40. South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. South Dakota is the 17th most extensive, but the 5th least populous and the 5th least densely populated of the 50 United States.
Admission into the union: November 2, 1889
State Capital: Pierre
Abbreviation: SD
Nickname: The Mount Rushmore State
CLICK HERE FOR FUN FACTS ABOUT SOUTH DAKOTA
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICTURES OF MOUNT RUSHMORE
People are drawn to the rugged beauty of the Badlands. These striking geologic deposits contain one of the world’s richest fossil beds. Ancient mammals such as the rhino, horse, and saber-toothed cat once roamed here. The park’s 244,000 acres protect an expanse of mixed-grass prairie where bison, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, and black-footed ferrets live today.
CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES OF THE BADLANDS.
CLICK HERE FOR A VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE BADLANDS
41. Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges that are part of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name, derived from the Spanish word montaña (mountain).
Admission into the union: November 8, 1889
State Capital: Helena
Abbreviation: MT
Nickname: The Treasure State
CLICK HERE FOR INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT MONTANA
CLICK HERE TO READ HISTORY ABOUT GLACIER NATIONAL PARK
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF GLACIER NATIONAL PARK
CLICK HERE TO SEE A SLIDESHOW OF MONTANA
42. Washington is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States located north of Oregon, west of Idaho and south of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean.
Admission into the union: November 11, 1889
State Capital: Olympia
Abbreviation: WA
Nickname: The Evergreen State
CLICK HERE FOR INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT WASHINGTON
CLICK HERE TO LEARN ABOUT THE WORLDS LONGEST FLOATING BRIDGE
CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT MT. RAINIER
43. Idaho is a mountainous state with an area larger than that of all of New England. It is landlocked, surrounded by the states of Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Montana and the Canadian province of British Columbia. However, the network of dams and locks on the Columbia River and Snake River make the city of Lewiston the farthest inland seaport on the Pacific coast of the contiguous United States.
Admission into the union: July 3, 1890
State Capital: Boise
Abbreviation: ID
Nickname: The Gem State
CLICK HERE FOR FUN FACTS ABOUT IDAHO
CLICK HERE TO VIEW A SLIDESHOW OF IDAHO
CLICK HERE TO VIEW A SLIDESHOW OF WATERFALLS IN IDAHO
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Sleepy? Your memory may be impaired
Everyone has had one of those days where a night of
choppy or short sleep leads into a morning of mental haze. New research
presented at the Neuroscience 2012 conference suggests that sleep deprivation might be worse for you than you think.
For starters, sleepiness in the elderly could be an indication of
Alzheimer's risk, says Andrew Ward, researcher at Massachusetts General
Hospital.Ward and colleagues did a study involving 84 elderly adults without memory problems, ranging from age 66 to 87. Researchers gave them a questionnaire about how likely they were to fall asleep during various daily activities, as a way to measure sleepiness. They also measured brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
Researchers found that the sleepy study participants tended to show less coordinated activity in the default mode network, brain regions that are active when the brain is resting and are involved in introspection.
This suggests that people with bad sleep may be more susceptible to Alzheimer’s, but "we need to do more research to see if this is actually true," Ward said. The next step would be to follow the participants over time to see who develops Alzheimer's in the long term. The study also suggests that improvements in sleep may restore network connectivity - but again, further investigation is necessary to make more substantial conclusions.
Elderly people generally sleep fewer hours and wake up more frequently during the night than their younger counterparts, Ward said. And reports from Alzheimer's caregivers suggest that people with worse sleep have more severe memory impairments.
A second study also emphasized the importance of getting a good night's sleep. Hengi Rao, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, presented an experiment involving sleep deprivation in a laboratory. Participants spent four nights in the lab as researchers controlled their number of sleeping hours, gave them memory tests and scanned their brains (doesn't that sound fun!).
The 22 healthy adults slept nine hours the first night, went 24 hours without sleeping, and then spent two nights gaining recovery sleep. Their brains were scanned after nights 1, 2 and 4.
After sleep deprivation, researchers found that participants showed less connectivity between the default mode network and the hippocampus, a region of the brain essential for memory. After recovery sleep, however, their brains showed the same activity as after that first night of nine hours of sleep. Their performance on memory tasks was correlated to the activity in these regions.
"It’s critical to obtain recovery sleep after sleep loss and avoid chronic sleep deprivation" in order for the brain to restore the integrity of this neural network, Rao said.
How much sleep loss are we talking about? Ted Abel of the University of Pennsylvania discussed a study he's involved with using mice. Of course, mice are not perfect approximations for humans, but may give some insight into what's going on in the human body. It turns out that mice show memory impairment after being deprived only about three hours of their normal sleep, which translates into 20% of their daily total.
If animal models are to be believed, memory strengthening can be affected in a human who sleeps six hours instead of eight hours, this study suggests.
Bottom line: Getting a good night's sleep is important for memory.
SOURCE ARTICLE HERE
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Herbs anyone?
SFP residents,
If you would like any of the following fresh herbs, let me know ASAP before the frost gets them:
chives (common)
chives (garlic)
lavender
rosemary
oregano
parsley
sage
thyme
~Shar
If you would like any of the following fresh herbs, let me know ASAP before the frost gets them:
chives (common)
chives (garlic)
lavender
rosemary
oregano
parsley
sage
thyme
~Shar
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Healthy Habits -> 20 Ways to Combat Allergies
If the drip, sniff, sneeze, and itch of allergies have you thinking of buying stock in the company that makes Kleenex, dry your eyes and prepare to take action.
You’re going to wage battle inside your house and even inside your body to reduce the number of allergy attacks you suffer and minimize those so-annoying symptoms. Allergies may not be life-threatening, but
they’re nothing to sneeze at either. Here are 20 of the best ways to protect yourself.
1. Choose chicken instead of beef. A two-year study of 334 adults with hay fever and 1,336 without found those who had the most trans oleic acid in their diets, a form of monounsaturated fat found primarily in meat and dairy products, were nearly three times as likely to have hay fever as those who ate the least. Don’t worry, olive oil is okay; although it’s got a lot of oleic acid, it’s not the “trans” form.
2. Pop a fish-oil supplement every morning after you brush your teeth. A study of people with allergic asthma (asthma caused by allergies) found those who took daily fish-oil supplements for a month had lower levels of leukotrienes, chemicals that contribute to the allergic reaction.
3. Turn on the AC. Air conditioners remove mold-friendly moisture and filter allergens entering the house. Just make sure to clean or change the filters often or you’ll just make things worse.
4. Eat one kiwifruit every morning. They’re rich in vitamin C, which acts as a natural antihistamine. Some studies link low levels of C with allergies. When your allergies are flaring up, consider taking a vitamin C supplement.
5. Steam vacuum your furniture and carpets and include a solution of disodium octaborate tetrahydrate (DOT), a boron-based product, in the water. A 2004 study published in the journal Allergy found DOT cut dust mite populations and their associated allergen levels to undetectable levels for up to six months.
6. Take 250 milligrams of quercetin three times a day. This natural supplement is a potent anti-inflammatory flavonoid, and it is widely used in natural medicine practices to fight allergies.
7. Clean out your gutters and make sure they’re not clogged. Clogged gutters can result in water seeping into the house, leading to mold growth, which can exacerbate allergies. Next time it rains, check your gutters. If you see water leaking out of end caps, flowing on the outside, or dripping behind them, it’s time to get out the ladder.
8. Always run the exhaust fan and/or leave the window and door open when taking a shower or bath. Another option is to run a small portable fan (away from water sources) during and after showers. Again, you’re trying to keep surfaces dry and prevent the growth of mold. Also, check to see that the vent on the outside of your house where the exhaust exits isn’t blocked by leaves.
9. Wash the shower curtain in hot water and bleach every month. Or use a shower liner that you can replace every couple of months for just a few bucks.
10. Keep your thermostat set above 65°F in the winter. If you set it too low, you’re encouraging the growth of mold in damp air. The heat dries out the air, preventing mold growth. Of course, too-dry air can also irritate your lungs and sinuses. The perfect humidity in a home is around 50 percent.
11. Wash all your bedding in very hot water every week. It’s the best way to kill those pesky microscopic dust mites that love your bed even more than you do.
12. Follow your dryer vent and make sure it’s vented to the outside. For every load of laundry you dry, 20 pounds of moisture has to go somewhere! If your dryer is vented to the garage or basement, you’re just asking for mold buildup.
13. Clean the tray under the fridge with a bleach solution and sprinkle with salt. The tray is a veritable mold magnet. Adding salt reduces the growth of mold and bacteria. Also, clean under the refrigerator occasionally; food can become trapped there, become moldy, and the mold spores are blown into the kitchen every time the compressor kicks in.
14. Water your plants sparingly and put pebbles on top of the dirt to discourage mold spores from getting into the air. Overwatering houseplants can contribute to the growth of mold. Also, water might leak through the plant onto the carpet.
15. Spend this weekend decluttering. Throw out or give away coats and other clothing you haven’t used in the past year. Put sports equipment in the garage or basement where it belongs. Slip shoes into hanging shoe bags. When you finish, you should be able to see all your closets’ floors and back walls. Now give everything a good vacuum and you’ll have significantly reduced the amount of dust in your house.
16. Keep your bedroom door shut so your dog and/or cat can’t get in. Let him bark or meow. You spend more time in your bedroom than any other room of the house, and this keeps down cat and dog dander, to which many people are allergic.
17. Choose a doormat made of synthetic material. Doormats made of natural material (wicker, etc.) can break down and become excellent feeding grounds for mites, mold, and fungus, and then get tracked into the house. Wash all mats weekly.
18. Clean all dead insects from your porch lights. As they decompose, they can become an allergen source.
19. Put a shelf by the front door for shoes and encourage your family and guests to remove their shoes before entering to reduce the amount of dust, mold, and other allergens tracked in. Keep some soft slippers in a basket by the front door for people who don’t want to walk around in their stocking feet.
20. Read labels and avoid foods that contain the additive monosodium benzoate. An Italian study found that monosodium benzoate triggered allergy-like symptoms, including runny, stuffy nose, sneezing, and nasal itching, in adults without allergies. The preservative is often found in juices, pie fillings, pickles, olives, and salad dressings.
SOURCE ARTICLE HERE
1. Choose chicken instead of beef. A two-year study of 334 adults with hay fever and 1,336 without found those who had the most trans oleic acid in their diets, a form of monounsaturated fat found primarily in meat and dairy products, were nearly three times as likely to have hay fever as those who ate the least. Don’t worry, olive oil is okay; although it’s got a lot of oleic acid, it’s not the “trans” form.
2. Pop a fish-oil supplement every morning after you brush your teeth. A study of people with allergic asthma (asthma caused by allergies) found those who took daily fish-oil supplements for a month had lower levels of leukotrienes, chemicals that contribute to the allergic reaction.
3. Turn on the AC. Air conditioners remove mold-friendly moisture and filter allergens entering the house. Just make sure to clean or change the filters often or you’ll just make things worse.
4. Eat one kiwifruit every morning. They’re rich in vitamin C, which acts as a natural antihistamine. Some studies link low levels of C with allergies. When your allergies are flaring up, consider taking a vitamin C supplement.
5. Steam vacuum your furniture and carpets and include a solution of disodium octaborate tetrahydrate (DOT), a boron-based product, in the water. A 2004 study published in the journal Allergy found DOT cut dust mite populations and their associated allergen levels to undetectable levels for up to six months.
6. Take 250 milligrams of quercetin three times a day. This natural supplement is a potent anti-inflammatory flavonoid, and it is widely used in natural medicine practices to fight allergies.
7. Clean out your gutters and make sure they’re not clogged. Clogged gutters can result in water seeping into the house, leading to mold growth, which can exacerbate allergies. Next time it rains, check your gutters. If you see water leaking out of end caps, flowing on the outside, or dripping behind them, it’s time to get out the ladder.
8. Always run the exhaust fan and/or leave the window and door open when taking a shower or bath. Another option is to run a small portable fan (away from water sources) during and after showers. Again, you’re trying to keep surfaces dry and prevent the growth of mold. Also, check to see that the vent on the outside of your house where the exhaust exits isn’t blocked by leaves.
9. Wash the shower curtain in hot water and bleach every month. Or use a shower liner that you can replace every couple of months for just a few bucks.
10. Keep your thermostat set above 65°F in the winter. If you set it too low, you’re encouraging the growth of mold in damp air. The heat dries out the air, preventing mold growth. Of course, too-dry air can also irritate your lungs and sinuses. The perfect humidity in a home is around 50 percent.
11. Wash all your bedding in very hot water every week. It’s the best way to kill those pesky microscopic dust mites that love your bed even more than you do.
12. Follow your dryer vent and make sure it’s vented to the outside. For every load of laundry you dry, 20 pounds of moisture has to go somewhere! If your dryer is vented to the garage or basement, you’re just asking for mold buildup.
13. Clean the tray under the fridge with a bleach solution and sprinkle with salt. The tray is a veritable mold magnet. Adding salt reduces the growth of mold and bacteria. Also, clean under the refrigerator occasionally; food can become trapped there, become moldy, and the mold spores are blown into the kitchen every time the compressor kicks in.
14. Water your plants sparingly and put pebbles on top of the dirt to discourage mold spores from getting into the air. Overwatering houseplants can contribute to the growth of mold. Also, water might leak through the plant onto the carpet.
15. Spend this weekend decluttering. Throw out or give away coats and other clothing you haven’t used in the past year. Put sports equipment in the garage or basement where it belongs. Slip shoes into hanging shoe bags. When you finish, you should be able to see all your closets’ floors and back walls. Now give everything a good vacuum and you’ll have significantly reduced the amount of dust in your house.
16. Keep your bedroom door shut so your dog and/or cat can’t get in. Let him bark or meow. You spend more time in your bedroom than any other room of the house, and this keeps down cat and dog dander, to which many people are allergic.
17. Choose a doormat made of synthetic material. Doormats made of natural material (wicker, etc.) can break down and become excellent feeding grounds for mites, mold, and fungus, and then get tracked into the house. Wash all mats weekly.
18. Clean all dead insects from your porch lights. As they decompose, they can become an allergen source.
19. Put a shelf by the front door for shoes and encourage your family and guests to remove their shoes before entering to reduce the amount of dust, mold, and other allergens tracked in. Keep some soft slippers in a basket by the front door for people who don’t want to walk around in their stocking feet.
20. Read labels and avoid foods that contain the additive monosodium benzoate. An Italian study found that monosodium benzoate triggered allergy-like symptoms, including runny, stuffy nose, sneezing, and nasal itching, in adults without allergies. The preservative is often found in juices, pie fillings, pickles, olives, and salad dressings.
SOURCE ARTICLE HERE
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
October 2012 Schedule
Tues. October 2
9:15-12:00 One-on-One By Appointment Only
1:15-4:45 Open Lab
Weds. October 3
9:15-12:00 Open Lab
1:15-4:45 CLOSED FOR FALL CLEANING
Thurs. October 4
9:15-12:00 Open Lab
1:15-2:15 Fun with Keyboarding – Learn the keyboard using thought-provoking exercises. Not only is this class helpful for your typing skills, it gets your brain going AND we have a lot of fun!
2:15-4:45 Open Lab
Tues. October 9
9:15-12:00 One-on-One By Appointment Only
1:15-4:45 Open Lab
Weds. October 10
9:15-12:00 Open Lab
1:15-2:15 English as a Second Language
2:15-4:45 Open Lab
Thurs. October 11
9:15-12:00 Open Lab
1:15-2:15 Home Users Club– Meet in the Community Room for interesting discussion on computers/technology. If you have computer questions or are having a problem with your computer this class is a great opportunity to get answers!
2:15-4:45 Open Lab
Tues. October 16
9:15-12:00 One-on-One By Appointment Only
1:15-4:45 Open Lab
Weds. October 17
9:15-12:00 Open Lab
1:15-2:15 Advanced Class – I’ll be teaching you something new, I just don’t know what it is yet! Sign-up sheet on bulletin board.
2:15-4:45 Open Lab
Thurs. October 18
9:15-12:00 Open Lab
2:00 Monthly Birthday Party – Meet in the Community Room.
3:15-4:45 Literati Challenge! – Sign-up sheet on bulletin board.
Tues. October 23
9:15-12:00 One-on-One By Appointment Only
1:15-4:45 Open Lab
Tues. October 24
9:15-12:00 Open Lab
1:15-2:15 Travel Day - This month we’ll be visiting South Dakota, Montana, Washington & Idaho. Sign-up sheet on bulletin board. As always, the links will be posted on the BLOG for the home users! 2:15-4:45 Open Lab
Thurs. October 25
9:15-12:00 Open Lab
1:15-2:15 Intermediate Class: Microsoft Word Sign-up sheet on bulletin board
2:15-4:45 Open Lab
Mon. October 29
9:15-12:00 Open Lab
1:15-4:45 Open Lab
Tues. October 30
9:15-12:00 One-on-One By Appointment Only
1:15-2:15 Newsletter/Bulletin Board Class – Help with the monthly newsletter and the bulletin board in the lobby. Sign-up sheet on bulletin board.
2:15-4:45 Open Lab
Weds. October 31
CLOSED
_____________________________________________
Schedule Changes
OPEN Monday October 29th
CLOSED Wednesday October 31st
_____________________________________________
Thank you SO much for all of your support, participation and contributions for the 2nd Annual Talent Show. I appreciate your involvement very much. I hope you had as much fun as I did!
9:15-12:00 One-on-One By Appointment Only
1:15-4:45 Open Lab
Weds. October 3
9:15-12:00 Open Lab
1:15-4:45 CLOSED FOR FALL CLEANING
Thurs. October 4
9:15-12:00 Open Lab
1:15-2:15 Fun with Keyboarding – Learn the keyboard using thought-provoking exercises. Not only is this class helpful for your typing skills, it gets your brain going AND we have a lot of fun!
2:15-4:45 Open Lab
Tues. October 9
9:15-12:00 One-on-One By Appointment Only
1:15-4:45 Open Lab
Weds. October 10
9:15-12:00 Open Lab
1:15-2:15 English as a Second Language
2:15-4:45 Open Lab
Thurs. October 11
9:15-12:00 Open Lab
1:15-2:15 Home Users Club– Meet in the Community Room for interesting discussion on computers/technology. If you have computer questions or are having a problem with your computer this class is a great opportunity to get answers!
2:15-4:45 Open Lab
Tues. October 16
9:15-12:00 One-on-One By Appointment Only
1:15-4:45 Open Lab
Weds. October 17
9:15-12:00 Open Lab
1:15-2:15 Advanced Class – I’ll be teaching you something new, I just don’t know what it is yet! Sign-up sheet on bulletin board.
2:15-4:45 Open Lab
Thurs. October 18
9:15-12:00 Open Lab
2:00 Monthly Birthday Party – Meet in the Community Room.
3:15-4:45 Literati Challenge! – Sign-up sheet on bulletin board.
Tues. October 23
9:15-12:00 One-on-One By Appointment Only
1:15-4:45 Open Lab
Tues. October 24
9:15-12:00 Open Lab
1:15-2:15 Travel Day - This month we’ll be visiting South Dakota, Montana, Washington & Idaho. Sign-up sheet on bulletin board. As always, the links will be posted on the BLOG for the home users! 2:15-4:45 Open Lab
Thurs. October 25
9:15-12:00 Open Lab
1:15-2:15 Intermediate Class: Microsoft Word Sign-up sheet on bulletin board
2:15-4:45 Open Lab
Mon. October 29
9:15-12:00 Open Lab
1:15-4:45 Open Lab
Tues. October 30
9:15-12:00 One-on-One By Appointment Only
1:15-2:15 Newsletter/Bulletin Board Class – Help with the monthly newsletter and the bulletin board in the lobby. Sign-up sheet on bulletin board.
2:15-4:45 Open Lab
Weds. October 31
CLOSED
_____________________________________________
Schedule Changes
OPEN Monday October 29th
CLOSED Wednesday October 31st
_____________________________________________
Thank you SO much for all of your support, participation and contributions for the 2nd Annual Talent Show. I appreciate your involvement very much. I hope you had as much fun as I did!
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