1. They have nice heads. Heads you can nibble on, steer them by if necessary, cover with kisses. Solo's is so great (probably just because he has less hair) that we can't stop grabbing it and saying, "I love your head!" to which he says, "I'm not! I'm Solomon!" Okay.

2. They put up with a lot. THIS CANNOT BE SAID ENOUGH. They have fluidly adjusted to having power for only ten hours a day, FOR EXAMPLE. We do a lot by candlelight. They love to light candles, (the big kids) they love using flashlights. They make everything more fun. Better.

3. Extension of 2: Recently Kid A and YaYa have become incredibly polite about people talking to them. They say Namaste in response politely, and YaYa even lets people touch her hair. If we are out, it can be twenty times a day. She wants to be so nice, suddenly. She doesn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. I've explained to her that just reaching out and touching her hair is okay, but if they keep on playing with it, she can ease herself away or just ask people to stop. Anyways, it is the sweetest thing to see them becoming these polite people. It can be overwhelming; the amount of people who want to know our names or where we are from or whether our hair is "original" or "duplicate," but they handle it with grace.

4. They love to dance. The dancing that was going on with our Geography Songs when we were doing school the other day was just ridiculously fun. Singing and dancing about Equatorial Africa and the Middle East. How can I not have the best time teaching these kids? Listen. We have rough school days, too. YaYa has a panic button that keeps her from learning sometimes. And Kid A has focus issues. But schooling is like any practice (like meditation or prayer); you have good days and bad days and our good days are like diamonds. But beyond school even, the dancing is hysterical. Imagine walking past a club on the street and having all four of your children break out their best moves. It's awesome.

5. They love each other. With violence, at times. I admit, I sometimes feel that I have a pack of wrestling lemurs, crawling all over each other and tearing the peace and quiet to bits. But I have seen such genuine acts of love from each of them, as they struggle through all the giving that needs to go on with siblings, especially siblings so close in age. I don't think I realized how much giving they do until I went on that trip with only YaYa and saw how different it was for her to have ALL my attention.

6. They love beans. I love having kids who love beans. YaYa loves beans so much that she would write poetry about them, if she could. Lentils, pintos, garbanzos. They love them.

7. Imagination! If you could harness it, it could change the world. They always have something they are pretending. It doesn't stop. The hardest part about it is getting their attention during the midst of a crazy game of pretend. I have to stand there and holler, because they literally can't hear me. It can be dicey, at times, trying to decide whether Leafy's robots are allowed in the animal games. Each person's imagining is so strong that it doesn't leave a ton of room for the other's. I find myself embroiled in these debates about the positioning of pretend lands on pretend maps, whether a certain kind of animal is allowed on a certain kind of island. I enter in enthusiastically, but have to retreat with my arms over my head. The details are too much for me. (You'll be happy to know that in Leafyland, there is a Coffee Island, for grownups.)

8. They are kind to animals. And they know it. They often say, "This dog loves us because we're nice to him and other people aren't." YaYa is kind to everything. She gets heartbroken over a crushed snail, lets ants crawl over her arms (I know!), becomes furious about fly killing.

9. They have a lot of faith in us. It makes us better.

10. They make our games better. If we watch TV, Chinua likes to pretend that he is speaking for the characters, whether they are sharks on Animal Planet, or soccer players, or people on commercials. It's hilarious, and the kids play along and make us laugh. YaYa and Kid A are playing rummy now (yes! rummy players!) and well, I guess I just really want to say that they make life more fun.

Note: People are always mentioning that our kids must be a lot of work. ALL THE TIME. People on the street. "Four kids! You must be tired! A lot of work!" The other day, YaYa asked me, "Are we too much work? Is it hard to have kids if it's such a lot of work?"

Goodness. She's been listening. Well, this is my response. Life is so much richer with them. They make traveling richer for us, fun is better, and the quiet moments? They are a lot more precious.

Section: Communications, Computers, Features, Originals, Columns, Who's On Crack

Welcome to the no-crack zone of the tech world.  Only Gadgetell is so bold to suggest something besides greed and geekcred is driving some of the industries latest moves.  We think it could be crack.  Let’s get to the accused:

Apple throws you out of the store every, single, time.
Google thinks you’re a slut
Sony let’s everyone in on your stuff
HTC gets all sexy

Apple’s App Store one-at-a-time policy is whack

Imagine if you went the supermarket and had a cart full of products only to get thrown out of the store after buying just the first one.  Whoosh!  You find yourself outside the automatic door with just the milk.  “WTF” you say, run back in the store and after buying bread, find yourself back outside.  How long would it take you get all your groceries?  Days?

That is just what Apple does with its App Store.  It’s bloody ridiculous.  Apple has the customer in the store and then kicks them to the curb when they decide on one thing.  The iTunes store doesn’t demand you watch where it goes on your homescreen, it downloads in the background allowing you to continue to buy, buy, buy.  But not the App Store.

The Android store doesn’t work this way.  The webOS store doesn’t work this way.  So what gives Apple?  How is this a good idea?  Do you sit in your office and just watch us ants get an app, get thrown out and then run right back in to get something else?  That’s just cruel.

Google suggests you get around

Google is back on the rock, so Gadgetell’s Arnold Zafra suggests,  “how many email contacts can one actually has? I mean can you actually fill up your 10,000 contacts limit on Gmail? Apparently, the people at Google think so, as they just bumped up the limit to no 25,000.” (sic)

25,000 people.  Really Google?  That’s how many barrels of oil were spilling into the gulf.  That’s the maximum cash prize for the $25,000 pyramid when it debuted in 1974.  That’s how many public employees and their supporters gathered in Wisconsin to protest Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s budget cuts.  It’s a giant number.

The old number was absurd enough: 10,000.  I can’t keep track of my kids names and I’ve only got two.  How would anyone keep tabs on 10,000 people?  I’d hate to see that tab for Christmas cards!  Hold up, I’d bet a crack kingpin could have 25,000 contacts in their network - that kinda suggests Google has contacts in this line of work…  Nothing says, “i need a good course of rehab” than designing products for your crack-connection.

Sony unintentional social network

You love to share with friends right?  Perhaps Sony thought you’d like to share your data with everyone?  Gamertell, Gadgetell’s sister site had the scoop, “In a statement that can do nothing but send customers into a worrying frenzy, SOE announced that 12,700 credit card numbers have been stolen.”  Ouch.

Sony has since followed up pointing a finger (tauntingly perhaps?) at Anonymous, the rouge ragtag group of hackers.  Sony’s stepped up offing ID protection of $1 million dollars for each person affected.  In short, it’s an unintentional social network.

They say no press is bad press?  I think Sony would disagree.

HTC gets all sexy

Oops, I read that wrong.  HTC gets all sexist, there that’s better.  In what we can only hope is someone making something up, our Jeremy Hill reports on the latest rumor: “The design of the phone is said to have a rubberized back with a greenish color to produce a “calming effect.” The wallpaper is also believed to encourage a similar mood…Among the rumored preloaded software are shopping applications and applications that help keep track of calorie intake.”

Yes, because all women love shopping and watch what they eat, or should.  Is that the statement HTC is making?  Are we back in the 40s?  Come on man, have we learned that little in marketing to women?  Are we to believe here is how the product design session went:

boss: OK boys, let’s make a girlie phone!
worker: We can make it pink and pretty pastels
boss: good but we need more, what do women love?
worker: I don’t know but I can Google that…OK, says here they love shopping and dieting.
boss: fantastic.  make those things “apps” (and you know he did the air-quotes hand gesture).  What else can we add?
worker: um, uh.
boss: don’t any of you talk to women?
worker: you mean in person?
and…scene.

Let’s hope it’s just a rumor and not some time-space portal we accidentally opened.

Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Ever wonder how a colony of ants could survive a flood? Apparently the Brazilian fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, can self-assemble into hydrophobic rafts of thousands of individuals. These rafts can remain afloat for days at time without drowning the individual ants.

It turns out that individual ants are hydrophobic, or water repelling. However, the ants are slightly denser that water so they must rely on surface tension to remain above the water.  Surface tension only works for relatively small objects, so how can a raft of thousands of individual ants remain afloat?

Read the comments on this post

It’s not a bird or a plane, but it is an ant the size of a hummingbird.

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Intel's 3-D Tri-Gate technology is deceptively simple to understand using the "ant" analogy, where ants can be used to demonstrate the flow of electrons.

I've been getting lots of e-mails lately about beach products like this one-- Sand Gone is a special dry body powder that, according to the product's description, "removes the sand and leaves the skin soft and smooth while feeling fresh and clean." 

An eight-ounce container of this special dry body powder will set you back $12.95 ... and I have to laugh when I see it, because you can get another "dry body powder" at the drugstore, which will do the very same thing for far less cash. It's called ...

Baby powder! Yes, friends, you can buy 22 OUNCES of Johnson's Baby Powder from Drugstore.com for the amazing price of $6.19! And it works just as well to get that beach sand off your body.

Here, according to "Jackie," who posted the info on ThriftyFun,  is how to make it work for you:

Use baby powder (cheapest works the same) for sandy hands and especially sandy feet at the beach. You know how hard it is to get all the sand free from your toes and feet, legs, your hands. It just seems to cling there, even though you have rinsed in the water and towel dried them. And your feet still feel gritty in your sandals or sneakers. Well, after you towel dry really well, sprinkle baby powder on them and rub it in. It immediately removes all excess sand from your body.

This is especially well when trying to get your children ready to pack up at the beach and go home. And most children, like adults, hate that sand feeling in their sneakers. The baby powder really works. You really only use a sprinkle. It helps with them tracking sand into the house after a day at the beach. Baby powder is a must have in my beach bag. Try it, you will never go to the beach without it again.

And there are other uses for baby powder, too!

If you don't have a bottle of baby powder on hand, I bet you're putting it on your shopping list now!

Got any other uses for baby powder? Are there other products you see people spending a fortune on, while you've found a low-cost alternative?

Images via Sand Gone and Drugstore.com

Thanks to Gomestic.com for the baby powder tips!

It sounds like the opening plot to a made-for-TV horror flick: Global warming renders an Arctic land bridge habitable, spurring a race of “monstrously big ants” to blaze a trail between Europe and America. This particular horror story actually played out 50 million years ago, and the monstrously big ants were only about 2 inches long, about the size of the smallest known hummingbird. Archeologists recently unearthed the fossilized remains of this new giant ant species—one of the largest ant species ever seen—in Wyoming, making it the first complete giant ant fossil found in America. And because similar giant ants have been found in Europe, they think this is the first reported example of a tropical insect traipsing across the Arctic.

It all started when paleoentomologist Bruce Archibald spied a fossil that was sitting in a drawer at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. “I immediately recognized it and said, ‘Oh my god, this is a giant ant and it looks like it’s related to giant ants that are known from about this time in Germany,’” as he told Live Science. ...

Almost 50 million years ago, ants the size of hummingbirds roamed what is now Wyoming, a new fossil discovery reveals.

These giant bugs may have crossed an Arctic land bridge between Europe and North America during a particularly warm period in Earth's history.

Lance Stephenson

#6 / Guard (Rookie) / Indiana Pacers

While the draft classes of 2008 and 2009 focused heavily on established, NBA ready players, the Pacers’ 2010 class was drafted with an emphasis on high potential. Paul George seems to be on the right track following a solid rookie campaign, but Indiana’s biggest enigma in the "will he pan out?" sweepstakes is going to be the team’s second round pick, Lance Stephenson.

Stephenson entered the NBA Draft after one year at Cincinnati following the most decorated high school career in New York’s history, yet the pick was a fairly risky one, not for what Stephenson could contribute on the court, but rather the numerous issues off of the court issues he’d been swept up in over the years. With Indiana striving to erase their image from the mid-ought’s, the move was a bit perplexing, but his basketball potential remained undeniable.

Despite his somewhat raw potential and immaturity issues, Stephenson took well in his Summer League debut, leading the Pacers with 21 points in a win over Orlando. In fact, a positive Summer League showing took a roster with plenty of rotation questions, and added Stephenson to the mix. However, Lance removed himself from that discussion when he was arrested for third degree assault in August.

Not even two months since he’d been drafted, the negativities and bad press were coming to light about Stephenson. However, the Pacers, who had just signed him to a guaranteed deal, opted to stand behind their player as they awaited a verdict in his pending court case. Meanwhile, back in the basketball world, Stephenson prepared for training camp and preseason in hopes of showing his growth.

In this limited capacity, Stephenson showcased some positive play offensively, but had very little success with defensive matters, especially being billed, and playing as a point guard. He spent most of the preseason being constantly beaten by opposing point guards. In the end, his play and court date put him as the team’s 15^th man, which was no surprise, but there would still be no timetable on his playing time.

As the season moved along, murmurs began to arise about whether Stephenson would ever play for the Pacers, and whether his time on the bench would be more valuable than a D-League stint with the Mad Ants. The Pacers believed him being with the team would be a better opportunity to monitor his growth on and off the floor, but even that didn’t keep him from getting caught up in some unsavory internet rumors.

Despite constantly being pushed back, Stephenson’s case was finally dropped in February, clearing him of his assault charges, a fact not lost on the organization, who kept a positive demeanor on the outcome of his trial from a very early point. Alongside a youth movement, positive team play, and a new head coach, Stephenson would finally suit up in an NBA game.

His growth from preseason to his debut was obvious when he didn’t back down from Steve Nash and the Suns, even getting a confetti celebration from his family upon scoring his first NBA points. It was all a huge weight off of Stephenson’s and his family’s shoulders to see him overcome everything and finally debut in the NBA.

He was given a larger role within the rotation immediately, and he played well, displaying his court vision and ball handling, while also playing far better defense than his previous play had suggested possible. Unfortunately, his growth in minutes led to some chemistry issues within the rotation, as Indiana slide into a six game losing streak that nearly destroyed the season.

Lance himself was among many of the topics in a heated locker room battle following a loss to Minnesota, and as a result, he was removed from the regular rotation. The team rebounded as Stephenson had his chance to grow in garbage minutes, but yet another off the court issue would force the team’s hand, shutting him down for the season and calling on the return of T.J. Ford in his third string role.

So how did Lance impress?

Much as was the case with Paul George, Stephenson’s growth from Summer League to his NBA debut was easily noticeable. Following a pretty dreadful preseason showing, Stephenson’s debut was marked with surprise and intrigue at the young player’s potential. While there will likely always be questions regarding his ability to run the point guard position, he made efforts to set himself as a facilitator at times, but remained more in the ball-dominant point guard mold of Tyreke Evans rather than a team facilitator.

He showed himself to be a gifted playmaker at times with outstanding court vision, often putting himself in good positions to draw fouls or find decent looks. There was very little of Lance to take in, but very little of that looked detrimental to a team looking to win games.

And how did he disappoint?

Aside from being a ball dominant point guard, which could have helped in a second unit bogged with poor offensive stretches, Stephenson still at times put himself in front of the best of the team. He had a fairly high number of field goal attempts for his minutes and role, but unfortunately, most of Lance’s shortcomings came from issues away from the court.

Over the course of the year, the high risk side of Stephenson came to light far more than the high reward side, finding himself in the news no less than three times over the course of the year, the final incident shutting him down. He also seemed to rub a lot of his teammates the wrong way on the court, as his promotion resulted in a season jarring six game losing streak which almost seemed to implode the team.

What’s next for Stephenson?

Following his removal from the active roster at the end of the year, his future with the team seemed in doubt, but Larry Bird went at lengths to address this issue in the team’s recap last week. In it, he mentioned that while Stephenson is very immature, there wasn’t enough aid from his teammates in that regard, an issue Bird says will not be an issue moving forward.

Bird still believes Stephenson’s tools can bring wins to the team, and from what little we saw, it seems that could be true. But much as was the case with Shawne Williams, Bird was clear to state that if anything should happen over the course of the summer, it’d be easy to reassess his place on the team. Maturity seems to be the one thing holding Lance back from being a good NBA player and it’s hard to say if he’ll ever find that while a member of the blue and gold. But many within the organization are still very high on Stephenson’s potential, and it would be only a positive to the team should he spend the summer growing up.

Post from: TheGloss

Filed under: Savings Experiment

Continue reading Savings Experiment: Get the best of pests for less?

Savings Experiment: Get the best of pests for less? originally appeared on WalletPop on Tue, 03 May 2011 11:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Termites, ants and other pests thrive in moist conditions, and they’re expected to be especially prevalent across America this spring.  Just how bad your pest problem will be this spring depends on several factors, including the region where you live and your most recent weather. To help potential insect victims, Dr. Bob Davis, Entomologist and a Scientist at BASF, the world’s largest chemical company, recently released a video at (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHeOmNxgU_g) providing an outlook for America’s pest problem. 

In the video, Dr. Bob discusses the following:

•    The “Bug Forecast” in your city – what bug activity to expect and not expect this spring – including termites, ants, bed bugs, ticks and fleas

•    Preventing the threat of a bug invasion in your home or yard regardless of the “Bug Forecast” in your area
•   
•    Checking your home and yard for insect infestations

•    The warning signs and costs of a termite-infested home – according to the University of Georgia, termites cost Americans over $1 billion annually

•    How to stop ants from marching into your home

Additionally, Dr. Bob offers the following pest outlook by U.S. region:

The South

•    Termites - The threat of termite infestations could intensify this spring with some forecasts predicting average-to-higher temperatures and a season of intermittent rains with warming temperatures; conditions that are ideal for termites.  Termite swarms occur when winged termites leave the nest to form new colonies – often right after a rainfall. But termites also can reproduce right in their own nests. In fact, during years of reduced swarms, a single subterranean termite colony might split into multiple smaller ones underground, Davis said.

•    Ants - With its hot, humid summers and temperate winters, the South offers ideal conditions for a wide range of pests, including many species of ants.  Ant populations are expected to grow across the South this spring, bolstered by an influx of feisty foreign invaders. For example, the “Caribbean crazy ant” had only recently been seen in Texas, but has already begun to spread to multiple counties in Southeast Texas and may now be in the neighboring state of Louisiana. These ants are aggressive enough to drive out the native ants.

The West

•    Termites - One frequent menace is the Western subterranean termite. This native pest can enter structures through cracks less than one-sixteenth of an inch wide, including the tiny openings in concrete slabs, around drainpipes, and between the slab and a home’s foundation. Swarming can occur in the spring, but smaller swarms may occur throughout the summer and fall.

•    Ants - The wet conditions also will create a field day for ants, including the highly invasive Argentine ant, whose massive colonies can be found along the West Coast and parts of the Eastern and Gulf Coast states. Also, Red imported fire ants have invaded parts of the West, expanding their range every year. They are extremely resilient and have adapted so well that they can survive both floods and droughts.  Fire ants are known to become ferocious if their nests are disturbed, and their painful bite carries venom that can be lethal to some individuals. 

The Midwest

•    Termites - Moisture increases the odds for termite invasions, especially in Midwestern states such as Missouri, Iowa, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. The southern parts of the Northern states, such as Wisconsin and Minnesota, may also see increased termite threats, particularly from the Eastern subterranean termite – the most common and widely distributed termite in North America. This native pest feeds on cellulose materials, including structural wood, wood fixtures, paper, books and cotton, and will even attack the roots of shrubs and trees.

•    Ants - In the colder northern-tier states, carpenter ants are a greater threat to homeowners. Carpenter ants – which are one of the larger ant species in the United States – prefer to nest in trees next to homes, but they’ll come inside to nest if they can’t find enough wood outside. Another threat is the invasive “odorous house ant,” so named because it smells like a rotten coconut if it’s smashed. Indoor nests can be found in wet areas, such as bath traps, under toilets, in wall voids near hot water pipes or heaters, and in crevices around sinks and cupboards. 

The Northeast
•    Termites & Ants - Common culprits include the Eastern subterranean termite and the black carpenter ant.

•    Bed Bugs - Though we can’t blame weather patterns for this one, another pest that continues to attract headlines along the East Coast is the bed bug. Once believed to be virtually eliminated from the United States, this ancient enemy is back and New York, Cincinnati and other Midwestern to Eastern cities have been especially hit hard. Scientists aren’t exactly sure why, but they suspect one cause is the rise in international travel to countries where bed bugs are still prevalent. 

Get informed and take precautions to ensure you don’t become the next bug victim.  To learn more about the Bug Forecast for 2011 and view the video visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHeOmNxgU_g, The Ant Institute at http://www.antinstitute.com/ or The Termite Institute at www.termiteinstitute.com. 
 

Acts 4:23-31 / Jn 3:1-8

Since that day long ago when we first opened our eyes, our minds have been bombarded with images of the vast array of things large and small that fill our world.  Ants and elephants, Renoirs…

Good health and nutrition is important for everybody, but it's especially important for kids. Not only does it play a key role in their mental state (sugar crash, anyone?), but it's vital to things like bone development, prevention of vitamin deficiencies, and instilling good eating habits for the future.

Unfortunately, it's not always easy to get kids to eat well. However, there are plenty of snacks that will keep both you -- and your child -- happy! 

Check them out!

Fruit and Cheese Kabobs. Healthy and fun to eat! All you need are some skewers, pieces of cheese, and bites of fruit. Your kids will love eating anything on a stick -- and they'll be getting plenty of antioxidants and protein in the process.

Ants on a Log. It's a classic for a reason -- it's delicious. Just grab a couple sticks of celery, spread with peanut butter, and drizzle with raisins. Voila! And who doesn't love saying "ants on a log"?

Whole grain breads and cereals. With vitamins, calcium, and fiber, a bowl of enriched whole grain cereal is the perfect way to start the day. And a turkey sandwich on whole wheat is the perfect lunch!

Carrot sticks. Try swapping out potato chips for carrot sticks (or, better yet, carrot chips). They're just as crispy, a lot less salty.

Yogurt. Low-fat yogurts are a great source of calcium, and kids love the endless varieties and flavors. To up the nutritional value, try adding berries and/or granola. Yum!

Hummus. Instead of traditional "dips," try getting your kids to use hummus. It's made from pureed chickpeas, and is rich in folate, vitamin B6, and iron.

Smoothies. Because who doesn't like a smoothie? Get creative, have your kids helps out! All you need are your favorite fruits and a good imagination.

What other mom-friendly snacks do you give to your kids?

Image via guy schmidt/Flickr

Just when the train wreck that is Charlie Sheen finally pulled out of Crazy Town, along came an even bigger loco-motive bearing down on our national sanity like ants on a speck of hamburger.

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AnimalLover:

Mark "Dr. Bugs" Moffett samples the local delicacy in Angkor Wat, Cambodia. Read the story and see more of Mark's photographs here: http://tinyurl.com/42z4df2, http://tinyurl.com/4x6wk6m.

Add this to your queue
Added: Sun May 01 00:07:08 UTC 2011
Air date: Wed Apr 27 00:00:00 UTC 2011
Duration: 03:07

Partial Perspective Vortex

by Dr. Kenneth H. Cohn

As I mentioned last month, I began an inadvertent fellowship in orthopedics when I slipped on the ice and fractured my right wrist. In my saner moments, I reflect on how many more things I can do with my left hand now and how much more empathy I have for people in casts and members of our armed forces who are missing extremities.

Recently, I extended the learning process to dermatology, when I developed painful, red, itchy lesions on the fingers of my right hand that made me feel like red ants were nesting inside my fingertips. In retrospect, I made the error of telling the dermatologist that after 10 days of not sleeping well, I was feeling fatigued and that morning on a cold, wet morning in New England, I felt chilled. He took a biopsy, wrote me a prescription for a course of oral steroids, and sent me for blood tests, which took about 20 minutes to draw due to my poor-caliber veins from chemotherapy for lymphoma several decades ago.

Imagine my surprise when, two hours later, he called me to say, "Now that I have had a chance to sit down and dictate my findings, I realize that you need to go somewhere to get blood cultures and be worked up for SBE (subacute bacterial endocarditis)."

SBE is a term that makes clinicians perk up their ears because it can be fatal if untreated. So I went to my local emergency room, not knowing where else to initiate the workup at 3:30 p.m. There, I learned how healthcare is wasteful, because even though I gave the hospital personnel the name of the laboratory where I had my blood tests earlier that day, they redrew all of the bloodwork rather than calling the other lab. "The money wasn't coming out of their pocket," I thought, now that I had switched from a health insurance policy with a $1,000 to a $3,000 yearly deductible to save on monthly premiums--which had risen 26 percent in a year.

The good news is my blood tests were normal, the echocardiogram displayed no evidence of bacterial vegetations on my heart valves and the biopsy of the skin lesion was diagnostic of chilblains, a benign condition in which blood leaks out of small blood vessels after exposure to cold, followed by rapid rewarming. The suspicion of SBE also kept me from taking the oral steroids I had been prescribed.

But the real gift is that I appreciate the full use of my hands even more than I did a few months ago, and that I am relearning the lessons of patience, humility and self-acceptance that I only thought I had mastered during chemotherapy. Living in the present and not reliving the fall or wondering about the differential diagnosis of the finger lesions is an ongoing, iterative journey.

Ken is a practicing general surgeon/MBA and CEO of HealthcareCollaboration.com, who works with organizations that need to engage physicians to improve clinical and financial performance in this era of healthcare reform.

Q: Why worry about termites?

A: Termites cause billions of dollars in damage each year. They primarily feed on wood, but also damage paper, books, insulation, and even swimming pool liners and filtration systems. Termites can injure living trees and shrubs, but more often are a secondary invader of woody plants already in decline. While buildings may become infested at any time, termites are of particular importance when buying or selling a home since a termite inspection/infestation report is normally a condition of sale. Besides the monetary impact, thousands of winged termites emerging inside one's home are an emotionally trying experience — not to mention the thought of termites silently feasting on one's largest investment.

Q: Why are infestations often discovered during March - May?

A: Spring typically is when large numbers of winged termites, known as "swarmers," emerge inside homes. In nature, termites swarm to disperse and start new colonies. Triggered by warmer temperatures and rainfall, the winged termites emerge from the colony and fly into the air.

The swarmers then drop to the ground, shed their wings, pair off with a mate, and attempt to begin new colonies in the soil. Few swarmers emerging outdoors survive to start new colonies. Swarmers emerging indoors are incapable of eating wood, seldom survive, and are best removed with a vacuum. They do, however, indicate that an infestation is present.

Q: How will I know if my home is infested?

A: Discovering winged termites indoors almost always indicates an infestation warranting treatment.

People often confuse winged termites with ants, which often swarm at the same time of year. Termites can be differentiated by their straight antennae, uniform waist and wings of equal size. (Ants have elbowed antennae, constricted waists and forewings that are longer than the hind wings.)

The swarmers are attracted to light and are often seen around windows and doors. Termite swarmers emerging from tree stumps, woodpiles, and other locations out in the yard are not necessarily cause for concern, and do not necessarily mean that the house is infested. On the other hand, if winged termites are seen emerging from the base of a foundation wall or adjoining porches and patios, there's a good chance the house is infested also and treatment may be warranted.

Other signs of infestation are earthen mud tubes  extending over foundation walls, support piers, sill plates, floor joists, etc. The mud tubes are typically about the diameter of a pencil, but sometimes can be thicker.

Termites construct these tubes for shelter as they travel between their underground colonies and the structure. To help determine if an infestation is active, the tubes may be broken open and checked for the presence of small, creamy-white worker termites.

If a tube happens to be vacant, it does not necessarily mean that the infestation is inactive; termites often abandon sections of tube while foraging elsewhere in the structure.

Termite-damaged wood is usually hollowed out along the grain, with bits of dried mud or soil lining the feeding galleries. Wood damaged by moisture or other types of insects (e.g., carpenter ants) will not have this appearance. Occasionally termites bore tiny holes through plaster or drywall, accompanied by bits of soil around the margin. Rippled or sunken traces behind wall coverings can also be indicative of termites tunneling underneath.

Oftentimes there will be no visible indication that the home is infested. Termites are cryptic creatures and infestations can go undetected for years, hidden behind walls, floor coverings, insulation, and other obstructions. Termite feeding and damage can even progress undetected in wood that is exposed because the outer surface is usually left intact.

Q: Can I treat the house myself?

A: Ridding a home of termites requires special skills. A knowledge of building construction is needed to identify the critical areas where termites are likely to enter. Many of these potential points of entry are hidden and difficult to access. Termite control also utilizes specialized equipment such as masonry drills, pumps, large-capacity tanks, and soil treatment rods. A typical treatment may involve hundreds of gallons of a liquid pesticide, known as a termiticide, injected into the ground alongside the foundation, beneath concrete slabs, and within foundation walls.

In short, termite treatment is a job for professionals. A possible exception would be if a mailbox post, sandbox or other small wooden object not attached to the house was infested. "Do-it-yourself" products, sold to homeowners at retail stores or bought over the internet, will seldom eradicate an existing termite problem.

Q: How do I choose a termite control company? Why is there such variance in price?

A: These are complex questions. The company should be licensed by the Department of Agriculture or agency responsible for regulating termite control in the state. Membership in their state pest control association and/or National Pest Management Association suggest the company is an established firm with access to technical and training information needed to do the job correctly. As with any service company, references are invaluable. Consider calling at least 2-3 companies. Requesting inspections and estimates from more than one will help verify the existence of a termite problem and allow you to compare services.

Companies offer different types of treatment methods and warranties. If termites happen to return, most will retreat the affected area(s) at no additional charge. Some companies also will repair damage occurring subsequent to their treatment, although dating onset of damage is a hard thing to determine. In some cases, no warranty will be offered if wells, cisterns, subslab heating ducts, drainage systems, or inaccessible crawl spaces make it impossible to treat in accordance with industry standards.

Take your time when selecting a company. Termites damage wood slowly; the amount of damage caused by taking an additional day, week, or month to make an informed decision generally is insignificant. Avoid firms that try to pressure you into signing a contract immediately with "specials" or scare tactics. The overall quality of the job depends less on the sales person than on the individual who does the work. A safe and effective treatment requires an experienced technician, not someone who was hired a few weeks ago.

Q: Which treatment methods and products are most effective?

A: Another challenging question. There are two general categories of termite treatment, liquids and baits. Soil-applied liquid termiticides have been around for decades. Their purpose is to provide a long-lasting chemical barrier that excludes termites in the ground from entering buildings. In most cases, termites in the structure die off as well, since they cannot return to the soil. Most former products were repellent rather than lethal to termites foraging in the soil. Newer materials, such as Premise® (imidacloprid), Termidor® (fipronil), and Phantom® (chlorfenapyr), are non-repellent and termites tunneling into the treatment zone are killed. Overall the non-repellent products are proving to be more reliable in their ability to resolve termite problems in the first attempt. All registered termiticides (both repellent and non-repellent) can be effective, however, and homeowners should not base their purchasing decision on product alone.

The other broad treatment category is baiting. Termite baits consist of paper, cardboard, or other palatable food, combined with a slow-acting substance lethal to termites. The baits are installed below ground out in the yard in cylindrical plastic stations. Others are sometimes placed indoors over active mud tubes. Foraging termites consume the bait and share it with their nestmates, resulting in a gradual decline in termite numbers. On some properties, baits may constitute the only form of treatment; on others, they may be combined with liquid applications. to areas where termites are observed.

Termite baiting is a very complex subject. For further information, see our entomology extension publications,  Regardless of which method or product is selected, it's important to have an experienced technician, backed by a responsible pest control firm.

Q: Does the entire house need to be treated... or can they just treat areas where I see termites?

A: Subterranean termite colonies may contain hundreds of thousands of individuals, foraging in many different directions. For the homeowner, localized or "spot" treatments are generally a gamble except in cases of retreatment. Most reputable pest control firms will not warranty spot treatments, since it's likely that termites will eventually find other points of entry into the structure.

Some companies may offer to do a so-called "perimeter" treatment, using one of the non-repellent liquid termiticides (Termidor, Premise, etc.). Typically this will involve a thorough application around the entire outside foundation wall of the building, and spot-treating any infested or high-risk interior areas. If the homeowner is considering such a treatment, they should inquire whether it will be accompanied by a service agreement in case termites return. (Service renewal agreements usually state that if termites return, the company will return and retreat the affected areas at no additional charge provided the renewal agreement is maintained.) It's a bit of a gamble to purchase any termite treatment option without an ongoing service agreement.

Q: How long will the treatment last?

A: All liquid termiticides are supposed to control termites for at least five years when applied according to label directions. The actual length of control on a given structure will depend on such factors as thoroughness of the application, environmental conditions, and density of termites in the area. If termites swarm again and continue to be a problem the year after treatment, it's usually not from degradation of the termiticide — but because termites have found an untreated gap in the chemical barrier.

Q: Will the chemicals harm my family or pets?

A: Termiticides are tested extensively for adverse effects on health. Before a product can be used, numerous studies are conducted by the manufacturer and independently evaluated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Based on the current body of knowledge, registered termiticides pose no significant hazard to humans, pets or the environment when applied according to label directions. Despite the negligible health risk from a properly performed termite treatment, people with lingering concerns should consult their physician. Most of the newer liquid products have essentially no odor. Clients who are still apprehensive may want to consider having their home treated with baits.

Q: Have I been "cheated" if termites continue to infest my house after treatment?

A: Not necessarily. Unlike other services such as plumbing or electrical work, termite control involves living creatures. The best treatments performed by knowledgeable firms may fail at times, when termites find their way through tiny, untreated gaps in the soil. While the intent is to establish a continuous, impenetrable chemical barrier, this is all but impossible to achieve in actual practice. In the case of baits, it may take several months for termites to initially find the below-ground installations and several months more to achieve control.

The key is to hire a reputable pest control firm employing experienced, conscientious technicians. Companies will return and retreat affected area(s) at no additional charge provided the service agreement is purchased and maintained.

There has been no shortage of good games and storylines so far in these young 2011 NBA Playoffs, and I'm sure tonight will be no different. We've got two of the best teams in the league with their backs against the wall early, and a battle of up and coming teams that have found success in very different ways. Jump to recap last night's action and look ahead to tonight's matchups.

Knicks 93 (0) @ Celtics 96 (2)

Knicks fans knew they would have to go without Chauncey Billups for this one after he went down with a knee injury late in game one (MRI scheduled for today), but what they didn't expect was for Amare Stoudemire to leave the game early with back spasms. It was time for Melo to step up, and he responded by putting that team on his back and giving them a chance to win. Carmelo Anthony finished the game with 42pts 17reb 6ast and 2blk, but unfortunately for Spike Lee that wasn't enough to take down the deeper and much more experienced Celtics. Rondo had a very nice game, but in the final moments it was KG who was the hero. First he called for the ball on the block against Jeffries for the final offensive possession (something he's been criticized for shying away from for much of his career) and pounded it in the paint, rising up and finishing with a hook shot over some very physical D. Then on the other end of the floor he trapped Jeffries with the ball on the baseline and was able to deflect an attempt to pass out of trouble, and dove to the floor to secure the ball and call for a timeout with only a few seconds left.

Hawks 82 (1) @ Magic 88 (1)

I think the tone was set for this game when Dwight Howard received the Defensive Player of the Year award before the game. This was was ugly offensively, and Dwight had to play all 48 minutes to help his team grind out the win and even the series. He finished with 33pts (including 15 0f 19 from the line) 19reb, but added to the overall offensive ugliness with seven turnovers. Our old friend Jamal Crawford led the Hawks in scoring with 25, but as usual didn't do much else to fill out the boxscore or make a positive impact on defense. He did hit some very impressive looking long threes to keep them in the game at key moments, but in the end the Magic outlasted the Hawks.

Trail Blazers 89 (0) @ Mavericks101 (2)

This was a close game for three quarters, but the Mavericks came out and shut the door in the fourth. A good game from Dirk, and some hot outside shooting from Peja proved to be too much for the Blazers to handle. It's not fun to see Brandon Roy like this, and I'm hoping he can get back to his old self next season.

DAY 5 PREVIEW

Denver Nuggets (0) @ Oklahoma City Thunder (1)

5:00pm PST | TNT

These are two of my favorite teams to watch right now. I'm a sucker for young, up and coming teams, but this series is making it abundantly clear how different these two up and comers really are. The Nuggets roll nine or ten deep every night, and since they swapped Carmelo for half of the Knicks roster they play like interchangeable pieces, with an absence of ego or hierarchy. Melo was a gravitational force on the court, drawing the ball and the attention of defenders, while leaving the four other Nuggets in orbit – their floor spacing more dependent on their Star (or is he more of a gas giant...) than the offense as a whole. Now they work more like worker ants with a common goal, and it doesn't much matter which of the ants are out on the floor. That's not to say that they don't have players with unique skills and talents, but they don't put those skills and talents above the team.

On the other hand the Thunder have a better collection of talent, but you can see that the team can still be too top heavy. Last game they got 41 and 31 points from Durant and Westbrook respectively, but they only had one other player break double digits in scoring. They definitely have players that can step up, but they will have to find a way to get guys like Harden and Ibaka involved in the offense effectively. I'd expect to see the Thunder try to get different guys some good looks early, then hand the keys to Westbrook and Durant in the fourth.

Memphis Grizzlies (1) @ San Antonio Spurs (0)

5:30 PST | NBATV

If anyone was uncertain about exactly how important Manu Ginobili has been to this team all season, then game one should have given them a pretty good idea. He's been the key to them pushing the ball in transition and getting into the paint on a consistent basis in the half court. I honestly don't know if they'll get out of the first round if he can't get healthy very soon. This is as small as the Spurs have been in recent memory, and the Grizz did a nice job of feeding Randolph and Gasol inside and putting constant pressure on the Spurs interior D. I do expect the Spurs to come out focused and ready to compete because, frankly, I can't imagine Coach Pop letting them get away with anything less, but I was surprised to hear some of the comments from Spurs players that made it sound like they themselves weren't sure if they could win without Manu. Sure, maybe they just understand how serious the situation is, but it almost sounded like they were ready to fold up shop if Manu can't play.

New Orleans Hornets (1) @ Los Angeles Lakers (0)

7:30 PST | TNT

I still expect the Lakers to recover and win the series, but Chris Paul definitely came out and made a statement in game one. About this time last year I was writing about how people were sleeping on CP3 when they were calling Deron Williams the best point guard in the NBA, and with Rose likely to receive the MVP soon this might be a good time for Chris Paul to remind the league just how good he is. Of course the Lakers are still a legit title contender, and have bigger things to worry about than who is better than who. They should come out tonight with their A game. If they were sleeping on the Hornets, game one certainly woke them up. Tonight we will see if Chris Paul will have what it takes to pull of David and Goliath part two.

Antanarivo, Madagascar --- It’s dawn at the Madagascar Biodiversity Center here. The roosters are crowing. The birds are chirping. And the lemurs are hooting and cackling at some inside joke that I must have missed.

The talkative primates with curious faces and long tails are probably Madagascar’s most famous residents. More than 70 species of different sizes, colors and dispositions are entirely unique to this island, but they comprise just a tiny fraction of Madagascar’s distinctive plant and animal life. Bright chameleons, massive ‘upside-down’ baobab trees and, as Dr. Brian Fisher from the California Academy of Sciences points out, nearly 100 percent of the country’s ants are found only on this piece of land the size of Texas that is isolated by 200 miles of ocean from the east coast of Africa.

For almost a decade, Dr. Fisher -- Chairman of the Cal Academy’s entomology department (a.k.a., the Ant Guy) -- has been traveling the 11,000 miles from San Francisco to this island that comprises one of the most diverse, unique and endangered biological hotspots on the planet. More than 90 percent of the country’s rich natural ecology is already lost to habitat destruction. Dr. Fisher and his team at the Madagascar Biodiversity Center are in a race against time to study and preserve what remains.  

The deforestation problem is particularly dire in the country’s desert southwest. Just inland from the white sand beaches of the coast lies the rare spiny forest. Nearly all of the plant and animal life inhabiting this arid region is found nowhere else on earth. Home to unique species of thorny octopus trees, aloe, baobabs, tortoises, mongooses and -- you guessed it -- lemurs, the spiny forest is being destroyed at an astonishing rate. Interestingly, it’s a problem of power. (See photos from the project here.)

Local communities rely on the slow-growing forest to supply fuel for cooking. It goes without saying that reliable gas and electricity infrastructure is virtually non-existent in this remote corner of one of the poorest countries in the world. And so the children of the villages collect wood to make charcoal for kitchen fires. As each year passes and the population grows, the children must go farther and farther to collect the wood they need. The villages’ meager daily subsistence is the single greatest threat to this fragile ecosystem.

I’m here along with a team from SunPower and others from the Bay Area’s renewable energy industry that Dr. Fisher has recruited to help explore solutions. Surely, he figures, the same cleantech innovation engine that’s delivered breakthrough technologies and record market growth back home is equipped to tackle Madagascar’s energy challenges.

We’re starting with the crown jewel of Dr. Fisher’s conservation efforts: the Madagascar Biodiversity Center, where he serves as Executive Director. Located in the nation’s sprawling capital city of Antananarivo, the Center has a particular focus on empowering local students to protect their country’s rich biological heritage. Center personnel instruct students from the University of Madagascar in systematics, ecology and conservation. Today, the Center is abuzz with students peering through microscopes, identifying specimens from the field, and flashing the signature Malagasy smile. But this work is routinely interrupted by the region’s intermittent power supply, which Dr. Fisher estimates has cost tens of thousands of dollars in lost equipment and productivity over the past five years.

All that will change in a matter of hours when the Center flips the switch on its new solar energy system. At 7.8 kilowatts (kW), the PV system is one of the largest in the country. It’s comprised of SunPower panels with hybrid on-grid/off-grid capabilities courtesy of SMA and Trojan battery storage. The system will provide enough reliable electricity to meet 100 percent of the Center’s power needs for education and research. And by virtually eliminating the facility’s dependence on fossil-based generation from the local utility, the clean energy system advances the Center’s larger environmental mission. “The greening of Madagascar,” says Dr. Fisher, arms emphatically spread toward the roof.

An afternoon spent up top with the smiling faces and skilled hands of the local installation team quickly proved that we’re not the only ones who see promise in a renewable energy future for Madagascar. And the spontaneous applause that erupted as the last panel was put in place was further indication of the good cheer that awaits us at this afternoon’s formal commissioning celebration.

Following the festivities, we will travel across the country to Ranobe, a village on the front lines of the struggle between subsistence and spiny desert conservation.  There, we will work with local leaders to identify future PV system sites and explore sustainable solutions for meeting the village’s everyday energy needs. A simple cooker that can achieve the high temperatures that tradition calls for? A more sustainable fuel source for their fires? A new stove design that burns more efficiently? No doubt the answer will be somewhat less grand that the sophisticated PV system we’re celebrating today.  But the implications would be tremendous for this ecosystem on the brink and the people who call it home.

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Rosalind Jackson is the director of communications and development at the Vote Solar Initiative.

(Photos courtesy of Alyssa Newman.)