Having trained as a singer, Lisa Smith,
STA’s Technical Support Officer knows a thing or two about the voice,
and how important it is for swimming teachers to protect their vocal
chords.
It is very common for teachers, lecturers or anyone who is required
to speak excessively as part of their job to have at some stage in their
working life a problem with their voice, and especially for swimming
teachers who are projecting their voice in a noisy environment.
Symptoms such as a lack of voice strength and croakiness are typical
of vocal abuse, and permanent damage can be caused to the voice unless
good habits are adopted:
Keep the vocal chords hydrated by taking regular sips of water whilst on poolside
Project the voice, don’t shout, a thumbs up or clapping can motivate learners just as effectively
Use the voice correctly when speaking, this is aided by good posture, and good breath support
When speaking to learners, bring them close enough so that a quiet voice can be used
Warming up the voice with vocal exercises such as humming before lessons can help.
Most importantly, I would advise anyone who suffers from a change in
their voice or hoarseness for more than two weeks to visit their GP.
My new 1 year old rescue pup Lulu is snoring little piggy snorty sounds and it's lovely. I met her a week ago and adopted her last Sunday.
This morning our two
dogs were sharing a bed for warmth but they each have their own bed and
fleece blankets. Lulu and Romeo are settling nicely. We are finding our
daily rhythm.
I've been the the mother to dogs for 45 years.
Yesterday I ran into Joni and told her about our new baby pup added to the family and I said, we all sleep in the bed, and she said. Oh yeah we bought a king sized bed to accommodate our two King Cavaliers because they stretch out horizontally. I told my husband we should've done this years ago because it's birth control. She laughed. She has multiple grandchildren.
Try it! We love INDIAN HEAD stone ground YELLOW CORNMEAL and the savory recipe on the bag. I skip sugar and salt. It's fabulous!! I use my (greased) number 5 cast iron skillet to bake in.
A
Russian teacher secretly documents his small town school's
transformation into a war recruitment center during the Ukraine
invasion, revealing the ethical dilemmas educators face amid propaganda
and militarization.
I cannot remember a time before the conditioning that it is my sole purpose on this planet as a female to be liked, understood, believed and approved of. Comfort was never a priority, only obedience. I've been picking at the locks of my shackles for around six years now, and as I pressed "publish" on that last essay, I finally freed myself once and for all.
Small shifts in diurnal rhythms are associated with an increase in suicide: The effect of daylight saving
Large disruptions of chronobiological rhythms are documented as
destabilizing individuals with bipolar disorder; however, the impact of
small phase altering events is unclear. Australian suicide data from
1971 to 2001 were assessed to determine the impact on the number of
suicides of a 1-h time shift due to daylight saving. The results confirm
that male suicide rates rise in the weeks following the commencement of
daylight saving, compared to the weeks following the return to eastern
standard time and for the rest of the year. After adjusting for the
season, prior to 1986 suicide rates in the weeks following the end of
daylight saving remained significantly increased compared to the rest of
autumn. This study suggests that small changes in chronobiological
rhythms are potentially destabilizing in vulnerable individuals. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1479-8425.2007.00331.x
A
gripping, ultimately triumphant memoir that's also the most
comprehensive and comprehensible study of the neuroscience of addiction
written for the general public.
FROM THE "We are prone to a
cycle of craving what we don't have, finding it, using it up or losing
it, and then craving it all the more. This cycle is at the root of all
addictions, addictions to drugs, sex, love, cigarettes, soap operas,
wealth, and wisdom itself. But why should this be so? Why are we
desperate for what we don't have, or can't have, often at great cost to
what we do have, thereby risking our peace and contentment, our safety,
and even our lives?"
The answer, says Dr. Marc Lewis, lies in the structure and function of the human brain.
Marc
Lewis is a distinguished neuroscientist. And, for many years, he was a
drug addict himself, dependent on a series of dangerous substances, from
LSD to heroin. His narrative moves back and forth between the often
dark, compellingly recounted story of his relationship with drugs and a
revelatory analysis of what was going on in his brain.
He shows
how drugs speak to the brain - which is designed to seek rewards and
soothe pain - in its own language. He shows in detail the neural
mechanics of a variety of powerful drugs and of the onset of addiction,
itself a distortion of normal perception.
Dr. Lewis freed himself
from addiction and ended up studying it. At the age of 30 he traded in
his pharmaceutical supplies for the life of a graduate student,
eventually becoming a professor of developmental psychology, and then of
neuroscience - his field for the last 12 years. This is the story of
his journey, seen from the inside out.
Onions and potatoes should be stored separately because onions release ethylene gas and moisture that significantly accelerate the spoilage of potatoes.
The gas causes potatoes to sprout and turn green, while the moisture
causes onions to turn mushy and rot, leading to a much shorter combined
shelf life.
Reasons to Keep Them Separate:
Ethylene Gas Emission:
Onions release high levels of ethylene gas, a plant hormone that causes
nearby produce, such as potatoes, to ripen and sprout prematurely.
Moisture Exchange: Potatoes have high moisture content, which can cause onions to turn brown, moldy, and turn into a soft, rotten mess.
Donald Moynihan is the Harris Family Professor at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy. He publishes the blog Can We Still Govern?
authors own —Mermaids Emerging — Sylvia emerging from a Winter’s sea at Freshwater Bay
Last month, I wrote about dancing into old age,
about learning ballet for the last seven years. This is not my only
confession as a seventy-year-old who does not want decrepitude creeping
up on her any time soon.
Around
the time I started taking my first ballet classes, I realized I was
more unfit than I thought, and I began swimming more seriously. We live
near the ocean, so it has always been easy for me to drive down to the
best local beaches and take a dip. It used to be a regular summer
hangout time with friends or visitors.
But
now I go all year round, and more often, with friends, or a special
swim buddy, as often as we can both make it. I also go alone with my
lovely husband keeping eyes on me in case I get into trouble. He would
sound the alarm. He is not a swimmer himself except for the occasional
dip in high summer.
It
all started one Boxing-day (The day after Xmas in the UK) when I joined
a charity swim, challenging myself to do ten breast strokes before I
gave up and came out.
I
was in seventh heaven. I actually did more than ten, but more than
that, I had a huge high from the release of neurotransmitters that come
with cold water. Dopamine. It is shown that the increase is up to 250%.
That is some natural high.
Feeling good
This
increase in dopamine lasts, and the more often you swim, the longer it
lasts. It is a regular recommendation as a drug-free alternative for
people with long-lasting depression and other similar mental health
diagnoses. Combine it with a mindfulness practice, and you are not quite
cast iron, but it really is a strong bulwark against lows.
I
struggled with depression, suicide ideation, and PTSD from complex
trauma for most of my life, even though by nature I am an upbeat and
cheerful individual with a wicked sense of humour. I had a massive
breakdown in 2008, and I am still working towards shaking the last of my
PTSD trigger points off. That may never happen, but if I do get
triggered, I know what to do. Cold swimming is now recommended by
doctors for people with long-term mental health issues, with
considerable success.
author,
memoir, mindfulness essayist, poet, advocate for mental health and
compassionate living, author of ‘No Visible Injuries’, ‘Living Well and
Loving ADHD’
Persist. If you stop, then you’re removing yourself from the conversation. You have to keep going and weather rejection until you find the person who will open the door for you. You have to hold up your end of the bargain. Become the best writer you can because nobody owes you anything; you owe that to yourself.
Adopting a dog can significantly help heal an unhappy childhood by providing unconditional love, companionship, and a sense of purpose that counteracts early trauma.
The routine of pet care fosters stability, while rescuing a dog often
creates a mutual, healing bond that helps individuals address their own
emotional, anxiety, or depression struggles.
Benefits for Healing
Unconditional Love & Security:
Dogs provide steady, non-judgmental companionship that can fill
emotional voids, offering comfort that may have been missing in
childhood.
Structure and Routine:
Caring for a dog—walking, feeding, and grooming—improves mental health
by creating a daily structure and sense of responsibility.
Healing Through Nurturing:
Rescuing a dog from a difficult, neglectful, or abusive background can
be a mirror for one's own healing, creating a strong, empathetic bond.
Reduced Anxiety and Depression: The presence of a dog has been shown to reduce stress, ease loneliness, and encourage physical activity.
Considerations for Adoption
Emotional Readiness:
A dog is a living creature requiring care, not a replacement for
therapy. It is important to be capable of meeting their needs, even when
struggling.
Potential Challenges:
The process can be difficult, especially if the dog has its own traumas
or behavioral issues that require patience and training.
Matching: Ensuring a good fit between your lifestyle and the dog's needs is crucial to avoid adding further stress.
For
many, this experience provides a second chance at safety, joy, and
unconditional love, allowing them to rewrite their narrative from being
unloved to being a protector.
The psyche protects us and the body remembers. I had a visceral loathing of my mother from an early age and I still do even though she is dead. If I hear or see a gesture imitating her usually from a photograph or a phrase by a sibling I cringe and wince and fill with disgust. The curve of my sister's thumb or her fake mask smile. The dumb expressions repeated ad nauseam. "I always thought my teacher's lived under their desks!" Or wanting OVERNIGHT SUCCESS without knowing anything about your latest business venture. Starting a TV show or opening a restaurant. It's a very New York problem. Do your homework girl.
I still have zero, ZILCH good memories of my mother. In fact MOTHER is a dirty word for me. MOTHER is a CURSE. I decided the family dog was my mother. He was male but I was five. He was my mother.
My mother was always rehearsing her death. That was the hook. The other hook was her second husband's money. All of their friends thought they were interesting and amazing because they had good taste and fine wines and a view out the window. They gave out copper pots and burgundy wine glasses to clients. They had a country house with a renovated kitchen and barn. So what! I'd rather sit on a box in Central Falls next to a dumpster reeking of raw sewage than spend time with them.
All of this is hilarious and tragic to me. Underneath she was a sexually abused child, an abandoned wife during her first marriage, a woman with a spine "deformity" from scoliosis and a stuck and addicted bi-polar brain. She wanted MY APPROVAL. Excuse me, I wanted a parent who gives a shit.
She hated children yet tried to be involved with writing and illustrating children's books. This was true for both of my biological parents. They both wrote for children but were serial abandoners of their own children. Really they were in advertising. They did that for the money and each child Sonia birthed was progressively and dangerously premature. Thank God her doctor, Dr. "Jerry" Edelmann, said NO MORE!!
I can't imagine her bringing more humans into the world. And destroying them, raping and pillaging.
I was the second child from the first disaster elopement. She dragged me off to a million doctors, therapists, a wart doctor, a chiropractor, really any doctor that would listen to her. She became a Munchausen's by Proxy Monster Mother. Even my beloved Grandma Sophie wondered aloud why I had received three major surgeries by the age of six. All of them unnecessary, it turns out. I was her sacrificial lamb, scapegoat, whipping boy.
I knew my mother was unsafe. I was sure she was poisoning me. In a sense she was. I had to hurry up and escape.
Starting at age 13, I planned my escape. I began collecting cast iron frying pans at the flea market for my future apartment. I imagined having a few spider plants and a record player and Joni Mitchell playing on rainy days. I imagined Philadelphia would be my new home since I went there for a summer camp friend's parents wedding when I was 15.
Sonia was always using me as a confidant, like when she told me she was addicted to speed or had tried pot. She never knew I was a child, let alone her child. I was there to serve her whims. End of story. She did not eat meals with me except on rare occasions. Our housekeeper made me lunch, breakfast, and dinner. My mother sometimes showed up and would gnaw on a gigantic marrow bone while wearing blood red lipstick, grossing me out. Or eat cold congealed chicken soup standing at the fridge with a spoon. Other than those memories I have no idea what foods and beverages she liked. She was always saying no to everything including all of the things we wanted as kids. No candy, no cookies, no comic books, no television. No. no. no. No reading!
I know very little about her in the day to day ways. I knew my in-laws much better than my parents. True I ran away at 15 (and 16, and 17). But still. My formative years were de-formative.
Staffies are known for their loyalty and affection towards their owners. They thrive on human interaction and can become very attached to their families.
However, this loyalty and attachment can sometimes lead to separation anxiety when left alone. Separation anxiety is a condition where a dog becomes anxious or distressed when left alone. This can result in destructive behavior, excessive barking, and other negative behaviors.
Fortunately, there are several things that you can do to ease your Staffy's separation anxiety:
Gradual Departures and Arrivals:
To avoid your pup from getting too anxious, it is important to make your
departures and arrivals less of a big deal. You can start by spending a
few minutes with your dog before leaving or after arriving home. This
will help your dog understand that your departure and return are not the
end of the world.
Exercise: Exercise is crucial for
a dog's mental and physical health, and it can also help ease
separation anxiety. Taking your Staffy for a walk or playing a game of
fetch before you leave can help tire them out and reduce their anxiety
levels.
Crate Training: Crate training
can help your Staffy feel more secure when you're away. You can
gradually introduce your dog to the crate by placing treats and toys
inside and leaving the door open. Eventually, your dog will learn to
associate the crate as a safe haven.. Never use the crate as a ‘naughty
corner’ this will confuse your pup.
Desensitization: Desensitization
involves exposing your dog to short periods of alone time, gradually
increasing the duration. This helps your dog get used to being alone and
reduces their anxiety. You can start with a few minutes and gradually
increase the time as your dog becomes more comfortable.
Toys or Treats: Toys are a great
way to keep your pup occupied and distracted when you're not around. Aim
for a fun interactive toy like a slow feeder which drops treats or even
a snuffle matt to keep them entertained. Long lasting treats such as
Goat horns work also great.
Helping a dog with separation anxiety involves reducing their stress through increased exercise, desensitization to departure cues, and keeping departures/arrivals calm.
Provide mental stimulation like puzzle toys, create a safe,
comfortable, and quiet space, and gradually increase the time they spend
alone, as suggested by ASPCA experts and PetMD.
Key Strategies to Manage Separation Anxiety
Exercise Immediately Before Leaving:
Provide at least 30 minutes of aerobic activity (running, walking,
playing fetch) to tire them out, helping them rest while you are gone.
Calm Departures and Arrivals:
Avoid emotional, high-energy goodbyes or welcomes, as this reinforces
anxiety. Keep greetings low-key, waiting for the dog to be calm before
offering attention.
Desensitization Training: Gradually desensitize your dog to departure cues (keys, coat, shoes) by performing these actions without actually leaving.
Gradual Separation:
Start by leaving for very short periods (even just minutes) and slowly
increase the duration as your dog becomes more comfortable.
Interactive Toys and Enrichment:
Use food-stuffed puzzles (e.g., KONG) or hidden treats to create
positive associations with being alone, as recommended by PetMD and Sugar River Animal Hospital.
Create a Safe Space: Set up a quiet area, such as a crate (if trained) or a specific room, with comforting items like a shirt that smells like you.
Background Noise: Leave on radio, calming music, or a TV to help mask outside noises and provide comfort.
Avoid Punishment: Never punish your dog for behavior resulting from anxiety (e.g., chewing, urinating), as this will worsen their stress.
When to Seek Professional Help If
anxiety is severe, consult a veterinarian or a certified professional
dog trainer. They may suggest behavioral medications, such as
fluoxetine, to assist in treatment, say experts at PetMD and YouTube.
I drove to PB cemetery and parked just past LITTLE ROSE'S GRAVE and walked Romeo and Lulu in the sunshine. There's still a lot of snow on the ground and I feared getting stuck in the cemetery. There were beautiful Bruegel views of the pond. When I came home I thought my
reading glasses had fallen out of my pocket because I had put them accidentally in my big blue sweatshirt and tried to remember to place them in a safe spot when I
came home. After I settled the dogs I checked and they were not in my pocket or my bag. I panicked. I'll go back and look in the cemetery Maybe they fell out.
I carried Lulu downstairs and crated her and raced back to Precious Blood Cemetery walking
retracing my steps and then just walking everywhere because I couldn't remember the route we took. Then after searching in and around the car, under the seats and trunk I was convinced the glasses must be home.
When I arrived home I opened the back door I could hear I Lulu barking. Today is day 3, and I had not yet heard her bark! When I went into the
hallway she greeted me! She had escaped her crate even though it is STILL
LOCKED. She must've pushed the door and Houdini'd her way and then went thru the
curtain and all the boxes of our stuff. There's a slight scratch on her face I just put
hydrogen peroxide on it.
Okay so now I know she's a HOUDINI! She also pooped under the basement clothesline. Which was also a
surprise but no big deal. I cleaned it up and lit incense. Okay so now I am
afraid she could hurt herself with this crate.
Oh and after all of that my glasses were right where I left them when I came in from the
walk but just HIDDEN under a striped shirt I had put on Lulu under her coat and then took it off at the cemetery.
She's exhausted and so am I. As long as we can keep her safe when I am not in the house I will feel a lot better. I have to go back to feeding her in the crate. I forgot about that. I want her to feel good about it.
I still carry her down the cellar stairs because the curve frightens her. I take her halfway down and she's fine.
She also must've sensed my TOTAL PANIC about my glasses.
Trump believed that if he grabbed the Kennedy Center’s reins and started
booking shows that conformed to his taste—and to that of some of his
friends and MAGA fans—the venue would be wildly popular. It turns out,
though, that a 79-year-old New York–born billionaire whose tastes run to
gilded accents and kitschy musicals isn’t a good proxy for either the
general population or arts patrons in Washington. As my colleague Spencer Kornhaber
recently wrote, Trump’s term dawned with expectations of a huge
cultural shift. Instead, popular culture has remained stubbornly
indifferent to MAGA aesthetics.
Finalist for the Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism
From a New York Times investigative reporter, this “authoritative and devastating account of the impacts of social media” (New York Times Book Review)tracks
the high-stakes inside story of how Big Tech’s breakneck race to drive
engagement—and profits—at all costs fractured the world. The Chaos Machine is “an essential book for our times” (Ezra Klein).
We all have a vague sense that social media is bad for our minds, for
our children, and for our democracies. But the truth is that its reach
and impact run far deeper than we have understood. Building on years of
international reporting, Max Fisher tells the gripping and galling
inside story of how Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other social network
preyed on psychological frailties to create the algorithms that drive
everyday users to extreme opinions and, increasingly, extreme actions.
As Fisher demonstrates, the companies’ founding tenets, combined with a
blinkered focus on maximizing engagement, have led to a destabilized
world for everyone.
Traversing the planet, Fisher tracks the
ubiquity of hate speech and its spillover into violence, ills that first
festered in far-off locales, to their dark culmination in America
during the pandemic, the 2020 election, and the Capitol Insurrection.
Through it all, the social-media giants refused to intervene in any
meaningful way, claiming to champion free speech when in fact what they
most prized were limitless profits. The result, as Fisher shows, is a
cultural shift toward a world in which people are polarized not by
beliefs based on facts, but by misinformation, outrage, and fear.
His narrative is about more than the villains, however. Fisher also
weaves together the stories of the heroic outsiders and Silicon Valley
defectors who raised the alarm and revealed what was happening behind
the closed doors of Big Tech. Both panoramic and intimate, The Chaos Machine is
the definitive account of the meteoric rise and troubled legacy of the
tech titans, as well as a rousing and hopeful call to arrest the havoc
wreaked on our minds and our world before it’s too late.
I wrote stories from the time I was a little girl, but I didn't want to be a writer. I wanted to be an actress. I didn't realize then that it's the same impulse. It's make-believe. It's performance. The only difference being that a writer can do it all alone. I was struck a few years ago when a friend of ours—an actress—was having dinner here with us and a couple of other writers. It suddenly occurred to me that she was the only person in the room who couldn't plan what she was going to do. She had to wait for someone to ask her, which is a strange way to live.
We introduced Lulu and ROMEO with dog officer Kevin Sullivan on a walk at the shelter and it went well. Then we came home and had lunch and walked on Edgewater Drive and introduced Lulu to Uncle Peter Mahoney.
We all walked together for a while and gave Peter a lift home from Milton Street. When we returned to our house we set up a bed for Lulu and now Romeo and Lulu are napping on their separate beds next to us. Lulu snores louder than Bill. I love her!
UPDATE: Lulu and Romeo slept with us in the Queen sized bed. They had extra blankets since our bedroom is freezing. Family bonding. I woke up and Lulu was draped over Bill's chest and he didn't mind.
We're going to schedule a wellness check at our vet. Today she and Romeo had their HW prevention meds. They are synchronized but Lulu gets the smaller dose being 10 pounds lighter.
UPDATE: The first night went well. I woke up a lot because my shoulders and hands were sore maybe from the workout with the swim team. She snores like a trooper! So does Romeo and Bill. A chorus of three!!
Romeo and Lulu have been copacetic and relaxed on their separate beds. Kevin told us to keep Lulu on the leash even inside to keep her bonding with me and having corrections and connections in real time. Smart advice! She is already comfortable and seems to know commands.
This morning fed her in the crate and she stayed in while I showered and then I released her.
I forgot my reading glasses downstairs, I was able to go get them and she stayed sleeping.
I am still so excited and happy. Ever since I was 5 years old I knew I was part of the canine tribe, not a human family. My spectacular nose proves it. Lulu had a sponge bath yesterday but she smelled good even before that. They must have bathed her before I came to get her. No kennel smell.
A lady who works at tractor supply told me a few days ago she once adopted a dog that had the kennel smell and so she had the dog professionally washed and he came back smelling the same. We laughed. Perhaps it was the smell of the soap. We use oatmeal soap for dogs. Gentle inexpensive Hartz brand.
I had an extra red leash and red collar and Kevin gave me a winter coat for Lulu which was so kind. I was worried about the zero degree weather.
Day 3 We had a good second night of sleep. I slept and so did everyone. A certain walking eating napping chill time routine has been established. I am still not ready to run off and do my chores but I will have to one of these days.
We joke about calling her Lulu Merle Calhoun, a real southern sounding name!
Some background...on January 7th I saw Lulu's face on social media Her name was Wednesday after the dark eyed Charles Addams cartoon character. But those dark eyes suggested Lulu to me. They're o's should we name her Olga. Two o's make "oo" she's Lulu my husband said. He's right. I have a poster from first grade in my office from learning the oo. Room Cool Soon Tooth!
January 6th or 7th I contacted the dog officer Kevin and asked him about the dog. He said We're waiting for her to be claimed, you can fill out an application. I did. 3 weeks went by. I saw her on Petfinder. I wrote back. You can fill out an application. I did. Okay, we found it. Would you like to come meet her? I went on Friday and fell in love. I expressed my concerns about how this might affect my senior dog. Kevin said you can bring your dog here for a meet and greet. I said The next step is bringing my husband for a meet and greet. And I did That was Saturday. Sunday we brought Romeo to meet Lulu on a walk and they were great. Then we could be off leash in the office. We brought her home. I had unearthed the old LL Bean Dog bed covers and washed them and stuffed them with blankets. We separated the beds and they each have a zone. We all sleep on the Queen sized bed. I do have to carry her the first 5 steps downstairs to the cellar because they are curved and scary. But that's a bit of weight lifting for me!
We had a lovely big walk yesterday down my street in Blackstone MA where there are wider streets and fewer cars. I ran into Elyse and Deb both serial dog lovers.
Lulu's history:
Lulu's owner called Blackstone Animal control but was told we are outside your jurisdiction. You need to go to Woonsocket's shelter but it is under renovation So you need to go to the police Dept in Woonsocket.
The owners were fleeing! The last place they felt comfortable was at a police department. They promptly drove to Blackstone, the next town and dropped her. Luckily residents called right away. She was taken to Tufts for spay and vaccines and heartworm test and checkup. She healed from all of that when I checked in and was able to meet her and adopt.
Susan and Kevin run the Blackstone Animal Shelter and they are awesome. They are obviously devoted and work 24/7. I would like to help them again in some way. Maybe I could photograph dogs and cats for them. "I have a god eye!" I said. They said SURE!
Kevin gave us great advice. Keep her on the leash indoors to correct anything in the moment and to have her bond with you. Smart advice! People have made the mistake of opening their back door and their new dog runs away. Last week this happened to an adopter at 2:30 AM. Luckily the dog ran back to the shelter at 2:30 AM and Susan got out of bed in the 12 degree night and took care of everyone. This is what I mean. DEVOTED!!!
I had red potatoes that were sprouting that needed saving. I had 3 big white onions, I had fresh garlic, a bag of lentils, jug Chianti, leftover marinated artichoke hearts brine, leftover jar of sweetened cranberries and orange I had made an attempt at cranberry sauce, and tomatoes whole in a can and tomato paste olive oil and celery and carrots. Chopped up the veggies and added it all into the instant pot.
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