Archivist of the United States Announces Establishment of the National Declassification Center

/PRNewswire/ -- Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero announced today the establishment of the National Declassification Center (NDC) within the National Archives and Records Administration.

The creation of the NDC is specified in the new Executive Order on Classified National Security Information signed by President Obama on December 29, 2009. Specifically, the NDC is charged with streamlining declassification processes, facilitating quality assurance measures, and implementing standard training for declassification reviewers.

In making the announcement, Mr. Ferriero said, "The Federal government has reached a watershed moment in records declassification. The current backlog is so huge that Americans are being denied the ability to hold government officials accountable for their actions. By streamlining the declassification process, the NDC will usher in a new day in the world of access, allowing the National Archives to make more records available for public scrutiny much more quickly."

Initially, the NDC will be located at the National Archives College Park, MD facility and focus on clearing the backlog of referrals in reviewed documents both in Federal records and in Presidential materials. Dr. Michael Kurtz, Assistant Archivist for the Office of Records Services, Washington will serve as Acting Director of the NDC pending the selection of a permanent director. The NDC will be advised by an inter-agency Policy Planning Group made up of senior managers from the Departments of State, Defense, and Energy as well as the Central Intelligence Agency, Director of National Intelligence, the Information Security Oversight Office, and the National Archives.

"The establishment of the NDC provides a unique opportunity for the National Archives and its agency colleagues to create new strategies to protect essential national security and release hundreds of millions of pages to researchers and the public," said Dr. Kurtz

In anticipation of the establishment of the NDC, an inter-agency Program Management Team that has begun examining current declassification review processes throughout the government. The National Archives is working with the Defense Change Management Organization to conduct a study to determine how processes can be improved by reducing process cycle time, defects and costs. The recommendations from this effort will be incorporated into the new NDC processes.

Public input, questions and comments may be sent to NDC@nara.gov . Information about upcoming forums and NDC initiatives may be found at the NDC website: http://www.archives.gov/declassification.

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In Fayette County? Rumors of Strange Sightings?

Gotta tell ya that this caught my eye. I know the area of Lee's Mill Rd and I even know some fine people who live on that road. Lee's Mill Rd has a bunch of homes along its route, and there are even more trees and woods along it than homes. Bigfoot sighting? In Fayette County? Gee, I guess I must have missed that one. Interesting, but then I've always loved a good mystery......

On the Trail of the Georgia Bigfoot...Latest Sighting-Fayette County

The Georgia Bigfoot, other than being the title of my next book, is also an ongoing mystery in the Peach State. With sightings dating back to the early 1800s in Georgia, and ranging from the mountains to the coast, there is much to be said for the possible existence of the elusive creature in Georgia....http://georgiamysteries.blogspot.com/2009/12/on-trail-of-georgia-bigfootlatest.html


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Apocalypse Time Again

The end of time as we know it is certainly food for thought, and for some, it's a way of life. As the new movie about the alleged apoclypse in a couple of years comes out, it's time to revisit some of the great apocalyses that, well, didn't happen.

Read more...

Ten Notable Apocalypses That (Obviously) Didn’t Happen
Apocalyptic predictions, such as those warning of global destruction in 2012, are nothing new – they have been around for millenia
By Mark Strauss

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Veteran-led Peer Support Combats Suicide

/PRNewswire/ -- Last month in Washington, Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki made a staggering announcement: more veterans have committed suicide since 2001 than have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Coming within weeks of the release of the US Army's suicide prevention guidebook, the VA Secretary's statement underscores the commitment to teaching service members and veterans the methods for overcoming combat stress.

While for many the manual will be an important tool, veteran-to-veteran peer support is often the best way to stay mentally healthy during and after wartime service.

For more than a decade, Survivor Corps has helped thousands of military and civilian survivors of war to recover and move beyond their combat trauma. Now, thanks to a committed group of American veterans, the organization is implementing their international expertise here at home.

In 2006, US Army Captain (Ret.) Scott Quilty lost his right arm and right leg to an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion in Iraq. Today, he is the US Program Manager for Survivor Corps.

"I quickly learned at Walter Reed that isolation will kill me," says Quilty. "After months of rehabilitation I started to sleep more and interact less. The only thing that motivated me to get out of bed for the first time in days was the news that my friend just arrived and lost both his feet."

Survivor Corps partners with the Massachusetts Statewide Advocacy for Veterans Empowerment (SAVE) to implement a pioneering veteran peer support program.

Earlier this year, outreach workers from SAVE attended Survivor Corps' peer support training program, where they learned advanced techniques to identify mental health issues and reduce rates of suicide. Since the training, SAVE has reached over 7,000 veterans and service members.

Cameron Macauley, Survivor Corps' Health Education Specialist, conducted the peer support training in Massachusetts. "From our experience in post conflict countries around the world, it is clear that peer support is key to combating the social isolation felt by survivors. When we adapted our program to help veterans here in the United States we provided special training to our outreach workers in order to properly recognize the signs most commonly associated with suicide, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI)."

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Reading Not a Lost Art for Travelers Stuck at Airports

RJ Note: Reading a great book while twiddling my thumbs at an airport or a doctor's office ranks high on my list. I've certainly ready my share of them while I've been a captive audience at both venues. Reading. It does a body good.

/PRNewswire/ -- Despite a measurable decline in reading among the general population, travelers overwhelmingly prefer to read when killing time at the nation's airports, according to a recent survey.

Conducted by GO Group, LLC, the nation's largest airport and ground transportation provider, the survey asked travelers to identify which activities they engaged in while waiting at the airport. Some 83 percent cited reading a book, newspaper or magazine as the No. 1 choice on a list of several options available.

The poll of more than 200 travelers also shows that doing crossword puzzles, Sudoku or other thinking games is the second-most popular method for entertaining oneself while waiting for take off, cited by 29 percent of respondents. Listening to music on an MP3 player was the third-most popular activity at 21 percent, in a survey that allowed for multiple responses.

About 45 percent of the respondents said they found other diversions, such as grabbing a bite to eat, accessing the Internet or buying gifts at airport shops. Other activities included playing handheld video games or watching DVD movies on laptop computers or other devices. Respondents were able to check all of the methods that applied to their time traveling, but reading was the clear favorite activity.

"These results imply that travelers primarily use their downtime at the airport to become either better informed or entertained as they deal with the delays often encountered at the nation's air hubs," says John McCarthy, president of GO Airport Express.

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Dreamin' of th' Scurvy Pirate Again

Th' the seven seas outside be all wet 'n gloomy, so we might as well find a way to put a smile on our faces.

Bin always adored th' image 'o th' handsome scurvy pirate wit' his white billowin' shirt open exposin' his wonderfully bronzed muscular chest. But somehow, all th' accounts 'o Blackbeard just don't jive wit' th' scurvy pirate 'o me imagination. Nope, I suspect th' scurvy pirates were probably much, much worse.

Heartly enjoy speak Like a scurvy pirate Day, me buckos.

Just in case ye're not up on ye scurvy pirate shout, here's th' link to fix that gross lack 'o education fer ye.

Book Review: Other Places - A Family's World War II Experience in Germany and the US

Author Ria Veeren takes readers back to World War II and the struggles of one Dutch family in Other Places. The story is her story as she tells of her immigration to America in 1948 and also of the events which led to her immigration.

Of interest in the book are parts of her family's life in Holland and in Germany during World War II and her father's role in providing for his family during a time of war. Excerpts from her father's, Jack Veeren, diary will appeal to those who have an avid interest in history. The elder Veeren, a photographer, served as in interpreter for the Americans immediately after the war.

Those of who have never lived through a war or have the memories shared by the greatest generation will benefit from learning about the effects of a war on everyday people. Other Places is this experience for one family and worth reading.

Staff Report

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Book Review: defining Twilight; Enticing Teens to Learn

"Quick," I said to my teenager. "Define futilely." The eyes that bore back into mine were blank, almost oblivious to my question. "Are you woolgathering?"

"What is this?", asked the teenager who was now experiencing grave misgivings over the decision to walk in to the room with me as I sat reading.

So began my excursion into defining Twilight by Brian Leaf, a delightful book chock full of vocabulary words. What's the deal?

The Twilight book series by Stephenie Meyer has been the latest rage among teens and young adults for a couple of years now. The movie is seen on a regular basis at my house as others descend in droves. The books are so popular that I've walked in and found the teens playing Twilight Trivia or reciting favorite lines of the movie. The books are kept close as a reference so the kids can be sure of their facts.

I admit I had seen the movie, but had not taken time to actually read the book. When asked to review defining Twilight, I knew I had to bite the bullet and jump head first into the land of chaste vampires. The Twilight book was fun to read, and it was full of wonderful words not commonly used by teens today. Do they understand the meanings?

Enter Leaf's defining Twilight, and it's a match made perfect for any student studying to take one of the college entrance exams. Leaf has provided an entertaining way to use the Twilight book as an aid to learning vocabulary. It's a great concept. Read the page in the book, and define the word. There are also quick exercises to use to complement learning the definitions.

It sure beats digging out the old Digests I had to use when I was studying for the SAT. Perhaps I would have scored better on the standardized tests of my day if someone had made learning the vocabulary more pertinent to the times.

Leaf will release his second book in the Defining series in October. I can't wait to see the words he defines and introduce them to my teen.

Staff Report

National Partnership to Meet, Evaluate Addiction Treatment as Component of New Justice Programs

/PRNewswire / -- Representatives from more than 50 federal agencies, corporations, nonprofits and academic institutions are meeting today in Washington, D.C., as part of a multi-phase process aimed at mitigating what they call the crippling effects of alcohol misuse and crime in the United States.

The third meeting for the National Partnership on Alcohol Misuse and Crime (NPAMC) will feature keynote speaker Dr. Robert DuPont, president of the Institute for Behavior and Health and former director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the National Institute of Drug Abuse. The one-day conference will focus on what NPAMC president and founder Stephen Talpins calls the vital role of addiction treatment in the management of alcohol-involved offenders. "The justice system has been trying for decades to mitigate both the economic and public safety impact of alcohol misuse," says Talpins, a former national policy director for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and a former DUI prosecutor for the Miami-Dade County State Attorney's Office. "Research is showing, time and again, that treatment-based programs for addicted offenders are, dollar for dollar, the most effective way to reduce the extraordinary burdens placed in justice agencies and to reduce the cycle of recidivism," says Talpins. The Century Council, a NPAMC Participating Organization, is sponsoring the conference.

In addition to Dr. DuPont, the conference includes presentations on the latest clinical research on addiction treatment and its application to criminal offenders. Speakers include Dr. Rick Rosenthal, professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University; Dr. Mark Publicker, president of the Maine Society of Addiction Medicine and medical director of Addiction Treatment Services at Mercy Recovery Center; Dr. Westley Clark, director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment with SAMHSA; and Judge William Dressel (retired), president of the National Judicial College.

NPAMC was founded in September 2008 with the goal of bringing together the vast expertise, research and resources dedicated to tackling the issues related to epidemic rates of alcohol misuse and crime. NPAMC is comprised of more than 50 Participating Organizations, and the aim is to provide criminal justice agencies across the U.S. with proven, evidence-based program models that will reduce the exorbitant financial burden taxpayers bare managing alcohol offenders by reducing the rate of alcohol-related recidivism.

In 2008, the Pew Center on the States (a NPAMC Participating Organization) released a study titled "One in 100: Behind Bars in America," highlighting the epidemic rates and costs of incarceration in the U.S., where one in every 100 adults is now behind bars. In 2009, Pew released "One in 31: The Long Reach of American Corrections," which shows that a staggering one in every 31 U.S. adults is under correctional supervision. "Alcohol-involved offenders are literally paralyzing the criminal justice system, clogging court dockets, caseloads and our jails and prisons. We can no longer afford to simply debate the issue," says Talpins.

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America's Top Young Scientists to Receive Scholarships for Winning Eggs-Periments

RJ Note: Fayette County Middle School Science Olympiad Teams have a great record of winning and placing at tournaments. Kudos to all the great teachers who inspire our young minds. Will we have any egg-cellent wins this year?

/PRNewswire/ -- Where can you find America's brightest young minds launching rockets, crashing vehicles and cracking eggs? These activities and many more are part of the 25th annual Science Olympiad National Tournament in Augusta, GA, on May 16. For the first time, the incredible edible egg, on behalf of America's egg farmers, will celebrate the incredible achievements of science-minded students by awarding four $1,000 college scholarships. The tournament is the culmination of what began with 200,000 students across the nation competing in local tournaments, and has been narrowed to a group of 2,500 who will compete in a series of scientific challenges that require a unique level of focus, precision and skill.

As part of the incredible edible egg's partnership with Science Olympiad, two of the 46 events will be "egg-centric." In the "Scrambler" competition, students are challenged to design and build mechanical devices to transport eggs, while at the "Egg-O-Naut" event, students design and launch rockets that deploy parachutes to carry a raw egg without breaking. Each member of the gold medal winning teams will receive a $1,000 scholarship towards college.

"I co-founded Science Olympiad to bring science to life for students through hands-on, minds-on learning challenges," said Dr. Gerard Putz, co-founder and president of Science Olympiad. "We are excited for this first-time partnership with the incredible edible egg. It's a natural and important educational component of this year's competition - encouraging kids to learn more about science while emphasizing the importance of eating a balanced breakfast, including eggs, for sustaining mental and physical energy."

Fuel Energy for Mind and Body

Coaches and parents of Science Olympians know that it's important for students to have a healthy, balanced breakfast. In fact, research shows that there are cognitive benefits to eating breakfast, such as improved memory recall time, improved grades and higher test scores.(1,2)

"Serving kids eggs for breakfast is important because the high-quality protein in eggs provides the energy for the body and mind they need to stay alert and active throughout busy days," said Keith Ayoob, EdD, RD, FADA, pediatric nutritionist and associate professor of pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. "For 70 calories and an average cost of 14 cents apiece, eggs are one of the most affordable breakfast options and can be combined with almost anything already in the fridge or pantry."

Help encourage your kids to eat incredible and be incredible on competition day, and every day, with these tips from Ayoob:

-- Pack a hard-cooked egg as a snack for kids so they can avoid the
afternoon slump. Pack it in an insulated bag with a cold pack for
freshness.
-- Get your kids involved in planning and preparing meals to help instill
good eating habits. Kids love to eat what they help prepare!
-- Have a one-pan meal like a frittata or strata for dinner once a week.
It's easy, affordable and kids love it.



You can also try your hand at these nutritious breakfast recipes that offer an easy solution to a hectic morning, take less than 10 minutes to prepare and cost less than $2.00 a serving(3):

-- Cereal Bowl Egg & Cheese Breakfast Burrito ($0.50/serving)
-- Easy Egg Breakfast Quesadillas ($1.91/serving)

-- Mini Breakfast Pizzas ($0.59/serving)



Visit www.eatincredible.com for quick and easy egg breakfast recipes, official Science Olympiad experiments to try at home and to share videos of incredible science experiments.

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Churchill Downs and Mattel Team Up to Create Kentucky Derby® Barbie® Doll to Commemorate 135th Run for the Roses®

(BUSINESS WIRE)--With Kentucky Derby® 135 on May 2, 2009, quickly approaching, Churchill Downs, the legendary racetrack that hosts the annual “Run for the Roses®,” and Mattel are pleased to announce that they have teamed up to create the Kentucky Derby® Barbie® doll.

From the celebrities and socialites who attend to the awe-inspiring hats, the Kentucky Derby is more than just a horse race – it is a famed fashion event. This year, Barbie®, the ultimate fashion icon, showcases legendary Derby fashion with the launch of the Kentucky Derby® Barbie® doll, dressed in a playful floral sun dress, faux pearl necklace and sassy spring sandals. True to Kentucky Derby fashion, Barbie doll’s look is topped off with a stylish, oversized white hat with blossoming flower accents.

In addition to the Kentucky Derby® Barbie® doll, Churchill Downs and Mattel will give Barbie® enthusiasts and collectors a chance to own their very own life-sized Kentucky Derby® BarbieTM replica hat. Renowned milliner Christine A. Moore will create up to 135 replica hats to commemorate the 135th Kentucky Derby and the Kentucky® Derby Barbie®. The first hat will be auctioned off through the Clothes® Off Our Back Foundation. Proceeds from the auction will benefit Clothes® Off Our Back’s charities, including Feeding America (formerly named America’s Second Harvest), The Art of Elysium, Hope North and H.E.L.P. Malawi. The remaining 134 hats will be available on a made-to-order basis on www.thederbystore.com.

“This is a great project that brings together two iconic American brands in a very special way,” said Casey Cook, senior director of marketing and licensing for Churchill Downs Incorporated. “We are so pleased to work with Mattel to create the Kentucky Derby Barbie as part of the Pink Label Collection and even happier that we were able to extend the project to include the replica hats that Barbie collectors and enthusiasts can proudly own and wear.”

“Barbie and the Kentucky Derby have come together to celebrate a legendary American sporting and fashion event,” said Stephanie Cota, senior vice president, Barbie. “As a fashion icon, this gorgeous collector doll and replica hat pays tribute to Derby fashion and is sure to excite Barbie collectors, Kentucky Derby fans and fashionistas alike.”

The Kentucky Derby® Barbie® doll is available for purchase through Walmart, Walmart.com, Barbie® Collector Dealers, Barbie Collector Catalog, www.barbiecollector.com and www.thederbystore.com.

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San Francisco Passes First 'Do Not Mail' Resolution in Nation

RJ Note: Junk mail is certainly a subject which brings to mind every trip I make to open my mail box. Loads and loads of unwanted mail fall over the ground as I trek to the trashcan to throw it away. I like the idea of reducing the mountains of it. I like the idea of conserving trees. Though I wonder who decides the definition of junk mail. After all, one man's trash is another's treasure.

/PRNewswire / -- The San Francisco Board of Supervisors today passed a resolution calling on California to create a Do Not Mail Registry giving its citizens the choice to stop receiving unwanted junk mail.

Though non-binding, the resolution represents the first time American lawmakers have withstood pressure from the direct mail industry and the U.S. Postal Service to side with the majority of Americans.

Sponsored by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, the board approved the resolution by a 9-2 vote.

"Until now, junk mailers have stifled all efforts to give Americans what they want: an enforceable, comprehensive solution to junk mail's waste and annoyance" said ForestEthics Executive Director Todd Paglia. "San Francisco is the first city in the United States to take political action against junk mail, marking the beginning of a long-awaited government intervention to protect citizens from relentless and predatory junk mailers."

Bills calling for Do Not Mail Registries have failed in more than 20 states, despite widespread frustration with junk mail. A 2007 Zogby poll revealed that 89% of Americans support the creation of a national registry.

"Reducing junk mail is in keeping with our nation's efforts to reduce our carbon footprint and lead more sustainable lifestyles," said Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, upon passage of his Do Not Mail Resolution. "Just as Do Not Call overcame industry opposition to become the most popular consumer rights bill in history, I hope that this resolution will empower our representatives on the state and federal level to represent their constituents on this issue."

Supervisor Mirkarimi has a record of trailblazing leadership on a variety of issues and policies, including the nation's first municipal ban on plastic bags, and commuter benefits requirements for San Francisco businesses.

More than 93,000 Americans have signed ForestEthics' petition at donotmail.org calling for the creation of a national Do Not Mail Registry.

Every year 100 million trees are logged to produce the 100 billion pieces of junk mail Americans receive. Junk mail's production generates the carbon emissions of over 9 million cars. U.S. junk mail accounts for 30% of all the mail delivered in the world, though 44% of it goes to landfills unopened.

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Georgia Tech Student-Designed Device Provides New Way to Track Calorie Burning

Counting calories that burn through activity is a constant quandary.

One can only run on a treadmill so long, watching intently as the pedometer reads out the number of calories melted during a session of exercise. Not to mention the question of how many calories are burned through basic daily movements and even during sleep.

But technology – and youthful ambition – is presenting a round-the-clock solution for those consumed with this calculation.

A group of Georgia Tech students has crafted a device that allows individuals to constantly compute the amount of calories they burn – even as they sleep.

“It’s a completely converged device,” said Garrett Langley, 21, a senior in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) who spearheaded the project. “It’s a single unit that provides complete fitness monitoring and management.”

Dubbed HappyHR, the instrument is a personal monitor that allows users to measure and compare day-to-day physical and caloric activity. The name is a reference to the euphoric feeling that follows an intense round of exercise – the “happy hour.”

The small, rectangular-shaped instrument straps to the wrist or ankle, gathering data related to heart rate and exercise. The information is then transferred via Bluetooth to a PC, where the statistics can be analyzed through Web-based software.

Although the device focuses on calorie counting, Langley envisions more thorough health applications including respiratory and glucose monitoring.

This tool began as a senior design project for Langley, who viewed a marketplace that was lacking such technology coupled with a results-hungry populace eager for more health information. An aspiring entrepreneur, he also found that it provided an organic way for him to develop a business.

An avid runner, Langley himself was frustrated at the challenge of quantifying fitness results.

“I saw that there was a huge gap in the market,” he said. “There are simple $30 pedometers, and there’s nothing in between that and $400 health monitors.”

Comparatively, HappyHR should carry a $100 price tag if it becomes commercially available.

Shortly after conceiving the idea, the development process became an interdisciplinary endeavor incorporating several colleges at Georgia Tech.

Fellow electrical engineering student John Hamilton, biomedical engineering students Stephen Mann and Nathan Kumar and industrial design student Stuart Lawder all contributed their expertise to actualizing Langley’s concept.

The result: a deft and subtle device that resembles a compact MP3 player more than fitness monitoring technology.

The project, and the fortitude behind it, has impressed Steve Chaddick, Tech alumnus and chairman of the ECE Advisory Board. Chaddick has served as a mentor to Langley and his team, lending his advice to both the design and business plan process.

“It’s a terrific opportunity to promote what I believe in engineering education,”
Chaddick said. “We should be teaching the ‘why’ before the ‘what,’ so to speak. It’s been very satisfying for me personally.”

Langley is finalizing the HappyHR prototype and beginning discussions with manufacturers. His goal is to make HappyHR commercially available some time this fall.

“Ideally, this could change the way America stays in shape,” Langley said. “ ’Stay fit and be happy’ is the slogan. This is going to motivate people to exercise more and be happier.”

Does He or Doesn't He? Scottish Kilt Cleaners Sort Out the Mess

I just love a man in his kilt! Guess it's my Scottish blood showing, but I love the look. Guess I never really thought about the condition of some kilts when they have to be cleaned by others. The debate continues, "Does he or doesn't he?" Some people think the debate would be better if it is "Should he or shouldn't he?"

True Scotsmen are Told to Cover Up

Published Date: 16 February 2009
By SUSAN SMITH

IT MAY be a tradition, but Scottish men's habit of "going commando" in a kilt is increasingly disgusting firms hiring Highland dress.

Several companies are now requesting that customers keep their pants on when they hire a kilt to protect staff and future customers from unhygienic tartan......
http://living.scotsman.com/topstories/True-Scotsmen-are-told-to.4982596.jp

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Spelling Bee Minus: Over Half of Americans are 'Embarased'(sic) by Spelling

/PRNewswire/ -- Independent survey of spelling out today shows that more than half the adult population of the USA had problems with one or more spellings in a test of ten everyday words. One in three admitted being reliant on spell checkers for tasks such as completing job application forms or writing important letters and men performed less well than women.

An independent survey conducted by Ipsos MORI in January 2009, on behalf of the Spelling Society, shows that adults in the USA, consistently performed badly in a spelling test using ten everyday words.

Results were compared with a similar survey undertaken in the UK in 2008 by ID Factor. 'Embarrassed' topped the incorrect list with 62% miss-spelling this word in the USA compared to 54% in the UK. Adults in the USA consistently performed less well on all the ten words tested. Interestingly, in both surveys men performed less well than women. Women may celebrate here, but should also know that the only word that men spelled better than women in the USA was 'liaison'!

Spelling Society Chairman, Jack Bovill said: "When asked, only a quarter of adults thought they had a problem with spelling. The results show - this is far from the case. This lack of awareness is pertinent to the Spelling Society whose aim is to raise awareness of the problems caused by the irregularity of English spelling."

Professor Edward Baranowski, of California State University pointed to the 'fossilized system' in place as part of the problem. "We have different spellings for the same sound (especially for vowels), silent letters, missing letters, and a system which reflects how English was spoken in the 13th-15th centuries, not how it is spoken today. So many sound changes have occurred in the language, which are not reflected in modern spelling, that we are left with a 'fossilized' system. Perhaps if English had had an effective language academy, such as those in France or Spain, this would have been mitigated over time."

The Spelling Society is calling for greater awareness of the problem, including looking at modernizing a system which affects people across all social grades. Chairman Jack Bovill says: "After all we rarely complain about how people speak - what is holding the UK and the USA back is the irregular spelling system?"

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Superbowl-ads.com Names the "Top 10 Super Bowl 2009 Commercials" and Makes Them Available for TV Viewing

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Superbowl-ads.com, a leading Web portal for watching and reviewing Super Bowl TV commercials, today announced this year's top 10 Super Bowl ads, based on post-game audience polling.

Because Superbowl-ads.com uses the GridCast TV service, viewers can watch all of the newest Super Bowl videos from the site on their TVs, including ads from this year’s Super Bowl as well as the top ads from Super Bowl 2008. GridCast TV can be viewed by anyone with an Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Internet-enabled TV, or other UPnP (universal plug and play) device, without a set-top box or any additional hardware.

Doritos took first place with a user-generated spot that also won the "USA Today Ad Meter," which earned the ad’s creators a million-dollar bonus. Over 10,000 poll visitors chose from a list of 49 commercials, with the following results:

1. Doritos: "Free Doritos"
2. Budweiser: "Stick"
3. hulu.com: "Secret"
4. Monster.com: "Double Take"
5. Bridgestone: "Taters"
6. CareerBuilder: "Tips"
7. E-Trade: "Wings"
8. Coca-Cola: "Heist"
9. Diet Pepsi Max: "I'm Good"
10. Pedigree: "Crazy Pets"

“I was surprised how the voting came out this year,” said Ken Phipps, owner of Superbowl-ads.com. “Some of the ones that I picked for the top honors like Denny's ‘Serious’ and Pepsi's ‘Refresh Anthem’ didn't make it in the top 10. Many of the advertisers got an early start on the build-up this year too, and we had links posted to more than 20 ad previews in the week prior to the game.”

This is the first year that Superbowl-ads.com has had a partnership with GridNetworks, using their GridCast TV service. “We’re pleased that most people can see the ads on their TVs now, without any extra equipment,” said Phipps. “That lets viewers watch the ads on a big screen, in HD—from the comfort of their couch.” With combined support for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, the GridCast TV service can reach over 40 million homes worldwide. Superbowl-ads.com joins other GridNetworks customers, including A3 Network, Salient Media, and Revision3, who have already begun using GridCast TV to stream high-definition Internet video to their viewers’ TVs.

"We are also launching a fun new poll to determine which year had the best commercials,” said Phipps. “So go to http://www.superbowl-ads.com to check them out and vote."

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Non-profits and Schools Turn to Online Resource During Economic Downturn

RJ Note: Both Braelinn Elementary and JC Booth Middle Schools utilize this service to boost their fundraising. One of our staff has also used it through the schools and gives it a thumbs up.

With gas prices rising and the housing market already in a slump, economic fears have led to a national drop in charitable contributions making it harder for non-profits to keep up with an increased demand in services. As more and more nonprofits begin to feel the pinch, many are refocusing their fundraising efforts.

One standout pair of solutions – GoodSearch.com and GoodShop.com – allows supporters to give to their favorite organizations without spending a dime. GoodSearch.com is the Yahoo-powered search engine that donates a penny per search to the charity or school of the users’ choice. Similarly, GoodShop donates a percentage of every purchase from more than 700 top online retailers.

Over 60,000 nonprofits across the country are actively earning funds from the GoodSearch and GoodShop strategy with over 100 organizations submitting new applications daily. Success stories range from the ASPCA which has earned more than $15,000 to care for animals to the Bubel Aiken Foundation which has earned more than $8,000 to send disabled children to summer camp.

Nonprofits report that GoodSearch and GoodShop are not only a source of significant donations, but also an effective way for supporters to feel connected to the organization everyday. Especially in this time of recession, even small donations go a long way and every extra dollar counts.

GoodSearch and GoodShop have grown into a massive grassroots movement online, attracting the attention of leaders in the nonprofit industry, students, bloggers, writers, and even celebrities like Jessica Biel, Montell Williams, and Rob Thomas of Matchbox 20 who have all created videos on behalf of their favorite charities and GoodSearch.

The GoodSearch and GoodShop team is revolutionizing online philanthropy so that no one is denied the opportunity to support the causes most important to them. “When the economy weakens, charitable organizations are often the hardest hit,” said Ken Ramberg, Co-Founder of GoodSearch and former President of MonsterTRAK, the largest online career site for college students (now a division of Monster.com). “GoodSearch and GoodShop are helping to alleviate that strain in resources and make it possible for everyone regardless of how much time or money they have, to give back.”

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Hospice Care Remains a Misunderstood and Underutilized Benefit, According to In-House Hospice

RJ Note: We've talked before about how beneficial Hospice can be to both patients and their families. Fayette County is blessed to have several options available as our citizens look and consider this type of care for our loved ones. Be sure to talk to one of our favorite groups, Hospice Advantage of Fayetteville. They've helped us before- even out of state referrals to other groups.

/PRNewswire/ -- As unemployment continues to rise in the United States, Americans are battling to hold onto their health coverage. Many are worried about what would happen if they were struck with a serious medical condition - who would care for them? How would they pay for the care? But the widely known benefit of hospice care is often underutilized due to various misconceptions. This benefit is available to all eligible Americans - whether they are employed or not.

Although hospice care has slowly increased over the years with more than 1.2 million Americans enrolled, many Americans are still uninformed of its full services. Because hospice is often misunderstood by patients, family members and some health care providers, many patients who can benefit from hospice care are never enrolled. Of those patients who are enrolled, care is often given far too late. In fact, over 30 percent enter hospice within one week of death - much too short a time for the patient to benefit from the full range of services provided by hospice.

"We have to spread the message to more physicians, hospitals, patients and their family members to utilize hospice programs more appropriately," stated Laura A. Wagner, President and CEO of In-House Hospice. "Hospice services are covered through Medicare and most Medicaid programs. Even certain private insurances programs allow for hospice benefits. There is rarely out-of-pocket expense to the patient."

Wagner explains that Medicare patients are entitled to receive hospice care up to 180 days. Occasionally, with the improved quality of life, many patients live beyond the six month prognosis at which point their case can be reviewed and possibly approved for another 180 days of hospice programs.

"People pay into unemployment benefits in case they lose their job," explained Wagner. "What people don't realize is that they have also been paying for a hospice benefit. And now, with people out of work, losing their life savings, their homes, they should be using their hospice benefit to help themselves or their loved ones during this most important time. The hospice benefit helps the patient, the family and caregivers."

Those who are aware of hospice care often associate it strictly with cancer patients. But illnesses that qualify for hospice benefits also include: Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), Parkinson's, adult failure to thrive and HIV.

Hospice services are not intended to speed up or prolong the dying process, but focuses instead on relief of pain and other symptoms while increasing quality of life. Hospice provides a holistic approach to care and often involves a team of nurses, social workers, chaplains, volunteers, home health aides and physicians with expertise in pain and symptom management. The team can also provide support to family members, significant others and children; for example, bereavement support is available for 13 months following the death of a loved one.

A trained healthcare professional is usually scheduled to visit on a daily or weekly basis as needed and is always on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The services often provided by a hospice program will include:

-- Personal care for the patient, in a manner that respects the
individual's dignity. The hospice provider may teach family or
caregivers how to provide proper care

-- Palliative care, including pain management through medications

-- Administering other medications, as prescribed by the physician

-- Spiritual support from the chaplain and spiritual volunteers

-- Companionship, such as reading a book aloud, playing cards, talking
together or simply sitting with the person

-- Emotional support for the patient and family members

-- Visits from volunteers, to provide companionship for the patient and to
offer respite for the caregivers


While it can be hard for a physician to determine an individual's life expectancy, it is part of the application process. Eligibility for hospice is based on two conditions -- that a terminal illness exists and that a physician has indicated the life expectancy as six months or less.

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Next Generation Cloaking Device Demonstrated

RJ Note: Well, don't this just beat all! Technology is just fascinating.

A device that can bestow invisibility to an object by “cloaking” it from visual light is closer to reality. After being the first to demonstrate the feasibility of such a device by constructing a prototype in 2006, a team of Duke University engineers has produced a new type of cloaking device, which is significantly more sophisticated at cloaking in a broad range of frequencies.

The latest advance was made possible by the development of a new series of complex mathematical commands, known as algorithms, to guide the design and fabrication of exotic composite materials known as metamaterials. These materials can be engineered to have properties not easily found in natural materials, and can be used to form a variety of “cloaking” structures. These structures can guide electromagnetic waves around an object, only to have them emerge on the other side as if they had passed through an empty volume of space.

The results of the latest Duke experiments were published Jan. 16 in the journal Science. First authors of the paper were Duke’s Ruopeng Liu, who developed the algorithm, and Chunlin Ji. David R. Smith, William Bevan Professor of electrical and computer engineering at Duke, is the senior member of the research team.

Once the algorithm was developed, the latest cloaking device was completed from conception to fabrication in nine days, compared to the four months required to create the original, and more rudimentary, device. This powerful new algorithm will make it possible to custom-design unique metamaterials with specific cloaking characteristics, the researchers said.

“The difference between the original device and the latest model is like night and day,” Smith said. “The new device can cloak a much wider spectrum of waves — nearly limitless — and will scale far more easily to infrared and visible light. The approach we used should help us expand and improve our abilities to cloak different types of waves.”

Cloaking devices bend electromagnetic waves, such as light, in such a way that it appears as if the cloaked object is not there. In the latest laboratory experiments, a beam of microwaves aimed through the cloaking device at a “bump” on a flat mirror surface bounced off the surface at the same angle as if the bump were not present. Additionally, the device prevented the formation of scattered beams that would normally be expected from such a perturbation.

The underlying cloaking phenomenon is similar to the mirages seen ahead at a distance on a road on a hot day.

“You see what looks like water hovering over the road, but it is in reality a reflection from the sky,” Smith explained. “In that example, the mirage you see is cloaking the road below. In effect, we are creating an engineered mirage with this latest cloak design.”

Smith believes that cloaks should find numerous applications as the technology is perfected. By eliminating the effects of obstructions, cloaking devices could improve wireless communications, or acoustic cloaks could serve as protective shields, preventing the penetration of vibrations, sound or seismic waves.

“The ability of the cloak to hide the bump is compelling, and offers a path towards the realization of forms of cloaking abilities approaching the optical,” Liu said. “Though the designs of such metamaterials are extremely complex, especially when traditional approaches are used, we believe that we now have a way to rapidly and efficiently produce such materials.”

With appropriately fine-tuned metamaterials, electromagnetic radiation at frequencies ranging from visible light to radio could be redirected at will for virtually any application, Smith said. This approach could also lead to the development of metamaterials that focus light to provide more powerful lenses.

The newest cloak, which measures 20 inches by 4 inches and less than an inch high, is actually made up of more than 10,000 individual pieces arranged in parallel rows. Of those pieces, more than 6,000 are unique. Each piece is made of the same fiberglass material used in circuit boards and etched with copper.

The algorithm determined the shape and placement of each piece. Without the algorithm, properly designing and aligning the pieces would have been extremely difficult, Smith said.

The research was supported by Raytheon Missile Systems, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, InnovateHan Technology, the National Science Foundation of China, the National Basic Research Program of China, and National Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, China.

Others members of the research team were Duke’s Jack Mock, as well as Jessie Y. Chin and Tie Jun Cui from Southeast University, Nanjing, China.

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Birdstrikes and Airplanes

RJ Note: The recent emergency landing in the Hudson River captivated us all. The pilot performed his duty with amazing calm, and our hats are off to him for his expertise. We thought you'd like to know more about birdstrikes.

Birdstrikes: Seeking Safer Skies

The near-disaster in New York City drove home the danger birds can pose to airliners. Happily, even as more of us fly than ever before, a combination of common sense and cutting-edge technology is helping to minimize the risks......

By Bruce Barcott

http://www.audubonmagazine.org/InTheNews/birdStrikes.html

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