Saturday, March 17, 2012

Is it expected?

On a visit to a small town about an hour north of Sacramento California, I saw the following road construction sign........

Now providing that no one stoled the other sign that said "Forni", I think we have a road construction worker from YHS......just sayin'! Small town USA, should we expect this presentation?

Friday, March 16, 2012

Communication and Leadership - Part V, Nonverbal Behaviors of Communication

No one would talk much in society if they knew how often they
 misunderstood others. — Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Communication is the exchange and flow of information and ideas from one person to another; it involves a sender transmitting an idea, information, or feeling to a receiver (U.S. Army, 1983).  Effective communication occurs only if the receiver understands the exact information or idea that the sender intended to transmit. Many of the problems that occur in an organization are the either the direct result of people failing to communicate and/or processes, which leads to confusion and can cause good plans to fail (Mistry, Jaggers, Lodge, Alton, Mericle, Frush, Meliones, 2008).
Studying the communication process is important because you coach, coordinate, counsel,
evaluate, and supervise throughout this process. It is the chain of understanding that integrates the members of an organization from top to bottom, bottom to top, and side to side.

Nonverbal Behaviors of Communication

To deliver the full impact of a message, use nonverbal behaviors to raise the channel of interpersonal communication:
• Eye contact: This helps to regulate the flow of communication. It signals interest in others and increases the speaker's credibility. People who make eye contact open the flow of communication and convey interest, concern, warmth, and credibility.
• Facial Expressions: Smiling is a powerful cue that transmits happiness, friendliness, warmth, and liking. So, if you smile frequently you will be perceived as more likable, friendly, warm and approachable. Smiling is often contagious and people will react favorably. They will be more comfortable around you and will want to listen more.
• Gestures: If you fail to gesture while speaking you may be perceived as boring and stiff. A lively speaking style captures the listener's attention, makes the conversation more interesting, and facilitates understanding.
• Posture and body orientation: You communicate numerous messages by the way you talk and move. Standing erect and leaning forward communicates to listeners that you are approachable, receptive and friendly. Interpersonal closeness results when you and the listener face each other. Speaking with your back turned or looking at the floor or ceiling should be avoided as it communicates disinterest.
• Proximity: Cultural norms dictate a comfortable distance for interaction with others. You should look for signals of discomfort caused by invading the other person's space. Some of these are: rocking, leg swinging, tapping, and gaze aversion.
• Vocal: Speaking can signal nonverbal communication when you include such vocal elements as: tone, pitch, rhythm, timbre, loudness, and inflection. For maximum teaching effectiveness, learn to vary these six elements of your voice. One of the major criticisms of many speakers is that they speak in a monotone voice. Listeners perceive this type of speaker as boring and dull.

Speaking Hints

Speak comfortable words! — William Shakespeare
• When speaking or trying to explain something, ask the listeners if they are following you.
• Ensure the receiver has a chance to comment or ask questions.
• Try to put yourself in the other person's shoes — consider the feelings of the receiver.
• Be clear about what you say.
• Look at the receiver.
• Make sure your words match your tone and body language (nonverbal behaviors).
• Vary your tone and pace.
• Do not be vague, but on the other hand, do not complicate what you are saying with too much detail.
• Do not ignore signs of confusion.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Communication and Leadership - Part IV, Feedback

No one would talk much in society if they knew how often they
 misunderstood others. — Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Communication is the exchange and flow of information and ideas from one person to another; it involves a sender transmitting an idea, information, or feeling to a receiver (U.S. Army, 1983).  Effective communication occurs only if the receiver understands the exact information or idea that the sender intended to transmit. Many of the problems that occur in an organization are the either the direct result of people failing to communicate and/or processes, which leads to confusion and can cause good plans to fail (Mistry, Jaggers, Lodge, Alton, Mericle, Frush, Meliones, 2008).
Studying the communication process is important because you coach, coordinate, counsel,
evaluate, and supervise throughout this process. It is the chain of understanding that integrates the members of an organization from top to bottom, bottom to top, and side to side.

Feedback

When you know something, say what you know. When you don't know something, say that you don't know. That is knowledge. — Kung Fu Tzu (Confucius)
The purpose of feedback is to alter messages so the intention of the original communicator is understood by the second communicator. It includes verbal and nonverbal responses to another person's message.
Providing feedback is accomplished by paraphrasing the words of the sender. Restate the sender's feelings or ideas in your own words, rather than repeating their words. Your words should be saying, “This is what I understand your feelings to be, am I correct?” It not only includes verbal responses, but also nonverbal ones. Nodding your head or squeezing their hand to show agreement, dipping your eyebrows shows you don't quite understand the meaning of their last phrase, or sucking air in deeply and blowing it hard shows that you are also exasperated with the situation.
Carl Rogers listed five main categories of feedback. They are listed in the order in which they occur most frequently in daily conversations. Notice that we make judgments more often than we try to understand:
Evaluative: Making a judgment about the worth, goodness, or appropriateness of the other person's statement.
Interpretive: Paraphrasing — attempting to explain what the other person's statement means.
Supportive: Attempting to assist or bolster the other communicator.
Probing: Attempting to gain additional information, continue the discussion, or clarify a point.
Understanding: Attempting to discover completely what the other communicator means by her statements.
Imagine how much better daily communications would be if listeners tried to understand first, before they tried to evaluate what someone is saying

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Communication and Leadership - Part III, Active Listening

No one would talk much in society if they knew how often they
 misunderstood others. — Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Communication is the exchange and flow of information and ideas from one person to another; it involves a sender transmitting an idea, information, or feeling to a receiver (U.S. Army, 1983).  Effective communication occurs only if the receiver understands the exact information or idea that the sender intended to transmit. Many of the problems that occur in an organization are the either the direct result of people failing to communicate and/or processes, which leads to confusion and can cause good plans to fail (Mistry, Jaggers, Lodge, Alton, Mericle, Frush, Meliones, 2008).
Studying the communication process is important because you coach, coordinate, counsel,
evaluate, and supervise throughout this process. It is the chain of understanding that integrates the members of an organization from top to bottom, bottom to top, and side to side.

Active Listening

Hearing and listening are not the same thing. Hearing is the act of perceiving sound. It is involuntary and simply refers to the reception of aural stimuli. Listening is a selective activity which involves the reception and the interpretation of aural stimuli. It involves decoding the sound into meaning.
Listening is divided into two main categories: passive and active. Passive listening is little more that hearing. It occurs when the receiver of the message has little motivation to listen carefully, such as when listening to music, story telling, television, or when being polite.
People speak at 100 to 175 words per minute (WPM), but they can listen intelligently at 600 to 800 WPM. Since only a part of our mind is paying attention, it is easy to go into mind drift — thinking about other things while listening to someone. The cure for this is active listening — which involves listening with a purpose. It may be to gain information, obtain directions, understand others, solve problems, share interest, see how another person feels, show support, etc. It requires that the listener attends to the words and the feelings of the sender for understanding. It takes the same amount or more energy than speaking. It requires the receiver to hear the various messages, understand the meaning, and then verify the meaning by offering feedback. The following are a few traits of active listeners:
• Spend more time listening than talking.
• Do not finish the sentences of others.
• Do not answer questions with questions.
• Are aware of biases. We all have them. We need to control them.
• Never daydreams or become preoccupied with their own thoughts when others talk.
• Let the other speakers talk. Do not dominate the conversations.
• Plan responses after the others have finished speaking, NOT while they are speaking.
• Provide feedback, but do not interrupt incessantly.
• Analyze by looking at all the relevant factors and asking open-ended questions. Walk others through by summarizing.
• Keep conversations on what others say, NOT on what interests them.
• Take brief notes. This forces them to concentrate on what is being said.

Women have the love life they choose….."The Guilty One"

Now when I say this I don’t mean to imply that what they choose is what they want.  Whether she is career oriented or family oriented, or somewhere in between she is choosing to be there.  Sometimes, what she chooses is exactly what she wants.  Sometimes, she even knows it. The problem seems to be when she doesn’t realize how her choices are either not getting her what she wants or even worse keeping her in a bad situation for all the wrong reasons.
Sure, sometimes the perfect love smacks you in the face and it’s undeniable.  More often when you find couples that have been together for years, they will tell you a story about their life together that hasn’t always been rose petals.  More often it is a story that has lead one or both of them to the edge of quitting.  Through good communication, realistic expectations, understanding, compassion and the love and passion that brought them together with a splash of tenacity they have held it not only together but have grown together and increased that love for one another that is unbreakable.  It’s like they have more love for each other out of the appreciation that he or she stayed to work together to become one.  Hopefully without losing either individual, but most definitely operating together as one unit.
“The Guilty One”-  This young lady has impacted her present and future with guilt from her past.  While sounding very simple to understand, it’s not.  Most commonly, something has happened that she has blamed herself for or has been wrongfully blamed for and she accepted that blame.  Then feeling guilt for it subconsciously and packing it around until she realizes it.  While men aren’t immune to this very problem, we are discussing women.  I find that women that have had a poor relationship with a male role model as a child may have problems with trying too hard to make a bad relationship work with what they see (subconsciously) as a similar personality to that childhood role model.  Typically, because they think they are responsible for the shortcomings of the earlier relationship, so they stay. Thinking that she deserves the abuse that can go on during a bad relationship.  All the while, she is trying harder to make things work and dismissing the partner’s abuse(exhausting).  Abuse can be in many forms from verbal to very physical. It usually escalates.   
Realizing the guilt that they have put on themselves or allowed to be put on them is the first step in healing themselves.  This healing is a wonderful thing.  Usually it’s the first step in learning more things about yourself that are overshadowing your choices.

Andersen Consulting Efficiencies-Joke

Last week, we took some friends out to a new restaurant and noticed that
the waiter who took our order carried a spoon in his shirt pocket. It seemed
a little strange. When another waiter brought our water, I noticed he also
had a spoon in his shirt pocket. Then I looked around and saw that all the
staff had spoons in their pockets. When the waiter came back to serve our soup I
asked, "Why the spoon?"

"Well, he explained, "the restaurant's owners hired Andersen Consulting
to revamp all our processes. After several months of analysis, they
concluded that the spoon was the most frequently dropped utensil. It represents a drop
frequency of approximately 3 spoons per table per hour. If our personnel
are better prepared, we can reduce the number of trips back to the kitchen and save
15 man- hours per shift."

As luck would have it, I dropped my spoon and he was able to replace it
with his spare. "I'll get another spoon next time I go to the kitchen,
instead of making an extra trip to get it right now."

I was impressed. I also noticed that there was a string hanging out of
the waiter's fly. Looking around, I noticed that all the waiters had the
same string hanging from their flies. So before he walked off, I asked the waiter
"Excuse me, but can you tell me why you have that string right there?"

"Oh, certainly!" Then he lowered his voice. "Not everyone is so
observant. That consulting firm I mentioned also found out that we can save time in
the restroom. By tying this string to the tip of you know what, we can pull
it out without touching it and eliminate the need to wash our hands, shortening
the time spent in the restroom by 76.39 percent."

I asked "After you get it out, how do you put it back?"

"Well," he whispered, "I don't know about the others, but I use the
spoon."

-Unknown

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Communication and Leadership - Part II, Barriers to Communication

No one would talk much in society if they knew how often they
 misunderstood others. — Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Communication is the exchange and flow of information and ideas from one person to another; it involves a sender transmitting an idea, information, or feeling to a receiver (U.S. Army, 1983).  Effective communication occurs only if the receiver understands the exact information or idea that the sender intended to transmit. Many of the problems that occur in an organization are the either the direct result of people failing to communicate and/or processes, which leads to confusion and can cause good plans to fail (Mistry, Jaggers, Lodge, Alton, Mericle, Frush, Meliones, 2008).
Studying the communication process is important because you coach, coordinate, counsel,
evaluate, and supervise throughout this process. It is the chain of understanding that integrates the members of an organization from top to bottom, bottom to top, and side to side.

Barriers to Communication

Nothing is so simple that it cannot be misunderstood. — Freeman Teague, Jr.

Anything that prevents understanding of the message is a barrier to communication. Many physical and psychological barriers exist:
Culture, background, and bias — We allow our past experiences to change the meaning of the message. Our culture, background, and bias can be good as they allow us to use our past experiences to understand something new, it is when they change the meaning of the message that they interfere with the communication process.
Noise — Equipment or environmental noise impedes clear communication. The sender and the receiver must both be able to concentrate on the messages being sent to each other.
Ourselves — Focusing on ourselves, rather than the other person can lead to confusion and conflict. The “Me Generation” is out when it comes to effective communication. Some of the factors that cause this are defensiveness (we feel someone is attacking us), superiority (we feel we know more than the other), and ego (we feel we are the center of the activity).
Perception — If we feel the person is talking too fast, not fluently, does not articulate clearly, etc., we may dismiss the person. Also our preconceived attitudes affect our ability to listen. We listen uncritically to persons of high status and dismiss those of low status.
Message — Distractions happen when we focus on the facts rather than the idea. Our educational institutions reinforce this with tests and questions. Semantic distractions occur when a word is used differently than you prefer. For example, the word chairman instead of chairperson, may cause you to focus on the word and not the message.
Environmental — Bright lights, an attractive person, unusual sights, or any other stimulus provides a potential distraction.
Smothering — We take it for granted that the impulse to send useful information is automatic. Not true! Too often we believe that certain information has no value to others or they are already aware of the facts.
Stress — People do not see things the same way when under stress. What we see and believe at a given moment is influenced by our psychological frames of references — our beliefs, values, knowledge, experiences, and goals.

These barriers can be thought of as filters, that is, the message leaves the sender, goes through the above filters, and is then heard by the receiver. These filters may muffle the message. And the way to overcome filters is through active listening and feedback.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Communication and Leadership - Part I, The Communication Process

No one would talk much in society if they knew how often they
 misunderstood others. — Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Communication is the exchange and flow of information and ideas from one person to another; it involves a sender transmitting an idea, information, or feeling to a receiver (U.S. Army, 1983).  Effective communication occurs only if the receiver understands the exact information or idea that the sender intended to transmit. Many of the problems that occur in an organization are the either the direct result of people failing to communicate and/or processes, which leads to confusion and can cause good plans to fail (Mistry, Jaggers, Lodge, Alton, Mericle, Frush, Meliones, 2008).
Studying the communication process is important because you coach, coordinate, counsel,
evaluate, and supervise throughout this process. It is the chain of understanding that integrates the members of an organization from top to bottom, bottom to top, and side to side.

The Communication Process
Communication
That is what we try to do
Speak to those near us
Thought: First, information exists in the mind of the sender. This can be a concept, idea, information, or feelings.
Encoding: Next, a message is sent to a receiver in words or other symbols.
Decoding: Lastly, the receiver translates the words or symbols into a concept or information that he or she can understand.
During the transmitting of the message, two elements will be received: content and context. Content is the actual words or symbols of the message that is known as language — the spoken and written words combined into phrases that make grammatical and semantic sense. We all use and interpret the meanings of words differently, so even simple messages can be misunderstood. And many words have different meanings to confuse the issue even more.
Context is the way the message is delivered and is known as paralanguage — it is the nonverbal elements in speech such as the tone of voice, the look in the sender's eyes, body language, hand gestures, and state of emotions (anger, fear, uncertainty, confidence, etc.) that can be detected. Although paralanguage or context often cause messages to be misunderstood as we believe what we see more than what we hear; they are powerful communicators that help us to understand each other. Indeed, we often trust the accuracy of nonverbal behaviors more than verbal behaviors.
Some leaders think they have communicated once they told someone to do something, “I don't know why it did not get done. I told Jim to do it.” More than likely, Jim misunderstood the message. A message has NOT been communicated unless it is understood by the receiver (decoded). How do you know it has been properly received? By two-way communication or feedback. This feedback tells the sender that the receiver understood the message, its level of importance, and what must be done with it. Communication is an exchange, not just a give, as all parties must participate to complete the information exchange.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

My Numbers

My Numbers this week........

  • Triglycerides - started at 4000 - 1014
  • Blood Glucose - Started 291 - 126
  • Cholesterol - 400 ish - 343

The Wall St. Link to a Prostitution Case

By BEN PROTESS

Wall Street is always looking for the next great investment idea.
What about pumping cash into a prostitution ring? Well, that might seem a bit exotic, even for an ambitious Wall Streeter.
In an odd twist to the curious case of Anna Gristina — who burst into tabloid fame on Tuesday after being accused of orchestrating a multimillion-dollar brothel that catered to New York’s wealthy elite — prosecutors say she was arrested last month with an unnamed employee of Morgan Stanley. Ms. Gristina was meeting with the employee to secure financing for a new business, according to a transcript of a Feb. 23 court hearing that came the day after her arrest.
Ms. Gristina counted the Wall Streeter as a “close friend,” Charles Linehan, a prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney’s office, said at the Feb. 23 hearing.

Woman Charged as Madam Has Powerful Ties, Prosecutor Tells Judge
The mysterious Morgan Stanley employee was not arrested, according to a person briefed on the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly because the case was continuing. The person added that the employee worked in the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney unit, the wealth management arm of the Wall Street firm.
The employee’s connection to the case was reported earlier by DNAinfo.com.
“She had been present at his office for a meeting in which she was trying to solicit money to fund what we believe is another illicit business venture,” Mr. Linehan said at the Feb. 23 hearing.
What sort of sordid venture? “Matching up male clients with female prostitutes,” Mr. Linehan said.
But Ms. Gristina’s lawyer portrayed a more benign business – specifically a dating Web site that matched consenting adults just looking for “love.”
“She has some legitimate business interests,” Peter Gleason, the lawyer, said Tuesday at a news conference outside the Lower Manhattan courthouse after her most recent hearing.
Her competition, in other words, was more likely JDate.com than New York Confidential. “She was endeavoring into a Web site that would have rivaled match.com,” he said.
But first she needed financing. That is where, according to prosecutors, her Wall Street connection may have played a role. Ms. Gristina, an immigrant from Scotland who now lives upstate, had some bona fide investors, according to a private investigator she hired.
It remains unclear whether the Morgan Street employee was counted among the investors. Officials of the Wall Street firm have yet to pinpoint which employee is involved in the case, according a spokesman, who declined to comment further.
Ms. Gristina was arrested about 11 a.m. on Feb. 22 at 53rd Street and Madison Avenue, according to court documents. Morgan Stanley has an office about a block away.
The fledgling online dating business was supposedly separate from the brothel that Ms. Gristina is accused of operating out of an apartment on East 78th Street. The government’s investigation into the alleged sex ring spanned five years and used video recordings and wiretaps, court documents said.
The case originated from a unit of the district attorney’s office that investigates police misconduct and wrongdoing by other public officials. While no officials have been arrested in the case, prosecutors say that Ms. Gristina knows “high-wealth individuals” who could have “an interest in not allowing this case to go forward.”
Ms. Gristina is being held in the Rikers Island jail.

Colin Moynihan contributed reporting.

Commentary:  Well investors,  I have some stocks to sell you for a special investment....  What the hell were they thinking?  Can I see a prospectus?  Not only do we have all of the obvious authorithies, but with Wall Street we also have the Securities Exchange Commission(SEC) that monitors every aspect of the market,  If they can catch Martha Stewart for insider trading, they're going to find a prostitution ring  lol

Type 2 Diabetes and Triglycerides

What is a triglyceride, and why do some physicians refer to it as the “ugly fat”?
Most people who read the news or watch television know about cholesterol. There are constant warnings about high cholesterol as a very important risk factor for heart disease, and we are continually bombarded with advertisements for foods and pills and exercise programs that promise to lower our cholesterol levels.
But few people have heard about or understand much about triglycerides. Triglycerides are bundles of fats found in the blood stream especially after we eat. The body manufactures triglycerides from the carbohydrates and fatty foods that we eat. Almost 90 percent of the fat content of most non-lean meats is triglyceride.

What are the function and importance of triglycerides?
Triglycerides account for about 99 percent of the fat stored in our bodies. These triglyceride-laden fats serve as the most important source of long-term energy for the body, since they are stored in a much denser form than starches or muscle proteins. Formation of fat requires the presence of insulin. Triglyceride in fat is converted to energy between meals and overnight, or any time when we are fasting or insulin levels are low. Fat cells have a tremendous storage capacity, which may contribute to obesity. With extended fasting or absolute insulin deficiency, the liver converts fat breakdown products to ketones.
High triglyceride levels in the blood tend to coexist with low levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol, contributing to a condition called diabetic dyslipidemia. The third component of this “dangerous trio” is a tendency for patients with this condition to have the small, dense, undesirable (more atherogenic) type of LDL cholesterol in their blood (even though their LDL cholesterol level may be normal).

The combination of high triglycerides, low HDL and central obesity are the hallmarks of the metabolic syndrome, which occurs in 80 percent of people with type 2 diabetes. The frightening significance of this combination of risk factors is the marked incidence in these people of premature death from heart disease.
What is a normal triglyceride level, and what should be my goal?
Triglyceride concentrations are currently rated as follows:
Desirable/normal: Less than 150 mg/dl
Borderline high: 150-199 mg/dl
High: 200-499 mg/dl
Very high: 500 mg/dl or greater

In the normal fasting state, the triglyceride level is around 100 to 150 mg/dl or less, but it will rise to 300 mg/dl or more just after a meal. In patients with type 2 diabetes, triglycerides are frequently elevated both in the fasting state and even more so after eating. It is important to be fasting overnight (preferably for 12 hours) when your blood is drawn for a lipid panel that includes triglyceride testing. You should also abstain from all alcoholic beverages for 24 hours before this test.
Just as with LDL cholesterol, the lower the triglyceride level the better. Most clinicians prefer that patients with type 2 diabetes keep their triglyceride level at or below 150 mg/dl to minimize their cardiovascular risk. It is not unusual for some people with type 2 diabetes to have triglycerides over 400 or even over 2,000. Very high triglycerides (over 1,000) can be associated with memory loss, skin lesions (xanthomas), abdominal pain and even life-threatening pancreatitis

How do physicians treat patients with high triglyceride levels?
Triglycerides respond to both diet and medications. It is very important to know that since uncontrolled diabetes causes an elevation of triglycerides, any behavior modification or drug (and especially insulin) that improves blood glucose control will lower triglycerides. Dietary modifications to lower triglycerides are listed below. Statins and other drugs that lower cholesterol such as Lipitor, Zocor, Pravachol, Crestor Zetia and Vytorin have only minimal effects on triglycerides. Several drugs do an excellent job of lowering triglycerides (see below). Many people with type 2 diabetes will require two or even three different drugs to bring their LDL and triglycerides to target and raise their HDL cholesterol. However, most specialists believe that lowering the LDL to target is the most important goal. Lowering triglycerides and raising HDL are secondary goals to be addressed after the LDL goal is achieved.

Clinical adviser’s note: For more information on medications to treat lipid disorders, see our chart on page 52 of the January 2005 issue of Diabetes Health. You can also download a printer-friendly version from our Web site at www.diabeteshealth.com/charts.

Medications for Patients With High Triglycerides

Fibrates

• Lopid (gemfibrozil)

• Tricor (fenofibrate)

Nicotinic acid (niacin)

Fish oil

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dietary Principles for Patients With High Triglycerides


Total fat restriction may help, but in some cases where fat restriction results in increased carbohydrate intake, it actually causes higher triglyceride levels.
Substitution of healthy fats (monounsaturated fats, such as olive oil) is recommended.
Avoid a high intake of sugar and white flour products.
Alcoholic beverages should be eliminated or restricted to no more than one drink per day, if your healthcare provider says that one drink a day is safe for you.
Oily fish such as salmon, tuna, sardines, anchovies, mackerel and herring contain omega-3 fatty acids, which lower triglycerides.

----------------------------------------------------------

Common Causes of Elevated Triglycerides
Genetic disorders
Type 2 diabetes
Obesity
Excessive intake of refined sugars and fat
Excess alcohol intake
Hypothyroidism
Liver disease
Nephrotic syndrome (common in diabetic renal disease)
Kidney failure
Drugs (such as birth control pills, steroids, Tamoxifen, certain blood pressure medications

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Therapy Schedule 3/08/2012

----- Wednesday, March 08, 2012 -----

Physical Therapy
7:00 AM-7:30 AM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)
Breakfast
8:00 AM-8:30 AM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)
Occupational Therapy
9:30 AM-10:00 AM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)
Speech Therapy
11:00 AM-12:00 PM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)
Lunch
12:00 PM-12:30 PM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)
Occupational Therapy
2:30 PM-3:00 PM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)

The Apartment
5:00 PM-6:00 PM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)

Woman arrested after fight with Southwest Airlines flight attendant over nail polish

One airline passenger's attempt to give herself a manicure en route to Houston ended in a free trip — to jail.
Jeanie Daniels, who was flying from California to Houston on Southwest Airlines to visit her boyfriend, told KTRK-TV that she was handcuffed and thrown into the slammer for 10 hours after getting into a tiff with a flight attendant.
She told the TV station the fight began when the flight attendant asked her to stop painting her nails on the flight after other passengers complained of the smell. She said she apologized, but 20 minutes later went into the plane's bathroom to finish her last two nails.
When she exited, she claims a flight attendant immediately confronted her.
"She was getting so loud, while I was sitting in my seat, and I was just like, 'Will you stop!' And I was loud when I said, 'Stop bitching at me,' because she wouldn't end the conversation," Daniels told the TV station.
Upon landing, she was arrested for using a curse word and charged with "abusive profane language".
A judge dismissed the charge after her 10-hour stay, according to the report.
Daniels said she blames the airline.
"I don't know what's going on with the airline or why the flight attendant suddenly has so much authority and can treat people so poorly," she said.
A Southwest spokeswoman told the Daily News in a statement, “The customer you reference was taken into custody upon arrival in Houston for behavior she displayed while onboard a flight from LAS - HOU on Feb 26th. The airport police became involved because of the passenger's behavior and a verbal altercation with a Southwest Airlines crew member. Southwest Airlines is responsible for the safety of all of our passengers and employees.”

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/woman-arrested-fight-southwest-airlines-flight-attendant-nail-polish-article-1.1034511#ixzz1oSdUv0Db

Commentary-While nail polish can be an annoying smell especially in confined spaces, chastizing a passenger because they went to an area away from passengers to complete the task was unneccessary.  Over zealous actions are not new to Southwest Airlines though....On two separate flights they have asked young women that they claimed were underdressed, to cover up or get off of the plane.  When theses stories went public, the outfits were something that you would see at the mall.  i.e.  denim skirt fot one and a mid thigh length dress for the other.  Which seems kind of rich coming from the airline kmown as the "LUV" airline in the 70's.  Where the flight attendants all wore hot pants.  which were only a littke bit longer than today's bootie shorts. 

My personal experiences have also been bad with Southwest,  I was boarding in Las Vegas.  I found trash in my seat from the last passenger that was apparently missed by the cleanup crew,  I picked it up and handed it to a flight attendant that snarled as she took it from me,  Unknown who created the above situation for sure but I would tend to believe this passenger.......

How Cruise Lines Fill All Those Unsold Cruise Cabins

A luxury cruise is one of life’s pure joys. Today’s modern cruise liners are engineering marvels; floating 5-star hotels that offer the best service, accommodation, cuisine, and activities. They visit exotic locales, with non-stop relaxation or stimulation, depending on your pleasure.
Over the past few years, cruise companies have spared no expense and literally invested billions in jaw-dropping super ships. Even if you’ve cruised before, you probably have not experienced anything like these new marvels.
But, the best news is that due to the slowdown in travel caused by the recession and significant overcapacity in the industry, savvy travelers can now book once-in-a-lifetime cruises at insanely low prices.
How does 80 percent off the brochure price sound? Believe it or not, it's possible through a company called Vacations To Go, one of America's Largest Cruise Agencies.
Founded more than 25 years ago, Vacations To Go realized that taking a cruise vacation was a new experience for many. They set out to build an online service to help people learn everything they need to know to find the best possible cruise vacation, at the best possible price.
Vacations To Go is now home to an extensive selection of top-brand cruise vacations, and in-depth information about every cruise line and cruise ship. Customers can browse the latest in new promotions and offers, shop by category, and compare prices at a glance.
But, what about the discounts?
Because of the huge costs involved in building and operating today’s luxury ships, cruise lines want their ships to sail with as few empty cabins as possible.
So, they turn to trusted partners like Vacations To Go to sell this “excess” inventory at deep discounts, allowing the cruise companies to still get full fare on the travel packages that they sell directly.
The discounts they authorize Vacations To Go to offer can be as much as 80 percent off the full price fare. What it means for you: Simply put, it is the opportunity to take a once-in-a-lifetime luxury cruise for a price that makes it affordable on any budget.
Vacations To Go has also developed a Best Price & Service Guarantee that guarantees they will meet any other authorized price--so, if getting the best deal is important, look no further.
If you are not ready to book your cruise immediately, signing up for Vacations To Go’s free newsletter can help you stay informed of all the spectacular discounts that become available, as cruise lines seek to fill their remaining empty cabins before their cruises depart.
This year, it seems like everyone is cruising--and, for good reason. After several years of austerity, people are realizing that a cruise vacation is now one of the great values in travel.

Online Dating working well for singles over 50...

If you’re over 50 and find yourself single, you’re not alone. According to 2010 U.S. Census data, almost 30 percent of the 78 million baby boomers are single.

And, if you’re like most of them, you probably struggle with the process of meeting other singles who share your interests and who would make great potential partners for more serious, romantic relationships. The idea of heading out to a bar is ridiculous to many older people, and sometimes the bingo and bridge crowd can get bland really quickly.

Perhaps not surprisingly, online dating services are one of the fastest growing ways mature individuals are meeting like minded people. It’s not surprising because increasingly, everything seems to be done online these days, and more and more baby-boomers are mastering the Web.

Online dating has also come a long way from its origins in the 1990’s.

Firstly, it now works extremely well. Recent statistics show that 1 in 5 couples married in the last few years met each other online.

Online dating lets you get to know the basics about someone before deciding if you want to invest any time in them. And, studies have proven that communicating online before meeting someone face-to-face significantly reduces the stress involved in your first meeting, leading to more great first dates.

The online dating process also lets people spot potential red flags before they set up a date. It sure beats getting involved with someone and then discovering something that’s a real deal-breaker for you.

And, contrary to what some may think, research has also shown that people are generally honest about themselves online. Most people know they will have to expose themselves at some point, so they choose to be honest, rather than disingenuous, when creating their online profiles.

And today, there are specialized services that cater to older singles. By far, the most successful of these is OurTime.com.

OurTime.com specializes in creating romantic opportunities for singles over 50, so they are more likely to find someone special. And, over the years they’ve continued to refine their tools in order to take the lottery out of love.

One of the reasons the service is so successful is because they give singles the opportunity to express themselves and find potential online matches for free. New members can create an online profile that includes up to 26 photos, as well as selected preferences regarding the person they’re searching for.

Next, tell OurTime.com a little about yourself and what you're looking for in a partner and relationship. With the click of a mouse, you instantly get to see photos and read about potential matches in your area; all free and incredibly easy.

By subscribing, you become entitled to view all the photos of singles you are interested in, send unlimited emails, and even see who's been viewing your profile and shown an interest in you. You have more choices, more ways to connect, and more chances to find your love match.

The service also puts a lot of emphasis on member privacy and integrity. All communication between members on OurTime.com happens through an “anonymous” email network. The names and contact information of all members are kept confidential until the member personally decides to share the information with a potential match. And, every profile and photo is screened by the site before it’s posted online.

Who can you meet on OurTime.com? People just like you, in your local area. But, also much more! OurTime.com members form a diverse, global community of mature singles who share common goals—to meet other singles, find dates, form romantic relationships, and meet potential life partners.

If you’ve never considered online dating, or thought it just wasn’t for you, perhaps it’s time to reconsider. OurTime.com looks out for your best interests and consistently delivers matches for its members.

Click here to safely check out some of the singles on OurTime.com for free or subscribe today.

Therapy Schedule 3/07/2012

----- Wednesday, March 07, 2012 -----
Breakfast
 8:00 AM-8:30 AM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)
Physical Therapy - Field Trip
 8:30 AM-10:00 AM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)
Occupational Therapy
 11:30 AM-12:00 PM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)
Lunch
 12:00 PM-12:30 PM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)
Speech Therapy
 1:30 PM-2:00 PM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)
Physical Therapy
 2:00 PM-3:00 PM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)
Dinner
 6:00 PM-6:30PM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Snoring tied to kids' risk of behavioral problems: study


(Reuters) - Young children who snore a lot or have other breathing problems at night may have a heightened risk of behavioral and emotional problems later in life, according to a U.S. study of more than 10,000 children.

The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, is not the first to link behavioral issues to so-called sleep-disordered breathing -- where children chronically snore, mouth-breathe or seem to stop breathing for seconds at a time, known as apnea.

"We didn't invent the association," said lead researcher Karen Bonuck, at New York's Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

But the work by her team, which followed more than 13,000 children from infancy to the age of seven, is the largest study yet to examine the issue, she added.

Of those children, 45 percent remained free of nighttime breathing problems, according to reports from parents. The rest had symptoms at some point during infancy or early childhood.

Eight percent of the children fell into what researchers dubbed the "worst case" group, with breathing problems that peaked between the ages of two and three, and then persisted.

Overall, Bonuck's team found, children with sleep-disordered breathing at any time were more likely to develop symptoms of behavioral or emotional disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or anxiety, by age seven.

About 13.5 percent had such symptoms at age seven, versus just over eight percent of children who'd been free of sleep-disordered breathing.

The biggest risk was seen in the worst-case group. By age 7, nearly 18 percent of those children had possible behavioral or emotional disorders.

The researchers couldn't say for sure whether all of those children had outright disorders, such as ADHD, since their results are based on a screening questionnaire given to parents. The children would have to be further evaluated to get a diagnosis, Bonuck said.

In addition, it's not certain that the breathing problems are directly to blame.

But Bonuck said the researchers did factor in a range of variables that could help account for the link, such as parents' income and education, race, birth weight and whether their mothers smoked during pregnancy.

"Even considering all those variables, overall, sleep-disordered breathing seemed to have the strongest effect," Bonuck said.

Among the worst-case children, for example, sleep-disordered breathing was linked to a 72 percent increase in the risk of behavioral and emotional symptoms at age seven, even with other factors considered.

Bonuck stressed that nobody is saying that sleep-disordered breathing is the whole story and advised parents not to panic.

"Certainly, emotional and behavioral disorders are multi-factorial," she added.

"But parents can pay attention to their child's breathing, and if they have a concern, they should ask their pediatrician about it." SOURCE: bit.ly/x5N27K

(Reporting from New York by Amy Norton at Reuters Health; editing by Elaine Lies and Bob Tourtellotte)

Monday, March 5, 2012

Easy to read Therapy Schedule

----- Tuesday, March 06, 2012 -----
Physical Therapy
7:00 AM-7:30 AM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)
Breakfast
 8:00 AM-8:30 AM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)
Occupational Therapy
 9:00 AM-9:30 AM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)
Physical Therapy
11:00 AM-11:30 AM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)
Speech Therapy
11:30 AM-12:00 PM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)
Lunch
 12:00 PM-12:30 PM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)
Physical Therapy
1:00 PM-2:00 PM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)
Speech Therapy
 3:00 PM-3:30 PM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)
Dinner
 6:00 PM-6:30 PM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)

Someone's not having enough sex in college.....

Sometime college dorm rooms make for strange bedfellows.


Such was the case for Lindsay Blankmeyer, a former student at Stonehill College in Easton, Mass., who filed a suit against the school claiming that her roommate's alleged inappropriate sexual behavior drove her into a deep depression.

Blankmeyer is seeking $150,000 in damages in the suit, which was filed Wednesday at U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, citing violations of the Rehabilitation Act, the federal Fair Housing Act Amendments, and Massachusetts anti-discrimination laws.

According to court documents, she alleged that during her senior year, her roommate engaged in online and actual sex right in front of her. According to the suit, the roomate "would have sex with her boyfriend while [Lindsay] was trying to sleep just a few feet away," and would also "engage in sexually inappropraite video chatting" while Blankmeyer was in the room.

Stonehill College told ABC News that it "responded swiftly and professionally to the concerns of the student in this case, seeking to help resolve the matter."

"The issues between the student and her roommate were first attempted to be resolved through mediation with a residence director," Stonehill spokeswoman Kristen Magda Magda wrote. "The student was then presented with multiple options for housing on campus, including a private room. The College also made special arrangements for the student to complete her degree while living at home. At no time did the student notify College staff that her concerns involved sexual activity by her roommate."

However, Blankmeyer alleged in her lawsuit that that the resident director "did nothing to alleviate the problem," and that her mental health begain to deteriorate as a result.

Before a scheduled group mediation, Blankmeyer alleged that the roommate "grabbed Lindsay while she was sleeping and began shaking her and yelling at her. Lindsay was terrified and pretended to remain asleep," according to court documents.

Blankmeyer already suffered from previous diagnoses of depression and attention deficit disorder, for which Stonehill had agreed to grant her extra time on exams and papers. She was, however, briefly hospitalized during her freshman year, according to the lawsuit.
When Blankmeyer's parents and psychiatrist "all asked if Lindsay could have a single room ... Stonehill refused Lindsay's request ... and in following weeks and months Lindsay fell into a dark and suicidal depression requiring her to take a leave of absence from school and undergo extensive psychiatric and medical treatment," according to court documents.
Blankmeyer said the college offered her two unattractive options: She could move to a different dorm that had a hard-partying reputation and room with a girl she didn't know, or she could move to a "small cubicle-like space" that was previously used as a study lounge.
The lawsuit alleged that Blankmeyer evenutally moved to a hotel room, and became so depressed that she completed her bachelor of arts degree from home in New York in September 2011.

A call to one of Blankmeyer's attorneys, John Tocci of the Boston law firm Tocci, Goss & Lee, was not immediately returned.

courtesy of ABC News

My comments are that Lindsay Blankmeyer should have moved on and fixed her problem by leaving and finding other living arrangements if she had issues,  Instead she chose to stay and go into depression and bkame someone else.  Where is her "personal responsibility"?

Easy to read Therapy Schedule


----- Monday, March 05, 2012 -----
Physical Therapy
 7:00 AM-7:30 AM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)
Breakfast
 8:00 AM-8:30 AM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)
Occupational Therapy
 9:00 AM-9:30 AM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)
Physical Therapy
 9:30 AM-10:00 AM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)
Speech Therapy
 11:00 AM-11:30 AM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)
Lunch
 12:00 PM-12:30 PM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)
Occupational Therapy
 1:00 PM-1:30 PM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)
Speech Therapy
 3:30 PM-4:00 PM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)
Dinner
 6:00 PM-6:30 PM (Sutter Rehabilitation Institute)

NO SUGAR ADDED cheesecake

Disclaimer-I got this recipe and have never tried it.  So, go at your own risk.  lol

Ok.. so technically, if you consider the sugar that naturally occurs in two bananas,, then we should possibly for legal reasons call this.. NO SUGAR ADDED cheesecake. But as far as I am concerned, God made bananas, and His sugar cannot be improved, digested, but not improved.


This one is simple, delicious, and you better be a banana fan, or just stop reading now.

Take a mixing bowl
Throw a package of cream cheese in there.. 8oz on top of that throw a half cup of REAL sour cream (trust me)
Start mixing that up with of all things.... a mixer on medium once that's good and mixed, throw in another package of cream cheese (2 total)
now add two eggs a squirt of lemon juice (not too much)
1 teaspoon vanilla
mix that up
Now add 1 1/2 cups of Splenda for Baking (even though its the devil)
mix that up

In a separate bowl throw in two bananas (without the peels) and mash them with a fork, or something that mashes.
Now take that and throw it in with everything else.. and mix one last time, until cream smooth, which sounds girly.

The oven of course has been pre-heating at 500....
Spray your spring form pan with something awesome...so it wont stick.
Put your cheesecake goop in the pan,,, give it a shake.. and a pound getting all air bubbles out.
Take your spring form,, and set it on a sheet of aluminum foil... fold the foil up the sides a bit.
This will stop the cheesecake bath water from entering the mix......
Now,, pour in some hot water up to just below the aluminum foil highest point

Throw that bathing beauty in the oven,, and let er rip for 8 minutes convection oven,or 10 conventional
Then open the door,,, let the heat escape... slap the oven down to 200 and let it cook in the bath for 1 hour.....
Take it out,, and let it stay in the fridge over night,, because when its chilled,, its bomb.com

The cheesecake bath thingy really calms the cooking process allowing the cheesecake to be creamy and delicious... the bananas really make it interesting.

It passed the wife test,,, the Blake test,,, and Carson said.. why did you make me eat that???

Enjoy... unless your 6 and your diet consists of sugar and meat. jC

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Post Stroke Therapy Schedule - 3/05/2012



my schedule

Women have the love life they choose….."The List Maker"

Now when I say this I don’t mean to imply that what they choose is what they want. Whether she is career oriented or family oriented, or somewhere in between she is choosing to be there. Sometimes, what she chooses is exactly what she wants. Sometimes, she even knows it. The problem seems to be when she doesn’t realize how her choices are either not getting her what she wants or even worse keeping her in a bad situation for all the wrong reasons.

Sure, sometimes the perfect love smacks you in the face and it’s undeniable. More often when you find couples that have been together for years, they will tell you a story about their life together that hasn’t always been rose petals. More often it is a story that has lead one or both of them to the edge of quitting. Through good communication, realistic expectations, understanding, compassion and the love and passion that brought them together with a splash of tenacity they have held it not only together but have grown together and increased that love for one another that is unbreakable. It’s like they have more love for each other out of the appreciation that he or she stayed to work together to become one. Hopefully without losing either individual, but most definitely operating together as one unit.

“The List Maker”-While having a plan is great, is it really the right plan for her? I see several women making a list, a great idea. Again, it works for some, but those it works for seem to take a flexible approach to their list. Not that they settle, but find the right fit through their own education and compromise. Which takes a willingness and desire to actually find and develop the perfect love life for them. Several however make a list. Then decide that compromise and settle are synonymous and they don’t do either. Usually it goes something like this…..

• From across the room –
  • Well he seems to be confident, but he isn’t real good looking….-deal breaker
  •  I don’t like the way he dresses.- deal breaker
  • He has nice shoes or not.
  • His smile is cute, but he has a crooked tooth.
  • He seems to like to laugh, but that knee slapping has to go.
  • He doesn’t dance right.- deal breaker
I’m done and I haven’t even met him yet. So it’s like having an assembly line and she is quality control. Now while we all need standards, how do we know that Mr. Right hasn’t just walked by and was dismissed in seconds with the list? I have a dear friend that has dismissed more men than I can count with her list. The whole time being depressed because she can’t find Mr. Right or even Mr. Right Now. In various talks we’ve had she doesn’t see how she discounts the guys that are viable or how she chases off the guys that she does have an interest in because she refuses to flirt a little. She usually sees a guy across the room that meets the one or two items on the list and then at the first item that he doesn’t meet, it’s “next!”. Then when some guy meets the list to the point of introduction then she sets back and waits for him to pursue without any encouragement or acknowledgement unless he is making all of the right moves. Thus choosing how that meeting is going to not fulfill what she says she wants. It’s frustrating to watch, I can’t imagine being in the middle of it. Lol So I would have to say that being rigid to any list is a choice to be alone, because at any point in time you can discount someone for anything, no one is picture perfect.

Sex Stat!

Studies show that 54%-88% of people fantasize about watching others have sex.

Sent from my iPhone