A man found the cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress.
It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no further. So the man decided to help the butterfly, and took a pair of scissors to snip off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly was then able to emerge easily. The problem then, that Butterfly had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.
The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that at any moment the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened. In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It was never able to fly.
What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand, was that the cocoon’s restriction and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
The moral of this story? Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If God allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly.
Category: Meditations
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This has got to be one of the most profound quotes I’ve come across in the past few months. Not because of its content, but because of its aptness towards my personal life experience at this time. The person who told it to me doesn’t know where it came from, so I’ll atribute it to him.
“Life is like an elevator. On your way up, sometimes you have to stop and let some people off.” – Chris Cox
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The headline says it all. There is a new technology surrounding the examination of breasts. Let’s use 3d to find titty cancer!
Seriously, I’m a male, but I’m for any innovation that keep my favorite friendly juglies around.
Yes, ladies I just renewed my membership in Oink Oink. I’m a pig. Please pass the bacon. -
Washington, DC, August 30, 2012 – Less than half of U.S. schools address pandemic preparedness in their school plan, and only 40 percent have updated their school plan since the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, according to a study published in the September issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).
A team of researchers from Saint Louis University collected and analyzed survey responses from approximately 2,000 school nurses serving primarily elementary, middle, and high schools in 26 states to ascertain whether schools were prepared for another pandemic, particularly focusing on infectious disease disasters. Pandemic preparedness is critical not only because of ramifications of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, but also because of the threat of a future pandemic or an outbreak of an emerging infectious disease, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome. School preparedness for all types of disasters, including biological events, is mandated by the U.S. Department of Education.
The team found that less than one-third of schools (29.7 percent) stockpile any personal protective equipment, and nearly a quarter (22.9 percent) have no staff members trained on the school’s disaster plan. One-third (33.8 percent) of schools report training students on infection prevention less than once per year. Only 1.5 percent of schools report stockpiling medication in anticipation of another pandemic. On a positive note, although only 2.2 percent of schools require school nurses to receive the annual influenza vaccine, the majority (73.7 percent) reported having been vaccinated for the 2010/2011 season.
“Findings from this study suggest that most schools are even less prepared for an infectious disease disaster, such as a pandemic, compared to a natural disaster or other type of event,” says Terri Rebmann, PhD, RN, CIC, lead study author and associate professor of Environmental and Occupational Health at the Saint Louis University School of Public Health. “Despite the recent H1N1 pandemic that disproportionately affected school-age children, many schools do not have plans to adequately address a future biological event.”
The researchers conclude that U.S. schools must continue to address gaps in infectious disease emergency planning, including developing better plans, coordinating these plans with local and regional disaster response agency plans, and testing the plan through disaster drills and exercises. Whenever possible, school nurses should be involved in these planning efforts, as healthcare professionals can best inform school administrators about unique aspects of pandemic planning that need to be included in school disaster plans.
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People with blood types A, B, or AB appear to have a higher risk for coronary heart disease when compared to those with blood type O, according to new research published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, a journal maintained by the American Heart Association— a national voluntary health agency that works to help reduce disability and death from cardiovascular diseases and stroke.
Study participants with the rarest blood type — AB, found in about 7 percent of the U.S. population — had the highest increased heart disease risk at 23 percent. Those with type B had an 11 percent increased risk, and those with type A had a 5 percent increased risk. Approximately 43 percent of Americans possess blood type O.
“While people cannot change their blood type, our findings may help physicians better understand who is at risk for developing heart disease,” stated Lu Qi, M.D., Ph.D., the study’s senior author and an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.
Knowing your blood type can be an important part of staying healthy and avoiding heart disease, Qi said. “It’s good to know your blood type the same way you should know your cholesterol or blood pressure numbers,” he said. “If you know you’re at higher risk, you can reduce the risk by adopting a healthier lifestyle, such as eating right, exercising and not smoking.”
The study’s findings are based on an investigation of two large, well-known U.S. studies — 62,073 women from the Nurses’ Health Study and 27,428 adults from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Participants were between ages 30 and 75, and both groups were followed for 20 years or more.
Read More: at the American heart Association’s website — Heart.org and follow them on Twitter @HeartNews.
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Herbert Vogel, a well renowned art collector who possessed over 5,000 works despite his modest income, has died at the age of 89.
Pieces from Vogel’s collection have been distributed to museums throughout the United States. A National Gallery of Art spokesperson, Deborah Ziska, reports that Vogel died Sunday of natural causes in New York City.
Vogel was one of the earliest collectors who campaigned in support of minimal and conceptual art in the 1960s. He married Dorothy Faye Hoffman in 1962 and inspired her to join him in the art world. They used his salary as a U.S. postal clerk to purchase art while living on what she earned as a librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library.
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U.S. News and World Report’s Best Hospitals edition has ranked the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center the No. 1 hospital in Virginia and in the Richmond metropolitan area, reflecting four programs — nephrology, pulmonology, orthopaedic surgery and urology — in the top 50.
Specifically, the Division of Nephrology jumped from the No. 49 spot to No. 28; Pulmonology moved from its former ranking of “high achieving” into the 36 spot; the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery moved from high achieving to 39th; and the Division of Urology moved from high achieving to 45th in the country.
This year’s Best Hospitals showcases more than 720 of the nation’s roughly 5,000 hospitals. Fewer than 150 are nationally ranked in at least one of 16 medical specialties.
The hospital rankings are like a GPS-type aid to help steer patients to hospitals with strong skills in the procedures and medical conditions that present the biggest challenges, said U.S. News Health Rankings Editor Avery Comarow,
“All of these hospitals are the kinds of medical centers that should be on your list when you need the best care,” Comarow said. “They are where other hospitals send the toughest cases.”
Sheldon Retchin, M.D., CEO of the VCU Health System and vice president for VCU Health Sciences, said the No. 1 ranking in the commonwealth “is a fantastic endorsement of our commitment to excellence in patient care.” He added that it also reflects “our goal of bringing the latest and best therapies, treatments and cures to our patients and to the community.”
John Duval, CEO of MCV Hospitals, said, “the VCU Medical Center’s continued ranking as one of America’s best hospitals affirms that our investments in physicians, staff and technology, along with our goal of becoming the safest hospital in the country, are showing results.”
Read more here: at the VCU News website.
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By kevin White:
Roman maidens said come back with your shield, not upon it.
I have to wonder to they know how hard the fight is.
Do they honor it? Do they gather the strategy of tactics, the attention to details?
Or are they just hoping for another night’s romp with the sexiest male.Great Caesar, Sun Tzu, can you hear me implore?
I ask for your wisdom, I’ve read the art of war.
I’ve met my commitment, and the battle is won.
And yet when I return, my victory goes unsung.The maid said she loved me, I thought she spoke true.
She claimed her heart would break if I did not give her that boon.
But I returned with my shield, not on it as encouraged.
And it seems that her passion was just placed back in storage.I talk to her, she fights me. I kiss her, she bights me.
I dare not go near her, for when in the kitchen she might knife me.
But even then its too late, I know twas best lost then to have loved.
I should have joined those brave ones and met our holey father above.For then I’d have peace. I’d have my reward.
I’d have my name lauded, not blamed and ignored.
I’m just a man on a mission, to survive one more night.
God know’s I can make it. God knows I can fight.An RVAMaverick creation. -
By William Shakespeare:
When daisies pied, and violets blue, and lady-smocks all silver-white,
And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue do paint the meadows with delight,
The cuckoo then, on every tree, mocks married men, for thus sings he:
‘Cuckoo! Cuckoo, cuckoo!’
O word of fear, unpleasing to a married ear.When shepherds pipe on oaten straws, and merry larks are ploughmen’s clocks,
When turtles tread, and rooks, and daws, and maidens bleach their summer smocks,
The cuckoo then, on every tree, mocks married men, for thus sings he:
‘Cuckoo! Cuckoo, cuckoo!’
O word of fear, unpleasing to a married earAn RVAMaverick creation. -
The Manly Man is a swaggering man, carrying himself with pride and self-assurance. He is not a follower and may not be a leader but, is unswayed by external forces. He goes where he wants, wears what he wants and says what he wants with no fear of condemnation. A real man may even eat quiche if it pleases him.
The Manly Man is not a quitter. Comfort and difficulty do not deter the Manly Man. He does his job to the fullest. He does not whine or moan about the task at hand but rather works beyond the call of duty. The Manly Man does not bitch. His attitude is “can do” or even better “will do”. The Manly Man is most likely a Republican forging his own destiny, not relying on public aid and Democratic programs.
Its Kevin 