salebolijerseys2g

10. Suzanne Somers' “I Got it For You Because I Thought It'd Look Hot When You Used It.”
9. The Ab-surd — As in, “It's Ab-surd to think you're keg will become a six pack.”
8. The Landice Conveyor Belt Summer Clothes Hanger
7. The Schwinn “Maybe We Can Get Decent Money For it at a Yard Sale”.
6. The World Famous “You Spent $3000 on that when we live in a fifth floor walk-up?!?!?!??!?!”
5. Tony LIttle's “Hey honey, if it doesn't work as exercise equipment, it might be fun for that other thing you wanted to try.”
4. Chuck Norris and Christie Brinkley's “Whatever made me think I could workout using my own fat @$$ for resistance?”
3. The Soloflex “Did we really think we'd look like that guy and girl in the commercial if we used this?”
2. The Gold's Gym, “With their name on crap like this, it's no wonder their health clubs keep going bankrupt in town.”
1. Oprah Winfrey's “Damn Girl, when you got Oprah money, you can be as fat as you wanna be.” La-Z-Boy.

If you live in some parts of the country that have Cicadas, you know how loud they can be. But did you know Cicadas make so much noise because of their short life spans and the sounds they make are in hopes of attracting a mate? While the shrill noise can be very disturbing to humans' cicadas only live for a very short time so the noise won't last for very long.

Cicadas aren't stinging or biting insects, they can fly but usually just sit in tree's and bushes making noise. Cicadas are very clumsy when they fly so it's not unheard of the insect actually flying right into a person and in some cases landing on them. All someone has to do if that happens is brush them away and they will return to flying about until they find a suitable place to land.

Cicadas are a type of insect that has a tiny beak that enables them to eat and drink the fluids or what's called xylem from plants. A female cicada will deposit her eggs which are as tiny as a grain of rice, into the grooves of trees as she walks on it. The eggs will hatch and a small bug somewhat looking like a large ant will then feed from the fluids in the tree until it is ready to drop to the ground where it will dig down and find a root of the tree to feed from.

The cicada will feed from the root for 17 years before climbing back out and shedding its exoskeleton and letting its body harden and its wings dry out. The cicada will then search for a mate and start the life cycle all over again.

There are several different types of cicadas and each species has its own life cycle. Some have 17 year life cycles while others have 12, 13 or 16 year life cycles.

During the summer in parts of Las Vegas I can hear the cicadas' loud mating noises for hours a day. Cicadas will crawl out of the ground when the temperature is between 60F and 70F and they are ready to look for a mate.

When their life cycle is at and end it's not uncommon to see their dead bodies littering the ground around trees and bushes as they fall from the trees. This is the time that some small children find it hard to deal with so many dead bugs on the ground but parents can use this time as a learning experience, teaching children about the insects.

Could head size be an indicator of potential autism in your baby? The answer is “maybe” according to a study conducted at the University of Washington's Autism Center.

A team of researchers led by Sara Webb, a UW research assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, found that 60% of autism cases were associated with an abnormally fast growth of the head between six and nine months of age, well before the behavioral symptoms typically surface, which usually occur at around age 12 months.

“This abnormal or accelerated rate of head circumference growth is a biological marker for autism,” Webb said in a press release. “”By itself, head growth is not an indicator of autism,” Webb said, “because kids are going to be getting bigger and development is so variable.”

According to Webb, typical symptoms of autism in infants include such behaviors as a child's failure to respond to their name, a preoccupation with certain objects, not pointing to things, a lack of interest in other people and the absence of babbling.

Abnormal head size alone is not always an indicator of autism. But, when combined with a disproportionate head-to-body size ratio, red flags should go up and the child evaluated. Twenty percent of children with autism have a condition called macrocephaly, or abnormally large head size. “Some of the children in our study started with a very small head size and later their growth accelerated,” Webb said. “What we are looking for is disproportionate growth in children compared to the rest of their body.”

Pediatricians typically measure a child's head circumference for the first 18 months after birth as a normal part of monitoring a child's early physical development. Webb is hopeful that the study will lead to pediatricians identifying possible autism cases earlier for intervention as a result of the study.

Webb's data relied on data from boys aged 3 to 4 years old who were being studied at the Center. They have expanded their study, and are now looking at the records of nearly ten times the number of children diagnoses with autism, to check their early results.

Co-authors of the paper are Theresa Nalty, Jeff Munson and Catherine Brock, who are all affiliated with the Autism Center, and Robert Abbott, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Washington. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute of Mental Health funded the research.

There is such a thing as too many children. Seriously. I say this after reading the news today that the California woman, who gave birth to octuplets this week, already has six children. According to doctors, having octuplets naturally is not possible, so it was obvious to most doctors the woman had to have had fertility treatments. As a doctor said on BBC World this morning, this brings up medical ethics issues, as it's not as though the woman really needed more kids.

To understand why this is an issue, not only for the 33 year old mother, but also for society as a whole look at the following issues.

Can Someone With 14 Children Adequately Take Care of Them? It's highly unlikely that any one family can take care of 14 children properly in today's society. Especially in California, where the woman lives, everything is so expensive that bringing up one child in California will cost at least 20% more than anywhere else. Imagine, therefore, bringing up 14 children there. Also, from what news reports say, this woman is single and lives with her parents so it doesn't look like she has a husband who is going to work to help support the children. This burden is falling on her father, the octuplets' grandfather, who is soon going to be returning to Iraq as a contractor. Iraq isn't known as one of the world's safest countries so if he, god-forbid, was to get killed, who would take care of the babies then? The California tax payer is more than likely the answer.

Not only do children require money to be taken care of properly, they also require attention. Hopefully this mother and her family will be able to give all her 14 children the attention they need but as a friend of mine who has three children said once, “I feel sorry for the third one. I barely have enough energy to give the other two the attention they need”.

According to an article by the Los Angeles Times, the family of the octuplets have already had financial problems including a bankruptcy, tax liens and a foreclosure.

Octuplets are Born With Higher Chances of Lifelong Health Issues - It's very rare that all eight children in an octuplet birth will survive. If they do, most of them will have health issues as they get older. This again not only increases the cost to the family, but more than likely to the taxpayers as well as they will probably be footing the bill if she has to go to a public hospital to get medical care. The octuplets were born nine weeks premature, so they're already likely to have serious health issues. As of Thursday, only six of the eight children were breathing on their own, and only five of them were feeding. On Friday, seven of the eight children were breathing on their own. But, because having to be aided in breathing causes additional lung problems, the children who had to be helped are likely to have lifelong health issues. Will they be able to pay for those health issues for the rest of their lives, or will the taxpayer be paying for part of it when those kids reach the age of thirty?

Medical Ethics Issues - In a world that is already over-populated, why would anyone think that choosing to have 14 children is acceptable? Sure, if you get pregnant the natural way, you have a little less choice about the matter, but this woman chose to actively seek fertility treatments. As many women have multiple births from fertility treatments, she knew the risks of having more than one child, especially as doctors at Kaiser Permanente said they told her the risks and gave her the option of aborting one or more of the babies to give the other babies more of a chance at life. The mother, however, refused.

The Los Angeles Times published an article about the octuplets and the fertility treatments, and quoted one doctor . “I cannot see circumstances where any reasonable physician would transfer eight embryos into a woman under the age of 35 under any circumstance,” said Arthur Wisot, a fertility doctor in Redondo Beach. “I cannot imagine that any of the mainstream practices in the Los Angeles area were involved in this. I would guess — and it's a pure guess — that she either went out of the country or went to a practice that flies below the radar.”

Cost to Society - Overall, it's very unlikely that someone with this many children will be able to take care of them financially for the next 18 to 22 years. At some point down the road, she or her family is likely to accept some form of government assistance (read, taxpayers' assistance) that the rest of us will be paying for. Either that or wealthy individuals will come forward to help her pay to take care of the octuplets. Either way, she and her family probably won't be the ones taking 100% responsibility for them. Is that fair? Should society have to take on the burden of taking care of more children a family cannot take care of, especially when the mother chose to have that many children? Sure, if she and her family are able to one hundred percent take care of these children, then more power to them. It's highly unlikely though.

Overall, I can see why China has a one child policy. An overpopulated society has many more problems and, as China shows, most of its citizens end up living in poverty as there just aren't enough resources for everybody. An overpopulated planet will face the same problems so, in my opinion, it's the height of irresponsibility for this woman to actively choose to have octuplets. You may not agree.

SOURCES:

Kimi Yoshino and Jessica Garrison, Family in octuplets case had financial woes, Los Angeles Times

The Nation, Thailand California Woman Gives Birth to Octuplets

People have used garlic for thousand of years as both food and medicine as well as to ward off vampires. Well, although modern research has not confirmed yet that rubbing garlic on doorknobs and window frames can protect us against vampires or evil spirits, it has confirmed what our ancestors believed about the health benefits of this herb: its consumption can protect us from many ailments.

Unfortunately, for several decades, the widespread use of antibiotics has ignored the medical properties of garlic. Lately, however, interest in garlic has escalated and nowadays research is focusing on the role garlic plays in the prevention and control of heart disease.

How can garlic help prevent and control heart disease? Through the following mechanisms:

1. Garlic can lower your high blood pressure
High blood pressure is one of the health conditions where garlic treatment brings the fastest results. Studies suggest that garlic dilates blood vessel walls, increasing the diameter of the arteries. Garlic also helps prevent high blood pressure by stopping blood cells from sticking together.

In a clinical trial, the subjects ingested standardized garlic powder capsules for four years (1). The results showed a 9 to 18 percent reduction in plaque volume and a 7 percent decrease in blood pressure. This resulted in an increase in the diameter of the arteries by 4 percent, which is associated with an 18 percent improvement of blood flow. These effects of garlic resulted in a risk reduction for heart attacks and strokes by more than 50 percent.

2. Garlic can lower your blood cholesterol
Studies indicate that the populations that eat garlic consistently have the lowest level of blood cholesterol. Pennsylvania State University showed that men with high total blood cholesterol were able to lower its concentration by 7 percent and LDL, the bad cholesterol, by 10 percent when taking garlic supplements. The study indicated that the sulfur compounds in garlic were responsible for the results, especially S-allylcysteine, which prevents the formation of cholesterol by the liver (2)

3. Garlic can lower your blood platelets
Platelets are tiny cells in the blood that, when arteries get damaged, rush to the lesion site to repair them. They become sticky and form a clot. Unfortunately, although platelets' intentions are good, these clots are the first step toward the formation of a thrombus, an accumulation of platelets and protein. A thrombus may in time obstruct the flow of blood in the blood vessels. Studies have shown that small doses of garlic can prevent platelets from becoming sticky and piling up together. In a study carried out by Liverpool John Moores University, the subjects experienced a reduction of platelet stickiness after ingesting 5 milliliters of garlic extract per day for 13 weeks (3).

4. Garlic can reduce your plaque in the arteries
Plaque starts to form when arteries are damaged. It is made up of mounds of fat and debris deposited in the wall of the arteries that reduce the space available for blood to circulate. Plaque keeps growing and with time may block the flow of blood in the arteries.

One study showed that continuous intake of high doses of garlic powder capsules for four years reduced the plaque volume by 5 to 18 percent. It is also a fact that most people between 50 and 80 years of age have an increase in the amount of plaque. During the four years this study lasted, the volume of plaque remained constant in people within this age frame demonstrating that garlic has a preventive as well as a curative role in heart disease(4).

5. Garlic is an antioxidant
Garlic has been shown to protect blood vessels from the destructive effects of free radicals. Ankara University of Turkey conducted a study to investigate the effects of garlic extract on the oxidation of red blood cells. For six months, 11 patients with atherosclerosis ingested a daily dose of 1 milliliter of garlic extract per kilogram of body weight. The study showed a reduction on the level of oxidation of red blood cells in the patients(5).

How to get the medicinal properties out of garlic
To get the medicinal properties of fresh garlic, however, you must follow several steps, a “protocol” as I call it before consuming it. Here is what you need to do

- Peel the cloves
- Cut them in small pieces
- Crush them in a mortar.
- After you have crushed the garlic, let it sit uncovered in the mortar for 10 or 15 minutes before you put it in the food. This allows the formation of allicin, a compound necessary to unleash the medicinal properties of garlic.

Conclusion
Remember that people around the world, especially those who enjoy few chronic diseases, use garlic extensively in their daily diets. A truly wonder of nature with more than 200 chemical compounds, garlic has been a crucial contributor to the curative effects of the Mediterranean diet. So, how about going back to the basics and put some garlic in your life as a preventive measure?

About the Author
Emilia Klapp has a bachelor in Nutrition Science, is certified as a Registered Dietitian by the American Dietetic Association and author of “Your Heart Needs the Mediterranean Diet”. For more information about the author and the book and to get a free list of the 10 Top Mediterranean curative foods, go to: www.emiliaklapp.com

References
1. Siegel G, Walter A, Engel S, Walper A, Michel F. Pleiotropic effects of garlic. Wiener Medizinische Wochenschrift. 1999;149(8-10):217-24.
2. Yeh YY, Liu L. Cholesterol-lowering effect of garlic extracts and organosulfur compounds: human and animal studies. Journal of Nutrition. 2001 Mar;131(3s):989S-93S. Department of Nutrition, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
3. Rahman K, Billington D. Dietary supplementation with aged garlic extract inhibits ADP-induced platelet aggregation in humans. Journal of Nutrition. 2000 Nov;130(11):2662-5.
4. Koscielny J, Klussendorf D, Latza R, Schmitt R, Radtke H, Siegel G, Kiesewetter H. The antiatherosclerotic effect of Allium sativum. Atherosclerosis. 1999 May;144(1):237-49. Comment in: Atherosclerosis. 2000 Jun;150(2):437-8.
5. Durak I, Aytac B, Atmaca Y, Devrim E, Avci A, Erol C, Oral D. Effects of garlic extract consumption on plasma and erythrocyte antioxidant parameters in atherosclerotic patients. Life Sciences. 2004 Sep 3;75(16):1959-66.

The city of Milwaukee is loaded with one of a kind museum and unique attractions that are hard to find anywhere else.  These museum and unique attractions in Milwaukee have unusual goodies that are worth checking out. Here's those seven museum and eclectically unique attractions to plan your Milwaukee holiday around:

The Milwaukee Art Museum is One of Milwaukee's Great Attractions

A beautiful viewing area in the shape of massive wing-like edifice called the Brise Soleil, whose span is larger than a 747 aircraft, makes up the definitive “skyline” for Milwaukee. But it's not just something to look at and admire from afar, for it makes up part of Milwaukee's premiere art museum that's close to 120 years old.

Roughly 20,000 works are on display including a fine collection of Haitian Art, American Modernism, and German Expressionist works. Antiquities including Egyptian Art, Glass and Ceramics galleries thrill visitors as well as the European paintings from Renaissance and Impressionist Masters like Monet.

I want to focus on some of the most interesting and unique pieces of this four level museum of attractions. This includes the Folk Art Gallery, where you'll see some really groovy looking things, like Peter Jodocy's circa 1950 Uncle Sam Mailbox that's seen better days. Yet its wear gives it a special charm. Three of Andy Warhol's works “wowed” me, as I got to see two of his famous Campbell's Soup Cans and one of his Brillow Pad boxes. Impressionist paintings are my favorite kind of artwork, so I was happy to see a couple of Claude Monet's works, including 1903's “Waterloo Bridge, Sunlight Effect”. I thought Deborah Butterfield's 1983 sculpture of a distraught-looking horse called Horse #3 was impressive. It was crafted from red mud and sticks that were secured on metal armature.

Past exhibitions have included scores of works to celebrate Rembrandt's artistic genius, and 20th century American comic book artists. One of the current art exhibitions on this Milwaukee site is Saul Leiter's photography show called “In Living Color”. Apparently, Mr.Leiter was really into photographing ordinary people and things via his close to 80 featured pictures.

Milwaukee Art Museum: 700 N. Art Museum Dr., Milwaukee, WI 414-224-3200. Admission charge.

Get Naturally Cultured Out in Milwaukee

The Milwaukee Public Museum focuses on natural and cultural history. It's loaded with many unique exhibits and attractions spanning four stories. Besides extensive North American coverage, it focuses on such regions of the world like Africa, the Antarctic, and oceanic areas. It's got a renowned exhibit called the Streets of Old Milwaukee, which is dimly lit to capture an autumn night that visitors get to walk through. What I found interesting is that the figures in the exhibit (as well as the other human figurines throughout the museum) appeared to be really human. I actually thought they were moving about and looking at me!

At the Puelicher Butterfly Wing and Garden, visitors get to be among hundreds of butterflies from all over the globe as well as take in some interesting interactive educational displays. The Wisconsin Woodlands has an extensive collection of wildlife taxidermy and geographical dioramas accompanied by a wildlife soundtrack.

Some of my favorite aspects of the museum featured the areas of geology and the African continent. A really interactive sciences lab contains many fossils found in Wisconsin that are between 375-500 million years old, including a really large chunk of Tubulate Coral (about the size of two footballs) that was part of Wisconsin's shallow sea of some 425 million years in the past. A video plays to show how fossils are prepared for examination. A unique tapir fossil found in my home state of Wyoming is on display in the gallery called The Third Planet: Earth. One can really get a perspective on the geology of the world here.

You have to see the gallery on Africa to believe it! This is the best display for Africa I've ever seen. I basically had this whole attractions area all to myself, as I arrived early during a weekday morning before a throng of boisterous Milwaukee school kids invaded the museum. As I walked through this unique gallery, I was really impressed with how many artifacts and diorama displays this unique musuem features for each region of Africa, including Northern African Islamic home interior and exterior re-creations.

On site of this museum is the Humphrey IMAX Dome Theater. I really enjoyed watching the feature called “Fighter Pilot”. It had great shots of fighter jets on a military training exercise that spanned two weeks in the desert. And viewers got up close and personal with objects being savagely destroyed by missiles.

Milwaukee Public Museum/IMAX Theater: 800 W. Wells St., Milwaukee, WI 888-700-9069. Admission charge for both.
If You Love Commercials, You'll Love The Eisner

This Eisner American Museum of Advertising and Design is situated in the trendy Historic Third Ward district of Milwaukee. This venue is of the only attractions of its kind in the USA that explores in great detail advertising and design while educating visitors and students about advertising's role in our daily lives. It was named after a local multi-businessman, William F. Eisner. This is a unique and interactive museum where guests can even record a radio commercial.

Past Exhibits inside this unusual Renaissance Revival commercial structure have showcased the advertising for VW Beetles and cigarettes. One gallery on business card art had a set of six business cards that made up the face of a man. Current exhibit attractions include one showcasing CSA Design's “Art for Commerce by Charles S. Anderson (through March 2007)” This agency has done art advertising designs for Paramount, Fossil, and Pottery Barn.

The permanent exhibit at the Eisner of Milwaukee is called “Opt In To Advertising's New Age” where you can view old commercials from the 1950's to the 1980's through a eclectic-looking television like the famous Coca-Cola “I'd like to teach the world to sing” ad.

Another interesting and unique attraction here is called “Profiles”. Several display boards focus on specific age, education, and income demographics. For instance, if you are 62 years old, have some high school education, and your group's median income is $16,335, then you are apt to love bargains but don't like sexy advertising, and are referred to as a “Struggler”. “Experiencers” have a median income of just under $39,000, and are 27 year old high school graduates that are turned on by instant gratification and turned off by restraint.

The Eisner: 208 N. Water St., Milwaukee, WI 414-847-3290. Admission charge.

Marquette University's Must Sees

Marquette University has two must see and unique attractions for those who want to get a well rounded tour of Milwaukee's arts and culture scene. First, The St. Joan of Arc Chapel was originally built in the 15th Century in France, but then fully re-constructed at Marquette in 1966. It's still used for masses; and thus, it's purported to be the oldest building in North America that been used for its original purpose. The chapel contains a lot of artifacts from the Catholic Church, including centuries' old artwork. What brings visitors from all over the world to the small Gothic chapel is the famed Joan of Arc Stone. The saintly woman prayed to a statue of Our Lady, then kissed the stone she stood upon. Since then, it feels colder to the touch than the surrounding stones.

The Haggerty Museum is just a short walk from The St. Joan of Arc Chapel. It covers art from the 1500's on. My favorite work there was a Marilyn Monroe creation by Andy Warhol. The incredibly unique exhibit at this Milwaukee museum is going on through mid-January of 2007. Artist Katherine Sturgis created ink sketch drawings of hockey players based upon black and white tv hockey games. Well, philosopher Nelson Goodman was inspired by Sturgis, and the rest became history when he got together with some other artists to create the hockey ballet called Hockey Seen: A Nightmare in Three Periods and Sudden Death. It was first performed at Harvard in 1972 to rave reviews.  At the gallery, two short films of this performance (from the early 1980's) can be watched as John Adams' electronic score really adds to the unique viewing experience.

St. Joan of Arc Chapel at Marquette University: South of 14th St. and Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, WI 414-288-6873. Free Admission, but donations appreciated.

Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University: 13th and Clybourn Streets, Milwaukee, WI 414-288-1669. Free admission.

Mitchell Park's Domes Are Full of Life

The Mitchell Park Domes are a must for garden lovers. Their three unique beehive-shaped glass domes were fully completed in 1967, and house over 15,000 square feet each of growing space and rise 85 feet high into the sky. The unusual dome attractions are called Arid, Tropical, and Floral Show.

The Mitchell Park Arid Dome contains desert climate plants of the world. Did you know that in some deserts, bunny ear shaped cacti thrive? Or that in the mountainous or high desert regions, some unusual cacti have wool coming out of them? These were my favorite two plants in this dome.

In Mitchell Park's Tropical Dome, you find hundreds of species of tropical plants and even a cascading waterfall. One of the most beautiful flowers I've ever seen resides in this dome of natural attractions.  It's called Erin Rachael, which is a hybrid hibiscus. Mere words cannot describe the unique beauty of this plant, so thank goodness for cameras!

One of the most popular showcases in Milwaukee takes place throughout the year in the Mitchell Park Floral Show Dome. Over 150-plus floral displays implement the use of unique building props. Such props have created wonderful past attractions like re-creations of Charles Dickens' London and a Japanese tea garden that have lasted several weeks in duration. Early next year, a large model train layout will be the mechanical complement to this garden. The plant that really stands out here is an unusual cone-bearing plant called the Dinosaur Plant (or Zululand Cycad). These natural attractions contain giant red-colored cones emanating from their centers. It really looks like something Godzilla would have to battle with in order to save the world!

Mitchell Park Domes: 524 S. Layton Blvd., Milwaukee, WI 414-649-9800. Admission charge.

Spend Your Layover Time at the Mitchell Gallery of Flight

General Billy Mitchell is regarded by many as The Father of this nation's Air Force, and commanded more than 1,500 Allied airplanes during World War I. Mitchell was an outspoken advocate of air defense, which ruffled the feathers of the powerful, and eventually caused him to get court-martialed. Since 1985, a museum honoring Milwaukee's airport's namesake is a nice little diversion if you have a long wait for your flight. Or this can be your first must-see visit upon arriving in Milwaukee, since the gallery is on the way to the baggage claim area.

This Mitchell airport museum gallery contains a lot of commercial and military aircraft model attractions, especially from the Second World War. The ones that caught my fancy included a unique 1:5 scale model of the cockpit of a French Caravelle plane, and a 1941 scale model of Layton Ave. Air Terminal (named this before becoming General Mitchell Air Field). Aircraft-themed pictures abound here in this little nitch gallery, including decade by decade rundowns of aviation history in Milwaukee, beginning with the 1930's. My favorite pictures included the inside of a Lawson Airliner from the early 1900's with its wicker chairs.

Artifacts of the dearly departed General Billy Mitchell are showcased, including one of his books called “The Opening of Alaska 1901-1903″. Mitchell's unique looking musette bag (small knapsack) from his military days in the Philippines is on display.

The Mitchell Gallery of Flight also showcases the accounts of the planes and airlines that have flown into Milwaukee over the years, and of aviation history in general. This includes exhibits covering the exploration of outer space as well as for German Zeppelins.

Mitchell Gallery of Flight: at General Mitchell International Airport, 5300 S. Howell Ave., Milwaukee, WI 414-747-4503. Free admission.

Many a programmer will tell you that Vim (Vi Improved) is one of the best text editors around. But why should we writers use a programmer's tool - and specifically Vim - for our jobs? After all, isn't that what full-fledged word processors are for? There are a couple of answers to that question.

A plain text editor allows you to focus on content, not formatting. When you're in the middle of a creative spurt, the last thing you need to be thinking about is margins, page numbers, and the like. Of course there are exceptions to this rule, like certain long documents and scholarly writing. For many of us that focus on short stories, articles, blog posts, or even novels there's no reason to be fiddling with formatting when we could be concentrating on quality writing. There are plenty of great tools to format your text after you're done editing.

Vim itself has specific features that lend itself to a more efficient writing process–namely its extensive key combinations. Without ever taking your hands off the keyboard, you can delete lines, copy, paste, rearrange text, spell check your work, search and replace…you can navigate your document without ever moving from the home row. Another feature that I find particularly useful is the ability to easily change the color scheme of the application. I find that typing with light text on a darker background is much easier on my eyes than the traditional black on white.

Remember that Vim comes set up for editing code, not the usual blocks of the text that writers deal with. In order to make navigation easier and text more readable on your screen, you'll need to make a few changes to your configuration, which is done by editing a special text file (.vimrc on Linux–check the documentation for other platforms). Copy and paste the following lines into your .vimrc file:

” Nice wrapping behavior
nnoremap j gj
nnoremap k gk
vnoremap j gj
vnoremap k gk
nnoremap gj
nnoremap gk
vnoremap gj
vnoremap gk
inoremap gj
inoremap gk
set linebreak

This allows for familiar word-wrap behavior, as well as easy navigation through paragraphs. Of course, if you've never used Vim before all this may seem a bit intimidating. Don't let editing a configuration file scare you! As you use the application, you'll become more familiar with the unique way it looks at editing text, and if you keep at it, I don't think you'll look back.

Vim is a cross-platform application as well, so you can easily install and use it on Mac, Windows, or Linux. Not only that, but many scripts are available to extend Vim's functionality and customize it perfectly to your needs. There are outlining tools, to-do list managers, and more!

What a wonderful world if everyone loved your little girl as much as you do!  Sadly, the ugly truth is that for some people little girls are the perfect prey.  The biggest fear a mother wrestles with is not being able to protect her daughter.  But there are some simple steps that can make it easier for girls to grow up unharmed in a world of predators.

The most important a mother can do is to pay attention to details.  What is your little angel wearing?  Dance or gymnastics classes are a smörgåsbord of soft porn for sexual predators.  This is especially true for those schools that may be located in a shopping center or mall.  Many times I have watched girls with their mothers entering or leaving a local dance school in town.  And many times those little girls are wearing nothing but tights and a leotard or tutu.  We think, “What an adorable five year old!”  The thoughts of predator sitting on the bench are much more sinister.  Take along a pair of sweatpants or shorts, or a loose dress your daughter can wear over her leotard.  Make sure she is appropriately covered when outside the class whether she is three or thirteen.  And NEVER take her to a restaurant or store dressed only in her tumbling outfit.  

Another detail often overlooked is items with her name on them.  Our young girls love having their names embroidered or painted on to clothes, jewelry and book bags.  This is fine if she is going shopping with you or spending the night at a friend's house in her stenciled sleeping bag.  If at any time, however, she may be away from the watchful eyes of a responsible adult, make sure her name is not visible.  Children are much more likely to trust someone, even a stranger, if that someone calls her name.  It can be confusing for your daughter because she doesn't know if that person might recognize her by knowing her parents.  Think of all the adults you work with that have seen your little girl in the picture on your desk, or the adults you know from church or community activities that have briefly met your children.  Especially for young children, they will not remember someone they have not seen in a year or two.  Be sure to tell your daughter that it is okay not to speak to an adult she does not recognize, even if that adult knows her name.  You can apologize to your coworker later if he perceived your daughter as “rude.”

The fashion trends these days make it almost impossible to dress little girls modestly.  Short skirts, shorter shorts, and plunging necklines have become the norms even in pre-teen clothing.  In addition, little girls are not as likely to keep their legs crossed or squat to pick up something rather than bending over.  When she is trying on new clothes, make her move around in them.  Bend over, kneel down, squat, and jump.  Many things look great when she is walking out of the house in the morning, but turn into overly revealing when she becomes bored and active later on.  Shorts tend to gape open when she squats, necklines fall when she bends over, and skirts take longer than she does to make it down the slide.  Don't assume because she is wearing it to school it will be okay.  The news headlines are full of teachers and school personnel, male and female, that have had inappropriate contact with a student.

The greatest defense you have as the mother of a little girl is knowledge.  Know what she is wearing, what is on her clothing or accessories, how she handles herself in public places around strangers, etc.  Don't allow anything that might fuel the daydreams of a sexual predator.  Even if she is at home safe with you, you can't allow the man you saw earlier in the store to take special notice of her.  He may only go home and think about her later, or he may decide to start tracking her.  You have no way of knowing what the predator is doing, but you can control the prey.  Arguments over clothing or the embroidered back pack may be inevitable, but the safety and security of our little girls must always comes first.

Do you know where your phone bill is? How about your health insurance policy? If you're like most people, it's probably swimming in a stack of papers… somewhere.

Make your life simpler by using a very basic filing system. This one's as easy as ABC: the Active, Business, and Cold Storage Filing System. This system will allow you to file your important papers quickly and find specific documents easily. All you need to do is set up three types of files.

ACTIVE FILES

Also known as working files, Active Files contain information on current or pending activities and miscellaneous papers which require some type of action. This file would include such things as current unpaid bills, correspondence, and time sensitive items such as sales flyers or PTA notices.

Keep Active Files in an accordion file or a portable file box so the papers are easily accessible.

Review items in your Active File once a week.

Remember to move a bill from your Active File to your Business File after you pay it.

BUSINESS FILESBusiness Files are your household's working filing system. These files should include bank statements, current insurance policies, paid bills, medical information, this year's pay stubs, and other current tax information.

Keep these files in hanging folders in your filing cabinet or filing cart.

These files should be reviewed once or twice a year. Weed out all outdated information.

COLD STORAGE FILES

Cold Storage Files hold all of your long-term documents. These files should contain copies of previous tax returns, warranties on items you still own, legal documents, and medical, home, and automobile records.

Place these files in a home fire safe or safe-deposit box. Review the information as needed or when there are only reruns of your favorite shows on television.

PAPERS TO THROW OUT

Pay stubs after checking your w2 form at the end of the year.

All expired warranties and any manuals to items you no longer own.

Cancelled checks and store receipts which are unrelated to a major purchases or needed for taxes.

ATM receipts after checking the transaction against your bank statement.

TIPS

It is a known fact that 80% of what you file will never be looked at again. As you pick up each paper ask yourself:

Do I really need this information? If yes, why?

Can I easily find this information elsewhere if I need it?

Is this information timely, accurate, and reliable?

Can I identify the specific circumstances when I would want information?

What's the worst thing that could happen if I threw this paper away?

Although I’ve been an avid viewer of the hit CBS television spin-off, CSI Miami, and thoroughly enjoy each character on the hit show, I had absolutely no idea that one of its stars, Khandi Alexander, actually made a huge name for herself in another venue in addition to carving out quite an acting career for herself as well. 

That’s right, way before Alexander ever made her first appearance as coroner Alexx Woods on CSI Miami, she appeared on Broadway and choreographed international recording star, Whitney Houston’s international tours from 1989 to 1992.
Alexander, who was born on September 4, 1957 is also a former dancer in addition to her success as a choreographer and film and television star. 

Born in New York City and educated at Queensborough Community College, Alexander has concentrated on her film and television career since leaving the choreographing industry. 

She was first introduced to television viewers on a weekly basis with her portrayal of Catherine Duke, the sexy and self-assured broadcast personality on NBC's “NewsRadio.” 

Her seven-year recurring role as Jackie, the sister to actor, Eriq La Salle's Dr. Peter Benton, on the hit television show, “ER” helped to solidify her stature as an in-demand actor. 

However, it was her highly acclaimed portrayal of Fran Boyd, the manipulative, loving and sympathetic junkie on HBO's “The Corner” which garnered Alexander a “Best Mini- Series” Emmy nod and brought unparalleled kudos from those both, inside and outside of the film and television industry, alike. 

Alexander has been described as a no-nonsense and habitually focused performer, who has developed quite a reputation for consistently delivering knockout performances. 

Alexander got her start in the first national touring company of Bob Fosse's “Dancin'“ and later continued to see her star rise on Broadway in “Dreamgirls” directed Michael Bennett. 

Her hard work and natural ability led to a prestigious full scholarship at the Alvin Ailey Conservatory. Next, the successful performer choreographed for and danced in high profile events including the American Music and Grammy Award shows. A chance backstage meeting with Whitney Houston resulted in a four-year association with the multi-platinum artist and her work with Houston culminated with Alexander's choreography of Whitney's highly successful “I'm Your Baby Tonight” sold-out world tour. 

It was the dream of an acting career though that originally enticed Alexander to enroll in the Stella Adler Conservatory.
Alexander’s film credits include “ There's Something About Mary”, “No Easy Way”, “Sugar Hill”, the Chris Rock rap music spoof “CB4” and the Tina Turner Bio-pic, “What's Love Got To Do With It.” 

Theatrically, Alexander has also performed in “The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun”, “Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie”, “ Legacy”, “Period of Adjustment”, and “Color of Blue”, in addition to the previously mentioned, Bob Fosse's “Dancin.'“
Alexander continues to explore the limits of her talent as a performer and actor and I must add that I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see her popularity continue to rise well into the next decade.
Here is a listing of Alexander’s career television and filmography.

1. First Born (2006) (post-production) …. Dierdre
2. Rain (2006) (completed) …. Latitia Arnold
3. “CSI: Miami”
- Curse of the Coffin (2006) TV Episode …. Dr. Alexx Woods
- Eminent Domain (2006) TV Episode …. Dr. Alexx Woods
- If Looks Could Kill (2006) TV Episode …. Dr. Alexx Woods
- Death Pool 100 (2006) TV Episode …. Dr. Alexx Woods
- Going Under (2006) TV Episode …. Dr. Alexx Woods
(100 more)
4. Perfect Strangers (2004) (TV) …. Christie Kaplan
5. “CSI: NY”
- MIA/NYC - NonStop (Pilot) (2004) TV Episode …. Chief Medical Examiner Alexx Woods
6. CSI: Miami (2004) (VG) (voice) …. Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Alexx Woods
7. “Life's a Bitch” (2003) TV Series …. Yolanda
8. Dark Blue (2002) …. Janelle Holland
9. Emmett's Mark (2002) …. Det. Middlestat
… aka Killing Emmett Young (USA: video title)
10. “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”
… aka C.S.I. (USA: short title)
… aka CSI: Las Vegas (USA: syndication title)
… aka CSI: Weekends (USA: promotional title)
… aka Experts, Les (Canada: French title)
- Cross-Jurisdictions (2002) TV Episode …. Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Alexx Woods
11. Fool Proof (2002) …. Icarus
12. “ER”
- I'll Be Home for Christmas (2001) TV Episode …. Jackie Robbins
- Quo Vadis? (2001) TV Episode …. Jackie Robbins
- If I Should Fall from Grace (2001) TV Episode …. Jackie Robbins
- Supplies and Demands (2001) TV Episode …. Jackie Robbins
- Start All Over Again (2001) TV Episode …. Jackie Robbins
(25 more)
13. “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”
… aka Law & Order: SVU (USA: promotional abbreviation)
… aka Special Victims Unit (New Zealand: English title)
- Paranoia (2001) TV Episode …. Sgt. Karen Smythe
14. “Third Watch”
- History (2000) TV Episode …. Beverly Saunders
15. “The Corner” (2000) (mini) TV Series …. Denise Francine 'Fran' Boyd
16. “Rude Awakening”
- Star 80 Proof (2000) TV Episode …. Juanita Wilson
17. Spawn 3: Ultimate Battle (1999) (V) …. Lakesha/Nurse
18. Partners (1999) (TV) …. Charlie
19. “NYPD Blue”
- What's Up, Chuck? (1999) TV Episode …. Sonya
20. “Cosby”
- The Awful Truth (1999) TV Episode …. Karen
21. “X-Chromosome” (1999) TV Series (voice) …. Yolanda
22. “NewsRadio”
… aka The Station
- Bill Moves On (1998) TV Episode …. Catherine Duke
- Pure Evil (1997) TV Episode …. Catherine Duke
- Planbee (1997) TV Episode …. Catherine Duke
- Jumper (1997) TV Episode …. Catherine Duke
- Sleeping (1997) TV Episode …. Catherine Duke
(48 more)
23. There's Something About Mary (1998) …. Joanie
… aka There's Something More About Mary (USA: DVD title)
24. “La Femme Nikita”
… aka Nikita (Canada: English title)
- Soul Sacrifice (1998) TV Episode …. Terry
25. Thick as Thieves (1998) …. Janet Hussein
26. “Spawn” (1997) TV Series (voice) …. Lakesha/Nurse
… aka Todd McFarlane's Spawn
27. Terminal (1996) (TV) …. Dr. Deborah Levy
… aka Robin Cook's Terminal
28. No Easy Way (1996) …. Diana Campbell
29. Greedy (1994) …. Laura Densmore, P.I.
30. Sugar Hill (1994) …. Ella Skuggs
… aka Harlem
31. To My Daughter with Love (1994) (TV) …. Harriet
32. House Party 3 (1994) …. Janelle
33. Shameful Secrets (1993) (TV) …. Rosalie
… aka Going Underground
34. Poetic Justice (1993) …. Simone
35. What's Love Got to Do with It (1993) …. Darlene
… aka Tina: What's Love Got to Do with It (Australia) (UK)
36. Menace II Society (1993) …. Karen Lawson
37. Joshua Tree (1993) …. Maralena Turner
… aka Army of One (USA: video title)
38. CB4 (1993) …. Sissy
39. “A Different World”
- Citizen Wayne (1989) TV Episode …. Theressa Stone
40. Maid to Order (1987) …. Hooker in Jail
41. A Chorus Line (1985) …. Dancer
42. Streetwalkin' (1985) …. Star
… aka City Streets
… aka Cookie
43. “The Motown Revue Starring Smokey Robinson” (1985) TV Series …. Regular
… aka Motown Revue (USA: short title)
44. “FTV” (1985) TV Series …. Various characters