Careful What You Wish For

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYDj5n4v9Qmyge2gRP3FM1MolMopD13-L43FsVZ5umMcftu-BZCuEjblfAXd8FeuGVIbnhSiwgOeAVzknCgypuh2cilqGVuiE47R6-yDbFYJhRt1EblAMOI2AdEGDE6hmzEvVzxHnBTVU/s1600/Matt+Man+Thoughtful.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYDj5n4v9Qmyge2gRP3FM1MolMopD13-L43FsVZ5umMcftu-BZCuEjblfAXd8FeuGVIbnhSiwgOeAVzknCgypuh2cilqGVuiE47R6-yDbFYJhRt1EblAMOI2AdEGDE6hmzEvVzxHnBTVU/s400/Matt+Man+Thoughtful.jpg" width="287" /></a>Cheers and Hello my IWS friends.<br /><br />Matt-Man here to give you a little something, something, about friendship.<br /><br />Now, dig it…<br /><br />Many months ago, I told a strange yet true story about how my wife would never divorce me, because well, it wasn’t on her “things to do list”, even though I had begged her to do so for years.<br /><br />Well, lo and behold, I guess it is now.<br /><br />It seems that as our son Ryno, is creeping upon college age, she would finally like to get divorced, so that he can accrue more Financial Aid and perhaps tuition relief than he would get if his mom were otherwise married to me.<br /><br />Really? Not so fast, Miss Matriculation. Allow us to cover some facts…<br /><br />We split up some twelve years ago…In those twelve years, you berated me, chided me, told me I was no good, and otherwise said to me and the world, <i>“Matt sucks.”</i><br /><br />In addition to never being able to see my own kid (because I’m a danger, and live with a woman who neither hits me nor spits on me) within the confines of my own house, which I could have court ordered that I did, I let it go, and amicably let by gones be by gones and serviced you with money.<br /><br />But…You never seemed to want that divorce thing, and in fact, you said it was me that was preventing it. We both know that was, well…not true.<br /><br />But I digress…Okay no I don’t ..In fact, I have more shit to say about you.<br /><br />Nowwwwww it seems, you want that divorce so you can get a little more money from those who give financial aid. Sure, you make fun of my income because it comes from a Drive-Thru, all the while accepting my income in the form of child support, but now…You want to make it appear as though it doesn't exist.<br /><br />I don’t hate you, however, you never really thought all this out did you? You just decided that you and Ryno could get by on life by hating me, and every month you could collect your version of 200 dollars and Go.<br /><br />There were many nights that I cried, because you took hold of Ryno, and kept him from me. There were many days that I felt awful, because I felt that I did the wrong thing by leaving, but…<br /><br />Not so much anymore, because of the things you do, and you do it with such a, <i>“What? I am just trying to look out for Ryno.”</i> M’eh…you are looking out for yourself.<br /><br />And that’s fine, and whatever you want I’ll give to you, because I have been dreaming of this day for years, but just remember….<br /><br />Once we get divorced, there is no tax-free money, there is no "can I have some extra", there is no anything, in fact…<br /><br />Come June 2013, there is no nothing, other than what I give Ryno, and just like my soul at that point, you’ll have no control over it.<br /><br /><i>Cheers!!</i><br /><br /><i><a href="mailto:mattmaniws@ymail.com">mattmaniws@ymail.com</a></i><br /><i><a href="https://twitter.com/MattMan_IWS"><span style="color: blue;">@MattMan_IWS</span></a></i></div>

Careful What You Wish For

Cheers and Hello my IWS friends. Matt-Man here to give you a little something, something, about friendship. Now, dig it… Many months ago, I ...

Read more »

Teach This! Teaching with lesson plans and ideas that rock 10/04/2012

<ul class="diigo-linkroll"> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://hc.visibli.com/share/j4GMH2">Ed Tech: 4 Tips from Cool Cat Teacher that Will Make You a Tech Savvy Teacher | HotChalk's Lesson Plans Page</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">An article hotchalk did that talks about some of the habitgs I have in my classroom. One of the biggest is taking and making time to learn. "Davis used her daily break time – 15 minutes – two to three times a week to do this. First she’d discover what she wanted to learn about and make a list – from wiki to QR codes and beyond. Then she’d spend her next breaks working her way through the list. “Break it down,” she said. “If you want to eat a watermelon, you don’t eat it whole. You eat it a bite at a time.”"</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/tumblr">tumblr</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/inthenews">inthenews</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnGI76__sSA&feature=player_embedded">Jonathan Ive - Tribute to Steve Jobs - YouTube</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">This tribute to Steve Jobs is gaining traction in the anniversary of his death on Friday. It is another take that you might want to share with your students if you're talking about this Friday. 7 minutes and 30 seconds.</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/apple">apple</a></p> </li> </ul><p class="diigo-ps">Posted from <a href='http://www.diigo.com'>Diigo</a>. The rest of my favorite links are <a href='http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher'>here</a>.</p>

Teach This! Teaching with lesson plans and ideas that rock 10/04/2012

Ed Tech: 4 Tips from Cool Cat Teacher that Will Make You a Tech Savvy Teacher | HotChalk's Lesson Plans Page...

Read more »

When a Drug Addict Isn't Ready to Accept Help - NYTimes.com

<base href="data:"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><div id="well" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div align="left"><div class="entry-content"><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">"I'm addicted to painkillers," J., a thickset construction worker, told me on a recent afternoon in the emergency room, his wife at his side.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">Two years before, after months of pain, stiffness and <a href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/symptoms/swelling/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); text-decoration: none; ">swelling</a> in his hands and neck, his primary physician had diagnosed <a href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/rheumatoid-arthritis/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); text-decoration: none; ">rheumatoid arthritis</a> and had prescribed three medications: two to slow the disease and one, oxycodone, for pain.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">Bolstered by the painkiller, J. had felt more limber and energetic than he had in years. "I could finally keep up with the other guys," he told me. He worked harder, and his pain worsened. His primary physician increased the oxycodone dose.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">Soon, J. was looking forward more to the buzz than to the relief the pills brought. He went to see two other physicians who, unaware that he was double-dipping, prescribed similar medications. When a co-worker offered to sell him painkillers directly, J.'s use spiraled out of control.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">By the time I saw him, he was taking dozens of pills a day, often crushing and snorting them to speed the onset of his high. With remarkable candor, he described how the drugs had marred every facet of his life - from days of missed work to increasing debt, deteriorating health and marital strain.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">But when I listed the treatment options that might help, J. shook his head, looked from me to his wife, and got up. "I'm all set," he said, holding up his hands.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">Then he walked out of the room.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">Despair fell on his wife's face. "Please," she said, grabbing my arm, "you can't let him leave."</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">She'd found him twice in the past week slumped on the bathroom floor, impossible to arouse. Though she'd called 911, both times the hospital released J. within hours after he came to and insisted the overdose was accidental. "I just know I'm going to come home one day to find him dead," she said.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">She had good reason to worry. Prescription <a href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/specialtopic/drug-abuse/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); text-decoration: none; ">drug abuse</a> is America's fastest-growing drug problem. <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/rxbrief/index.html" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); text-decoration: none; ">Every 19 minutes, someone dies from a prescription drug overdose</a> in the United States, triple the rate in 1990. And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, prescription painkillers (like oxycodone) are largely to blame. More <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6043a4.htm" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); text-decoration: none; ">people die from ingesting these drugs than from cocaine and heroin combined</a>. Yet while I shared her concern, there was little I could do to force J. into treatment.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">My hospital happens to be in Rhode Island, one of about a dozen states where compulsory treatment for someone like J. (that is, someone not under the purview of the criminal justice system) does not exist. Had J. been a resident of nearby Massachusetts - or from one of more than 20 other states that permit involuntary addiction treatment - I would have suggested his wife petition a judge to force him into care. Had we met in any of a dozen states, I could have hospitalized J. myself - against his will and for up to several days.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">The requirements for involuntary substance treatment vary widely across the nation, from posing a serious danger to oneself, others or property, to impaired decision-making or even something as vague as losing control of oneself. States approach compulsory treatment for mental illness with far greater uniformity. All allow it, and almost all restrict it to instances in which a patient poses an immediate danger to himself or another.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">This common standard stems from a series of federal court cases that set procedural and substantive requirements for <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics/mentalhealthanddisorders/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); text-decoration: none; ">mental health</a> commitments. But involuntary commitment for addiction treatment, while certainly not new, has received considerably less judicial attention.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">In a 1962 case, Robinson v. California, the Supreme Court held that while conviction solely for <a href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/drug-abuse-and-dependence/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); text-decoration: none; ">drug addiction</a> was unconstitutional, "a state might establish a program of compulsory treatment for those addicted to narcotics." Many did, others didn't. The high court has yet to revisit the issue.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">Another complicating factor is society's disagreement about what addiction really is: a disease, a moral failing or something in between. Many (often patients themselves) see drug abuse as purely a choice. Under this view, justifying the lost autonomy and expense to taxpayers that accompany mandated treatment becomes a hard sell.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">Yet a large and ever-growing body of research paints a far more complicated picture of addiction.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">The cognitive concepts that we typically associate with "willpower" - motivation, resolve and an ability to delay gratification, resist impulses and consider and choose among alternatives - arise from distinct neural pathways in the brain. The characteristic elements of drug abuse - craving, intoxication, dependency and withdrawal - correspond with disruptions in these circuits. A host of genetic or environmental factors serve to reinforce or mitigate these effects. These data underscore the powerful ways in which addiction constrains one's ability to resist.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">The spotty existence of commitment laws for addiction has created something odd in medicine: a landscape where the standard of care differs dramatically from one place to the next. But change seems to be afoot. In March, Ohio passed a law authorizing substance-related commitments. Pennsylvania is considering a similar bill.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">In July, Massachusetts extended its maximum period of addiction commitment from 30 days to 90 days, a move driven by the state's growing opioid abuse epidemic. In the same month, however, California terminated its commitment program for drug abuse.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">These shifts come at a time when private insurers increasingly refuse to cover even brief inpatient stays for treatment of opioid abuse and as states grapple with dwindling resources. Still, while short periods of involuntary custody make intuitive sense - to provide protection until the effects of intoxication or withdrawal subside - surprisingly little evidence exists to suggest that a longer period of commitment will lead to abstinence or prevent the behavior that justified commitment in the first place. Science must guide the crafting of these laws, but for now the empirical jury is decidedly out.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">As I watched the color drain from J.'s wife's face, I decided to speak with him again. Short of forcing him to stay, I knew what she wanted was for me to change J.'s mind.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">He stood near the exit, arms folded, coat zipped. I waited next to him and for several moments said nothing. Then I wondered aloud whether he feared the physical pain that existed apart from his addiction. Without looking at me, he nodded.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">"What if we can find a way to treat your pain and also bring an end to the hurt this is causing you and your family?" I asked. "Perhaps together we can help you get your life back."</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">J. paused to consider my offer. For an instant, his face softened.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">Then, just as quickly, he jerked his head and was gone. His wife followed him out, in tears.</div></div></div></div></div><a href="http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/01/addicted-to-painkillers-but-not-ready-for-help/?ref=health&pagewanted=print">http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/01/addicted-to-painkillers-but-not-ready-for-help/?ref=health&pagewanted=print</a><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>

When a Drug Addict Isn't Ready to Accept Help - NYTimes.com

"I'm addicted to painkillers," J., a thickset construction worker, told me on a recent afternoon in the emergency room, his wi...

Read more »

Healing what ails us: A look at Jeffrey Simpson’s ‘Chronic Condition’ | iPolitics

<base href="data:">Many say that the discussions around Canadian healthcare need more 'light' than 'heat' – that our debates far too often tend to the emotions of the issue, which cause our political leaders to shrink away from it, rather than some clear-headed focus on resilient solutions.<br><br>Over two decades of countless studies, reports, and commissions tackling how we preserve, develop or transform our system of healthcare has not resulted in much change. Canadians consistently underline the fact that health is the top public policy issue. Researchers continue to crank out options in areas ranging from models of delivery to broad socio-economic underpinnings. Stakeholders put forward endless arguments for either stability or change. Public leaders, including most recently the provincial and territorial premiers faced with demographic and fiscal pressures, regularly come together to try and navigate a way forward. Through all of this, we still have not found a solution.<br><br>Against this backdrop, Jeffery Simpson's new book, Chronic Condition: Why Canada's Health-Care System Needs to be Dragged into the 21st Century is a refreshing, important and constructive contribution to the challenge of tackling our healthcare conundrum. Part story, part history, and part white paper, Simpson does a superb job of showing how we got ourselves into the situation we are in now and, most importantly, provides some directions of how we can get ourselves out of it.<br><br>Playing the role of doctor to the Canadian healthcare system, Simpson proceeds in a sensitive and focused manner to address the case. He talks to the patient, through the eyes of Dr. Jeffrey Turnbull, chief of staff at the Ottawa Hospital and past president at the Canadian Medical Association. He delves into the patient's history, particularly its genetics. He scopes out the various interconnected maladies affecting the patient, including some environmental context, drawing a line of how these issues ultimately affect the patient's health. Finally, he determines a broad course of treatment, and writes some prescriptions the patient needs to get healthy.<br><br>Ironically, perhaps the most striking absence in Simpson's book is the perspective of patients, which we see only through the eyes of the doctor and the system. A patient-centred approach and the need to have the resources follow patients, rather than institutions, is a major theme in healthcare discussions that should have more central presence in his argument. This absence parallels a challenge we currently face in policy-making: how to effectively engage citizens on issues that matter to them and in whose solutions they have a significant role to play themselves.<br><br>Regardless, Simpson provides readers – from experts in health policy to those in civil society who genuinely want to better understand the system – an accessible, cogent and comprehensive analysis of the main issues bedeviling Canadian healthcare, as well as some significant solutions and recommendations.<br><br>Most effectively, he disabuses us of basic fallacies about the Canadian healthcare system. While it is true, for example, that we are in many ways better off than our American neighbours, Canadian healthcare has declined sharply relative to most other developed countries as well as against our own standards. Despite increased investments at all levels, we are simply not getting the results we should.<br><br>Moreover, while we like to believe that Canada's system is fully public, the reality is that 30% of our annual $200 billion in expenditures come from private sources.<br><br>What we have in Canada, Simpson argues, is a system that is 'deep, narrow and expensive' as opposed to our comparators internationally with systems 'somewhat shallower, wider and cheaper.' He underlines that these realities need to more front and centre in our policy discussions if we are to find real solutions.<br><br>Arguments will certainly be generated about some of the remedies he raises. Should all doctors be salaried? Should all professional salaries be capped? Should we more aggressively pursue new practice areas, such as nurse practitioners, and better cluster medical professionals? Should we better integrate our various healthcare institutions or de-hospitalize our care through increased community access?<br><br>How can we better invite and incent innovation in patient care and in every institution, especially our largest hospitals? Should we more intelligently introduce private, fee-based delivery in our largely public systems? How do we get lower costs of drugs, while seeking better medications for a diversified and aging population? Why do we accept a national formulary on acceptable and needed drugs that is applied so drastically different across Canada? Should we have a personal, pre-payment plan for healthcare fashioned on the Canada Pension Plan as we prepare for our aged years when our healthcare needs will be the greatest?<br><br>Simpson does not answer all these questions definitively, but he does lay out in one place some of the best integrated considerations of the most significant factors all policymakers need to address. His conclusion is that while the patient is not at death's door, it is in failing health and needs immediate, regular and comprehensive attention.<br><br>Simpson points us to where and how we can look to fix, or at least substantially improve, the national treasure that is our healthcare system. Leaders and policymakers at all levels in Canada should join him in this pursuit.<br><br><i>Paul Ledwell is Executive VP of Canada's Public Policy Forum where, among other things, he leads the Forum's work on health policy.</i><br><br><a href="http://www.ipolitics.ca/2012/10/03/healing-what-ails-us-a-look-at-jeffrey-simpsons-chronic-condition/">http://www.ipolitics.ca/2012/10/03/healing-what-ails-us-a-look-at-jeffrey-simpsons-chronic-condition/</a><br><br>

Healing what ails us: A look at Jeffrey Simpson’s ‘Chronic Condition’ | iPolitics

Many say that the discussions around Canadian healthcare need more 'light' than 'heat' – that our debates far too often tend...

Read more »

paint a rug party - week 3 reveal

Happy Paint a Rug Party Reveal Day! Did you get the day off work? Just you wait, next year it will be a national holiday.<br /><br />I've had three weeks to put this sucker together (catch up on <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2012/09/paint-rug-party-week-1.html" target="_blank">week 1</a> and <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2012/09/paint-rug-party-week-2.html" target="_blank">week 2</a> if you missed it) so let's see what we've got.<br /><br />First, to answer the question from last week. The votes were a lot tighter than I thought (thanks to everyone who shared their opinion), with Navy/White squeaking out a win. However, I forgot about one important voter - the hubs. He came home that night and said 'yeah, I don't want a pink rug.' I was so impressed that he actually read it, that I gave him the deciding vote. So Navy/White it is. (Don't worry, you'll be seeing the raspberry somewhere else soon)<br /><br />As I mentioned in week 1 I read thru a few tutorials and decided what I would need to make this happen. With the kids in bed and a nice cocktail in hand. I got started.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-FpLbQ8Dc8sdJrU4wXbUT2bL4jqfW59a1_sFa2EsWalo1RQG0tHy1Ot21ly1lpXjI3NcTypQsdtDva-Dm69imSttNmR9QPtpDf9mUuQxmK3LbtrwcRT_zL3rXJGraUmLmeBcjMOzpostD/s1600/PaintARugSupplies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-FpLbQ8Dc8sdJrU4wXbUT2bL4jqfW59a1_sFa2EsWalo1RQG0tHy1Ot21ly1lpXjI3NcTypQsdtDva-Dm69imSttNmR9QPtpDf9mUuQxmK3LbtrwcRT_zL3rXJGraUmLmeBcjMOzpostD/s640/PaintARugSupplies.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />The rug was brand new ($9 from HomeGoods) so no cleaning was needed. If you were doing this with an existing rug, I would make sure you vacuum the crap out of that sucker before painting.<br />The first coat of paint needs to be the color under the tape (remember that whole negative space thing) so the white paint went on first. I just used some Kilz (in white) I had on hand and mixed it with one bottle of fabric medium. But I didn't measure it out exactly. I guess I'm more of a chef than a baker. Anyone who watches Top Chef knows this difference.<br /><br />The first coat went on and I wasn't encouraged. The paint did not spread. At all. It basically just stays wherever you pour it. It took a lot of muscle to get that paint to spread at all. I tried both a brush and a roller and found that the brush is best to begin with to get in all the little crevasses. (with a sisal rug)  Then, finish off with the roller.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6M_cUSDXvmUKwwLGYQR-w9T_FIsw6FU_Fz2NSyneAejR5Y9o5UPBBgbquiiVqQuuxPEuBr7pNL6KSYWGMXq6zwUix6URXzspwpb8EIuUKUeYQ6skT_2LVuM75UKFjfYT4iyAjDTciKZGU/s1600/FirstCoatCloseUp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6M_cUSDXvmUKwwLGYQR-w9T_FIsw6FU_Fz2NSyneAejR5Y9o5UPBBgbquiiVqQuuxPEuBr7pNL6KSYWGMXq6zwUix6URXzspwpb8EIuUKUeYQ6skT_2LVuM75UKFjfYT4iyAjDTciKZGU/s640/FirstCoatCloseUp.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />THREE coats later (2 coats with a brush and 1 with a roller), here is where the night ended. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyhTNaMzEeGrH4BU0s6T6tpKZPfjVa16AegdDrmi2XlFyPbam58WIbmkg2rK_6eadmxJ2ukGm2W_qA3HpH0UUY-IRyr5feqJFvqJHxwYBtcRx1JCPnrRSdu9CLmGFPGmtEsHRACQwis67G/s1600/PaintARugFirstCoat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyhTNaMzEeGrH4BU0s6T6tpKZPfjVa16AegdDrmi2XlFyPbam58WIbmkg2rK_6eadmxJ2ukGm2W_qA3HpH0UUY-IRyr5feqJFvqJHxwYBtcRx1JCPnrRSdu9CLmGFPGmtEsHRACQwis67G/s640/PaintARugFirstCoat.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />With Step 1 complete, I let it dry overnight.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjFr405z7PhjGKf7tx6fnsYJ9D4tyKuLMgZ31MjO9cssQAenmhVIdcRS6qrMUwvUQBp6LeVBDFwgqLn6Tl8odYPA4WKx4k22BEIKyKBrz2YPkLL3fP3KAD6lVRf4i6wP9m_ny8BhdeuYuL/s1600/PaintARugDrying.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjFr405z7PhjGKf7tx6fnsYJ9D4tyKuLMgZ31MjO9cssQAenmhVIdcRS6qrMUwvUQBp6LeVBDFwgqLn6Tl8odYPA4WKx4k22BEIKyKBrz2YPkLL3fP3KAD6lVRf4i6wP9m_ny8BhdeuYuL/s400/PaintARugDrying.jpg" width="321" /></a></div><br />Next up. Tape.<br /><br />I made my two base lines, making sure that the tape met right in the middle of the rug (the only measuring I did.)<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivWwvuIwaOSgexM28puwWvUuQTqjHdsqvWCCncM58mL-297JUNRXKS0ve8lbAgCqVolp1wZXrw_InQZw1MRAYp62NGcmmPbWzmX6YgqZrY-_fAFM2e9wr3iCfcuNioJFKcKnrVqTeI8f6o/s1600/PaintARugTapeOut.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivWwvuIwaOSgexM28puwWvUuQTqjHdsqvWCCncM58mL-297JUNRXKS0ve8lbAgCqVolp1wZXrw_InQZw1MRAYp62NGcmmPbWzmX6YgqZrY-_fAFM2e9wr3iCfcuNioJFKcKnrVqTeI8f6o/s640/PaintARugTapeOut.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>I thought I'd have to measure out each piece of tape to make sure everything was consistant. But to my great pleasure, once I had the middle taped and knew that it was in the center of the rug, I realized I just needed to tape from that center outward in each section and they would all work out to be even.<br /><br /><br />So using my level as my spacer I taped out the first section.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrtnNx1wOg_rRr_EygjPezpQAdUQJB-8rQgaJbFNIinDbN6j38kttEcmyLhpBsJfOJznzrAoga9oSG86cw1hwUSWiWLVC8MV0rmfTYr2MomWhuPBLeeTAGhKf9KPnSFMi3c6uR5mO6xq-5/s1600/PaintARugTapeOut2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrtnNx1wOg_rRr_EygjPezpQAdUQJB-8rQgaJbFNIinDbN6j38kttEcmyLhpBsJfOJznzrAoga9oSG86cw1hwUSWiWLVC8MV0rmfTYr2MomWhuPBLeeTAGhKf9KPnSFMi3c6uR5mO6xq-5/s640/PaintARugTapeOut2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />It spaced out perfectly. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMgkbYvnFgVGqveAAHGIT1YxUzvXcjDD-TSd4rPVquyOkMRxCJhlMgBYsTanNJMdpdl1myaRVg_BEl62WeD9_sZRJSy10A0SSs_8FlTmVio3Igr7D_PlLNhEElkZVvXX2Os9aliGPX_HGa/s1600/PaintARugTapeOut3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMgkbYvnFgVGqveAAHGIT1YxUzvXcjDD-TSd4rPVquyOkMRxCJhlMgBYsTanNJMdpdl1myaRVg_BEl62WeD9_sZRJSy10A0SSs_8FlTmVio3Igr7D_PlLNhEElkZVvXX2Os9aliGPX_HGa/s640/PaintARugTapeOut3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />It can get a bit confusing to keep track of which lines should go which way so it is best to think by section. The lines of each section should go the opposite way of the lines from the previous section. Clear as mud?<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ_eVL89Z5-eUfUj5nzDDgMhGSks_cAqChq-0XHk5cS8XlgL8oHD1llNIYlR5CvZWOEo8k9Z1rRlRc-_qSPmVE1Dg58CEgkda662J41SO0pb11iLkklI6g2jLSBRO-OmN7JvseDZFrAgHs/s1600/PaintARugReady.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ_eVL89Z5-eUfUj5nzDDgMhGSks_cAqChq-0XHk5cS8XlgL8oHD1llNIYlR5CvZWOEo8k9Z1rRlRc-_qSPmVE1Dg58CEgkda662J41SO0pb11iLkklI6g2jLSBRO-OmN7JvseDZFrAgHs/s640/PaintARugReady.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />With the rug taped out, I pressed the hell out of that tape working to get it as tight as possible to limit bleed.<br /><br />Then, I poured out my paint and fabric medium to mix together. Hmm, I could have sworn the paint chip I gave to Home Depot was Navy. This looks awfully...royal.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx35hDco9jDZwb0FPj4kB9iuibVDpPBaPpUjJQZzoYhFy8oxWQ-8MqFGsiEImdyE4eavDguPY7B0-s3vCo4tp9obh46ukDqgZQlU_8ukfOGDSJdlx7occIgctDTSoSk610btKY1cczTv7K/s1600/PaintARugPaint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx35hDco9jDZwb0FPj4kB9iuibVDpPBaPpUjJQZzoYhFy8oxWQ-8MqFGsiEImdyE4eavDguPY7B0-s3vCo4tp9obh46ukDqgZQlU_8ukfOGDSJdlx7occIgctDTSoSk610btKY1cczTv7K/s400/PaintARugPaint.jpg" width="377" /></a></div><br />Worried about the color, I went ahead with the first coat. It covered only slightly better than the other paint, probably because there was already 3 coats of paint that had filled in some of the gaps in the rug. However, you still gotta put some muscle into it.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqQQqbIPA4F9T0rKpaSB2YInJPtTrL7dqMIb_QpnyqlarFxEQl4KnrR2MaDVElZnONbiBnSkikxfukR-CvEh1KtGl3mKbtunI-1Pmy2KlVYbBYQpd2tf3PiAIrsjOOYmM9qBgMIFXnhdkH/s1600/PaintARugSecondCoat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqQQqbIPA4F9T0rKpaSB2YInJPtTrL7dqMIb_QpnyqlarFxEQl4KnrR2MaDVElZnONbiBnSkikxfukR-CvEh1KtGl3mKbtunI-1Pmy2KlVYbBYQpd2tf3PiAIrsjOOYmM9qBgMIFXnhdkH/s400/PaintARugSecondCoat.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />After the first coat it still looked more royal than navy. I tried not to freak out and hoped it would get darker once it was dry.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtZWcZMkFKx_JXvkPe4lrGI3NWVBfIzDwbUZMVr2xvEF7Mxzii6Gl0DYb1uDrRIaSc9Juul1mhOxoxe5QYqPnwZXflPUlcKyAK31QH1hISwLTRgiZGUewkfnab7OPOgaPkM_Zrifdu6qac/s1600/PaintARugBlue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtZWcZMkFKx_JXvkPe4lrGI3NWVBfIzDwbUZMVr2xvEF7Mxzii6Gl0DYb1uDrRIaSc9Juul1mhOxoxe5QYqPnwZXflPUlcKyAK31QH1hISwLTRgiZGUewkfnab7OPOgaPkM_Zrifdu6qac/s400/PaintARugBlue.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />No dice. Not blue enough and not the color on the chip. Mistint. Not cool Home Depot. Not cool. Luckily my brilliant hubs suggested we add some left over Farrow&Ball black to darken it up a bit. Extra birthday present for you my dear. So I mixed in some black and arrived at a color I think I want to market. I will call it Midnight in St. Louis. It will sell like hot cakes.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2pNzYkG3QN6TLCqpmF4P6H1Lo6q1zzfAus4kmDliICRjE3Wzoba9VBybmOHfi-rm5NqXW44JJw8w3j_N54PNdprscFmJVkRwN5U3121xP6GFd8olUwYa2FCNpuvSQ_R8MwBi8bsc91NYH/s1600/PaintARugDarkerBlue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="379" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2pNzYkG3QN6TLCqpmF4P6H1Lo6q1zzfAus4kmDliICRjE3Wzoba9VBybmOHfi-rm5NqXW44JJw8w3j_N54PNdprscFmJVkRwN5U3121xP6GFd8olUwYa2FCNpuvSQ_R8MwBi8bsc91NYH/s400/PaintARugDarkerBlue.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Much better. Just like with the white, I went ahead and did three coats of the blue as well. I let it dry, again, over night. Then pulled off the tape to discover this.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoVh0YXAdf8JZ6rk79YcQQJO0rh-2BnLr6DbfHLH-8qqTL2FJBmUX15HCGQThCK8Vl61UqSmyy11Ndri4N4op1XMWe_bg1_Tcg1kMW5f52gvWpK8VIGNOpKwo-N_hKuiPYY8I2GSw4pLIy/s1600/PaintARugCloseUp2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoVh0YXAdf8JZ6rk79YcQQJO0rh-2BnLr6DbfHLH-8qqTL2FJBmUX15HCGQThCK8Vl61UqSmyy11Ndri4N4op1XMWe_bg1_Tcg1kMW5f52gvWpK8VIGNOpKwo-N_hKuiPYY8I2GSw4pLIy/s640/PaintARugCloseUp2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Wahoo! I was actually really impressed with how well the tape did to prevent bleed. There are a few spots that could use some touch ups, but I've decided I kind of like the imperfections. And I'm not at all saying this because I'm tired of painting this sucker.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDxV0VwZP8ud8kOAXq7aCNETWTnUawD4H-wRHwfMXEwQgOBE9mIHinfyK00Cxn3nt8loVcCVyMtIO7qRCOstq252Lt3j-UDNenWyWNmVPPkl8FMloyNEWg8AaVjDE1_XgCPn_TVjSKbU-W/s1600/PaintARugCloseUp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDxV0VwZP8ud8kOAXq7aCNETWTnUawD4H-wRHwfMXEwQgOBE9mIHinfyK00Cxn3nt8loVcCVyMtIO7qRCOstq252Lt3j-UDNenWyWNmVPPkl8FMloyNEWg8AaVjDE1_XgCPn_TVjSKbU-W/s400/PaintARugCloseUp.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />It looked so good I decided it was the perfect addition to the kitchen.  It's happy and does a great job of hiding all of the things that <i>someone</i> seems to drop in front of the sink.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj48wcreJ1PSWxsHgmOBKJ42UGhCsEnorbASRWloHKPi6TLbw5smGIe3eYNFvutzhyphenhyphenIuptThV_O1q091wnmuHe57oFgmd0uoliKtKUbuZ9ocbopIeFcdL73QAD-xbYrMzysR5Rkmyu_eCW4/s1600/PaintARugComplete.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj48wcreJ1PSWxsHgmOBKJ42UGhCsEnorbASRWloHKPi6TLbw5smGIe3eYNFvutzhyphenhyphenIuptThV_O1q091wnmuHe57oFgmd0uoliKtKUbuZ9ocbopIeFcdL73QAD-xbYrMzysR5Rkmyu_eCW4/s640/PaintARugComplete.jpg" width="430" /></a></div><br />It also feels a lot better under foot than I had anticipated. Not sticky and maybe even a little less scratchy that plain old sisal.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_t4WjRUf4NklUirP578ksSYsNWsQG5wGh9j__W-Kk4afZ3UpG6LeKIrf-V7YhdZtXFK6YR2rJ3-1AFUGr2CzIhCjdHWpXaYeXa0xMfeiOY_Jj0S7gpSnnNRFfwa1i2udOns_8gMr7I4AH/s1600/PaintARugTopView.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_t4WjRUf4NklUirP578ksSYsNWsQG5wGh9j__W-Kk4afZ3UpG6LeKIrf-V7YhdZtXFK6YR2rJ3-1AFUGr2CzIhCjdHWpXaYeXa0xMfeiOY_Jj0S7gpSnnNRFfwa1i2udOns_8gMr7I4AH/s640/PaintARugTopView.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>I'm glad I did this and I'm happy with how it turned out. I say give it a try. It's much easier than you would have thought. Thanks <a href="http://mycraftyhomelife.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Linda</a> for thinking this fun up!<br /><br />Now let's go check out how all the other ladies did!<br /><br /><br /><div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;"><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><a href="http://chinoiseriechic.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Chinoiserie Chic</a></span></div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;"><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><a href="http://designdumonde.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Design du Monde</a></span></div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;"><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.designpostdaily.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Design Post Interiors</a></span></div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;"><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><a href="http://thejunkhouse.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">The Junk House</a></span></div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;"><a href="http://mybestfriendcraig.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" target="_blank">My Best Friend Cr</a><a href="http://mybestfriendcraig.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" target="_blank">aig</a></div><span class="HOEnZb" style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #888888;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #888888;"></span></span></span></span><br /><div style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;"><span class="HOEnZb" style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #888888;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #888888;"><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><a href="http://mycraftyhomelife.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">My Crafty Home Life</a></span></span></span></span></span></div><span class="HOEnZb" style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #888888;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #888888;"><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.pawleysislandposh.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Pawleys Island Posh</a></span></div><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><a href="http://blog.thepinkpagoda.us/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">The Pink Pagoda</a></span></div><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><a href="http://roomrx.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Room Rx</a></span></div><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><a href="http://seekersbazaar.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Seekers Bazaar</a></span></div><div style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><a href="http://simpledetailsblog.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Simple Details</a></span><br /><div><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><a href="http://trappedinnorthjersey.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Trapped In North Jersey</a></span></div></div></span></span></span></span>

paint a rug party - week 3 reveal

Happy Paint a Rug Party Reveal Day! Did you get the day off work? Just you wait, next year it will be a national holiday. I've had three...

Read more »

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 10/04/2012

<ul class="diigo-linkroll"> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57525045-37/apples-passbook-gets-some-love-from-airbnb-eventbrite-mcdonalds/">Apple's Passbook gets some love from Airbnb, Eventbrite, McDonald's | Apple - CNET News</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">"McDonald's app is available only in France at the moment but lets customers place an order and pay for it from their iPhone." Paying via mobile device is going to increase. Now, school lunch cards and numbers are the norm, but I would expect that eventually paying for books and food will be via mobile device. IT is going to be more important than ever that we teach our children how to handle money because paying via mobile, I think, is a lot like paying with a debit card - you don't feel the pain that you do when real cash is involved.</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/payment">payment</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/apple">apple</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/ios">ios</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/iphone">iphone</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/passbook">passbook</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/money">money</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://www.eonline.com/news/350886/lindsay-lohan-was-bullied-in-high-school-for-movie-roles-troubled-home-life">Lindsay Lohan Was Bullied In High School For Movie Roles Troubled Home Life| E! Online</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">Lindsay Lohan says she was bullied as people speak out. Whitney Kropp was elected homecoming queen "as a joke" but the community embraced and encouraged her to stand against what they did. Lohan says: ""I was actually bullied @ my public school when i would leave to film," Lohan, 26, wrote. "Whenever I came back… girls & boys would call me names." "They would also mock me because of my home situation," she added. "When people found out that my father was in jail...they would yell things, try to trip me & more…I moved to home-schooling instead. In 11th grade. I stuck it out for a while.""</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/stopbullying">stopbullying</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57525250-38/regulators-shut-down-global-pc-tech-support-scam/">Regulators shut down global PC 'tech support' scam | Politics and Law - CNET News</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">Scareware. Yes, it is a term. Scaring people into thinking they have a virus. Knowledge is power and it will also save you money. Being educated about computers pays over your life. It is time for all of us to be educated and savvy. I know someone taken by this scam. "English-speaking consumers in the United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and the U.K. were targeted in the global scam, regulators said. Most of the scammers were based in India, but some also came from the U.S. and U.K. The scam involved cold callers who claimed to work for major technology companies, such as Microsoft or Google, and who told consumers they had viruses on their PCs, according to regulators. The callers would attempt to dupe users into giving them remote access to their computers, locking the user out while attempting to "fix" the malware that the scammer claimed was on the machine."</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/digiteen">digiteen</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/scam">scam</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/security">security</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/digital_safety">digital_safety</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/digital_communications">digital_communications</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19813382">BBC News - Plans to print a gun halted as 3D printer is seized</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">3D printers are beginning to be used. A US project to print guns was stopped when the company who was creating the 3D printer pulled out of the project. They wanted to set it up to print a gun, initially with no moving parts. Regulating things is about to get a lot harder because people will be able to download and print just about anything in 3D. Imagine someone making their principal in 3d and printing out a figurine? It is going to be interesting.</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/technology">technology</a></p> </li> </ul><p class="diigo-ps">Posted from <a href='http://www.diigo.com'>Diigo</a>. The rest of my favorite links are <a href='http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher'>here</a>.</p>

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 10/04/2012

Apple's Passbook gets some love from Airbnb, Eventbrite, McDonald's | Apple - CNET News ...

Read more »