Frequent Flier: An Unhappy Meal and an Aborted Business Trip - Frequent Flier

I WAS going to go into academics, but then decided to serve the marketing machine by going into public relations. A lot of my travel involves conferences, speaking engagements and, of course, pitching new business and meeting with existing clients.

Jason Schlossberg, a partner in the public relations agency Kwittken & Company, in Kyoto, Japan, last year. He still looks forward to flying.

Q. How often do you fly for business?

A. Three to four times a month, a mix of domestic and international.

Q. What’s your least favorite airport?

A. Charles de Gaulle in Paris. It’s just a big monstrosity and very confusing.

Q. Of all the places you’ve been, what’s the best?

A. Everywhere I go is usually my favorite. But if I have to choose, I’d say Tokyo. It’s like being on another planet. The food, culture and people are amazing. Plus, I speak Japanese, but only as well as a smart third grader.

Q. What’s your secret airport vice?

A. I fly in and out of Logan Airport in Boston a lot and will push my flight back just so I can stop at Legal Sea Foods and have a lobster roll and a Sam Adams.

Even though the airlines are doing everything in their power to make me hate flying, I still get excited about getting on a plane.

I used to be a D.J., and still do it on occasion. A few years ago, I would leverage my business trips to Chicago, Tokyo and Miami, all places where we had clients, into D.J. gigs by checking out the D.J. message boards for open slots in these cities. It was a great way to break the ice with clients.

Sometimes I travel with colleagues, but there’s always this unspoken agreement that plane time is alone time. My business partner took that to a new level.

For several years, we had a client in the Napa Valley. We always held our meetings on a Monday. It was a great place to go, and when I traveled alone, I would leave New York early on a Sunday, land in San Francisco, and drive up to Napa. I’d have a great dinner, and some wine. That’s the way to start a business trip.

But my business partner looks at travel as more of a chore. He’s a workaholic, but hates sacrificing family time because of business travel. So when we traveled together to Napa, he always insisted on taking the last flight out of New York on Sunday night. That left no time to enjoy Napa.

At the start of one Napa trip, we got to Kennedy Airport a little late, and neither of us had eaten. So I grabbed a quick meal at a deli before it was time to board, and my partner went to a fast-food place.

After finishing my meal, such as it was, I got on the plane and looked for my partner. We were supposed to be seated a few rows apart. I didn’t see him. I got myself settled, and then my phone went off.

It was my partner telling me he had been kicked off the flight. I asked him how that was possible since we weren’t boarding for that long. I thought he was kidding. I thought he just wanted out of traveling. I mean, this guy is not the type of guy to get kicked off a plane.

But apparently, his fast-food meal quickly disagreed with him, and he had some stomach difficulties. To make matters worse, he appears to have a little quirk that happens any time he gets nauseous. Basically, he kind of whimpers, or screams, depending on how you define the loud noise that he was emitting, in between his bouts of nausea. I couldn’t believe it. It was the strangest thing I ever heard. It’s not like he has a disease. He’s a healthy guy.

The flight attendants and fellow passengers weren’t happy with him. Not only did they have to deal with a guy who was getting sick in his seat, but also one who was loud. Very loud. They probably thought there wasn’t enough Pepto-Bismol on the plane, let alone the planet, to help him. He was escorted off.

I told him I knew he didn’t like traveling, but this was ridiculous. And then, I couldn’t stop laughing. He and I are still business partners, and friends.

We still travel together quite often and every time I get on a plane with him now, I just look at him and smirk. And hope that he hasn’t had any fast food.

By Jason Schlossberg, as told to Joan Raymond. E-mail: joan.raymond@nytimes.com.

Read More..

Ravens win Super Bowl XLVII over the 49ers, 34-31

Ravens 34, 49ers 31 (final)

The Baltimore Ravens have defeated the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII.

It's the second championship for the Ravens and linebacker Ray Lewis, who is retiring after 17 seasons.

After taking a safety on their final possession, Baltimore punted to San Francisco, which was unable to set up a return and suffered its first loss in six appearances in the NFL championship game.

San Francisco never led in the game, but the 49ers still had a chance to win the game when punt returner Ted Ginn Jr. fielded the punt. A swarming Ravens defense contained him near midfield before making the tackle.

Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco was selected the game’s most valuable player.

The championship goes to Baltimore Coach John Harbaugh over his kid brother, San Francisco Coach Jim Harbaugh.

The Times will have full coverage of the game played at the New Orleans Superdome throughout the night at latimes.com.

Ravens 34, 49ers 31 (4 seconds left)

The Baltimore Ravens are closing in on a Super Bowl title.

After moving the ball from their own 20-yard line to the Ravens’ 5, San Francisco saw Baltimore defensive back Joey Smith break up a third-down pass to Michael Crabtree.

Colin Kaepernick was then rushed heavily, forcing a throw that 49ers Coach Jim Harbaugh begged for pass interference with a Ravens defensive back and Crabtree jostling for position.

The Kaepernick pass flew beyond Crabtree with cornerback Jimmy Smith tugging on his jersey.

The Ravens went three and out on their next possession, opting to take a safety with four seconds remaining as the punter ran out of the end zone.

It’s now Baltimore 34, San Francisco 31.

Ravens 34, 49ers 29 (two-minute warning)

The San Francisco 49ers have never lost a Super Bowl, and now they find themselves in Joe Montana territory against the Cincinnati Bengals back in the day.

Taking possession at their own 20-yard line with 4:19 left in the game and trailing by five points, San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick ran for a first down, then completed a 24-yard pass to receiver Michael Crabtree to the Baltimore's 40.

A Frank Gore run moved the ball to Baltimore’s seven, and it’s now the two-minute warning.

Ravens 34, 49ers 29 (4:19 left in fourth quarter)

The Baltimore Ravens have increased their lead over the San Francisco 49ers to five points with 4:19 left in regulation.

Read More..

Xbox Hoax Leads Armed Cops to Family

Members of a Florida family were shocked to be awakened in the middle of the night to find their house surrounded by police with guns drawn shouting at them to put their hands up.

Police Lt. Mike Beavers said the commotion was “very rare” for the small town of Oviedo, about 20 miles northeast of Orlando.

“This is the first time I’ve heard of it happening in our little town,” Beavers told ABCNews.com.

The frightened family did not want to be identified but recounted the ordeal to ABC News’ Orlando affiliate WFTV.

“I heard the doorbell ring,” the father of two told WFTV. “We couldn’t see anybody at the front of the door. All we saw was the rifle barrel.”

The man said he and his wife originally believed they were being robbed.

“They have rifles, they have guns, and I said, ‘Let’s get out of the house,’ so we ran down the hallway and got our two boys up,” the father said.

“We were told to freeze and put our hands over our heads,” he recalled. “They said, ‘We’re the police,’ so that was a big relief.”

What the family didn’t realize was that an Xbox hoax had led the Oviedo police to its house. The police said they were responding to a call from AT&T saying it had received online messages from a person who said he was hiding inside the house, claiming that someone had been killed there and that others were being held hostage.

But when police arrived, all they found was a very surprised and confused family.

Upon investigation, police learned that the confusion all started when an Oviedo teenager living in another house called police saying his Xbox had been hacked.

The teenager said the hackers had threatened to call in bomb threats to his home if he did not meet their demands for gaming information.

When the teenager refused, the hackers sent fake messages reporting the killing and hostage taking at the teenager’s former home. His previous address, where police showed up, was still connected to his Xbox.

The teenager did some of his own investigating, police said, and provided authorities with some possible identifying information on the hackers.

“The caller gave information to officers regarding two possible suspects, including IP addresses, Twitter and Facebook accounts and a possible name of one of the suspects,” according to the police report. “The information provided to the officers revealed that both suspects were located in different states.”

The information has been turned over to Oviedo detectives for further investigation.

Also Read
Gaming News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Xbox Hoax Leads Armed Cops to Family
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/xbox-hoax-leads-armed-cops-to-family/
Link To Post : Xbox Hoax Leads Armed Cops to Family
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Beyonce brings electricity at Super Bowl halftime

Lights out? Blame Beyonce‘s electrifying performance.

If naysayers still doubted Beyonce‘s singing’s talents — even after her national anthem performance this week at a press conference — the singer proved she is an exceptional performer at the Super Bowl halftime show.

Beyonce opened and closed the performance belting songs, and in between she danced hard and heavy — and better than most contemporary pop stars.

She set a serious tone as she emerged onstage in all black, singing lines from her R&B hit “Love on Top.” The stage was dark as fire and lights burst from the sides. Then she went into her hit “Crazy In Love,” bringing some feminine spirit to the Super Dome as she and her background dancers did the singer’s signature booty-shaking dance. Beyonce ripped off part of her shirt and skirt. She even blew a kiss. She was ready to rock, and she did so like a pro.

Her confidence — and voice — grew as she worked the stage with and without her Destiny’s Child band mates during her 13-minute set, which comes days after she admitted she sang to a pre-recorded track at President Barack Obama‘s inauguration less than two weeks ago.

Beyonce proved not only that she can sing, but that she can also entertain on a stage as big as the Super Bowl’s. She was far better than Madonna, who sang to a backing track last year, and miles ahead of the Black Eyed Peas’ disastrous set in 2011.

Beyonce was best when she finished her set with “Halo.” She asked the crowd to put their hands toward her as she sang the slow groove on bended knee — and that’s when she the performance hit its high note.

“Thank you for this moment,” she told the crowd. “God bless y’all.”

Her background singers helped out as Beyonce danced around the stage throughout most of her performance. There was a backing track to help fill in when Beyonce wasn’t singing — and there were long stretches when she let it play as she performed elaborate dance moves.

She had a swarm of background dancers and band members spread throughout the stage, along with videotaped images of herself dancing that may have unintentionally played on the live-or-taped question. And the crowd got bigger when she was joined by her Destiny’s Child band mates.

Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams popped up from below the stage to sing “Bootylicious.” They were in similar outfits, singing and dancing closely as they harmonized. But Rowland and Williams were barely heard when the group sang “Independent Woman,” as their voices faded into the background.

They also joined in for some of “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It),” where Beyonce‘s voice grew stronger. That song featured Beyonce‘s skilled choreography, as did “End of Time” and “Baby Boy,” which featured Beyonce‘s all-female band, balancing out the testosterone levels on the football field.

Before the game, Alicia Keys performed a lounge-y, piano-tinged version of the national anthem that her publicist assured was live. The Grammy-winning singer played the piano as she sang “The Star Spangled Banner” in a long red dress with her eyes shut.

She followed Jennifer Hudson, who sang “America the Beautiful” with the 26-member Sandy Hook Elementary School chorus, an emotional performance that had some players on the sideline on the verge of tears.

The students wore green ribbons on their shirts in honor of the 20 first-graders and six adults who were killed in a Dec. 14 shooting rampage at the school in Newton, Conn.

The students began the song softly before Hudson, whose mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew were shot to death five years ago, jumped in with her gospel-flavored vocals. She stood still in black and white as the students moved to the left and right, singing background.

___

Follow Mesfin Fekadu on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MusicMesfi n

Entertainment News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Beyonce brings electricity at Super Bowl halftime
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/beyonce-brings-electricity-at-super-bowl-halftime/
Link To Post : Beyonce brings electricity at Super Bowl halftime
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Phys Ed: Helmets for Ski and Snowboard Safety

Phys Ed

Gretchen Reynolds on the science of fitness.

Recently, researchers from the department of sport science at the University of Innsbruck in Austria stood on the slopes at a local ski resort and trained a radar gun on a group of about 500 skiers and snowboarders, each of whom had completed a lengthy personality questionnaire about whether he or she tended to be cautious or a risk taker.

The researchers had asked their volunteers to wear their normal ski gear and schuss or ride down the slopes at their preferred speed. Although they hadn’t informed the volunteers, their primary aim was to determine whether wearing a helmet increased people’s willingness to take risks, in which case helmets could actually decrease safety on the slopes.

What they found was reassuring.

To many of us who hit the slopes with, in my case, literal regularity — I’m an ungainly novice snowboarder — the value of wearing a helmet can seem self-evident. It protects your head from severe injury. During the Big Air finals at the Winter X Games in Aspen, Colo., this past weekend, for instance, Halldor Helgason, a 23-year-old Icelandic snowboarder, over-rotated on a triple back flip, landed headfirst on the snow and was briefly knocked unconscious. But like the other competitors he was wearing a helmet, and didn’t fracture his skull.

Indeed, studies have concluded that helmets reduce the risk of a serious head injury by as much as 60 percent. But a surprising number of safety experts and snowsport enthusiasts remain unconvinced that helmets reduce overall injury risk.

Why? A telling 2009 survey of ski patrollers from across the country found that 77 percent did not wear helmets because they worried that the headgear could reduce their peripheral vision, hearing and response times, making them slower and clumsier. In addition, many worried that if they wore helmets, less-adept skiers and snowboarders might do likewise, feel invulnerable and engage in riskier behavior on the slopes.

In the past several years, a number of researchers have tried to resolve these concerns, for or against helmets. And in almost all instances, helmets have proved their value.

In the Innsbruck speed experiment, the researchers found that people whom the questionnaires showed to be risk takers skied and rode faster than those who were by nature cautious. No surprise.

But wearing a helmet did not increase people’s speed, as would be expected if the headgear encouraged risk taking. Cautious people were slower than risk-takers, whether they wore helmets or not; and risk-takers were fast, whether their heads were protected or bare.

Interestingly, the skiers and riders who were the most likely, in general, to wear a helmet were the most expert, the men and women with the most talent and hours on the slopes. Experience seemed to have taught them the value of a helmet.

Off the slopes, other new studies have brought skiers and snowboarders into the lab to test their reaction times and vision with and without helmets. Peripheral vision and response times are a serious safety concern in a sport where skiers and riders rapidly converge from multiple directions.

But when researchers asked snowboarders and skiers to wear caps, helmets, goggles or various combinations of each for a 2011 study and then had them sit before a computer screen and press a button when certain images popped up, they found that volunteers’ peripheral vision and reaction times were virtually unchanged when they wore a helmet, compared with wearing a hat. Goggles slightly reduced peripheral vision and increased response times. But helmets had no significant effect.

Even when researchers added music, testing snowboarders and skiers wearing Bluetooth-audio equipped helmets, response times did not increase significantly from when they wore wool caps.

So why do up to 40 percent of skiers and snowboarders still avoid helmets?

“The biggest reason, I think, is that many people never expect to fall,” said Dr. Adil H. Haider, a trauma surgeon and associate professor of surgery at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and co-author of a major new review of studies related to winter helmet use. “That attitude is especially common in people, like me, who are comfortable on blue runs but maybe not on blacks, and even more so in beginners.”

But a study published last spring detailing snowboarding injuries over the course of 18 seasons at a Vermont ski resort found that the riders at greatest risk of hurting themselves were female beginners. I sympathize.

The take-away from the growing body of science about ski helmets is in fact unequivocal, Dr. Haider said. “Helmets are safe. They don’t seem to increase risk taking. And they protect against serious, even fatal head injuries.”

The Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma, of which Dr. Haider is a member, has issued a recommendation that “all recreational skiers and snowboarders should wear safety helmets,” making them the first medical group to go on record advocating universal helmet use.

Perhaps even more persuasive, Dr. Haider has given helmets to all of his family members and colleagues who ski or ride. “As a trauma surgeon, I know how difficult it is to fix a brain,” he said. “So everyone I care about wears a helmet.”

Read More..

Advertising: Super Bowl Commercials Relied on Outdated Ad Tactics

A mother-in-law joke was the focus of a spot for Century 21.

The commercials that CBS broadcast nationally during the game were, by and large, disappointing. They represented a missed opportunity for marketers and agencies to demonstrate that they had at least some understanding of how contemporary consumers think and behave.

Alas, the so-called creative minds of Madison Avenue chose once again to fall back on familiar strategies and themes that would have appealed more to viewers during the Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan or Clinton administrations.

There was a mother-in-law joke in a commercial for Century 21; a commercial for Audi that was set at a prom; a gag based on a young man’s nervous uttering of the word “panties” in a commercial for Mennen Speed Stick; a commercial for Pepsi Next that brought to mind the 1983 movie “Risky Business”; a commercial for Volkswagen whose humor quotient depended on whether viewers find ethnic dialects funny; a commercial for Coca-Cola that mashed up classic films like “Lawrence of Arabia,” “The Wild Bunch,” “Mad Max” and “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”; and a commercial that featured a chorus of leggy dancing girls dressed as Wonderful pistachios, echoing the 1950s commercials in which dancers were dressed as Old Gold cigarette packs.

The vintage vibe was underlined by a preoccupation with space. At least four commercials — for Axe Apollo, E*Trade, the Kia Sorento and Lincoln — included images of astronauts. It seemed as if at any moment there would be a spot for Tang.

There was also the usual overreliance on tried and true — read: “tired” — Super Bowl ad tactics. Anthropomorphic animals abounded in spots for brands like Cars.com, Doritos and Skechers, and slapstick violence, with men always the victims, in spots for brands like the Kia Forte.

Fortunately, all was not dross. There were some enjoyable and effective commercials mixed among the clunkers, particularly those that sought to be timely by including in their plots New Orleans, the site of Super Bowl XLVII, or references to the contenders, the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers.

Here is a look at some of those outstanding spots.

BUD LIGHT Two compelling commercials for Bud Light, brewed by the Anheuser-Busch division of Anheuser-Busch InBev, featured Stevie Wonder as a mysterious purveyor of “mojo” for football fans in New Orleans. He was spooky enough to warrant a shout-out at his next concert, “Do do that voodoo that you do so well.” Agency: Translation.

BUDWEISER A spot for Budweiser beer, also from Anheuser-Busch, about a Clydesdale and a trainer, wore its heart on its sleeve, or its hoof. But the corn was sweet and tasty. Agency: Anomaly.

M&M’S In a hilarious commercial for the M&M’s candy brand, sold by Mars, the character Red warbled “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)” to express his desire for a human woman, played by Naya Rivera of “Glee.” She reciprocated his ardor with a disturbing hunger for more than hugs. Agency: BBDO New York.

MERCEDES-BENZ The plot of a commercial for the new Mercedes-Benz CLA echoed everything from “Faust” to “Damn Yankees.” And a dream sequence echoed a 2012 Super Bowl spot for Kia.

Still, the commercial was infinitely better than an overheated teaser spot that promoted it. It also had a nice New Orleans atmosphere, Willem Dafoe as Lucifer, clever cameo appearances by Condé Nast magazines like GQ, and a punch line centered on a selling point, the car’s sticker price. Agency: Merkley & Partners.

OREO A spot for Oreo, sold by Mondelez International, also stood out for its focus on a selling point, in this instance the longtime debate among brand fans over the “best part”: is it the cookie or the cream filling?

The most delicious moment came when a police officer trying to break up an Oreo fight in a library whispered through his bullhorn. The commercial ended with a 21st-century twist by asking viewers to “choose your side on Instagram.” Agency: Wieden & Kennedy.

TACO BELL O.K., a spot for the Taco Bell division of Yum Brands — about elderly friends who escape a retirement home for the kind of night out their grandchildren would enjoy — plays like a product-placement version of “Cocoon” crossed with the “Kick the Can” segment of “Twilight Zone: The Movie.”

Yet there were some sharp sight gags, especially the glimpse at the end of a character’s tattoo. And the Spanish-language version of the Fun. tune “We Are Young” that played on the soundtrack might make the song a hit all over again. Agency: Deutsch L.A.

TIDE A delightful commercial for Tide, sold by Procter & Gamble, told a fanciful tale of a “miracle stain” on a 49ers fan’s jersey that resembled the team’s former star quarterback, Joe Montana. The sendup of media hype was knowing, and the surprising punch line was perfect. Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi.

TOYOTA A commercial for the Toyota RAV4, sold by Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., evoked the ‘60s sitcom “I Dream of Jeannie,” with Kaley Cuoco stepping in for Barbara Eden. But the spot had its own charms, particularly how the wishes granted by the genie careered from charming to chaotic. Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi Los Angeles.

Read More..

Son of Nick Van Exel sentenced to 60 years on murder conviction

Nick Van Exel was taken 37th overall by the Lakers in the 1993 draft. (Vince Compagnone / Los Angeles Times / February 2, 2013)

By Eric Pincus

February 2, 2013, 7:06 a.m.

Sad news for a former Lakers All-Star. Nickey Maxwell Van Exel, the son of Nick Van Exel, was sentenced to 60 years in prison for murder in Texas on Friday.

The 22-year-old was found guilty Thursday of shooting Bradley Bassey Eyo in 2010.

Nick Van Exel was selected by the Lakers with the 37th overall pick in the 1993 NBA draft.

Before the arrival of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in 1996, Van Exel was the team's leader and go-to player.

Van Exel played with the Lakers until 1998, then was traded after an All-Star season for Tony Battie and the draft rights to Tyronn Lue.

He is currently on staff with the Atlanta Hawks in player development.

ALSO:

Lakers top Minnesota for first road win of 2013

Dwight Howard flying home for nonsurgical PRP procedure

Short list of players who fit within Lakers disabled player exception

Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.

Comments are filtered for language and registration is required. The Times makes no guarantee of comments' factual accuracy. Readers may report inappropriate comments by clicking the Report Abuse link next to a comment. Here are the full legal terms you agree to by using this comment form.

';
shareDiv.innerHTML = templateHTML;

/* append the new div to the end of the document, which is hidden already with CSS */
document.body.appendChild(shareDiv);

/* Store the div in both a regular JavaScript variable and as a jQuery object so we can reference them faster later */
var shareTip = document.getElementById('shareTip'),
$shareTip = $('#shareTip');

/* This extends our settings object with any user-defined settings passed to the function and returns the jQuery object shareTip
was called on */
return this.each(function() {
if (options) {
$.extend(settings, options);
}

/* This is a hack to make sure the shareTip always fades back to 100% opacity */
var checkOpacity = function (){
if ( $shareTip.css('opacity') !== 1 ){
$shareTip.css({'opacity': 1});
}
};

/* Function that replaces the HTML in the shareTip with the template we defined at the top */
/* It will wipe/reset the links on the social media buttons each time the function is called */
var removeLinks = function (){
shareTip.innerHTML = templateHTML;
};

/* This is the function that makes the links for the Tweet / Share functionality */

var makeURLS = function (link, message){
/* Here we construct the Tweet URL using an array, with values passed to the function */
var tweetConstruct = [
'http://twitter.com/share?url=', link, '&text=', message, '&via=', settings.twitter_account
],
/* Then join the array into one chunk of HTML */
tweetURL = tweetConstruct.join(''),

/* Same story for Facebook */
fbConstruct = [
'http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=', link, '&src=sp'
],

fbURL = fbConstruct.join(''),

newHTML = [
''
],
shareHTML = newHTML.join('');
/* Load in our new HTML */
shareTip.innerHTML = shareHTML;
};

/* Since the shareTip will automatically fade out when the user mouses out of an element */
/* we have to specifically tell the shareTip we want it to stay put when the user mouses over it */
/* This effectively gives the user a 500 ms (or whatever) window to mouse */
/* from the element to the shareTip to prevent it from popping out */
$shareTip.hover(function(){
$shareTip.stop(true, true);
$shareTip.show();
checkOpacity();
}, function(){
$(this).fadeOut(settings.speed);
});

/* This function handles the hover action */
$(this).hover(function(){
/* remove the old links, so someone doesn't accidentally click on them */
removeLinks();

/* If there's already an animation running on the shareTip, stop it */
$shareTip.stop(true, true);

var eso = $(this),
message,
/* Store the width and height of the shareTip and the offset of the element for our calculations */
height = eso.height(),
width = eso.width(),
offset = eso.offset(),
link;


link = eso.children('a').attr('href');
message = escape( eso.find('img').attr('alt') ) || eso.attr(settings.message_attr);

if (link.search('http://') === -1){
link = 'http://www.latimes.com' + link;
}
link = encodeURIComponent(link);

/* If it's at the top of the page, the shareTip will pop under the element */
if (offset.top

Read More..

Nebraska Lieutenant Governor Sheehy resigns over phone scandal

(Reuters) – Nebraska Lieutenant Governor Rick Sheehy, the leading candidate to replace the current governor in the next election, resigned on Saturday after a newspaper investigation raised questions about improper cell phone calls made to women.

The Omaha World-Herald investigation found that the 53-year-old Republican made about 2,000 late-night calls to four women, other than his wife, on his state-issued cell phone over four years. The newspaper plans to publish results of the investigation on Sunday.

Colleen Sheehy, his wife of 28 years, filed for divorce in July 2012, according to the newspaper.

Governor Dave Heineman announced the resignation of Sheehy, a rising star in state politics, at a news conference. The governor said he was “deeply disappointed” and that Sheehy had done good work, but “trust was broken.”

“Public officials are rightly held to a higher standard,” Heineman said at the news conference, provided on the Omaha World-Herald website.

Heineman will leave office in 2015 and Sheehy had announced that he would run for governor. He was considered a leading candidate. Heineman selected Sheehy as lieutenant governor in 2005 after moving into the governor’s office to replace Mike Johanns, who was tapped as U.S. agriculture secretary.

Heineman and Sheehy were elected to their first full term in 2006 and re-elected to a second term in 2010.

(Reporting by Mary Wisniewski; editing by Gunna Dickson)

Wireless News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Nebraska Lieutenant Governor Sheehy resigns over phone scandal
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/nebraska-lieutenant-governor-sheehy-resigns-over-phone-scandal/
Link To Post : Nebraska Lieutenant Governor Sheehy resigns over phone scandal
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

World Chefs: Thomson dishes up Washington state from Seattle to Spokane

NEW YORK (Reuters) – When food writer Jess Thomson moved to Seattle, Washington, she expected to find the adventuresome cooking for which the city is famous. But she admits to being pleasantly surprised by the rich diversity of the rest of the state.

The 150 recipes in her book “Dishing Up Washington” attempt to capture the authentic regional flavors of the entire state, from Seattle to Spokane, Yakima to Walla Walla.

“It is a total food heaven,” said Thomson, cookbook author, recipe developer and food blogger. “I knew it would be delicious but I’m not sure I knew how much would be available here and how constantly I would be bombarded with really great food.”

She spoke to Reuters about discovering the distinctive foods of Washington and the state’s climate and locavore tradition.

Q: Is this your first cookbook?

A: “This is my fourth cookbook; three in my name, one that I ghostwrote.”

Q: Did you write the recipes for this book?

A: “The book is a little bit unique because it is about 60 percent recipes that I’ve written inspired by the state’s ingredients and about 40 percent recipes by chefs, farmers and artisans from all over the state.”

Q: What was your purpose with this book?

A: “I wanted to show not just best restaurants but ingredients that drive those restaurants — what it’s like to run a potato farm and the simple potato soup the farmer’s mother makes, which is super warming, super delicious but not high-falutin chef-y approach that I think many Seattle chefs might have taken … I wanted to show the guy who grows saffron on the Olympic peninsula, and the tomato grower in northeastern Washington. She doesn’t have a restaurant but she’s important to the state because she grows these really fantastic tomatoes.”

Q: How would you characterize the cuisine of Washington State?

A: “It’s adventuresome coastal cooking that depends heavily on local ingredients.”

Q: Which ingredients are typical of the state?

A: “Stone fruits like peaches and cherries are huge here; tree fruits like apples and pears; fish and shellfish, mainly crab, oysters, mussels, and salmon. Then there’s really great dairy and cheese, mostly from the northwestern part of the state. The state is also well known for larger crops like grapes, wheat and beef.”

Q: How does Seattle’s famously rainy climate affect the cuisine?

A: “The state is sort of divided by the Cascade Mountains into two distinct climates: the wet half towards the west and the drier half towards the east … (But) there’s a giant misconception about the rain here. Boston gets more rain than Seattle, but Seattle gets it almost every day of the week in winter. From a food perspective this is a very good climate for growing. Drought is not really an issue here. On the eastern side drought is an issue but many areas there get more than 300 days of sunshine in a year, so the growing season is very long and the conditions are great.”

Q: What accounts for the strong locavore tradition?

A: “Because it’s available. Farmers’ markets near me are open the year round. In February maybe I can’t buy cherries but I can buy great kale, radicchio and hazelnuts. I think it’s such a vibrant community because the weather allows us to get food year round. The food world doesn’t shut down from November to April here.”

Q: Who is your book aimed at?

A: “I wanted to make it approachable for people cooking anywhere. The chef recipes are a little more complicated and difficult. The recipes that I’ve written are much simpler … This book also an edible tour guide to the state. People tell me they’re using it as a travel guide, keeping it in their car as a way of deciding what restaurants to go to in Seattle and the state.”

Northwest Crab Chowder

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 yellow onion, finely chopped

4 stalks celery, cut into quarter-inch slices

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (about 7 medium), cut into half-inch chunks

2 cups whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

1 (15-ounce) can fish broth

1 (8-ounce) bottle clam juice

1.5 pounds Dungeness crabmeat, chopped

6 servings

1. Melt the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, and thyme. Salt and pepper to taste, and cook, stirring, until the vegetables start to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, milk, cream, fish broth and clam juice. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are soft, about 10 minutes.

2. Transfer about 2 cups of the vegetables to a food processor or a blender, blend until smooth, and return to the pot. Stir in the crabmeat, cook for 5 minutes longer, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve piping hot.

(Editing by Patricia Reaney and Doina Chiacu)

(This story corrects spelling of Thomson in slug, headline and throughout)

Celebrity News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: World Chefs: Thomson dishes up Washington state from Seattle to Spokane
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/world-chefs-thomson-dishes-up-washington-state-from-seattle-to-spokane/
Link To Post : World Chefs: Thomson dishes up Washington state from Seattle to Spokane
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Concerns About A.D.H.D. Practices and Amphetamine Addiction

Before his addiction, Richard Fee was a popular college class president and aspiring medical student. "You keep giving Adderall to my son, you're going to kill him," said Rick Fee, Richard's father, to one of his son's doctors.

VIRGINIA BEACH — Every morning on her way to work, Kathy Fee holds her breath as she drives past the squat brick building that houses Dominion Psychiatric Associates.

Andrea Mohin/The New York Times

MENTAL HEALTH CLINIC Dominion Psychiatric Associates in Virginia Beach, where Richard Fee was treated by Dr. Waldo M. Ellison. After observing Richard and hearing his complaints about concentration, Dr. Ellison diagnosed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and prescribed the stimulant Adderall.

It was there that her son, Richard, visited a doctor and received prescriptions for Adderall, an amphetamine-based medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It was in the parking lot that she insisted to Richard that he did not have A.D.H.D., not as a child and not now as a 24-year-old college graduate, and that he was getting dangerously addicted to the medication. It was inside the building that her husband, Rick, implored Richard’s doctor to stop prescribing him Adderall, warning, “You’re going to kill him.”

It was where, after becoming violently delusional and spending a week in a psychiatric hospital in 2011, Richard met with his doctor and received prescriptions for 90 more days of Adderall. He hanged himself in his bedroom closet two weeks after they expired.

The story of Richard Fee, an athletic, personable college class president and aspiring medical student, highlights widespread failings in the system through which five million Americans take medication for A.D.H.D., doctors and other experts said.

Medications like Adderall can markedly improve the lives of children and others with the disorder. But the tunnel-like focus the medicines provide has led growing numbers of teenagers and young adults to fake symptoms to obtain steady prescriptions for highly addictive medications that carry serious psychological dangers. These efforts are facilitated by a segment of doctors who skip established diagnostic procedures, renew prescriptions reflexively and spend too little time with patients to accurately monitor side effects.

Richard Fee’s experience included it all. Conversations with friends and family members and a review of detailed medical records depict an intelligent and articulate young man lying to doctor after doctor, physicians issuing hasty diagnoses, and psychiatrists continuing to prescribe medication — even increasing dosages — despite evidence of his growing addiction and psychiatric breakdown.

Very few people who misuse stimulants devolve into psychotic or suicidal addicts. But even one of Richard’s own physicians, Dr. Charles Parker, characterized his case as a virtual textbook for ways that A.D.H.D. practices can fail patients, particularly young adults. “We have a significant travesty being done in this country with how the diagnosis is being made and the meds are being administered,” said Dr. Parker, a psychiatrist in Virginia Beach. “I think it’s an abnegation of trust. The public needs to say this is totally unacceptable and walk out.”

Young adults are by far the fastest-growing segment of people taking A.D.H.D medications. Nearly 14 million monthly prescriptions for the condition were written for Americans ages 20 to 39 in 2011, two and a half times the 5.6 million just four years before, according to the data company I.M.S. Health. While this rise is generally attributed to the maturing of adolescents who have A.D.H.D. into young adults — combined with a greater recognition of adult A.D.H.D. in general — many experts caution that savvy college graduates, freed of parental oversight, can legally and easily obtain stimulant prescriptions from obliging doctors.

“Any step along the way, someone could have helped him — they were just handing out drugs,” said Richard’s father. Emphasizing that he had no intention of bringing legal action against any of the doctors involved, Mr. Fee said: “People have to know that kids are out there getting these drugs and getting addicted to them. And doctors are helping them do it.”

“...when he was in elementary school he fidgeted, daydreamed and got A’s. he has been an A-B student until mid college when he became scattered and he wandered while reading He never had to study. Presently without medication, his mind thinks most of the time, he procrastinated, he multitasks not finishing in a timely manner.”

Dr. Waldo M. Ellison

Richard Fee initial evaluation

Feb. 5, 2010

Richard began acting strangely soon after moving back home in late 2009, his parents said. He stayed up for days at a time, went from gregarious to grumpy and back, and scrawled compulsively in notebooks. His father, while trying to add Richard to his health insurance policy, learned that he was taking Vyvanse for A.D.H.D.

Richard explained to him that he had been having trouble concentrating while studying for medical school entrance exams the previous year and that he had seen a doctor and received a diagnosis. His father reacted with surprise. Richard had never shown any A.D.H.D. symptoms his entire life, from nursery school through high school, when he was awarded a full academic scholarship to Greensboro College in North Carolina. Mr. Fee also expressed concerns about the safety of his son’s taking daily amphetamines for a condition he might not have.

“The doctor wouldn’t give me anything that’s bad for me,” Mr. Fee recalled his son saying that day. “I’m not buying it on the street corner.”

Read More..