Obviously, there are some pretty big differences in the danger factors between teen drivers and adults — not the least of which are inexperience, risk taking, immaturity and greater risk exposure.

The good news is if we are paying attention, we can help kids stay more focused on safety as they navigate the teen driving years (and possibly reduce our own risks as fellow drivers).

The Facts:

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the crash rate per miles driven is four times higher for 15 to 20 year olds than for drivers over age 20. The National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration reports that motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death for younger drivers, and that distracted driving is a factor in one out of every four crashes.

What’s Behind It?

A recent policy statement “The Teen Driver” from the American Academy of Pediatrics cites these reasons teens are at greater risk:

* Lack of driver experience
* Young age at licensure
* Failure to use safety belts
* Inadequate hazard-perception skills
* Distraction (cellular phone, food, drink, music)
* Transporting teenaged passengers
* Nighttime driving
* Speeding and reckless driving
* Fatigue
* Unsafe vehicle choice
* Alcohol use
* Drug or medication use
* Inadequate parental limit setting
* Unlicensed or revoked license
* ADHD

The Distractor Factor!

The study also reports a direct correlation between the chances of being in a car crash to the number of teen passengers. 16- to 17-year olds have a 40 percent higher risk of crashing when they have one friend in the car, 50 percent higher with two friends, and four times higher with three or more teen passengers!

The IIHS & NHTSA recommend the following for parents:

* Don’t rely solely on drivers’ education – it may be convenient but typically it doesn’t do as good a job as a parent can at focusing on safety attitudes and decision making.
* Know the law – Restrictions on beginning drivers vary by state.
* Restrict night driving – it requires more skill and is generally more recreational – creating distraction and more risk taking.
* Restrict passengers – especially multiple teens. Nights are worse than days but passengers are always distractions for a beginning driver.
* Supervise practice driving – spread it over six months, continue even after full licensure and include night driving and a variety of other driving situations.
* Remember that you are a role model – practice safe driving yourself to increase the odds your child will drive safely.
* Require safety belt use – don’t assume, but insist that your child wear a safety belt at all times.
* Prohibit drinking – adopt a no-tolerance policy. Even a small amount of alcohol is an impairment to a teen.
* Choose vehicles for safety, not image – select cars with the best protection in a crash and avoid cars that encourage speeding.
* Make sure your child has emergency contact information with him or her at all times — especially in the car.

Some parents use a written driving agreement to outline their expectations, set penalties and establish graduated driving privileges in advance. The elements of a driving agreement can include obeying laws, practicing safe behaviors and even maintaining the car.

enator Larry Craig has re-explained why his palm was turned up.

He is said to have told reporters, “Originally, I said I was picking up a piece of paper. But now I confess. I was panhandling. You see, I left my wallet at home.”

A reported asked why he changed his story.

“To tell you the truth, until now, I’ve been ashamed to tell the truth. You see, I’d never want anybody to think a US Senator would have to beg for money, especially in an airport restroom. But the truth is, I was hungry, I was broke, and I wanted a Big Mac.”

When the arresting officer was informed of the Senator’s new explanation, he said, “His hand was definitely in a position where he wanted me to drop something in it. But I didn’t hear him say, ‘Brother, can you spare a dime?’”

Termite Treatments Used in Sydney Australia

All Guard Pest Control uses & recommends Termidor as a low toxic, effective Termite Treatment for your home

There area number of termite treatments available in Sydney Australia, but which are the most cost effective and what works the best to stop termites in their tracks?

The standard termite treatment involves applying termiticide as a continuous barrier in the soil around the house, termite baits, installing continuous termite shields at the top of the foundation, and/or termite reticulation systems. Other termite treatments include termiticide foam, using crushed granite (trade name Granitgard) or steel mesh cloth (Termimesh) as a physical barrier, moisture control, and wood elimination. A combination of methods are used for “integrated pest management,” as many times a single technique is not enough.

Termite Baits

Termite baits are a great indicator of the presence of termites and are an effective way to kill the colony causing the problem. Sentricon makes such a system. FMC makes FirstLine, a termite baiting station using an insecticide stomach poison in a cellulose matrix. FMC is modifying their product to incorporate untreated stations that last longer than treated bait stations. The bait is a cellulose food treated with termiticide, a toxic substance and/or insect growth regulator. The food is wood or laminated-texture cellulose, which is favoured by termites. Termites eat the treated food and carry it back to the nest, reducing the size of the colony. The termiticide in the bait works slowly enough that termites have a chance to go back to the nest instead of dying near the bait, because dead termites repel other termites.

It’s not recommended by this firm as a standalone treatment, unless it is obvious where the termites are coming from. Well placed baits are a frontline indicator of termite activity and often used to supplement soil barrier treatments. We prefer to use Termidor for termite treatments in most circumstances, as it is a low toxic alternative which termites wander through treated areas at random and pick up poison to take back to the nest. Unlike high toxic repellents, it does not require a continuous barrier around your home. Termite baits may be used a supplement for effective termite control.

Why are termites a problem in Australia?

Termites (often incorrectly called ‘white ants’) feed on wood and serve an important function in nature by converting dead trees into organic matter. Unfortunately, the wood in buildings and other structures such as wooden power poles is equally appetising to termites, so they can cause serious damage which may be very expensive to repair. There are many species of termites in Australia, of which about 20 species can eat sound wood in buildings; those causing most damage to buildings are social insects that live in subterranean colonies that may contain up to 200, 000 individuals.

In order to maintain humidity and to protect themselves from extreme weather conditions, a colony (or nest) of subterranean termites may be up to 6–7 metres below the soil surface and have extensive tunnel networks that can extend up to 100 metres from the nest.

How can buildings be protected against termites?

Control techniques for termites can essentially be divided into two types, prevention and treatment. Preventative measures are easily applied during the construction of new buildings, but some (eg. stainless steel mesh, or a layer of granite chips) are not very suitable for existing buildings or structures.

Prevention of Attack

Building design can reduce the chances of termite damage. Important strategies include reducing the amount of timber used in buildings, a properly designed concrete slab with edges exposed for inspection for termite activity, or provision for easy under-floor inspections of timber floors. Installation of a reticulated system under the concrete slab can also to allow chemical barriers to be applied and re-applied whenever necessary.

Chemical barriers

Chemicals that are used to kill termites are called termiticides. Termiticides have differing modes of action, and several methods are used to apply them.

For many new buildings, creation of a termiticide-treated layer of soil surrounding and under the building form an integrated barrier together with the physical methods described above.

The termiticide is applied to the soil under the slab and around the footings, pipes, conduits and other structures of the house during construction to create a vertical barrier. Further loosened soil around the perimeter of the house, including around all pipes and service facilities, is treated during and after construction to from a horizontal barrier.

Timber intended for use in the construction of houses, outbuildings, fences and other outdoor structures is often treated with chemicals by dipping and pressure or vacuum impregnation.

1 The Australian Standards relating to termite management are: AS 3660.1— 2000 Termite Management – Part 1: New Building Work; AS 3660.2 – 2000 Termite Management – Part 2: In and Around Existing Buildings and Structures – Guidelines; and AS 3660.3 – 2000 Termite Management – Part 3: Assessment Criteria for Termite Management Systems. Termite protection: available treatments and hazard information about termiticides Page 3 of 25

Treatment of infestation

Treatment of a termite infestation in an existing structure also requires an integrated approach, including destruction of termites within the timber structures, measures to locate and destroy the termite nest, re-establishment of a chemical and/or physical barrier, and regular inspections to detect any ongoing or new termite activity.

For existing buildings, where signs of infestation have been detected, chemical treatment is usually the best option for destroying termites and re-establishing a barrier.

Premise

Active Ingredient Imidacloprid a member of the relatively new class of chemicals called chloronicotinyls . It is used to create a barrier or treated zone in the soil where it attracts termites, which die within the treated zone.

Brand – Premise, from Bayer

Type – Chloro-Nicotinyl (an insect nerve inhibitor)

Toxicity – Rated S5. “Practically non-toxic” both oral and dermal.

Odour – This water-based insecticide is almost odourless.

Longevity – The label claims “at least two years”. Bayer advise us that they are intending to re-label claiming 5 years.

Bayer’s printed information states “At CSIRO test sites, Premise was effective for a minimum of 2 years with more than 6 years control achieve at some sites. Trial work in infested buildings has shown that more than 90 per cent are still termite free 5-6 years after treatment.

Bayer also claim that Imidacloprid has some indirect colony control effect. In other words, it will kill termites without repelling them, and can have a negative effect on the health and numbers of any colony infesting the immediate area.

Biflex

Brand – Biflex Aqua from F.M.C.

Type – Synthetic pyrethroid water based termiticide

Toxicity – Rated S6, oral – “slightly toxic”, dermal – “practically non-toxic”.

Odour – This water based termiticide is almost odourless.

Longevity - the label claims “at least 10 years” when applied at maximum strength. In practical conditions around a typical home, due to water exposure, disturbance of garden beds etc STC recommends re-treatment each 5 years.

A characteristic of Bifenthrin is that it binds very quickly and strongly to the soil particles. This makes it a good option where moisture movement in the soil may be a factor. On the downside, for the same reason, it tends to be filtered out by the soil so that it will not seep through the soil and penetrate some target areas as well as a product like as Imidacloprid.

Termidor

Brand -Termidor from BASF

Active Ingredient Fipronil - Benzisothiazolin

Toxicity -Rated S6, oral-harmful if swallowed, dermal-may irritate skin, does not readily penetrate skin. Repeated exposure may cause allergic reaction.

Odour - has a slight vegetable oil smell.

Longevity - re-treatment each 5 years should be expected.

Termidor was launched in 2002 after some presentations from the USA, where it is used extensively. It has quickly built up a reputation as “the best” termiticide, because of claims made that it has strong indirect colony control effects. The effectiveness of Fipronil as a termiticide is beyond doubt. Fipronil is an extremely low toxic active insecticide. It is applied by spraying, trenching and soil rodding as a chemical soil barrier around existing structures, and may also be used to protect poles and fence posts.

Accordingly, All Guard Pest Control regards this product as “top of the range” and its cost premium is generally worthwhile on jobs where a continuous soil treatment is unlikely to be achievable due to building characteristics.

N.B. - All Guard Pest Control Pty Ltd cannot guarantee that colony control will occur, since this will depend on many factors including the termite pressure around the particular areas treated. The best security is achieved by the formation of a continuous soil treatment in conjunction with a regularly monitored termite baiting system.

Call All Guard Pest control now on 1800 333 337 or email Rudy at rudy@allguardpestcontrol.com.au for free advice on how to best protect your home from termite attack

When I started on the internet I was a photographer and a science fiction fan. Since I had no science fiction photos of my own, I started surfing the web. After several months of looking through many Sci-Fi web sites, I realized that most of those sites used small thumb nail size prints (usually 1 inch x 1 ¼ inch or smaller). This was back in the days that a 28.8 modem was considered high speed.

The reason these thumb nails were so small was that it took so much time for the pictures to come up on the page. When you clicked on an individual thumb nail; a larger version of the picture came up (usually 4×6 or bigger), but it would take a very long time to do so.

Searching all the big images I could find; I saved the ones I liked, and brought them into Photoshop where I could compress them. I made my own site with images that measured a whopping 2 inch x 2 ½ inches, which was better than the small thumb nails I saw every where else. I quickly found that over 90% of their images were saved at 72dpi; so that’s what I did. For several years, I saved all my photos at 2 inch x 2 ½ inches and at 72dpi.

As my interest in photography continued to grow; I realized that a Sci-Fi web site might be cool but it made me no money. I needed to put up a web site of my own photos. By now I was using a 56k modem and decided my pictures needed to be bigger. When I scanned in my pictures I usually did them at 100% at 72dpi; so that all my images on line where now 4×6 in size.

After a few years my lab started offering pictures on CD. They were also 72dpi so I didn’t have to scan them in anymore. Life was good; but they used file sizes like 44 inches x 56 inches which at the time I really couldn’t figure out. I didn’t know anyone who ever printed something that big; so again I took those images and compressed them back down to 4×6 inch size.

Eventually, I started doing the same thing but saving them as 5×7 inch size. My new site (betterphototips.com) looked impressive and actually loaded very quickly. Yes, I also eventually stepped up to real high speed (1.5mbs per sec.) Life was good again; until I went back and started pursuing one of my other great loves (writing). I figured rather than just using this site as a gigantic portfolio; why didn’t I offer something for sale as well. You know the old adage “write about what you know best”? To me it made perfect sense that I should start writing about photography “how to” tips. That’s when things started to get complicated.

When I looking around at self publishing and print on demand publishing, I found that they all wanted pictures to be 300dpi or greater. This was a total shock to me. I had thousands of images ready to use, but they were all saved at 72dpi. I thought that Photoshop could save me again, so I started converting them to 300dpi but something didn’t look right. My 300dpi images looked worse than my 72dpi images. I was at a loss. Then I went back and did my research.

The reason the images on a CD from the lab are so huge (in measurement) is so you can use the images in either format. 72dpi is exactly 25% of 300dpi. If you want your 300dpi images to look as razor sharp as your 72dpi images do on line, the print has to be 75% smaller. In other words, an image that measures 44 inch x 56 inch at 72dpi would be the same quality as an image that measures 11 inch x 14 inch at 300dpi.

If you take an image that was originally 5×7 inches at 72dpi and try to convert it directly to 300dpi, it is not a pretty picture. Similar to the equivalent of the right f-stop and the right shutter speed, you have to take both factors into account! DPI and Size are forever tied together. You can not change one without affecting the other. It is much easier to make something smaller that looks good, than to try to enlarge something after the fact and try to make it look even close to the original. That being said, the best photo tip I can give new beginners today is: ALWAYS save your images larger than you expect to use. Do not waste 15 years of your life and thousands upon thousands of images that can only be used in one way. Always save large!!

ANNALS Winter 2007 www.americanpsychotherapy.com

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By Harpriya A. (Sonya) Bhagar, MBBS and Alan D. Schmetzer, MD, Fellow of the American Psychotherapy Association, and Master Therapist

A number of veterans from Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) are returning home with signs of combat-stress-related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In a recent study, 16.6% of the soldiers met the screening criteria for PTSD. On average, they showed a significant increase in sick visits, missed workdays, severity of somatic symptoms, and poorer overall health (Hoge et al., 2007). In another study, the youngest age group, 18–24 years, was at greater risk compared with veterans 40 years of age or above. Diagnosis was made early (median of 13 days), and most of them were detected in primary care clinics (Seal et al., 2007).

Upon return from the war zone, veterans frequently report intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, increased vigilance, avoidance of social situations, hyperarousal, and nightmares. Treatment involves integration of mental health, primary care, physical medicine, attention to substance abuse, and vocational services. The mental health portion involves an initial screening of the combat veteran for PTSD and other mental illnesses, followed by a full assessment. Both pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy (individual, couple, and group) are offered for treatment.

From a pharmacological perspective, several studies have found the traditional anti-depressants effective in PTSD. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), like sertraline (Zoloft®), paroxetine (Paxil®), and fluoxetine (Prozac®), have been studied extensively for PTSD, and sertraline and paroxetine have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for PTSD. SSRIs have been found to be effective both in short-term trials and long-term maintenance treatment for relapse prevention (Asnis et al., 2004). However, earlier studies have focused mainly on PTSD secondary to interpersonal trauma in a civilian setting. In a multicenter study, venlafaxine extended release (Effexor XR®), a serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, was found to improve both the re-experiencing and the avoidance symptoms of PTSD, but not hyperarousal. The drug was effective and well tolerated in both short-term and continuation treatment of PTSD (Davidson et al., 2006). In a small study, mirtazapine (Remeron) was found to be effective in both short-term and continuation treatment of combat-stress-related PTSD without any serious side effects (Kim et al., 2005). In addition, sedation from mirtazapine can even prove beneficial in improving sleep in PTSD. In a randomized trial comparing phenelzine (a monoamine oxidase inhibitor) and imipramine (a tricyclic antidepressant), both significantly reduced combat stress related PTSD symptoms (Kosten et al., 1991). Benzodiazepines are used in PTSD for panic attacks or anxiety states. They provide temporary relief but run the risk of tolerance and addiction.

Veterans with PTSD find it hard both to fall asleep and to maintain sleep due to hyperarousal and vivid nightmares related to combat. Significant others often report that patients scream in their sleep and may even wake up soaked in sweat. Prasozin and clonidine both decrease the central nervous system’s noradrenergic activity. They have been found to be effective in decreasing hyperarousal symptoms and improving sleep (Boehnlein, 2007). Other drugs used for sleep are the benzodiazepine class of drugs, like temazepam, and non-benzodiazepines, like zolpidem (Ambien™) and ezopiclone (Lunesta™). However, caution must be taken regarding the habit-forming potential of these drugs (Bhagar and Schmetzer, 2006).

The presence of psychotic symptoms in PTSD can further complicate the clinical picture. In one study, 20% of the 91 males with combat-stress-related PTSD were found to be suffering from hallucinations and delusions, and hyperarousal was positively associated with the occurrence of psychotic symptoms (Kastelan, 2007). In a small study, augmentation of SSRI with olanzapine (Zyprexa), an atypical antipsychotic, was effective in treating SSRI-resistant combat-related PTSD symptoms, especially sleep (Stein, 2002). In another study, monotherapy with typical or atypical antipsychotics, reduced both PTSD and psychotic symptoms, and antipsychotics seemed to offer another approach to treat the psychotic subtype of combat–related PTSD resistant to previous antidepressant therapy (Pivac, 2006).

Overall, PTSD pharmacotherapy involves several drugs based on our experience with PTSD in general, but well-designed studies are needed to establish treatment guidelines specifically for combat-stress-related PTSD.

References

Asnis, G. M., Kohn, S. R., Henderson, M., & Brown, N. L. (2004). SSRIs versus non-SSRIs in post traumatic stress disorder: an update with recommendations. Drugs, 64(4), 383–404.

Bhagar, H. A., & Schmetzer, A. D. (2006). The newest medicines for sleep. Annals of American Psychotherapy Association, 9(2), 25–26.

Boehnlein, J. K., & Kinzie, J. D. (2007). Pharmacologic reduction of CNS noradrenergic activity in PTSD: The case for clonidine and prazosin. Journal of Psychiatric Practice, 13(2), 72–78.

Davidson, J., Baldwin D., Stein, D.J., Kuper, E., Benattia, I., Ahmed, S., et al. (2006). Treatment of post traumatic stress disorder with venlafaxine extended release: a 6-month randomized controlled trial. Archives of General Psychiatry, 63(10), 1158–1165.

Hoge, C. W., Terhakopian, A., Castro, C. A., Messer, S. C., & Engel, C. C. (2007). Association of post traumatic stress disorder with somatic symptoms, health care visits, and absenteeism among Iraq war veterans. American Journal of Psychiatry,164(1), 150–153.

Kastelan, A., Franciskovi,? T., Moro, L., Roncevic-Grzeta, I., Grkovic, J., Jurcan, V., et al. (2007). Psychotic symptoms in combat-related post traumatic stress disorder. Military Medicine, 172(3), 273–277.

Kim, W., Pae, C. U., Chae, J. H., Jun, T. Y., & Bahk, W. M. (2005). The effectiveness of mirtazapine in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder: A 24-week continuation therapy. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 59(6), 743–747.

Kosten, T. R., Frank, J. B., Dan, E., McDougle, C. J., & Gille, E. L., Jr. (1991). Pharmacotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder using phenelzine or imipramine. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 179(6), 366–370.

Martényi, F. (2005). [Three paradigms in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder]. Neuropsychopharmacol Hung, 7(1), 11–21.

Pivac, N., & Kozari?-Kovaci,? D. (2006). Pharmacotherapy of treatment-resistant combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder with psychotic features. Croatian Medical Journal, 47(3), 440–451.

Seal, K. H., Bertenthal, D., Miner, C. R., Sen, S., & Marmar, C. (2007). Bringing the war back home: mental health disorders among 103,788 US veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan seen at Department of Veterans Affairs facilities. Archives of Internal Medicine, 167(5), 476–482.

(800) 205-9165 Winter 2007 ANNALS

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A common misconception of digital camcorders is the advertising component known as “total zoom”. This is the combination of Optical Zoom + Digital Zoom. It is important to fully understand the values and disadvantages of both types.

Selecting a camcorder with a respectably higher optical zoom can lead to more effective video shooting and clearer picture results. It enlarges a picture using the actual lenses. It will allow you to capture a video from a farther distance without losing picture quality.

Digital zoom, on the other hand, will allow you to enlarge a picture but consequentially will reduce the overall picture quality. The word Digital refers to enlarging the picture “artificially”. It selects the specific area of the picture you would like to capture and enlarges it.

It is important to select a digital camcorder that will meet your specific needs. If you are interested in recording videos at a distance such as sporting events or a scenic route, it would be important to own a camcorder that will allow you to capture a clear and concise picture when using the zoom feature. However, if your budget and recording intentions are lower, most zoom capabilities will still be effective.

For a selection of affordable digital camcorders that feature both clear picture quality and impressive optical zooming options, visit http://www.camcorderhut.com/Digital_Camcorders.html . It is important to choose a camcorder with large optical zoom, but this is not the only feature that you should consider when purchasing. Be sure to research shooting modes (wide screen or full screen), and other technology available today!

A common question among the newly diagnosed with celiac disease, an autoimmune condition triggered by the presence of gluten (wheat, rye, barley and oats), is whether you should be concerned about gluten found in inedible products—products that you don’t eat but only use. The answer is yes. After using inedible products that contain gluten, make sure that you wash your hands well with non-gluten soap and water so that any residue found in the products will be washed away and not later find its way into your food. Inedible products include shampoos, conditioners, hair styling products, cosmetics, lip balms, nail care, soaps, lotions, sunscreens, laundry and household cleaning products, pet foods, arts and crafts supplies, etc.

The rule for these inedible products is the same as for any product containing gluten. Your food must not come in contact with it! Neither should your mouth. If you touch any product containing gluten, wash your hands with soap and water before eating your own gluten-free food. The tiniest bit of residue left on your hands can cause an adverse reaction. The fact that a reaction can occur with such minimal ingestion is the reason that inedible products can also cause a reaction and should be avoided or treated properly.

Most people with celiac disease do not get a reaction from merely touching gluten. The reaction occurs when the residue on your hands makes its way to your lips or into your mouth. This can be easier than you might think. There are many ways to ingest gluten. Take hair products. Unfortunately, a majority of hair care products contain gluten. Although you don’t intend to get any shampoo or conditioner into your mouth, the water that comes out of your hair with the shampoo can bounce off the shower wall or shower curtain and land on your lips. You won’t even notice yourself licking it off. Cosmetics, especially lipsticks, lip balms, nail polish and artificial nails, can also be a source of gluten. While lip balms and lipsticks are the more obvious sources for ingestion, nail polish and artificial nail products can also make their way to your mouth as you touch your food. Foundations, powders, blushes and bronzers can settle on your lips during application. They can also be a source of gluten if you absent-mindedly touch your face and then forget to wash your hands before eating. Washing your hands with confirmed gluten-free soap and water before you eat and getting into the habit of not touching your lips or mouth with your hands, may help keep you from ingesting the gluten in this manner. When you feed your pet, be especially careful. Many pet foods, especially dry pet food and treats, contain gluten. Make sure that you use the same precautions as you would use in handling any other type of gluten-containing food. Unfortunately, inedible products don’t have the same labeling laws and restrictions as food does. Sometimes a product will contain gluten without it appearing on the label.

Many manufacturers simply don’t have the ability to fully verify all of their ingredients because one ingredient can come from several sources. You can get some good advice and information on whether or not the products you use contain gluten from on-line celiac support groups. A quick search of the message board archives can pull up information on the specific brands and items that concern you. If nobody has any experience with the products that you are concerned about, you can either switch to products trusted to be gluten-free by others in the celiac community or withdraw from using all of the unknown products.

You can then slowly reintroduce them, one by one, to determine which one, if any, is causing a reaction. It is like adding new foods to your newborn baby. Individual products should be reintroduced several days apart from each other because reactions can sometimes take a few days to manifest. The bottom line is that if you suffer from celiac disease, it is your personal lifestyle and habits which will help you decide whether or not to take the chance of using inedible products containing gluten.

My aunt had successfully reared three children, helped her husband on their small farm, and at age 50 decided to go back to school and get her nursing degree. Every morning she would get up and fix breakfast for herself and her husband who still ran the farm. To save time she mixed the salt with the pepper because as she explained it that saved her the time of picking up both the salt and the pepper shaker and she was in a hurry to get to class in the morning.

Cordless phones and cell phones are a great time saver. This leaves us free to roam from place to place while talking on the phone. You are free to cook, straighten a drawer, dust, fold laundry and so on while you are on the phone. A shoulder-rest attachment is a nice investment to minimize neck strain while clutching the phone with the side of your head. With a cell phone hands free attachments are nice. If you don’t have either a cordless phone or a cell phone, buy a long cord for your phone receiver so you can go from place to place. They come in a variety of colors and in twenty-five foot lengths so you can cover a lot of distance while talking on the phone.

Every time you enter or leave a room look to see if there is some way of improving its appearance. It could be putting a toy or book away or straightening the towels in the bathroom that will make the room look better. Soon this will become a habit and it will cut down on the amount of work you have to schedule to do around the house.

Make every trip count when you go from room to room. Instead of running and putting something away when you find it out of place make a little pile of things and take them all at once. Baskets are useful for this purpose. (Unless you want the exercise rather than save time).

Every time you go upstairs or downstairs take something that needs to be taken up or down. Do the same with trips to the garage, basement or the car. Take a quick look around before you go and see if there is something that can go with you.

Get out the clothes you will wear the next day, also pack your exercise clothes in your gym bag ready to go with you or lay them out if you exercise at home. For children have them decide what they will wear and have them lay the clothes out, including the shoes to be worn so they don’t have to be in a rush in the mornings. This saves a grundle of time the next morning since you won’t have to go on a search for the right thing to wear and if something needs washing or pressing you know it before you or your children are in the morning rush. Pack their school backpack and place it by the door so it is ready for them to take in the morning and no searching has to be done at the last frantic minute.

Do your banking on line, pay bills on line. This not only saves time but it saves money on stamps and envelopes.

There are many places where you can fix two weeks worth of meals and freeze them. Then on the nights you are too rushed to cook or just don’t feel like cooking you can pop a meal into the oven. Some places will deliver the meals to your door.

Keep a pen and paper near your phone center so you don’t have to look for a pen when taking a message. If you don’t have a designated drawer a small attractive basket with paper and pens can be kept on top of the fridge. Your family will get used to this and you’ll never have to look for a pen or paper again to take a message.

It is the little things you do to save time that add up to big savings in time and less hassle in your life.

India is home to different alternative and complementary treatment streams. The main among them are Ayurveda, Homeopathy and Siddha, followed by Unani, Naturopathy, Yoga, etc. Before the advent of Allopathy into the land by British rulers, Ayurveda and Siddha were the only treatment options available. The suppression of natural cure methods for the sake of Allopathy has dwindled the importance of Ayurveda, Yoga and Siddha over time.

Now there is newfound revival for Ayurveda and other alternative medicines. The single most important reason why people turning away from Allopathy and towards Ayurveda is the fact that side effects so common with Allopathy and an almost total absense of side effects with Ayurveda medicines.

Now Government has recognized courses for all types of alternative medicines. Ayurveda medical colleges under direct government control are the main centers of ayurveda education in India. Ayurveda medical colleges and research centers in private sector are relatively new to Indian medical scenario.

Employment Opportunities in Alternative Medicine

With surge in demand for Ayurveda and other medical sciences by people of India and from around the world, persons educated in alternative medicines today have worldwide opportunities. Training centers, treatment centers, hospitals, resorts with Ayurvedic treatment facilities etc are main places where they can try employment.

Independent trainers and recognized doctors also have lot of scope in Ayurveda research, development and treatment industries.

Different Ayurveda Universities work from India. A common resource center to get information on all systems of medicines in India is at.

Alternative Medicine Training Courses Offered by Kerala Ayurvedics

Masseur Training

Panchakarma Assistant Training

Ayurveda Pharmacist

Ayurveda Nurse

Ayurveda Nursing Assistant