Snow shoveling: U.S. hospitals treat on average about 11,500 injuries and medical emergencies a year related to shoveling snow

Source: Wall Street Journal: Jan 11, 2011

By ANN LUKITS

Snow shoveling: U.S. hospitals treat on average about 11,500 injuries and medical emergencies a year related to shoveling snow, according to a study in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine that analyzed data from 100 emergency departments from 1990 to 2006.

Reuters

A worker shoveled snow after the late December blizzard in New York. The study, the first national survey of snow-shoveling injuries, said the activity places extraordinary demands on the cardiovascular system and can raise heart rates above recommended upper limits after only two minutes. Freezing temperatures also constrict peripheral blood vessels, further stressing the heart. Two-thirds of shoveling injuries occurred in men, and 15% of injuries were in children under 18 years old. More than half of injuries resulted from acute musculoskeletal exertion, 20% from slips and falls, and nearly 7% from cardiac problems, such as heart attack.

The study said most shovels contribute to injuries because of their non-ergonomic design, which hasn't changed in over a century. Researchers recommend shovelers under 18 be supervised, people should warm up with light exercise before shoveling and sedentary individuals should consider hiring someone for the task.

Caveat: Researchers said their findings underestimate the number of injuries and medical emergencies associated with snow shoveling because only cases treated in emergency departments were included.

Title: Snow shovel-related injuries and medical emergencies treated in US EDs, 1990 to 2006.

Save Your Soap!

What do you do with your bar of soap remnant once it's worn down to a shadow of it's original self?
Do you throw yours away? Collect them? Give them to Ted Williams?

I have come up with a solution to save your soap remnants, adding at least a weeks worth of use on an annual basis, possibly more.

Step 1: Grab a new bar of soap, bring it in the shower

Step 2: Use your old soap remnant (I like to do this when it's still one piece if possible)

Step 3: Notice that the old soap is now pliable after using it

Step 4: Squeeze the old soap onto the new bar of soap with two hands (I interlock my fingers together and clamp with my palms as hard as possible)

Step 5: put the soap on it's tray and let stand/dry until the next usage




Congratulations, you have now successfully fused your old soap with the new soap!

Radio Shack BAD Staples GOOD

I had to replace the battery to the garage door opener and stopped at Sears Hardware to make the $4.50 purchase. They were sold out of the http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Battery-lithium-cr2032.jpg/200px-Battery-lithium-cr2032.jpg CR2032 battery so my next stop was Radio Shack, but their price was a whopping $5.85 for one battery. Pressed for time, I made the purchase. My next errand was at Staples to buy some of my favorite G2 pens that seem to disapear all too often when I noticed that they were selling a 2 pack of CR2032 batteries for $3.50 -- that's what I call a Radio Shack Ripoff!! Go Staples.

$125 million Lafayette Street Extension to PA Turnpike

Full Story Here: Times Herald, Sept 2, 2010

The $125 million Lafayette Street corridor extension to the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the reconstruction, which is expected to transform Norristown, is slated to being next year.

Construction of the four-lane road connection from Lafayette and Ford streets to Conshohocken Road is scheduled in 2011 and 2012, according to the county Planning Commission.

Ridge Pike intersection construction at Diamond Avenue and at a new “connector road” to the Lafayette extension would be completed in 2013 and 2014. Widening and rebuilding the existing Lafayette Street from Barbadoes to Ford streets in Norristown would be completed in 2015 and 2016.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission will build the EZ-pass toll plaza and entrance and exit ramps on the turnpike between 2014 to 2017.

Are you "Prehypertensive"?

(fr: http://online.wsj.com/ 11/9/10):

...About a third of U.S. adults have hypertension, which leads to one in six deaths in the U.S. But at least the same number, and possibly as many as 37%, are prehypertensive. Because prehypertension was only formally identified as a concern in 2003, doctors haven't reached consensus on treatment, and there is mounting debate about the best approach....



Lifestyles of the Fit and Healthy

These modifications help prevent and manage hypertension.

1. Maintain normal body weight (body mass index of 18.5 to 24.9).
2. Consume a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products with a reduced content of saturated and total fat.
3. Reduce dietary sodium intake to between 1,500 and 2,400 mg a day. The American Heart Association recommends less than 1,500 mg daily.
4. Engage in aerobic physical activity such as brisk walking for at least 30 to 60 minutes a day, most days of the week.
5. Limit alcohol consumption to no more than two drinks (e.g., 24 oz beer, 10 oz wine, or 3 oz 80-proof whiskey) a day for most men, and to no more than one drink a day for women and lighter-weight people.
6. Avoid tobacco, reduce stress and cut back on caffeine.
7. Source: National Institutes of Health/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Replaced iPhone Battery

I ordered a replacement battery for my 3 year old iPhone 3G a few months ago from http://www.ifixit.com/ and finally got around to replacing it this weekend. I tried to swap it from a remote location with only the tools provided in the iFixit kit http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/Installing-iPhone-3G-Battery/577/1 but the screwdriver was too narrow to replace two of the screws, so I had to wait to get back to my desk and try again with eyeglass screwdrivers and it worked! The project took about 25 minutes and now my new battery is charging... Curious to see how long it will last in comparison.