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We provide 2 shipping methods:
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Express shipping can't deliver to PO Box address. The standard shipping can be used for PO box addresses.
The shipping is FREE for orders over $60 or more.
The products will be shipped out within 1-3 business days. (This is the time for processing and production, and is not included in the shipping time)
We ship worldwide.
At Happywallz, we promise our products will be as impressive as they appear on our website. Customer satisfaction is important to us, so if you aren't 100% satisfied with the quality of any item within 30 days of receiving it, we'll be happy for you to return the item reply paid for either a replacement item, a refund or repair of the item. We may ask for faulty/incorrect items to be returned to us for a quality inspection, to ensure those rare problems don't occur again. Typically refunds take up to 2 weeks to be processed once products have been received.
Customers will not be eligible for a refund or replacement of personalised or customised products:
• where errors occur from a typing error you may have made on the internet;
• for defects that are the result of abnormal use;
• or if you have changed your mind
Customers use all kinds of spelling variations for names, so it is impossible for us to know if it is a mistake or just different. So please ensure spelling is checked before an order is completed.
Our personalised products are made-to-order according to your specifications, so we can't accept returns where the customer has simply changed their mind.
You can check the color chart for details and below is an example of product size.
This wall decal is a kind of quote wall decal with the saying:
"Live every moment, laugh every day, love beyond words."
You may have such a quote decal in your living room, bedroom, nursery room as well as in the office.
Quotes wall decals are increasingly becoming more and more popular in the wall decoration.
And applying such a fantastic quote wall decal in your room will surely make it innovative and cool.
22"wide x 2.4"high [$9.9]
35"wide x 3.9"high [$17.9]
47"wide x 5"high [$22.9]
59"wide x 6.3"high [$29.9]
-Quotes Decal
-Test Decal
-Free Squeegee Application Tool


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What do Cuban American views on the embargo and global warming have in common? They are shifting at about the same pace, 1.3° per century. Think about it, there has been a U.S. foreign policy position in place for over 50 years and its opponents are reduced to grasping for signals in the most recent post-election polls.
Poor fellow travelers. After all their efforts, their assets now consist on a pair of octogenarian dictators in fluctuating states of lucidity and a third riddled with cancer. What to do? How about planting an article about how the embargo's days are numbered? To paraphrase Michael's question to Tom Hagen, 'we have newspaper people on the payroll, don't we?'
I feel as though I am living the Miami version of Groundhog Day meets The Exorcist. In this sequel, Phil Connors finds a different way out of the time loop by having the curse transferred to the lovely town of Punxsutawney ['take them, take them!'] instead. His yearly visits now require him to pretend to take seriously the townspeople who assure him that the embargo is losing support.
In Sunday's Miami Herald, a young AP reporter, Christine Armario, must have been up next on the assignment desk when the call from the fellow travelers came in and had to take one for the team. 'Call these people Christine, the thing will write itself, trust us, we do this every so often.' The bias I allege is not because pro-embargo views are not presented in the article. The bias I allege comes in the lack disclosure about those giving their anti-embargo views. My specifics:
- Armario notes "… said Tomas Bilbao, executive director of the nonpartisan Cuba Study Group." The "nonpartisan" reference is misleading, it suggests academics merely following the facts, not people with an agenda. The main purpose of the Cuba Study Group can accurately be described as seeing the embargo discontinued.
- If you think it a minor point–having partisans described as nonpartisans–the consistency with which journalists attempt to do so, suggest that it is of great worth. The mythical 'nonpartisan expert' is the go to move for those who seek to manipulate on the cheap. Click here for a sampling of go to moves by the New York Times since 2000.
- Tim Ashby wrote an opinion piece in 2010 for Travel Industry Wire [owned by Orbitz, more on that later] which advocated lifting the embargo. Armario described Ashby as "a former Commerce Department official and lawyer who counsels companies on Cuba law and trade" and then enlisted his prediction on the fate of the embargo. You will not be surprised that his prediction did not bode well for the embargo.
- Julia Sweig is quoted. Ms Sweig is always quoted because she is the most reliable Castro apologist in the mainstream media. Ever wonder how Cuba, Orbitz, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Blackstone Group and Julia Sweig are related–I know you don't, just play along–the answer is Peter G. Peterson.
- Sarah Stephens, who was not quoted, is another reliable Castro apologist, at least according to The Washington Post. Examples from Sept 2010 and May 2009. Ms Armario, be honest now, was Sarah on vacation?
Given that the Miami Marlins may be open to riskier marketing ideas–the freedom that comes with no fans left to lose–I'd like to suggest a new entry into the late-inning theme park-sized characters race. [Fear not Q, the Lobster would only be reassigned]. Here's my version of the public-address announcer's revised script:
Coming down the right field line we have Cuban American views on the embargo [huge duffel bag named Gusa] and global warming [Clevelander dancer in bikini and 52 inch heels named Coño] running neck and nekid … Gusa and Coño still even … But wait, who's that coming down the right field foul line like a bat into hell … why it's Hugo [character resembling a greyhound with a map of Cuba replacing the carrot] desperately seeking approval. Maybe in next realm Hugo [don't bet on it].
The Armario article is copied in full at end of post, courtesy of your non-nonpartisan blogger.
Posted on Sun, Dec. 09, 2012
Obama maintains standing with Cuban-Americans
By CHRISTINE ARMARIO
Associated Press
The door for travel to Cuba cracked open during President Barack Obama's first term.
Cuban-Americans can now visit family on the island as often as they like. Americans can travel legally as part of an academic or religious trip.
Perhaps it's for this reason that Obama's standing with the Cuban-American community in Florida stayed largely steady on Election Day, even though the modest openings with Cuba have riled some of South Florida's more conservative exiles. Exit polling showed that 49 percent of Cuban-Americans voted for the Democrat, roughly the same percentage as four years ago.
At the same time, Florida voters sent to the House a Cuban-American Democrat from Miami who supports Obama's expansion of travel and remittances to Cuba while still favoring the 50-year-old embargo that limits American trade with the communist country. Joe Garcia defeated Republican Rep. David Rivera, who was implicated in a campaign finance scandal and had supported a traditional, isolationist stance toward Cuba.
The victories by supporters of looser restrictions on Cuba travel illustrate changing attitudes of Americans who hail from the island nation: They seem to be less resistant to politicians who promote travel to Cuba and more focused on more traditional American concerns such as the economy, rather than Cuba policy. Those shifting attitudes could have implications for U.S. policy toward Cuba in the next four years, as well as how presidential candidates and politicians approach Cuban-Americans in Florida, an important swing state, in the future.
There are plenty of other impediments, chiefly the continued detention of U.S. contractor Alan Gross by the Cuban government, which could delay a further easing of restrictions with Cuba. Gross was arrested in 2009 while working as part of a democracy-building program; he's now serving a 15-year prison term for bringing restricted communications equipment into Cuba.
But analysts argue that the political environment is ripe for reducing restrictions on the Cuba travel policy, and they point to both the election outcome and changes on Capitol Hill among Florida's Cuban-American delegation.
"The fact the president did extremely well among Cuban-Americans in the election … should give him a good indication that the Cuban-American community supports the type of measures that he's enacted and would like to see additional steps taken," said Tomas Bilbao, executive director of the nonpartisan Cuba Study Group. He served in former President George W. Bush's administration in the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Polling suggests that the Cuban-American community is less supportive of continuing an isolationist policy with Cuba. Florida International University's most recent poll of Cuban-Americans in Miami-Dade County, done in 2011, found that 44 percent opposed continuing the embargo and 53 percent said it had not worked at all.
At the same time, Florida's Cuban-American legislative delegation, which has taken a hard-line approach against easing travel restrictions, is changing.
Analysts point to two developments in particular: the election of Garcia, who served in the Obama administration as the Energy Department's director of the Office of Minority Economic Impact, as well as Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., a Cuban-American who has strongly supported a tough Cuba policy, finishing her term as head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Julia Sweig, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said that Garcia's election in particular will strengthen the view in Washington that the potential political risk of easing economic penalties against Cuba "has been diminished substantially, if it ever existed."
Another factor that could influence Cuba policy is the emergence of leaders such as Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a Cuban-American who has objected to Obama's Cuba travel expansion. Rubio has said he will not support lifting the embargo until the Castro brothers -retired leader Fidel and current President Raul – are gone, and Cuba releases all political prisoners and respects basic civil rights.
"Every U.S.-Cuba policy decision should be guided by the simple test of whether it helps free political prisoners, stops the daily repression and paves the way for the people to express their will through free and fair elections," Rubio said.
Tim Ashby, a former Commerce Department official and lawyer who counsels companies on Cuba law and trade, predicts that Republican Cuban-American legislators who argue against easing travel restrictions may change their tune if the politics favor Democrats. Of Rubio, he said: "If he sees the younger Cuban-Americans moving toward the Democrats he may adopt a different approach."
Omar Lopez, human rights director of the Cuban American National Foundation, said he believes Cuban-Americans are more in favor of traveling to Cuba, but he added, that doesn't mean they're ready for a full opening with the government.
"People believe there is a dictatorship in Cuba, it should be gone, and Cuba should be democratic," Lopez said. "That is the main consensus of the community. "
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/09/v-print/3134127/obama-maintains-standing-with.html#storylink=cpy

subset: commoncrawl


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The world has never been smaller. Citizen movements increasingly demonstrate their limitless promise. So, think it sounds too dreamy to imagine that someday people power might transform our small world into one world — a federal republic of the Earth?
Then read Lawrence Wittner's 2009 book, Confronting the Bomb: A Short History of the World Nuclear Disarmament Movement (excerpted at Foreign Policy in Focus). And think again.
Read Tad Daley's piece in its entirety at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
Tad Daley is the author of Apocalypse Never: Forging the Path to a Nuclear Weapon-Free World (Rutgers University Press), just released in paperback. He is currently working on a new book about the history and future of the ancient dream that something like a world republic could serve as the solution to the problem of war.


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PC users who run Windows and Linux on the same machine will want to do some research before purchasing a Windows 8 computer. That's because systems with a "Designed for Windows 8" logo must ship with UEFI secure booting enabled—a move that prevents booting operating systems that aren't signed by a trusted Certificate Authority.
This could pose a problem for Linux users, though in practice most can just change UEFI settings to disable secure boot before installing the open-source OS. But users will have to depend on hardware vendors to make this option possible in the first place.
Disabling secure boot
"Microsoft requires that machines conforming to the Windows 8 logo program and running a client version of Windows 8 ship with secure boot enabled," Red Hat developer Matthew Garrett writes on his blog in reference to a recent presentation by Microsoft program manager Arie van der Hoeven. The Microsoft exec notes that UEFI and secure boot are "required for Windows 8 client" with the result that "all firmware and software in the boot process must be signed by a trusted Certificate Authority."
Microsoft has a good reason for this. A "growing class of malware targets the boot path [and] often the only fix is to reinstall the operating system," van der Hoeven said. "UEFI and secure boot harden the boot process [and] reduce the likelihood of bootkits, rootkits and ransomware."
Importantly, though, Garrett writes that "there's no indication that Microsoft will prevent vendors from providing firmware support for disabling this feature and running unsigned code."
For many (and hopefully most) Windows 8 machines, this means that users have a good chance of successfully entering the UEFI settings interface to turn off secure boot. But this will depend on the hardware vendor.
"Experience indicates that many firmware vendors and OEMs are interested in providing only the minimum of firmware functionality required for their market," Garrett writes. "It's almost certainly the case that some systems will ship with the option of disabling this. Equally, it's almost certainly the case that some systems won't. It's probably not worth panicking yet. But it is worth being concerned."
Technically, vendors can ship Windows 8 PCs without meeting Microsoft's "designed for Windows 8" logo requirements, but major OEMs typically would not do that.
The Windows 8 developer tablet Microsoft handed out at this month's BUILD conference did include the ability to turn off the secure boot process. This is reminiscent of Google's Cr-48 Chromebook, which allowed users to turn off the Verified Boot process and install another operating system, though this involved flipping a physical switch instead of changing a software setting.
A signed OS
Besides disabling the Windows 8 secure boot process, another option for Linux lovers is installing a signed version of Linux. But "this poses several problems," Garrett notes. "Firstly, we'd need a non-GPL bootloader. Grub 2 is released under the GPLv3, which explicitly requires that we provide the signing keys. Grub is under GPLv2 which lacks the explicit requirement for keys, but it could be argued that the requirement for the scripts used to control compilation includes that. It's a grey area, and exploiting it would be a pretty good show of bad faith. Secondly, in the near future the design of the kernel will mean that the kernel itself is part of the bootloader. This means that kernels will also have to be signed. Making it impossible for users or developers to build their own kernels is not practical. Finally, if we self-sign, it's still necessary to get our keys included by every OEM."
Current machines dual-booting Windows 7 and Linux should be able to upgrade to Windows 8 without wiping out the Linux install. As Microsoft notes in the Building Windows 8 blog, "We will continue to support the legacy BIOS interface." However, machines using UEFI instead of BIOS "will have significantly richer capabilities" including faster boot times and greater security.
Ultimately, the Windows 8 changes aren't likely to wipe out Linux dual-boot scenarios, but they could restrict the types of hardware that will allow them. PC users who would boot two operating systems tend to be highly technical, though, so we expect they'll find the necessary workarounds.
Listing image by Photograph by Rodrigo Bastos


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AC Installation is your Hume, MO authority for AC Installation plans and solutions. We know that you have questions, and our company is ready to explain the plan and alternatives available to you. We can even assist you to discover the strategies that are the best fit for your budget. Our own knowledgeable and qualified customer care reps will help you to recognize the basic steps and potential obstacles of your task while responding to all the questions that you have and those you haven't considered once you call 800-239-9895. With our professional guidance, you'll be able to effectively prepare and coordinate your work for a fantastic end result. If you want to learn more about how we will complete your AC Installation work, give us a call now.
How We Assist Customers
With regards to selecting a Hume, MO AC Installation organization, it's imperative to ensure that you're selecting one that supplies the most reputable products and delivers on customer support. Thankfully, now that you've found our business, your search is over as we supply top-notch customer service and only offer the finest quality of products. Let our experts help with your needs by calling 800-239-9895 today!
No High-Pressure Sales Techniques
Any time you contact lots of AC Installation companies, they'll be asking for your credit card before their staff figure out what you're wanting to order. Here at AC Installation, however, we take a different approach of actually listening to what it is you're wanting to achieve and making suggestions to make sure you'll receive what you need. This not only results in a a better experience for you as the consumer, but it also generally results in having the capacity to save you money!
We've All Been In Your Scenario
It's irritating when you make contact with a business and their specialists talk to you as though you've been around the business your entire life by utilizing terminology you don't understand. As a result, you feel humiliated as if you should know precisely what they're speaking about, but you're actually confused and annoyed. This will never arise when you let our business' Hume AC Installation pros help you since they'll explain everything in a way that you don't need to be a professional to comprehend.
Don't Work with Unhappy Employees
How often have you called or visited a business and feel as if you can cut the tension with a knife and can tell the workers are just waiting around to go home for the day? You probably experience it several times a year, but you'll never experience it at our Hume, MO AC Installation organization since our professionals love what they do!
Our Business' Professionals Provide Frequent Updates
How many times have you paid a business for a product only to feel like you've been transferred to the bottom of their list? It's likely happened to you a number of times, and we know how infuriating it is when an organization has your money, but you still haven't acquired your order. Fortunately, our Hume, Missouri AC Installation business makes use of a top-notch system that permits us to stay on top of our company's prompt service.
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We welcomed summer this year with a crafty birthday party for our 7-year-old in our back yard, topped off with a delectable homemade ice cream cake — gluten free, of course.
At the party, the kids enjoyed making bottlecap magnets, sock puppets and pet rocks. They also enjoyed eating the ice cream cake, a gluten-free adaptation of my mom's recipe. With a crushed cookie crust, Heath bars, ice cream and chocolate sauce, it's a dessert that's easy to make and even easier to devour.
My mom makes the cake with a combo of chocolate and coffee ice cream, but for the kids I went with chocolate and chocolate chip. Feel free to use your favorite flavors. I buy Breyers ice cream, as the company says it labels if gluten is present. For the cookie base, I use Mi-Del's Gluten-Free Arrowroot Cookies, which are staples in our house. (Mom uses Nilla wafers, but those are NOT gluten-free.) Please be aware that Heath bars contain almonds, so if a guest has a nut allergy, skip the Heath bars and simply use a cookie base.
The cake can easily be made a week ahead of time (and definitely needs to be made at least one day ahead of time), saving you pre-party prep. Decorations can be kept simple, with some candles on a stick and themed cake toppers.
Gluten-Free Ice Cream Cake
(gluten-free, dairy, kid-friendly)
By Gluten-Free Nosh
printable recipe
2 (1.5-quart) containers of ice cream (preferably two different flavors)
16 ounces (about 4 cups) gluten-free animal cookies
1 (12-ounce) jar chocolate fudge sauce
6 (1.4 ounce) Heath toffee bars
1. Take ice cream containers out of the freezer and place on the counter to soften for about 10 minutes.
2. In a food processor, chop animal cookies until crumbs are about pea-sized; transfer to a large bowl. Using a large chef's knife, cut Heath bars into small dice. Add Heath bars to animal cookies and toss to combine.
3. Place one-third of the animal cookie-Heath bar mixture into the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan with removable sides. Drizzle 4 to 5 tablespoons of chocolate fudge sauce over the cookie mixture.
4. Spoon one softened container of ice cream into springform pan. Smush ice cream with a spoon to form an even layer.
5. Evenly spread another third of cookie-Heath bar mixture on top of the ice cream. Drizzle another 4 to 5 tablespoons of chocolate fudge sauce over the cookie mixture.
6. Spoon second softened container of ice cream into the pan, and smush it to form an even layer. Place last third of cookie-Heath bar mixture on top of ice cream. Do not drizzle with chocolate sauce yet — wait until just prior to serving.
7. Place waxed paper on top of ice cream cake, wrap pan well in tin foil, put it into a plastic bag and place in the freezer. Freeze for at least 24 hours.
8. Ten minutes prior to serving time, remove the ice cream cake from the freezer. Let it sit on a countertop for 10 minutes to soften slightly. Remove the sides of the springform pan and place the cake (still on the springform base) onto a serving plate. (I put a damp, folded paper towel between the serving plate and the pan base to keep the base from slipping around.) With a fork, drizzle chocolate fudge sauce over the top and sides of the ice cream cake. Cut into slices and serve.
Yield: About 16 servings


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Don't have time for a full funnel? Call this 'lead capture lite' and don't let another pageview slip away.With Mohawk Valley Association of REALTORS®, Inc. Use LeadLock & Mohawk Valley Association of REALTORS®, Inc. Together On LeadSites!
Sometimes you're just too tired to build an easy Squeeze page. Or you're in a hurry. But you still want to capture leads. LeadLock is your best friend. Simply add #lock to any page URL and woo-lah – you're asking people for their contact info before they can view the page. Learn a few magic tricks (all detailed in the app) and this simple tool becomes a powerful lead capture play.
You can do so much more with LeadSites by connecting it to the other apps you use in real estate. Whether it's your IDX, CRMs, Paperwork managers, or our custom apps LeadSites automate the tedious tasks in your workflow.Get Started
Don't have time for a full funnel? Call this 'lead capture lite' and don't let another pageview slip away.
Mohawk Valley Region
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Customize your LeadLock's design so you give off the right impression, right from the start. Appeal to your clientele or showcase your business' best features, before visitors even get to the page!
Use a custom image to entice visitors to follow through with signing in. Showcase a preview of what they can expect to find within, to make sure they stay interested enough to sign in to your site!
With LeadSites & your MLS you can put listings behind landing pages in seconds. LeadSites come with LeadLock & Squeeze. LeadLock let's you instantly turn any listing into a landing page in 2-seconds by putting #lock behind the properties link on your site. If you want a more custom landing page, you can setup a Squeeze page and put your listings information behind it. Instantly turn all your featured listings into lead capturing online pages with LeadSites!
With LeadSites, you can setup a specific neighborhood followup sequence for your top neighborhoods. You simply create the neighborhood page, setup the landing page, and your leads for that neighborhood will get email specifically talking about properties you send about that neighborhood. You can custom tailor your followup as tightly as your want with LeadSites.
Want to keep followup simple? Your LeadSite can send a list of homes directly to your IDX leads on whatever schedule you choose.
LeadSites is a complete real estate website with custom lead capture apps that integrates with your IDX provider. When you signup, we'll get design information from you. In 2-3 business days, we'll build your site on a temporary staging link. And from there, we can point it at your custom domain.
You can use LeadLock to get more clients and to grow your real estate business. This easy to use tool lets you create landing pages, blog posts, followup sequences, text messages, Google optimized pages, and more. On top of that, we hold daily office hours training sessions to keep you on top of your game.
Learn how we make your CRM work like never before!
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You will earn 8.95 WayPoints for each product that you purchase.
Fast Tracks TwistTies provides the craftsman with a way to build low cost, realistic looking and accurate Sn3 #6 curved or straight turnouts with ease using all wood tie construction with, spikes & rail. No soldering required!
When combined with our TwistTie fixed and flexible crosstie strips, you can finish all of your trackwork in no time!
Each TwistTie is laser cut as a single-piece lattice of pre-spaced, pre-drilled wood ties that:
TwistTies are cut from Baltic Birch plywood custom sawn in Finland specifically for Fast Tracks. Just like the protoype, the wood grain on our TwistTies runs perpendicular to the rails. The ties are 0.08" (2mm), 5 scale inches thick and 0.11" (2.8mm) 7 scale inches wide. They will match all popular commercially available wood ties, including wood ties available from Fast Tracks. The ties will also match all popular commercial track, as well as our line of QuickSticks.
Each TwistTie can be used to construct one Sn3 #6, Right hand turnout using code 70, 83 or 100 rail and are designed to work with Micro Engineering small spikes.
If you order Fast Tracks TwistTies, we highly recommend that you consider purchasing a matching Frog Helper soldering jig and PointForm tool. This will make the construction of the frog and switch points much easier. You may also want to consider adding some of our CopperHead PC Board turnout ties (for the throwbar) to your order. If you are building curved turnouts the rail will need to be pre-formed. Our Rail Roller bending tool will make this easy. All of these items can be easily added to your order by selecting them from the options above.
Note: You will always get better and faster results with less effort using our Assembly Fixtures. However if you only need to build a small number of turnouts, curved turnouts of any radius, or if you prefer all wood tie construction, then TwistTies may be a better option for you.
This product is part of our Craftsman Series of tools that are designed for modelers who want to go that 'extra mile' to produce outstanding trackwork. You should be prepared to spend extra time and effort to learn how to use this product. Click here to learn more about our Craftsman Series of tools.
Get a head start by downloading the TwistTies builders guide now.
In addition to an extensive Q&A section, we also offer a full library of track building documents.
Visit our growing collection of track building demonstration videos.


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Jindal aides use personal email to strategize
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Top officials in Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration used personal email accounts to craft a media strategy for imposing hundreds of millions of dollars in Medicaid cuts — a method of communication that can make it more difficult to track under public records laws despite Jindal's pledge to bring more transparency to state government.
Emails reviewed by The Associated Press reveal that non-state government email addresses were used dozens of times by state officials to communicate last summer about a public relations offensive for making $523 million in health care cuts. Those documents weren't provided to AP in response to a public records request.
Jindal, now in his second term, has become a leading voice among Republican governors and is considered a potential presidential candidate. It's unclear whether he knew his top staff used private accounts to conduct public business. The practice folds into a national debate over the use of personal email accounts by government officials to discuss official business.
( PHOTOS: Bobby Jindal's career)
The issue was a prominent one during the administration of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, and the practice occurred during former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's term as Massachusetts governor.
Palin's use of private email accounts as governor prompted a lawsuit in which the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that officials using private email accounts for public business need to keep documents "appropriate for preservation" under the state's records management act. In response, her successor has instructed employees to use state email for conducting state business.
While governor in Massachusetts, Romney used two private email addresses to communicate with aides, develop policy and political strategy and edit op-ed articles and press releases. The communications were legal under Massachusetts law, but state public officials deemed them public records and subject to archiving.
The head of a nonpartisan watchdog group that tracks public records issues said government officials often use private email accounts to try to sidestep disclosure laws designed to provide sunshine in government.
"Absolutely people use private accounts to hide things," said Kenneth Bunting, executive director of the National Freedom of Information Coalition, based at the University of Missouri. "If government business is conducted or information about it is sent or received on personal computers or through personal email accounts, that does not keep it from being the public's business."
While some states consider electronic communications public material and subject to the same restrictions as paper records, many others provide little or no oversight. At least 26 states view the use of private emails as public records, but the rest have no clear rules or prevailing case law on their use.
The email exchanges in Louisiana took place this past summer, as the Jindal administration was planning steep reductions to programs for the poor and uninsured because of a drop in federal Medicaid funding.
Participants included Jindal's top budget adviser Kristy Nichols, health care secretary Bruce Greenstein, Greenstein's chief of staff and health policy adviser, and Jindal's communications staff. Jindal was not included in the emails, and his office hasn't responded to a question about his knowledge of them.
The dozens of conversations held outside the state's official email system covered subjects such as press releases, responses to news coverage of the budget cuts, preparation of an opinion column to be submitted by Greenstein to newspapers and complaints about reporters' coverage. The emails were sent mainly through accounts administered by Google and Yahoo.
In one exchange, Calder Lynch, a health policy adviser to Greenstein, directs a communications staffer to send certain types of items to Lynch's personal Gmail account, rather than to use his state government email address.
The emails were provided to AP by an administration official who participated in the discussions and who asked not to be identified because he wasn't authorized to release them.
Jindal campaigned for his first term on a platform of providing more transparency in government.
However, the emails in question weren't among more than 3,800 documents and emails provided to AP by the Department of Health and Hospitals in response to a request for information on discussions surrounding the health care cuts.
Louisiana's public records law states that all documents used in "the conduct, transaction or performance" of public business are considered public except in cases where there is a specific exemption.
Administration officials didn't respond directly to questions about whether they were using private email accounts to shield conversations about public business from disclosure.
"Certainly we believe that conducting public business even when using personal means of communication is subject to public records law," Nichols, the governor's commissioner of administration, said in a statement.
Jindal spokeswoman Shannon Bates agreed with Nichols' assessment and said the governor's office encourages all officials to conduct state business on state accounts.
Bates didn't directly answer an emailed question about why she and Jindal communications director Kyle Plotkin sent multiple group emails in July to Greenstein, Nichols and DHH employees using their personal email accounts when talking about news organizations' coverage of the Medicaid budget cuts.
DHH spokeswoman Kristen Sunde said the department agrees "any state issues discussed over electronic communication are subject to public records law, regardless of the type of account used."
It's unclear how department attorneys and computer experts who do the leg work in responding to public records requests would know to check individual employees' personal email accounts for documents complying with a request.
Also, experts say, there's no certainty the individual won't delete public records from a personal account rather than turn them over.
"You're the only one really who can cough it up," said Robert Travis Scott, president of the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, which advocates for transparency in state government. "It does lend itself to a way of getting around the law, if it's not properly handled."
Sunde didn't answer a question about why the emails that involved non-state accounts weren't included in the agency's response to AP's public records request.
She said DHH staff uses state email accounts for work-related matters, but may use a personal account if employees are working remotely, have limited access from a mobile device or are encountering difficulties with the state email server. Nichols offered a similar explanation.
After Louisiana's federal Medicaid financing rate dropped, Jindal decided the largest share of the Medicaid reductions would fall on the LSU-run hospitals that care for poor and uninsured patients. The governor is pushing to shift more care to private hospitals.
In a July 27 email exchange, six administration officials discussed how to respond to LSU's announcement of where it would make its budget cuts.
Nichols, then Jindal's deputy chief of staff, talked of the need to include a reference to "long term strategic reform" in the official administration response. Plotkin, the governor's top communications adviser, struck the word "challenging" from a description of the cuts. Greenstein agreed to use whatever statement was devised in coordination with the governor's office to respond to the LSU cuts.
In a series of emails on July 13 and 14, Plotkin urged Greenstein and his staff to "pen an op-ed from Bruce for all papers on why LSU hospitals need to transform the way they do biz now with this loss of money."
Using his personal Gmail account, Plotkin sent the message to the personal email accounts of five DHH employees saying, "We need to get out front on this message."
In another set of conversations about a requested newspaper correction, Lynch, one of Greenstein's top advisers, told a department spokesman not to use a state government email account.
"Please be careful to send stuff from Kyle like what you just sent .... only to my gmail. May have accidentally hit my state addy (address), but they are very particular," Lynch wrote.
Bunting, of the Missouri-based watchdog group, said government employees who use private email accounts to conduct public business should forward those conversations to public email addresses and direct others to send emails to their public accounts, to help ensure those communications are included in response to public records requests.
When running for office in 2007, Jindal campaigned on improving government transparency in a state known for its backroom political deals, imprisoned elected officials and ongoing investigations into public corruption. Since then, the governor has opposed attempts to open more of his office's records to public scrutiny, and agencies in his executive branch have exerted new claims of privilege to shield documents.


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Penn. takes steps to ease oil prices
The state House of Representatives recently took a step toward energy independence by passing an act aimed at eliminating or at least limiting the state's dependence on foreign oil.
Specifically, state Rep. Michael Gerber's legislation aims to mandate the blending of 10 percent ethanol in gasoline and eventually 20 percent biodiesel in diesel once in-state production reaches certain levels. It also looks to establish production and distribution standards to help advance a shift toward cleaner and cheaper domestic fuel sources and stimulate the Pennsylvania economy with the in-state production of these renewable fuels.
"This is a great step towards making Pennsylvania a cleaner and more energy independent state thanks to the support and leadership demonstrated by my colleagues in the House," Gerber said.
State Rep. Russell Fairchild says that he supports biodiesel "100 percent" but feels that from an environmental perspective, there is a problem with the corn-based ethanol proposal.
"The problems relate to a scientific report we received at the Chesapeake Bay Commission at our last meeting in Washington, D.C.," Fairchild said. "Essentially, they said that it — the production of corn based ethanol — would add about 15 million pounds of nitrogen a year into the bay watershed."
Fairchild mentioned that too much nitrogen is the No. 1 problem found when cleaning up bays and rivers.
"The report essentially said that it would take us back to 1985 in terms of nitrogen levels and that is a terrible environmental shock," Fairchild said.
Fairchild feels that we are just trying to "hold on" and not go backward while slowly trying to inch forward on the cleanup of the East Coast's rivers and bays.
"The reliance and the estimates of what would happen with a 100 percent accurate report on corn-based ethanol, shows that it is really not good for the environment," Fairchild said. "The problem is the increased amount of fertilizer that they will want to make the corn grow."
Fairchild said cellulistic ethanol may be a cleaner alternative to corn-based products. "It is made out of different types of woody products, switch grasses, tree trimmings, that kind of thing."
The bill is part of a new "Energy Independence Strategy" being pursued by House Democrats and supported by Gov. Ed Rendell.
There is currently debate as to how certain legislation of the "Energy Independence Strategy" will be funded.
"The thing that is in discussion now is how we are going to fund it," Merle Phillips said.
"His (Rendell) recommendation is to float a bond and add an increase in the light bills of residents and businesses," Phillips said. The increased revenue from the electric bills would be used to pay down the bond.
The Clean Fuels and Energy Independence Act (H.B. 1202) and other energy bills will be passed over to the state Senate, where they will no doubt face more debate and likely will be altered. Any changes would have to go back to the House for approval. If the Senate supports the House-passed bill, it will then go to Rendell for signature or veto.


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Explore awards
Use the filter menu and interactive map to explore the past competitions offered and grants awarded through the Environmental Literacy Program.
To learn more about project findings and outcomes, view the summaries of our grantees' summative evaluation reports.
- (-) Exploratorium (2)
- (-) Lawrence Hall of Science (1)
- (-) University of Hawaii System / Waikiki Aquarium (1)
- (-) University of Maryland / Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites (CICS-M) (1)
- American Museum of Natural History (1)
- Aquarium of the Pacific (1)
- Butler University (1)
- California Academy of Sciences (1)
- College of Exploration (1)
- Colorado State University (1)
- Denver Museum of Nature and Science (1)
- Literacy Volunteers America of Monroe County (1)
- Miami Museum of Science / Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science (1)
- Monterey Bay Aquarium (1)
- National Aquarium / National Aquarium In Baltimore (NAIB) (1)
- New England Aquarium Corporation / New England Aquarium (NEAq) (1)
- Nurture Nature Center (1)
- Pacific Science Center (1)
- Science Museum of Minnesota (1)
- Science Museum of Virginia (1)
- Seacoast Science Center (1)
- Seattle Aquarium (1)
- University of Wisconsin–Madison / Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) (1)
- Washington State Department of Ecology / Padilla Bay Reserve (1)
- Western Washington University (1)
- (-) 2013: ELG for Building Capacity of Informal and Formal Educators (3)
- (-) 2010: ELG for Informal/Nonformal Education (2)
- 2008: ELG for Spherical Display Systems for Earth Systems Science-Installations & Content (1)
- 2008/2009: ELG for Formal K-12 Education (1)
- 2007: ELG for Formal K-12 Education (1)
Embedding NOAA in a Public Learning Laboratory - The Environmental Scientist-In-Residence Program at the Exploratorium
The Environmental Scientist-in-Residence Program will leverage NOAA's scientific assets and personnel by combining them with the creativity and educational knowledge of the pioneer hands-on science center. To do this, the program will embed NOAA scientists in a public education laboratory at the Exploratorium. Working closely with youth Explainers, exhibit developers, and Web and interactive media producers at the Exploratorium, NOAA scientists will share instruments, data, and their professional expertise with a variety of public audiences inside the museum and on the Web. At the same time the scientists will gain valuable skills in informal science communication and education. Through cutting-edge iPad displays, screen-based visualizations, data-enriched maps and sensor displays, and innovative interactions with visitors on the museum floor, this learning laboratory will enable NOAA scientists and Exploratorium staff to investigate new hands-on techniques for engaging the public in NOAA's environmental research and monitoring efforts.
Carbon Networks
Carbon Networks addresses the disconnect between scientific evidence and the public's understanding of the impacts of ocean acidification and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It brings together three diverse, informal education partners – the Exploratorium in San Francisco, the Waikiki Aquarium in Hawaii, and the Pacific Science Center in Seattle – in a collaborative project to co-design and implement professional development for staff and local educators, as well as create educational programs and activities for museum visitors to better understand the evolving narrative and impact of ocean acidification and climate change.
Advancing Climate Literacy through Investment in In-service and Pre-service Science Educators (ACLIPSE)
The ACLIPSE project leveraged NOAA assets including the NOAA-funded Ocean Sciences Sequence for Grades 6–8: The Ocean–Atmosphere Connection and Climate Change, data from NOAA-supported ocean, estuarine and atmospheric observing networks, and NOAA-affiliated scientists. ACLIPSE developed strategies for incorporating real-time ocean observing data into climate and ocean science education; designed and implemented an undergraduate curriculum in climate science for pre-service (student) teachers at multiple universities (http://mare.lawrencehallofscience.org/college-courses/ACLIPSE); offered a variety of workshops for teachers and educators across the country and at National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERRs); and developed materials specifically designed to provide professional learning and instructional materials for middle and high school teachers to use with their students and other learners (http://mare.lawrencehallofscience.org/curriculum/climate-data-aclipse-a…). The professional learning workshops for local teachers and NERR Education Coordinators and research staff (i.e., System Wide Monitoring Program (SWMP) Technicians) were located at five NERR sites representing different regions of the US, including the Pacific Northwest (Kachemak Bay NERR, Alaska and Padilla Bay NERR, WA), central West Coast (San Francisco NERR, CA), Southeast (GTM NERR, FL), and Northeast/Mid-Atlantic (Jacques Cousteau NERR, NJ). Resources and instructional materials focused on climate and ocean acidification were provided to all participants for learning about and teaching these important and relevant content areas, and as the context for teaching about and applying current teaching and learning research. Emphasis was placed on helping the teacher audiences to becoming more expert on how to use NOAA monitoring data in the classroom in authentic and engaging ways to build teacher and student data skills. NERR educators and their local in-service teachers were provided with professional learning opportunities and a collection of activities providing online data, place-based, locally relevant observing data, NGSS teaching and learning pedagogy, and climate change topics. The project built capacity of formal and informal science educators by providing (1) opportunities to become knowledgeable about global environmental change and real-time data; (2) exposure to place-based connections with the ocean through technological observing systems; and (3) materials and expertise to apply their learning to teaching practice in a long-term, sustainable manner. ACLIPSE instructional materials are based on the principle that real-time environmental data is a valuable tool for providing students with opportunities for self-directed exploration of the natural world. Students engaging in these activities gain a deeper understanding of carbon cycling, ocean acidification, and other phenomena related to climate change. These activities were designed with the three-dimensional approach to teaching in mind (e.g. NGSS-designed), and also use a data literacy framework to build educators and their learners' skills in using data visualizations. The materials for informal educators and grades 6-8 teachers can also be accessed from the NOAA Education site, Classroom- Ready Data Resources, Climate & Data ACLIPSE Activities at https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/data/classroom-ready. Partners in the project included Rutgers University, Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Florida State University, California State University East Bay, Louisiana State University, and multiple NERR sites and Education Coordinators across the country and their local secondary teachers.
Interpretation of Real-Time Weather and Climate Data for Spherical Displays
The Interpretation of Real-time Weather and Climate for Spherical Displays (EarthNow) project utilizes the Science on a Sphere (SOS) Network to enable meaningful interpretation of real-time weather and climate data by museum docents and visitors viewing SOS exhibits nationwide. The project will generate and provide real-time NOAA weather, climate and ocean data to the SOS Network along with appropriate training for docents. It will also provide data interpretation summaries, data discussions and concise talking points on a regularly updated blog. This project is being implemented by a collaborative team of two weather and climate centers of NOAA/NESDIS: the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) and Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites (CICS), in association with the NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory, the I.M. Systems Group, and the Maryland Science Center.
Carbon Networks
Carbon Networks addresses the disconnect between scientific evidence and the public's understanding of the impacts of ocean acidification and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It brings together three diverse, informal education partners – the Exploratorium in San Francisco, the Waikiki Aquarium in Hawaii, and the Pacific Science Center in Seattle – in a collaborative project to co-design and implement professional development for staff and local educators, as well as create educational programs and activities for museum visitors to better understand the evolving narrative and impact of ocean acidification and climate change.


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Don't forget to leave a comment here to be entered into my little drawing for a felty-love pouch! You have until Oct. 1st!
This has been my most exciting Daring Bakers Challenge yet! Why, you ask? Because I got to be a "hostess-with-the-mostest!" (Have any of you seen Spinal Tap? Oh, wasted youth, how I miss thee…). Oh, and because we got to chose our recipe, I wasn't confronted with subbing 27 eggs, because the recipe was VEGAN! Ha! It was also possible to do a Gluten Free variation, because darn it, we're Alternative, and we're worth it! :
When the gracious and talented Natalie of Gluten A Go Go asked me to co-host with her I was wonderfully surprised and terribly flattered. I'm a baby Daring Baker, and my inaugural Challenge, veganizing Dorie's Perfect Party Cake, was my first real brush with a baking disaster (luckily my second attempt at Daringness was a success and my Tofu Cheesecake Pops rocked the casaba). It was during this second challenge that I "met" Natalie (during our Alternative Bake-Along) and started visiting her blog on a regular basis.
Working with Natalie on this project was pure joy! We were in sync from the very beginning, knowing we wanted to move away from the sticky-sweet challenges we've seen of late (though I love sweet, and I can't wait for the next sugar-filled challenge!). There was also this bread vibe that passed between us, and from the beginning we moved towards baking bread or crackers, and Natalie suggested adding dips and spreads to the mix. We also knew that we wanted an easily convertible recipe so that our GF and Vegan Bakers wouldn't have to re-invent the wheel!
Natalie mentioned Peter Reinhart, and I took advantage of my State-Side vacation to pick up his phenomenal (IMHO) book The Bread Baker's Apprentice, which was, without exaggeration, life-changing for me! I couldn't put it down, and fell deeper and deeper in love with the glossy photos of his venerable chef d'oeuvres. As a very new baker, I was reminded of my early ballet career and seeing the Bolshoi Ballet for the very first time – W-O-W! Once the two of us were armed with Apprentice, we were baking to beat the band : trying different recipes for their GF or Vegan-friendliness, trying to find the perfect fit between a clear, structured recipe, and the possibility to bake outside of the box and add one's own creative stamp to the Challenge.
After baking many a bread, we decided on the Lavash Crackers (recipe at the end of this post), for their adaptability, their deliciousness, and their utility (everyone should make their own crackers at least once, right?). We sincerely hoped that because of the different toppings possibilities, the dough add-ins such as herbs or spices, and of course the multitude of GF and Vegan dips or spreads to accompany them with, that this challenge could truly be yours, so that it would be a pleasure to make as well as to eat!
I want to thank Natalie for allowing me this opportunity for culinary collaboration, something I'd never done before. I felt like I was in school again working on a project with a friend, and the many emails we shared over the summer months fine tuning our ideas were rich and entertaining. It's thanks to my fellow Daring Baker that I discovered Reinhart and his fabulous book, and I've learned so many new things and become all the richer for it. Thanks also go out to our co-founders Lis and Yvonne, who gave us the green light for our idea, and who have made the blogosphere a much more tasty place to be! Thank you!
I've made these crackers five times since we decided on the recipe. I have made savory and sweet versions, once adding dried basil and rosemary to the savory dough and another time I added all spice and vanilla for a sweet version. I've rolled the dough thicker for a pita-like bread, and much thinner, more crackly crackers. I broke them apart to make shards, cut them into pita triangles, and used cookie cutters. I'm thrilled to have this recipe in my repertoire, and I hope you are, too!
You might be wondering why there are no pictures of my dips? Well, mostly because I just forgot to take them! I'm sorry, I was so concentrating on the cracker-aspect of the Challenge! I made hummus, homemade salsa, Thai Almond dip, Smokey Black Bean dip, and I don't remember what else. I think because I make these things so often, they just didn't seem very photo-worthy…?
I think what I most enjoyed (besides eating the crackers), was this Challenge (hopefully) helped dispel some of the clichés surrounding what "Vegan" means – often people have a rather reductionist vision of what we eat, and they think we dine on soy 3 times a day, and supplement with twigs and berries (ok, maybe not!), but my family doesn't really eat much soy at all, and when we do, it's usually in the form of tempeh (so less processed). Our diets consist of a vast variety of foods, mostly veggies, fruits, and grains…and desserts, too! So many of what are considered "comfort foods" in North America are vegan – chips & salsa, PB & J, and if you're ever in France, stop by my place for a vegan apple pie – you'll NEVER know the difference! There was a spirit of curiosity buzzing about the forums, and I was so proud to be a member of this Daring community where my fellow Bakers took the Challenge to heart and sincerely moved outside of their comfort zones (the way the Alternative Bakers do, too!).
Lavash Crackers from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice
Here's a simple formula for making snappy Armenian-style crackers, perfect for breadbaskets, company and kids…It is similar to the many other Middle Eastern and Northern African flatbreads known by different names, such as mankoush or mannaeesh (Lebanese), barbari (Iranian), khoubiz or khobz (Arabian), aiysh (Egyptian), kesret and mella (Tunisian), pide or pita (Turkish), and pideh (Armenian). The main difference between these breads is either how thick or thin the dough is rolled out, or the type of oven in which they are baked (or on which they are baked, as many of these breads are cooked on stones or red-hot pans with a convex surface)…
The key to a crisp lavash,…is to roll out the dough paper-thin. The sheet can be cut into crackers in advance or snapped into shards after baking. The shards make a nice presentation when arranged in baskets.
Makes 1 sheet pan of crackers
* 1 1/2 cups (6.75 oz) unbleached bread flour or gluten free flour blend (If you use a blend without xanthan gum, add 1 tsp xanthan or guar gum to the recipe)
* 1/2 tsp (.13 oz) salt
* 1/2 tsp (.055 oz) instant yeast
* 1 Tb (.75 oz) agave syrup or sugar
* 1 Tb (.5 oz) vegetable oil
* 1/3 to 1/2 cup + 2 Tb (3 to 4 oz) water, at room temperature
* Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, paprika, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, or kosher salt for toppings
1. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt yeast, agave, oil, and just enough water to bring everything together into a ball. You may not need the full 1/2 cup + 2 Tb of water, but be prepared to use it all if needed.
2. For Non Gluten Free Cracker Dough: Sprinkle some flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Knead for about 10 minutes, or until the ingredients are evenly distributed. The dough should pass the windowpane test (see http://www.wikihow.com/Determine-if-Bre … ong-Enough for a description of this) and register 77 degrees to 81 degrees Fahrenheit. The dough should be firmer than French bread dough, but not quite as firm as bagel dough (what I call medium-firm dough), satiny to the touch, not tacky, and supple enough to stretch when pulled. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
2. For Gluten Free Cracker Dough: The dough should be firmer than French bread dough, but not quite as firm as bagel dough (what I call medium-firm dough), and slightly tacky. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
3. Ferment at room temperature for 90 minutes, or until the dough doubles in size. (You can also retard the dough overnight in the refrigerator immediately after kneading or mixing).
4. For Non Gluten Free Cracker Dough: Mist the counter lightly with spray oil and transfer the dough to the counter. Press the dough into a square with your hand and dust the top of the dough lightly with flour. Roll it out with a rolling pin into a paper thin sheet about 15 inches by 12 inches. You may have to stop from time to time so that the gluten can relax. At these times, lift the dough from the counter and wave it a little, and then lay it back down. Cover it with a towel or plastic wrap while it relaxes. When it is the desired thinness, let the dough relax for 5 minutes. Line a sheet pan with baking parchment. Carefully lift the sheet of dough and lay it on the parchment. If it overlaps the edge of the pan, snip off the excess with scissors.
4. For Gluten Free Cracker Dough: Lay out two sheets of parchment paper. Divide the cracker dough in half and then sandwich the dough between the two sheets of parchment. Roll out the dough until it is a paper thin sheet about 15 inches by 12 inches. Slowly peel away the top layer of parchment paper. Then set the bottom layer of parchment paper with the cracker dough on it onto a baking sheet.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit with the oven rack on the middle shelf. Mist the top of the dough with water and sprinkle a covering of seeds or spices on the dough (such as alternating rows of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, paprika, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, kosher or pretzel salt, etc.) Be careful with spices and salt – a little goes a long way. If you want to pre-cut the cracker, use a pizza cutter (rolling blade) and cut diamonds or rectangles in the dough. You do not need to separate the pieces, as they will snap apart after baking. If you want to make shards, bake the sheet of dough without cutting it first.
5. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crackers begin to brown evenly across the top (the time will depend on how thinly and evenly you rolled the dough).
6. When the crackers are baked, remove the pan from the oven and let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. You can then snap them apart or snap off shards and serve.


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As I reach the end of my years, I find I have a lot of good information stored up in this old decrepit mind of mine. If I don't write it all down, it may vanish and no one will have the advantage of my thoughts. This is why this blog exists. I love the Lord, Jesus with all my heart and soul. I know I'm undeserving of all He's done for me, but I also know that His love is beyond my comprehension. I've always wanted to write. I never kept diaries, but tucked my thoughts in my head for future reference. I use them now in creating stories, plays, poetry and my blog. I continue to learn every day. I believe the compilation of our time spent with God will have huge affect on the way we live. I know I'm a sinner and I need a Savior. I have One through Jesus, Christ. My book, "Stages - a memoir," is about the seven stages of life from the perspective of a woman. It addresses all the things girls and women go through in life as they travel it with Jesus, and it is available on Amazon.com.
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|Hudson Continuous Integration Server
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'Bittersweet Season' Details Caring For Aging Mom
'Bittersweet Season' Details Caring For Aging Mom
As part of Morning Edition's Family Matters financial literacy series, Renee Montagne talks to Jane Gross, author of A Bittersweet Season, about caring for her aging mother, and what she wishes she had known before she started.
Related NPR Stories
In our series "Family Matters," MORNING EDITION is exploring the pressures facing baby boomers who live in multigenerational families. Yesterday, we heard from Natasha Shamone-Gilmore. She's 58 years old; lives in Maryland with her husband, son and her father, who's 81 years old. She spoke to NPR's David Greene.
NATASHA SHAMONE-GILMORE: So in the morning, my head is spinning because I'm thinking about what all has to be done.
DAVID GREENE, BYLINE: What kind of paperwork? What is there?
SHAMONE-GILMORE: I still need to get a will for my dad. I still need to get power of attorney.
GREENE: Does anyone help you with this? Like, is there...
SHAMONE-GILMORE: No.
GREENE: ...one person who can help you through...
SHAMONE-GILMORE: I don't get any help, really.
MONTAGNE: For any grown child, or a family, who takes in an aging and ailing parent, it can be emotionally overwhelming and financially draining. Jane Gross, of the New York Times, went through this herself. She cared for her mother in the years leading up to her death at the age of 88, and has written about that experience in her book, "A Bittersweet Season." And thank you for joining us.
JANE GROSS: Thank you very much for having me, Renee.
MONTAGNE: Give us a thumbnail of your experience. When was the moment you decided to take over your mother's care?
GROSS: She had been living in Florida for a long time. Her health rather suddenly started to decline. My brother and I both lived in the New York area, which was the family home. And we all decided that this would be a much more manageable event if we were all in the same place. And I think we also understood that, you know, there was probably a limited time left, and it would be nice to spend it closer to each other.
MONTAGNE: And when you thought of limited time, were you thinking in terms of a few years of care?
GROSS: I - tell you the truth, I wasn't even really thinking that clearly. I was panicked more than I was thinking clearly. I just knew we had to do something and whatever it was, it would be easier if I didn't have to jump on an airplane every time.
MONTAGNE: Your mother passed away nearly a decade ago, in 2003. And she was in your direct care there in New York for several years - four years before that. Looking back, what do you know now that you wish you had known then?
GROSS: Well, I was under the impression that Medicare was universal health care for people over the age of 65. I had no idea that the kind of long-term care - as opposed to acute care - that my mother, and the vast majority of very old people, need isn't covered by Medicare.
MONTAGNE: That, I think, will be a surprise to most people, because the sense is that once you get to the age where you're covered by Medicare, pretty much all your care is covered.
GROSS: If my mother had needed a heart transplant or a hip replacement, Medicare would cover that. Medicare does not cover what's known as custodial care, which means home health aides. It means assisted living. It means, basically, all of the stuff that makes it possible to be old and be looked after - you know, short of being cut open and fixed in some way.
MONTAGNE: How much of that sort of care, then, did your mother need? And what, then, happened - who paid for it?
GROSS: Mostly, my mother paid for all of it. By my very rough estimate, in the last nine years of my mother's life, she spent more than $500,000 out of pocket. At six months before she died, she technically ran out of money, which then entitles you to Medicaid. So once my mother was essentially deemed destitute, the government paid for it.
MONTAGNE: What about long-term care insurance? We always hear about that. A lot of people avoid it or postpone getting it, but you do think that it has a place in assuring a person, or a family, that they will be taken care of should, you know, one end up in a nursing home or need other long-term care.
GROSS: Truth is somewhere in between. I think that people regard it as a panacea when it isn't. And my mother's long-term care policy, which had $150-a- day benefit, goes to the nursing home - although rarely, if ever, is it enough to cover the nursing home.
MONTAGNE: Now, just before we started this conversation, we heard Natasha Gilmore saying she had no one to turn to for advice. Who did you have counseling you through this?
GROSS: In the early stages, nobody. I eventually hired a geriatric care manager who unraveled virtually all of it, and it was still like that lady was talking about. The lawyers don't know anything about the money. The money people don't know anything about entitlements. The entitlement people don't know anything about residential choices. You spend most of your life on the telephone.
MONTAGNE: Is there an example of a single bad decision you made that you think, boy, that was a bad decision?
GROSS: Yeah. I neglected - I'm embarrassed to say - to find my mother a primary care physician in New York before moving her. I discovered it's almost impossible to find a new one for somebody who is past Medicare age because Medicare pays doctors so badly that they don't generally fire their existing patients, but they will very rarely take a new Medicare patient.
MONTAGNE: Given everything that you've just said, what about what one might even call the bright side of an extended decline?
GROSS: Yeah. I mean, I think that there's a huge bright side. In my case, I had a very difficult relationship with my mother - which, because of how long this lasted, and because of how hard both of us worked at the relational part of it, we had a completely different relationship by the time she died. And it's those memories, and sort of that mother, that I take away with me.
Also, my brother and I had a difficult relationship, and I'm not going to pretend it was easy while it was going on because it wasn't. But my brother is now my best friend. I don't think that would have happened otherwise.
MONTAGNE: Thank you very much for sharing this with us.
GROSS: Well, you're very welcome. I wish everybody who's going through it right now courage, and an easier time.
MONTAGNE: Yes, well, thank you. Jane Gross is the author of "A Bittersweet Season," and founder of the New York Times blog The New Old Age.
Copyright © 2012 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
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22 April 2019
Northeast, GA (God's country)
As we sit here on this beautiful Monday following Easter, the Braves are only 21 games into their 162 game schedule, yet seemingly the sky has already begun falling all over the city of Atlanta.
[DISCLAIMER: While some may perceive I'm throwing shade at a lot of fans here on the ol' B&S and elsewhere, I am including myself right in the middle of the criticism.]
Yes, even though the NL East is universally perceived as the toughest in MLB this season, as is evidenced by the fact that as of today only 1.5 games separate the division leader from 4th place, and even though the Braves are currently just 1 game behind the division leader, the prevailing thought is that this team is incomplete and sputtering. And just about every pointing finger is directed at the bullpen.
Yes, the bullpen has been bad at times. It has also been good at times, but let's face it… the bad always seems to be magnified more than the good. And I believe that's especially true here in Atlanta where we went onto this past off season knowing we needed to address the bullpen.
Then we entered into the new season with very little change. In fact, we didn't add anyone from outside the organization at all until we picked up Josh Tomlin from the proverbial scrap heap. We certainly didn't make any headlines by signing any one of a number of top names available on the Free Agent market. And if we're really honest, that's what everyone is most upset about, right? The Braves didn't spend any money on the bullpen. In fact, that narrative has been sharpened a bit more to say that the Braves promised to spend money, have money to spend, yet didn't spend a dime on the bullpen. Am I right? I'm guilty. I admit it.
But perhaps it's not quite that easy. Oh, I know it's always easy to spend someone else's money. But is it always the right answer? I've done a little digging this morning, and have discovered something fairly interesting. So hang in here with me while I go down the lost of top relievers that were available this past off-season, according to MLBTR. Here's a comprehensive list of all the relievers in their Top 50 Free Agent list, along with the contracts they signed and the results the teams are getting for their stacks of dollars:
#5 Craig Kimbrel remains unsigned despite the cries of most of Braves Nation, and maybe the other twenty-nine fan-bases, as well, because so far, all thirty teams have passed on his demands.
#17 Jeurys Familia signed with the Mets for 3 yrs/$30M. He has appeared in 10 games, has a 5.59 ERA, and a 1.966 WHIP. He's also become a favorite target of the NY newspapers.
#18 Zach Britton signed with the Yankees for 3yrs/$39M, has appeared in 10 games, and has a 2.89 ERA with a 1.393 WHIP. This is a signing that seems to be working out OK for the Yankees, who have Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances, and Adam Ottavino taking most of the high leverage innings. I say "OK". Not great, but OK.
#19 David Robertson signed with the Phillies for 2ys/$23M. He's appeared in 7 games, has a 5.40 ERA with a 2.100 WHIP. Not very good. He has also spent ten days on the IL with a sore elbow.
#21 Adam Ottavino signed with the Yankees for 3yrs/$27M. He's appeared in 10 games, has a 3.27 ERA and a 1.455 WHIP. He gave up 2 home runs yesterday, turning a 5-2 lead into a 6-5 deficit. Another "OK" signing.
#24 Andrew Miller signed with the Cardinals for 2yrs/$25M. In 11 games he has a 7.04 ERA and a 2.087 WHIP. I'm no professional pitching coach, but I don't think a 7.04 ERA is very good. To the contrary, one of our favorite whipping boys, Jesse Biddle, actually has a respectable 2.38 ERA.
#25 Joe Kelly signed with the Dodgers for 3yrs/$25M. He's appeared in 9 games, has a 9.90 ERA, and a 1.900 WHIP. And, he's already blown three save chances.
#26 Kelvin Herrera signed with the White Sox for 2yrs/$18M. He's appeared in ten games, as a 1.86 ERA and a 0.828 WHIP. He has easily been the best of this whole bunch. This one was a good deal.
#34 Joakim Soria signed with the A's for 2 yrs/$15M. He has appeared in twelve games, has a 7.84 ERA, and a 1.839 WHIP. Yowser. Ugly!
#37 Cody Allen signed with the Angels for 1yr/$8.5M. He's appeared in nine games, has a 6.14 ERA, with a 1.636 WHIP. This is the guy the writers at MLBTR projected would sign with the Braves. I'm glad he didn't.
#40 Bud Norris signed a Minor League deal with the Blue Jays. He was eventually released and almost signed by the Nats….except he wasn't. I hear Uber needs drivers.
#41 Brad Brach signed with the Cubs for 1yr/4.35M. The former Brave has appeared in eight games, has a 4..50 ERA and a 2.125 WHIP. Five current Braves relievers have a better ERA, and a 6th misses by just 0.20. All eight have a better WHIP.
#44 Jesse Chavez signed with the Rangers for 2yrs/$8M. The 35-year-old has appeared in ten games, has a 9.31 ERA with a 1.759 WHIP. That's pretty close to the same numbers for Chad Sobotka who is still a kid and time to continue developing.
So, what exactly is the point of this exercise?
The point is that this fan is now quite happy that his GM didn't go out and throw money at one or more of these relievers hoping to "fix" the bullpen, because only one of these twelve signings appears to actually be earning his contract.
Naturally, I had the benefit of hindsight to make these judgments. GMs don't have that same luxury. They live or die by making assessments and hoping for the best.
Relievers are the one segment of the team that you simply can never predict, as is evidenced by those relievers above. Perhaps if we give our own group of pitchers more than just 21 games out of 162, we might see some improvement. At worst, we'll see a better picture of exactly what we have and what we need. Then we can look at those needs with a better perspective and address them with more options than just throwing money at them.


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Promoting the health and safety of the artist and clients of our tattoo and piercing community.
DeKalb County, Georgia has a large, diverse and talented community of body craft artists and studios. They offer tattoos, cosmetic tattoos (permanent cosmetics) and body piercing to members of the public from the surrounding areas and nationwide on an ongoing basis. One of every four persons from ages 18-25 in the United States has a tattoo or body piercing. Body crafting has truly become a mainstream form of art.
There are several health issues associated with body crafting. The purpose of this program and the rules and regulations is to create a safe body crafting environment, to ensure safe industry practices, and to prevent the transmission of disease in body craft studios. The rules are designed to protect the clients of these procedures as well as the artist.
The risks associated with body crafting include infection, hepatitis B and C, MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), any blood-borne pathogen, improperly sized jewelry, substandard jewelry, allergic reactions, and possible scarring due to an underlying keloid condition.
Through regulation, education and enforcement, the body crafting program seeks to make certain that the body craft studios are designed to allow for effective cleaning and disinfection. Also, it verifies that cleaning and disinfection procedures are documented and that all tools and jewelry used in a procedure are cleaned, sterilized, and disinfected prior to use on clients. Every area that comes into contact with the client shall also be cleaned and disinfected before and after each procedure.
Any body craft artist must be properly permitted and have first aid, CPR, and blood-borne pathogen training. They must follow proper procedures to prevent the spread of infection and disease. Unauthorized or substandard tools or jewelry are not allowed.
The body crafting program DOES NOT regulate, judge, or determine the aesthetic quality of the procedures performed by the body craft artists.
If you are going to undergo a body crafting procedure in DeKalb County, please ask to see the Body Craft Studio Permit, the permit of the Body Craft Artist that will be doing your work, and the last routine inspection that the studio has received. All of these items should be posted or should be provided upon request. If you have any questions about the permit status of a studio or an artist please call the DeKalb County Division of Environmental Health 404-508-7900.
Information about the Permit Process
In DeKalb County, body crafting includes tattooing, body piercing, and cosmetic tattooing.
The permit process for body craft studios and artists includes the following:
- Body craft studios are required to complete a permit application, pass an inspection, and pay a $400 annual permit fee. Newly constructed businesses may be assessed a plan review fee in the amount of $175.
- Body craft artists are required to complete a permit application, document certification in CPR, basic first aid, and blood-borne pathogen or infection control; and pay a $100 annual permit fee. Artists are required to keep all certifications current during the entire year.
Permits and the most recent inspections must be posted and visible to the public. Routine inspections will take place at least twice a year or as needed.


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It's that time of the season, when, with only a handful of home games left, the race to the finish makes the competition desperate.
Such was the case Saturday night at Nationals Park, when Teddy Roosevelt, still searching for win #1 in the Nationals' presidents race, turned on the competition, trapping them in a pack against the outfield scoreboard and slamming them to the ground.
Unfortunately for Teddy, he didn't knock them out.
After Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln hit the ground, they jumped back to their feet and chased down the Rough Rider, piling on en mass.
Teddy never recovered, and Thomas Jefferson took the tape to keep his hopes alive in the 2011 presidents race standings.
The National's continued their tradition of embracing social media by hosting a group of bloggers on Saturday, as we were given the opportunity to meet September call-ups Brad Peacock, Chris Marrero, and Stephen Lombardozzi, as well as skipper Davey Johnson and members of the Nationals staff including Director of Minor League Operations Mark Scialabba and Sr. Director of Community Relations Israel Negron, who shared his enthusiasm over the team's newly-announced sponsorship of the Washington Nationals Wounded Warrior Softball Team.
For the record, Lombardozzi joins the ranks of players who've thrown their support behind the Let Teddy Win movement, noting that he's come to Nationals Park in previous seasons to sit in the stands. "I hope he wins," Lombardozzi said. "I'm hoping he gets
a 'W' before the end of the season."
Yes, when September call-ups arrive, hope springs anew.
Video courtesy of YouTube member lfahome


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Hackers have compromised the main Twitter account of The Associated Press, sending out an erroneous tweet about an attack at the White House.
The tweet, which said that there had been two explosions at the White House and President Barack Obama was injured, came after hackers made repeated attempts to steal the passwords of AP journalists.
The AP said Tuesday that its Twitter account had been suspended following a hack and said it was working to correct the issue.
The cyberattack is the latest in a string targeting international media organizations.
The tweet put out by hackers briefly sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average sharply lower.


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ADI Dallas Counter Day
January 30, 2018 @ 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Join us for an ADI Counter Day! Learn about our 4 brands including Vanco®, a comprehensive line of value-oriented residential AV products and accessories; Evolution™, a curated line of pro audio and video distribution products; PulseAudio™, an indoor/outdoor speaker and amplifier line featuring Bluetooth® technology; and Beale Street Audio™, a highly-acclaimed line of Sonic Vortex® technology architectural speakers.


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Hello! This is Jera {quiltingintherain.com} bringing you this fun weekend rug project that requires just 1 jelly roll. Make a free rug for yourself by checking out my blog for a jelly roll giveaway! I used the collection 'Wild Rose' by Blackbird Designs. It makes a beautiful rug to display in your sewing room or to put by the fireplace. Seven simple steps below! Oh, and there's a surprise bonus picture at the bottom of the tutorial ;-p
- 1 Jelly Roll
- *Non-slip liner for drawers, enough to cover 20"x30"
- Scrap backing fabric, measuring 20"x30"
*Originally I tried using non-slip rug padding but it was too thick to sew through. The non-slip drawer lining is much thinner and works better.
Step 1 – From your jelly roll, choose 28 strips and do the following:
Step 2 – Cut the backing fabric.
From your scrap fabric, cut a 20"x30" rectangle. I used a semi-thick fabric.
Step 3 – Place the 30" long strips along the length of the backing fabric and pin at the ends. Sew a ¼" seam to keep in place. Continue until you've attached all 16 strips.
Step 4 – Take your 20" long strips and weave along the width, over and under the 30" long strips you attached in the previous step. Pin as you weave them to keep them in place.
For each strip, sew a zig-zag stitch to secure the weave. I pinned and sewed 3 strips at a time.
Step 5 – After you've finished weaving in all of the 20" strips and sewing zig-zag stitches along the width of the rug, go back and sew zig-zag stitch along the length as well. Trim off excess strips that hang over the 20"x30" backing.
Step 6 – From your non-slip liner, cut a 20"x30" rectangle and pin to the back of your rug to keep in place.
Step 7 – Lastly, bind the rug using leftover jelly roll strips as described in Oda May's Binding with a Jelly Roll tutorial.
One fabulous 20″x30″ rug!
Bonus picture!
My dog Paige has grown very fond of the woven jelly roll rug. 🙂
Don't forget to check out my blog for a chance to win a jelly roll!
Thanks for stopping by!
Jera Brandvig,


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2011 was a momentous year in Federal Government-related news and as such, it was a banner year for important Government publications, as demonstrated by our 2011 Year in Review collection available from the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO).
But which Government news story was the most significant, in your opinion? Vote in our poll below, and then see the publications that follow that relate to these important stories:
Following are the Federal Government publications that relate to each of these important 2011 stories:
|2011 News Story
|Related Federal Publication(s)
|9/11 tenth anniversary
|Ten years have passed since that tragic day, but the memories are still strong. 2011 saw some excellent publications about that day, including a 10th anniversary edition of Pentagon 9/11 and a reprinting of the 9/11 Commission Report, all of which you can find in our 9/11 Collection: A Decade of Remembrance.
|Assassination of Osama bin Laden
|A Navy SEALS team located and killed Osama bin Laden this year, the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks and many other Al Qaeda and insurgent terrorist attacks. This 2011 publication, Terrorism Research and Analysis Project (TRAP): A Collection of Research Ideas, Thoughts, and Perspectives, V. 1analyzes causes and possible responses to terrorism as presented at the FBI Terrorism Research and Analysis Project (TRAP) Symposium of international academics and law enforcement personnel.
|Death of North Korea's Kim Jong Il
|The recent death of North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Il, marks an uncertain time for the Korean Peninsula and the entire region. North Korea: A Country Studyreviews the history and the dominant social, political, economic, and military aspects of contemporary North Korea before this.
|Deep Water BP Gulf oil disaster report
|In January of this year, the National Commission on the BP (British Petroleum) Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling released its controversial Deep Water: The Gulf Oil Disaster and the Future of Offshore Drilling, Report to the President, January 2011. This best-selling publication offers the fullest account available of what happened in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010 and why, and proposes actions, changes in company behavior, reform of government oversight, and investments in research and technology that will be required to avert future disasters.
|End of the war in Iraq
|There is an interesting White House timeline about the Iraq war at the end of which is a link to the Joining Forces initiative with which one can express one's support for the troops. GPO's bookstore has a number of books about Iraq, but two stand out as best-sellers. Battleground Iraq: Journal of a Company Commander gives a realistic account by Major Todd Brown of his experiences as a U.S. Army company commander in Iraq from April 2003 to March 2004. Hard Lessons: The Iraq Reconstruction Experienceexamines the Iraq reconstruction experience, and provides 13 take-away lessons for future contingency relief and reconstruction operations.
a) Battleground Iraq: Journal of a Company Commander
b) Hard Lessons: The Iraq Reconstruction Experience
|Japan earthquake and tsunami
|Natural disasters were big in the news this year, and the Federal Government was involved in responding to them, from the National Guard in the U.S. to foreign response teams overseas. For example, in response to the tragic earthquake and resulting tsunami and nuclear reactor problems in Japan, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) that included disaster response experts, urban search and rescue teams, and nuclear experts from the U.S. Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The Field Operations Guide for Disaster Assessment and Responseis used by USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) for DART teams and other disaster assistance personnel when responding to foreign disasters like the Japan situation.
|Last Space Shuttle flight
|2011 marked the end of NASA's three-decade long space shuttle program when, on July 21, the final space shuttle mission ended with the shuttle Atlantis rolling to a stop at its home port, NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA has published a number of terrific books about the program which you can find in our NASA and Space Shuttle Publications, along with a new set of beautiful color bookmarks, one for each shuttle and the best-selling Wings in Orbitbook.
|U.S. economy and the Federal budget
|It seems every newscast this year has covered the US economy, Federal Government budgets and deficits and differing opinions about options to address them. You can find the President's original budget submission published this year and subsequent analyses and responses to it in our collection of Books about the Government and Politics, including the Federal Budget and the Economy.
How can you find even more Federal Government publications? We have assembled many collections of Federal publications on our year-round Gift Guide and in our Special Collections page on GPO's online bookstore.
About the Author: Michele Bartram is Promotions Manager for GPO's Publication and Information Sales Division and is responsible for online and offline marketing of the US Government Online Bookstore (Bookstore.GPO.Gov) and promoting Federal government content to the public.


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Dr. Jeff Hersh: Helping friend with eating disorder
Q: I think my best friend, who is 16 like me, has anorexia. She is really skinny but she refuses to eat anything. Is there any way I can help?
A: Restricting caloric intake even when someone is underweight for their age and size is one of the diagnostic criteria for the eating disorder called anorexia nervosa. The other criteria include:
• A fear of gaining weight and/or behavior that prevents weight gain.
• A disturbed self-body image that makes the person perceive themselves as overweight even when they are underweight for their age and height.
Anorexic women who are old enough to have had onset of their menses commonly miss periods or even have their periods stop for a while.
There are two types of anorexia;
• Restriction type where caloric intake is limited; this may be accompanied by excessive exercise to burn off the limited calories taken in.
• The purging type with throwing up after eating, laxative abuse and/or diuretic abuse to prevent weight gain.
Anorexia is actually not about the patient's weight; it is about reacting to psychosocial issues (such as depression, insecurity, feeling like they have no control of their lives and/or feeling like they cannot live up to the level of perfection they feel they need to) in an unhealthy manner. Anorexics take control of their eating as a way to exert control of some aspect of their lives; in fact some patients consider anorexia their "friend."
Anorexics will often hide their eating issue, sometimes having secret eating rituals. It is very common that they deny that there is any eating issue at all.
There may be a genetic aspect to anorexia as it is more common in a sibling of an anorexic than the general public. Some studies have identified possible functional and/or structural abnormalities in the brains of anorexics. Cultural things, such as society's identification of being thin as an "ideal" body image, add to the pressure anorexics feel, as does participation in certain activities such as ballet, gymnastics or modeling where being thin is again identified as "ideal;" all this may add to a patient's distorted self-body image. People with anorexia have a higher incidence of certain psychiatric issues (depression, anxiety and/or personality disorders) as well as substance abuse.
Anorexia is very common, affecting 1 to 4 percent of women in their lifetimes; it is 10 to 20 times less common in men than in women. Anorexia is most common in adolescent and young women between the ages 13 and 30, although it can affect anyone of any age.
There are screening questionnaires that have a high accuracy of identifying people with a possible eating disorder (there is a link to screening for eating disorders at the National Eating Disorder Association website, nationaleatingdisorders.org). However, as noted above, there are certain criteria to make the diagnosis of anorexia nervosa, and this diagnosis should be validated by the patient's healthcare provider.
Anorexia may lead to significant medical consequences stemming from malnutrition and starvation. Furthermore, anorexics have a 20 times higher overall risk of death than their healthy peers, with suicide being a common cause of death for them; anorexics have one of the highest mortality rates of all psychiatric disorders.
The goal of treatment of anorexics is to get them back to a healthy weight and then have them maintain it; to do this they will need to overcome their fear of gaining weight.
The first step in treating someone with anorexia is for them to accept that there is a problem. They will then need to accept help.
A medical evaluation is important to identify any acute medical issues, and if these exist (such as electrolyte abnormalities) they need to be addressed.
The patient will then need counseling to better understand their condition. This will include helping them gain insights to achieve a healthier perception of their body image. They will also need to speak with a dietician.
Over half of anorexics will recover with appropriate treatment, achieving and maintaining a healthy weight; another 25 percent get significantly better. Unfortunately, 25 percent do not respond well to treatment, and many anorexics (up to 5 percent or more) die prematurely.
The most important step for someone with anorexia is to understand that they have a problem. The National Eating Disorders Association has a toll free hotline at 800-931-2237 and a website, nationaleatingdisorders.org, where patients and/or their friends and family can reach out for information, guidance and help.
Jeff Hersh, Ph.D., M.D., can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.