine Bark Equals Its Bite
(MedPage Today) A virus that commonly infects dogs, causing "kennel cough," may serve as a useful delivery vector for immunizations against influenza and other infections in humans, researchers reported…
The researchers … emphasized the safety of the virus, in that most humans carry antibodies for it without experiencing illness. In addition, it is an RNA virus, so would have no potential unintended consequences of host cell DNA recombination. Efforts are under way to explore this vector as a possible means of immunization for H5N1 influenza – bird flu – as well as for tuberculosis and malaria.
New Poster Child for Disease-Mongering?
(MedPage Today) One of our readers tipped us off to what he called "a new poster child for overtreatment." We'll call it disease-mongering.
It's the website of the drug company promoting Zicam.
The new pitch promotes Zicam for "pre-colds."
What's a Pre-Cold™?, the website asks, anticipating our astute question.
Well, as you can see, it's a term that the drug company trademarked – they thought it was that clever…
[W]e ALL have signs of this monstrous pre-disease. So we are ALL potential customers. And we should ALL start buying and using this product at the first sign – making all of us worried "patients" for a few extra days. Or is it just a few? The span of Pre-colds is, conveniently, never defined. We could take this throughout the year!
Public Health Programs No Match for Sandy
(David Nash, MD, MBA, FACP, MedPage Today) Of all the complex, costly, and downright intimidating issues in U.S. healthcare today, Super Storm Sandy tops my list as the scariest…
I was truly shocked to learn that the international humanitarian aid group, Médecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)/Doctors Without Borders had set up a makeshift clinic in the Rockaways.
MSF sets up emergency clinics in war-torn, poverty-stricken countries that lack sufficiently trained healthcare personnel and medical supplies. They dispatch doctors to Third World countries like Rwanda, Chechnya, Haiti, and Republic of Congo, not the U.S. – at least not until now…
Sandy will not be the last natural disaster in the U.S., and, for me, the take-away message is crystal clear: New York and other large – especially coastal – cities need to go back to the drawing board and come up with better ways to assure that the healthcare needs of their most vulnerable citizens can be met when large-scale, complex disasters strike.
Falling off the fiscal cliff could hurt your health
(CNN) If President Barack Obama and Congress cannot reach an agreement on the fiscal cliff, economic experts agree it would be devastating.
It would likely send the country back into recession, according to the Congressional Budget Office, and some 3.4 million jobs would be lost. And ultimately, it could hurt your physical and emotional health.
That's because the part of the government that handles health-related programs -- Medicare, medical research, food safety inspectors -- all would be automatically cut starting January 2 if there is no agreement on the Budget Control Act. If not amended in time, the move would abruptly remove $1.2 trillion from the federal budget.
Community: Wrong, CNN, economic experts don't agree that allowing the automatic tax increases and spending cuts to take place would be devastating. In fact, some believe that it would be a good thing. I am truly sick and tired of daily, weekly, and monthly crises. If it ain't one thing, it's another dang thing!
The Role of Medicare and Medicaid in the Deficit Negotiations
(Laura D'Andrea Tyson, New York Times) [T]he argument for including Medicare and Medicaid in a framework for long-run deficit containment is compelling. The single most important factor behind the projected growth in federal spending is the growth in health care spending, driven primarily by the growth in Medicare spending per beneficiary.
The outlook has already improved as a result of significant changes in the delivery and payment of health care services in the Affordable Care Act. As a result of these changes, growth in Medicare spending per enrollee is projected to slow to 3.1 percent a year during the next decade, about the same as the annual growth of nominal G.D.P. per capita and about two percentage points slower than the annual growth of private insurance premiums per beneficiary.
Speeding up the pace of the Affordable Care Act changes along with others, such as reducing subsidies for high-income beneficiaries and drug benefits and introducing small co-pays on home health-care services, would mean even larger Medicare savings.
A "structural reform" popular among Republican deficit hawks like Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin to convert Medicare to a premium-support or voucher system would be counterproductive and would drive up both spending per beneficiary and overall costs in the health care system.
Key Group Rejects Calls To Limit Seniors' Medigap Policies
(Kaiser Health News) A key group of state insurance commissioners dealt a blow Friday to proposals that would shrink Medicare spending by asking seniors who have supplemental Medigap policies to pay more out of pocket for their healthcare.
The health law requires the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to examine whether seniors would use less Medicare services if the most popular Medigap plans were less generous.
"Everything we've looked at has shown that increasing cost-sharing does stop people from seeking medical care," said Bonnie Burns, training and policy specialist at California Health Advocates who serves on an NAIC committee that has studied the issue for more than a year. "The problem is they stop using both necessary and unnecessary care."
Community: They really are trying to kill us off, my friends.
Essential Oils Lower Blood Pressure and Heart Rate
(Science Daily) The scents which permeate our health spas from aromatic essential oils may provide more benefits than just a sense of rest and well-being.
For according to a new study…, the essential oils which form the basis of aromatherapy for stress relief are also reported to have a beneficial effect on heart rate and blood pressure following short-term exposure -- and may therefore reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, on the downside, those beneficial effects were reversed when exposure to essential oils lasted more than an hour.
Beans Are Good for the Heart
(The People's Pharmacy) The best diet for people with diabetes has been controversial for decades. Many organizations recommend that people with diabetes limit their consumption of fat. As a result, the diet tends to be rather high in carbohydrates. Some experts believe that this dietary pattern increases insulin resistance and makes control of type 2 diabetes more challenging.
A new study of 120 individuals with type 2 diabetes shows that a low glycemic-index diet containing a cup of beans, chickpeas or lentils daily can help lower blood pressure, modestly improve blood sugar control and reduce risk factors for heart disease.
Milk Drinkers May Yet Get Heart-Healthy Omega-3s by the Glass
(Science Daily) [F]ood science researchers at Virginia Tech may have reeled milk into the omega-3 delivery system, showing it is possible to incorporate fish oil into milk and dairy-based beverages in amounts sufficient to promote heart health, without destroying the product's taste or limiting its lifespan.
Even better, the milk passes the sniff test. Twenty-five volunteers evaluated one-ounce cups of standard 2 percent milk alongside samples of skim milk containing 78 parts butter oil to 22 parts fish oil in institutionally approved study conditions.
"We couldn't find any aroma differences," said Susan E. Duncan , a professor of food science and technology.
Community: Despite recent announcements, "After decades of studying omega-3 fatty acids, it's clear that they have value in primary prevention of heart disease," according to an expert.
Cost becomes bigger question in treating heart disease
(Reuters) The cost of treating heart disease has become a key factor in decisions by U.S. cardiologists grappling with the nation's No. 1 killer.
Record prices for drugs and devices, reduced reimbursement by insurance plans and the looming full implementation of the healthcare reform law are convincing doctors to consider not only novel treatments, but also how to get the most bang for the buck…
"We have an unsustainable economic model in healthcare delivery in the U.S.," said Dr. Elliott Antman, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and chairman of the AHA Scientific Sessions Committee. "We all have to be conscious of ways we can be more cost efficient, and that includes understanding what the big breakthroughs mean in terms of cost."
Community: Preventing heart disease decreases both high costs and a lot of human suffering.
More Recent Research on Heart Health and Heart Disease
Losing Job Ups Heart Attack Risk
(MedPage Today) Unemployment is a significant risk factor for acute myocardial infarction, results of a large cohort study suggested, although the risk fades with joblessness lasting more than a year.
Afib Linked to Sudden Cardiac Death, Too
(MedPage Today) Atrial fibrillation may raise the risk of sudden cardiac death, according to findings from two large population-based cohorts.
Relatives of People Who Die Suddenly from Heart Problems Have Greatly Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
(Science Daily) Relatives of young people who have died suddenly from a heart-related problem are at greatly increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease according to a study… The authors of the study say these findings have two major implications; firstly, they strongly support the fact that autopsies should always be performed in cases of young sudden unexplained death; and secondly, since the involved diseases are all treatable if identified in time, the findings suggest that close relatives of these victims should be screened to detect those who would benefit from preventive treatment.
Community: We could all benefit from preventive treatment for heart disease.
E. Coli Infection No Threat to the Heart
(MedPage Today) Escherichia coli might disrupt the gastrointestinal tract, but it won't lead to major cardiac problems down the road, according to a community-based cohort study.
Genetic Factor Holds Key to Blood Vessel Health
(Science Daily) [Researchers] found that a shortage of the genetic factor KLF4, which regulates endothelial cells lining the interior of blood vessels, makes the lining more prone to the buildup of harmful plaque and fat deposits. In addition they showed that the deficiency of KLF4 also made the blood vessel more susceptible to clot formation. The plaque buildup (called atherosclerosis) narrows vessels and provides the foundation for clot formation (called thrombosis) that leads to heart attack and stroke… The researchers are now developing tools to identify small molecules that increase KLF4 levels.
RealAge.com:
Give Your Favorite Junk Foods a Makeover
[Y]ou don't have to swear off your favorite foods to keep your heart healthy. You just have to know how to make small changes in order to enjoy them in healthier ways. We've got strategies to lighten up seven of the worst junk foods for your heart so they can have a (small) place in your diet.
Cincinnati Turkey Chili
Ladle bowlfuls of inspired Midwestern chili for your next casual dinner party or football gathering.
Cincinnati Five-Way Chili
Poblano-Turkey Sausage Chili
Chili from Scratch
Quinoa Cakes with Smoked Salmon
These crisp quinoa cakes spiked with smoked salmon and topped with lemony sour cream make a lovely appetizer.
Turkey & Quinoa Stuffed Grape Leaves
Tomato Toast with Sardines & Mint
Salmon & Cucumber Mini Smørrebrød (Smørrebrød med Røget Laks og Agurker)
Huffington Post:
Homemade Groceries: 10 Do-It-Yourself Recipes
We decided to take a look at some of the healthful foods that can be effectively made better at home, avoiding health hazards at every turn (just as long as you keep a sanitary kitchen!): Peanut Butter… Pickles… Tofu… Mustard… Yogurt… Whole Grain Bread… Fruit Roll-Ups… Flavored Oatmeal… Flavored Water… Granola Bars
U.S. diets not up to U.S. standards: study
(Reuters Health) In a broad comparison of U.S. dietary standards and real Americans' eating habits, researchers found that people fall short of nutritional recommendations overall, but some groups are worse than others.
Among the findings, researchers said that children and the elderly seemed to eat a healthier diet than younger and middle-aged adults, and women had a better diet than men. Hispanics also tended to have better quality diets than either blacks or whites.
"I think it's a really important piece of science because it demonstrates what many of us suspected for a long time: there are many profound disparities in the American diet," said Gary Bennett, who was not involved with the new work but studies obesity prevention at Duke University.
Nuts And Seeds With Big Health Perks
(Dr. Lisa Young, nutritionist) While you may have been told to avoid nuts and seeds due to their high fat and caloric content, these tasty gems contain heart-healthy unsaturated fats, and are truly terrific to include in your diet. They contain protein, fiber, and plant stanols, which may help lower cholesterol, and antioxidants including vitamin E.
Research has found that including a serving of nuts (approximately a handful) in your diet may actually prevent weight gain and possibly even promote weight loss, as long as you control total calories. The protein, fiber, and fat in nuts aid in satiety and help you feel full longer, so you may actually end up eating less during the day. Nut eaters have also been shown to have a lower incidence of diabetes when compared to those who rarely ate nuts.
Supplements' Effectiveness Not a Concern for Many
(MyHealthNewsDaily) Taking supplements is common among U.S. adults, and the most oft-cited reasons that people give for taking them are wanting to feel better, improve energy levels and boost the immune system, a new survey finds.
But these aims have little to do with measurable improvements to health, the researchers said. Moreover, most people taking supplements indicated that the supplements' proven effectiveness didn't matter to them — only 25 percent said they stop taking a supplement if it was found to be ineffective, according to the survey.
"Supplement users are unlikely to change behavior in response to statements from public health authorities about studies showing the ineffectiveness of particular supplements," the researchers wrote.
Community: Well, I take a number of supplements, but I don't take any that I think aren't going to be effective. Why waste the money?
Painkillers May Protect Liver
(MedPage Today) Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, especially aspirin, may help prevent serious liver problems, a large observational study suggested.
Aspirin users were 41% less likely to develop hepatocellular carcinoma and 45% less likely to die from chronic liver disease than non-users, both statistically significant differences, Vikrant V. Sahasrabuddhe, MBBS, DrPH, of the National Cancer Institute…., and colleagues reported.
Other NSAIDs were also associated with reduced mortality from chronic liver disease, but not with less liver cancer.
Hot flashes may return after ending antidepressant
(Reuters Health) For about a third of women taking antidepressants to treat menopause symptoms, hot flashes and night sweats will return after discontinuing the drug, according to a new study.
"It's important for people to understand that...the benefit of the treatment is related to the duration of the treatment," said Dr. Hadine Joffe, lead author of the study. But that shouldn't discourage women from trying an antidepressant if they want to, she added.
"Just because symptoms come back after you stop it doesn't mean it didn't make a big difference when you took it," said Joffe.
Magnet Device Aids in Spinal Cord Injury
(MedPage Today) Precisely timed nerve stimulation in patients with spinal cord injuries improved their ability to use their hands, at least temporarily, researchers reported…
The researchers found that the stimulation process significantly increased the force the injured participants could produce, by about 20 percentage points over baseline within the first 20 minutes…
A similar effect, but with a more rapid onset, was seen in the healthy controls.
As well, the average time it took for injured participants to complete the peg test fell by about 15% points from baseline within the first 30 minutes, changes that again were significant…
"Human electrophysiology can be a powerful tool for developing therapies," Perez commented. "We need to explore new targets to improve rehabilitation strategies by taking advantage of our knowledge in human physiology and their mechanisms."
Community: I'm assuming that the kinds of magnets used in this research aren't the kind you can buy from the snake oil salesmen on the internet.
CBO: Cigarette Tax Hike Would Cut Deficit
(MedPage Today) Increasing the federal excise tax on cigarettes by 50 cents a pack would save lives and reduce the federal deficit even though people would be living longer on Medicare, a study found.
Raising the cigarette tax -- currently at $1.01 per pack -- would cause 1.4 million adults to quit smoking and save 10,000 lives in its first decade, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicted. Those numbers would increase to 3 million and 200,000 respectively by 2085.
Despite an uptick in long-term health spending because more people would live longer, additional revenue from the cigarette and income taxes taken together "would lead to a net deficit reduction in the primary deficit in every year through 2085" -- because of the increased revenue generated by the tax itself and through more taxes being paid by people who would be working for a longer amount of time, James Baumgardner, PhD, deputy assistant director for health policy at the CBO, and colleagues wrote.
More Workers Covered By Bosses' Self-Insured Plans
(Kaiser Health News) The number of U.S. workers covered by self-insured health plans—in which their employer assumes the financial risk for health costs rather than paying insurance companies to do that—has grown steadily in recent years. But such plans are still primarily used by large companies, not small employers, a new study finds.
As of 2011, more than half of U.S. employees were covered under these self-insured plans, compared to about 41 percent in 1998, according to a report by the Employee Benefit Research Institute. These plans can lower costs for employers by reducing administration, exempting them from state-mandated services, and allowing them to provide uniform coverage across state lines…
Businesses with less than 50 employees have not followed the same trend, with only 10.8 percent of private sector enrollees in self-insured plans in 2011. The number has remained generally around 12 percent since 1998, according to EBRI.
Community: Larger companies have more employees for spreading the risk. And spreading the risk is why we should have one national insurance plan that covers all of us. Medicare for everyone!
Medicare: Did Obamacare secretly increase Part B premiums?
(Consumer Reports) Q. I heard that the Medicare Part B premium was going to go up to $120 in 2013 and $247 in 2014 as part of Obamacare, and that this was kept under wraps so as not to influence the outcome of the 2012 election. True or false?
A. I've been sitting on this question for awhile awaiting the announcement of the 2013 Medicare Part B premium. Now it's time to answer. And the answer is that everything you heard was a fiction.
Per a law that has been in effect now for 15 years and has nothing whatsoever to do with the Affordable Care Act, every fall Medicare sets the Part B premium for the coming calendar year at a level that will cover exactly 25 percent of Part B's projected costs. So right off you can see that there is no way that the health reform law, enacted in 2010, could have set premiums three and four years in advance, which, once again, it did not.
Medicare recently announced what the 2013 Part B premium will be. It's $104.90 (not $120). This represents about a five percent increase over 2012's premium of $99.90.
You didn't ask, but should also be aware that higher-income Medicare beneficiaries must pay more than this standard Part B premium, thanks to the same 2003 law that established Medicare Advantage and the Part D prescription drug benefit.
Insurers Join Former Adversaries to Publicize Health Law
(Bloomberg) Aetna Inc. (AET) and other insurers that initially fought President Barack Obama's health-care overhaul are reversing course and supporting the effort by funding a group planning to spend $100 million to help the uninsured get coverage under the law. Enroll America, a nonprofit created two years ago, has gathered support from the insurers that opposed the law and consumer organizations such as Washington-based Families USA that supported it. The new organization plans a broad-based educational campaign to make uninsured people aware of the health-care law's benefits and help them sign up, said Ron Pollack, Enroll America's chairman.
The group will reach out to the 43 million uninsured whose participation will help strengthen the funding formula that holds the 2010 Affordable Care Act together. The new customers are expected to help offset added costs for the insurers from new regulations and taxes included in the law.
"Business people in the end have to be pragmatic," Robert Laszewski, a health insurance industry consultant based in Alexandria, Virginia, said of the companies' efforts to help the law succeed. "The industry has gotten over it."
Community: Would that Republicans in office would "get over it." See below.
Analysis: Health Exchanges And The Litigation Landscape
(Kaiser Health News) [S]ome health law opponents … are urging Republican-led governments to refuse to set up the online insurance purchasing exchanges, which would, as the argument goes, make their residents ineligible for the tax credits and subsidies. They say that this step also would gut the so-called employer mandate, which the law says will take effect in states where residents are eligible for such assistance…
Health law critics theorize that by refusing to set up exchanges, states could also carve a hole in the provision that requires individuals to either obtain insurance or pay a tax as a consequence of choosing not to, which the Supreme Court upheld in June. And if states could disable both the employer mandate and part of the individual mandate, they could wreak havoc with the law's overall operation.
Indeed, if lots of states also refuse to participate in the Medicaid expansion, as the Supreme Court ruled they can do without penalty, "the ACA may end up being fully applicable only in a portion of the United States," says David Rivkin, a Washington lawyer who spearheaded the constitutional challenges that fell one vote short of striking down the entire measure last summer…
The Obama administration and other ACA supporters dismiss these legal theories as far-fetched and view conservatives' broader hopes of crippling the entire law as wishful thinking. They say states have no power to limit the subsidies, the employer mandate, or the individual mandate; and, that if they did, the effect would be to block their own citizens from receiving large federal tax breaks and obtaining affordable health insurance.
U.S. lays out plan for achieving worldwide AIDS-free generation
(Reuters) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday unveiled a game plan for achieving a global "AIDS-free generation," committing the United States to rapidly scaling up medical interventions that are beating back what once was seen as an unconquerable disease.
Clinton, announcing the next stage of the decade-long U.S. fight against AIDS around the world, said advances in drug treatment and prevention strategies had brought the end of the epidemic within reach.
Thursday, November 29, 2012 0
Positive mental health boosts lifespan, study finds
(Emory University) People who are flourishing – both feeling happy and functioning well in their lives – are 60 percent less likely to die prematurely, finds a major study that followed more than 3,000 U.S. adults over 10 years.
"We've shown that, even when you factor in many other variables, if you are flourishing you have a dramatically lower risk of premature mortality, no matter what the cause of death," says lead author Corey Keyes, a sociologist at Emory University and a pioneer of positive psychology…
"What was most amazing to me was that the results held for all ages," Keyes says. "Even late in life, if you are flourishing you are significantly less likely to die prematurely."
Tobacco use and physical inactivity, behaviors associated in previous studies with people who have lower levels of emotional well-being, may partially explain how positive mental health affects mortality, Keyes says.
"We focus so much of our national health resources on treating mental illness, when it's actually the absence of well-being that is getting to us," Keyes says. "It may be common sense, but it's uncommon public policy to invest more in promoting well-being."
Community: Last year, "1-in-5 U.S. adults had mental illness."
Positive Outlook on Aging Helps Seniors Heal
(MedPage Today) Older patients who see the bright side of aging may be more likely to fully recover from severe disability, researchers found.
A positive stereotype about aging was associated with a 44% greater likelihood of recovery from severe disability versus negative stereotypes…, according to Becca Levy, PhD, … and colleagues.
Holding positive stereotypes in older age was also significantly associated with a slower rate of decline in activities of daily living… they wrote.
Five secret de-agers
(Chatelaine) Five major factors cause aging. Here are the best ways to combat them:
1. Chronic inflammation…
Secret de-ager: Healthy fats. Fish high in omega-3 fatty acids, extra-virgin olive oil, walnuts and flaxseeds all have anti-inflammatory properties.
2. Oxidative stress…
Secret de-ager: Moderate exercise. Working out can boost antioxidant levels and destroy free radicals. Make sure not to overdo it or you risk increasing inflammation.
3. Glycation…
Secret de-ager: Cut out high-fructose corn syrup. It's a nasty form of refined sugar in processed foods. If a food has substances ending in -ose, skip it!
4. Methylation…
Secret de-ager: Sunflower seeds. They're loaded with folic acid, a mighty methylation regulator.
5. Immune impairment…
Secret de-ager: Clean hands! Good old-fashioned soap and water is the single best way to keep your immune system strong.
The Ultimate Anti-Aging Vitamin
(RealAge.com) Now that the days are shorter than a teenager's attention span, you may be missing something big (other than the opportunity to look cool in sunglasses while driving). Namely, vitamin D3, which your body makes when sunlight hits your skin…
Without D3, you're vulnerable to aging because the sunshine vitamin not only protects your bones but also defends you against cancer, keeps your heart young, and improves more processes than a high-priced business consultant, tuning up your immune system, insulin secretion, blood pressure, balance and muscle strength, and brain development. In fact, 36 different organ tissues contain cells that respond to vitamin D3…
Check the D3 in your multi and/or calcium tablet, then add a supplement that gets you to a total of 1,000 international units (IU) of D3 a day. Make that 1,200 IU if you're 60 or older. And take it with a little healthy fat -- D3 isn't well absorbed without it.
More Recent Research on Aging
Changing Social Roles Can Reverse Aging
(Scientific American) Caring for the young may delay—and in some cases, even reverse—multiple negative effects of aging in the brain. Gro Amdam, who studies aging in bees at Arizona State University, observed tremendous improvements in cognition among older bees that turn their attention back to nursing. She has reason to believe that changes in social behavior could shave years off the human brain as well.
Unlocking Secrets of Longevity
(Singularity Hub) Toni Balcean turned 101 in September. How'd she beat a century? Simple. "Clean living and good Italian wine." Case closed! Unless, of course, you like science. A retooled Archon Genomics X PRIZE aims to help scientists better understand healthy aging by sequencing 100 healthy centenarian genomes—in a month, with an accuracy of one error per million base pairs, and for under $1,000 per genome… [Says Grant Campany, Senior Director of the Archon Genomics X PRIZE,] "The older an individual is, the more likely their longevity is linked to their genes… [W]e are hoping we will be able to answer one key question: What enables these unique individuals to live so long and evade many debilitating diseases?"
Methylome modifications offer new measure of our 'biological' age
(University of California - San Diego) In a new study, researchers … describe markers and a model that quantify how aging occurs at the level of genes and molecules, providing not just a more precise way to determine how old someone is, but also perhaps anticipate or treat ailments and diseases that come with the passage of time… [The researchers focused] on DNA methylation, a fundamental, life-long process in which a methyl group is added or removed from the cytosine molecule in DNA to promote or suppress gene activity and expression… [They] found that an individual's "methylome" – the entire set of human methylation markers and changes across a whole genome – predictably varies over time, providing a way to determine a person's actual biological age from just a blood sample.
Telomere Lengths Predict Life Expectancy in the Wild
(Science Daily) Researchers at the University of East Anglia have found that biological age and life expectancy can be predicted by measuring an individual's DNA… [T]heir research shows that individuals differ radically in how quickly their telomeres [protective end caps on DNA sequences] shorten with age, and that having shorter telomeres at any age is associated with an increased risk of death. Telomere length is a better indicator of future life-expectancy than actual age and may, therefore, be an indicator of biological age.
Matching DNA With Medical Records To Crack Disease And Aging
(Shots, NPR) A massive research project in California is beginning to show how genes, health habits and the environment can interact to cause diseases. The new combination of genetic and health information is one of the most powerful research tools on earth, a researcher says.
'Fountain of Youth' Technique Rejuvenates Aging Stem Cells
(Science Daily) A new method of growing cardiac tissue is teaching old stem cells new tricks. The discovery, which transforms aged stem cells into cells that function like much younger ones, may one day enable scientists to grow cardiac patches for damaged or diseased hearts from a patient's own stem cells -- no matter what age the patient -- while avoiding the threat of rejection.
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