The LuxMob Info Tags

The majority of tattoos are applied without any problem, but there are some that result in a less than desirable outcome. For this reason, the potential risks associated with getting a tattoo cannot be overlooked. Unsanitary equipment is the main concern that most individuals face when getting a tattoo. The potential for contracting a disease is high with equipment that is not properly cleaned after each use. In addition, tattoos can often result in a skin infection if either the equipment used to create the tattoo is dirty or if the individual does not properly care for the area following a tattoo’s application.

If excessive redness, swelling or pain around the area of the tattoo develops, a licensed physician will need to inspect the tattoo in order to determine whether or not it is infected. Common treatments may include medication, but an infection that has gotten extremely bad may require that the patient be hospitalized. In addition to the obvious concerns that may arise immediately, a physician may again be needed later on if the patient ever decides to have that tattoo removed. Surgery is the only way to completely remove a tattoo and, as with any type of surgery, this carries additional risks.

If an individual decides to remove his/her tattoo, the procedure may be either an out-patient process or one that requires a minimal hospital stay. The ultimate determination will be made by a physician, who will consider the patient’s overall health and the likelihood of developing any type of infection. In addition, patients who experience complications during surgery or a possible allergic reaction to medication will likely be admitted to the hospital for further observation.

The next risk associated with tattoos is not so much one of health, but of appearance. If a tattoo is done by an amateur or simply not done well, it’s appearance may be ruined. At the same time, if a tattoo is every removed, there is a great possibility that a visible scar will remain. While it is true that most scars become less noticeable in time, they never completely go away and will forever be a reminder of the tattoo that was once there.

Just as with every decision in life, there are pluses and minuses to every ordeal. If you are considering a tattoo, take a moment to carefully think about why you want the tattoo, how you will feel about it 10 years from now and whether or not the tattoo is for you or for someone else. When making a permanent marking on your body, you should do so only because you want to and not because anyone else wants or expects you to.

This article is to be used for informational purposes only. The information contained herein is not intended to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice. Before deciding on getting a tattoo or having one removed, the patient must consult a licensed medical doctor for medical advice and/or to determine the best course of action for his/her individual healthcare needs.

A sale in professional service industries is simply a transaction based upon a promise - a promise that your firm and its employees will perform in a manner that is consistent with the client’s needs and that offers value to the client organization.

The Inevitable

Yet we know that people are flawed, and performance levels will vary from project to project and from employee to employee. The average customer probably couldn’t detect even a slight difference in hundreds of widgets coming off of an assembly line. Put a dozen of your consultants, attorneys, or accountants in front of a potential client, however, and odds are they’ll come away with very distinct opinions about who is best qualified or with whom they would prefer to work.

So how do you contend with the realization that your firm’s primary product - its people, are inherently flawed and will drop the ball on occasion - that your customers are human and might be personally incompatible with staff members - even in the absence of substantive performance issues. The answer is communication. Make that over-communication!

“For Instance…”

Clients understand the fallibility of people. What they don’t understand is poor communication and tardy notification of performance issues. They can’t understand a service provider explaining why they missed a deadline instead of clearly explaining how they will remedy the situation.

They understand employee turnover. They can’t understand why they only discovered that their favorite point of contact at your firm is gone by placing a random phone call 3 weeks after the fact and being told, “That person no longer works here. Can someone else help you?”

Client Loyalty

Your greatest strength as a service provider is the ability to inspire trust in your customers. Have faith in those customers as well. Trust that if you are courageous enough to explain issues clearly and promptly, your candor will help solidify client relationships and stimulate loyalty in your clients.

Craig Cortello is the President and founder of Fuzzy Widget Sales Solutions, a division of La Dolce Vita Enterprises, a consulting and training firm that assists companies in creating productive and imaginative work environments that encourage innovative business solutions. He is also the National Sales Manager of Trinity Consultants, a nationwide environmental consulting firm and an accomplished musician. He credits much of his success in the business world to his creative spirit that was cultivated through exposure to music and the arts.

Craig is a proud resident and native of the New Orleans metropolitan area, and a Hurricane Katrina survivor!

See http://www.fuzzy-widget.com for more sales resources. Happy selling!

Link exchanges can be quite a time consuming task when it comes to search engine optimization. After spending time researching potential link partners you must add their link to your site and then send out an email asking for a reciprocal link sometimes to never hear back. Although key link exchanges are still important in search engine optimization there are ways to increase your incoming links that prove to be more rewarding.

There are great ways to get people to link to you and the overall idea you should remember is “Give and you shall receive”. Well what is it that I can give you may ask? Give away free content! Offering free content does three important things. First it says that you are a generous and knowledgeable individual which everyone appreciates. Second, it allows people to freely publish your content which spreads your name and site link. The third important thing is that the longer your content is circulating the more people will use it which means it keeps on generating incoming links.

Articles are sometimes one of the easiest methods to get your link out there. Write articles that are related to your web site so that other webmasters with related sites can freely republish them. Be sure to include a byline with your name, URL and email address. Depending on where you distribute your articles you may have to include the usage guidelines in which you should state that the byline shouldn’t be removed. A good length for articles on the web is around four to eight hundred words so keep it focused.

If writing isn’t your strong point then offer something else site owners can use. This includes free web templates, graphics, photos, scripts etc. Whatever you decide to give away make sure you make it clear that publishers of your work must give credit to you by linking back to your site. And of course make sure you own all rights to what you are distributing. Also, the higher the quality of what you are giving away, the more likely people will use it.

Another way to get incoming links is to contribute to online forums. Simply put your URL in your signature which most forums allow. Your URL will now show up every time you post. Don’t abuse this though because many forum moderators ban users who frivolously post just to get their links up. Also, it is important to note that most forums are dynamic which means that the pages your posts are on aren’t seen by search engines. Some forum owners however are implementing methods to make their forums more search engine friendly such as using mod_rewrite or archiving old posts to static html pages in which case your links will be credited to you.

You will find the time you spend on creating freely publishable content will pay for itself ten fold and will be self rewarding as well. Just remember, “Give and you shall receive”. Publishers and search engines will thank you for it.

About the Author

Jeff Hendrickson is a web designer who runs the web design firm 26global.com. Copyright 2005 Jeffhendricksondesign.com

26global@gmail.com

Freely publish this article with copyright info intact.

You’ve been looking at houses for months, and finally you’ve found it–the house that’s just right. So now, all you have to do is to purchase your new home, move in, and get settled, right? Not quite. There’s one more big step to go-getting a mortgage loan. You’re going to want to decide on the type of mortgage and payment terms that fit within your budget. And you’re going to have to prepare yourself by doing some research. What follows is valuable information that will be crucial in helping you make loan decisions that will fit your budget and circumstance.

Series: 3 Finding a Perfect Match for your Home Mortgage

Factors That Affect Your Mortgage

Mortgage payments are determined based on the following criteria:

Amount of the loan
Length of the loan
Down payment
Discount points
Closing costs
Credit quality
Income level
Lock in period

Loan Amount: The amount of your loan can increase your interest rate if the amount financed exceeds the conforming loan limits set by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, (private corporations regulated by the federal government) that administer loans. The conforming loan limit changes at the beginning of each year.

Shorter loans, such as a 30 year or 15 year note, can save you thousand of dollars in interest payments over the life of the loan, but your monthly payments will be high. An adjustable rate mortgage may get you started with a lower interest rate than a fixed rate mortgage, but your payments could get higher when the interest rate changes.

Down Payment: A large down payment will give you the best possible rate. If you’ve got the cash now and want to lower your payments, you can pay points on your loan to lower your mortgage rate. The concept is simple: In exchange for more money upfront, lenders are willing to lower their interest rate, cutting the borrower’s payments. Remember to consider upcoming expenses and closing costs in your down payment decision.

Closing costs. In addition to your down payment, you will need to pay closing costs for processing your loan and transferring the property ownership from the seller to you, the buyer. Closing costs can range from 3%-5% of your loan amount, depending on where you live, the loan you choose and your closing date. In some cases, you can finance certain closing costs in your mortgage loan. When you apply for loan, your lender will give you an estimate of closing costs, which usually include:

Origination fees.

Costs of processing your loan (includes property survey and appraisal).
Items paid in advance, such as first-year mortgage insurance premium, first-year hazard insurance premium and first-year flood or earthquake insurance premiums, if required.

Escrow accounts - an account held by the lender into which the homebuyer usually pays for city/county property taxes, mortgage insurance, and hazard insurance, if required.

Title insurance charges.

Recording and transfer charges.

Attorney’s fees.

Credit Score: Your credit and debt-to-income-ratio affect the terms of your loan through your FICO score which is used to determine your credit rating. If you have good credit and your monthly income exceeds your monthly debt obligations, you will get approved at a lower interest rate. However, if your monthly income barely covers your minimum debt obligations, you will not receive the lowest available interest rate even if you have a good credit report.

Lock-in Rate: When shopping for a loan remember that interest rates change frequently. It is important to ask your mortgage representative if a lock-in rate is possible. This will guarantee you a specific rate, provided the loan is closed, with a set period of time.
Determine How Large a Monthly Mortgage Payment You Can Afford

Your choice of mortgage will be influenced by questions such as
How many years do you expect to live in your new home?
How important is it to be free of mortgage debt before facing your children’s college bills or planning your future retirement?
How comfortable are you with the certainty of a fixed mortgage payment vs. a payment that can change over time?

Your monthly payment will vary depending upon the type and length of the loan and the amount you put down. Most lenders will help you select the loan that’s best suited to your financial situation.

How Low an Interest Rate Can You Expect?

Shorter term loans offer lower interest rates and are divided into two types. A Fixed mortgage means that the rate is locked in for the life of the loan. Adjustable Rate, also called an ARM or variable rate note, is a note that generally offers lower payments for the first year and then changes periodically based on the terms and conditions of your note. Paying discount “points” can lower your interest rate. If your loan requires you to pay points or if you want to buy “down” the interest rate using points, remember that one point equals 1% of the loan amount.

Choosing the Right Mortgage

If you want the stability and predictability of a set rate for the life of your loan, then a fixed rate mortgage may be for you. Usually the longer the term of the mortgage, the more interest you pay over the life of your loan. Though, a longer term means your monthly mortgage payments will be less than they would be with a comparable shorter-term mortgage.

30 year vs. 15 year fixed rate mortgage.

A 30-year mortgage will have a lower monthly payment and a higher interest rate than a 15-year mortgage. You’ll have a smaller monthly obligation but you’ll pay more for your house over time because you’re paying it off with interest for a longer period.
On the other hand, a 15-year mortgage will have a higher monthly payment and a lower interest rate so you’ll pay less for your house because you’re paying it off in a shorter period.

Adjustable Rate Mortgage.

ARMs, are short-term fixed-rate loans: After the fixed rate term is up, the rate adjusts at regular intervals in accordance with current interest rate conditions at that time. A 5/1 ARM, for example, has a fixed rate for five years and then adjusts every year for the next 25 years. (ARMs typically run on a 30-year schedule.)

The length of the fixed-rate term on an ARM typically can range anywhere from one month to 10 years. The longer the rate is fixed, the higher the interest rate you’ll get. But generally speaking — and there have been exceptions in the past — ARMs will cost you less in the short-term. With the ARM, both your monthly payments and interest rates should be lower than either a fixed rate 15-year or 30-year mortgage.

The risk with an ARM is that when interest rates rise, you could end up paying much more than you bargained for. Check to see if your ARM has a cap rate so that if rates increase, your change cannot exceed a certain pre-defined limit.

If you know you’ll be in a home for 12 years or more, a 30-year fixed rate mortgage might work better for you than, say, a 5/1 ARM, where you fix a rate for five years and then it adjusts every year after that. But if you think you won’t be in the home longer than five or six years, a 5/1 ARM might make more sense.

Mortgage Shopping Tips.

Talk to the mortgage specialists at your bank. If you are starting to look for a home they can asses your financial situation and help you determine a purchase price that is within your budget and a mortgage program that suits your lifestyle and income. In many cases your advisor can prepare a pre-approved mortgage before you finalize your purchase.

Ask a mortgage specialist at your bank to help you calculate payments at different interest rates. This will help you determine a monthly payment that can be comfortable integrated into your budget.

Types of Mortgage Programs.

Most lenders are committed to ensuring that your home financing experience is rewarding and effortless. To this end, there are many programs available to suit a variety of situations, lifestyles and your financial profiles. These include:

Fixed-rate loan. If you’ve found a home you plan to live in for 10-30 years, consider a fixed-rate loan. It’s predictable and stable since the interest rate is set for the full length of the loan. Because the monthly payment for the principal and interest stays the same for the life of the loan, it’s easier to plan a budget. Most lenders offer many fixed-rate loans with terms to fit your budget, including loans that require no money down.

Adjustable-rate loan.

If you plan on being in your home for a shorter period of time, or expect your income to increase of the years, an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) may just be the right fit for you. An ARM loan usually starts with a lower initial interest rate than traditional fixed-rate loans. After a set initial payment period (usually one, three, five, seven or ten years), the interest rate may change periodically (usually annually or semiannually) based on market conditions. As the rate changes, your monthly payment changes. ARM loans feature an adjustment “cap” which limits how much the interest rate can go up. This helps protect you from large increases in your monthly payment.

Loans for first-time homebuyers.

Most banks offer affordable loans to make it easier for first-time homebuyers with limited savings to qualify for a home loan. Specifically, FHA and VA government loans are available to qualified buyers, based on income or property location. These affordable financing programs can help make it easier to buy a home since they require little or no money down and also offer flexible credit and income guidelines.

Repayment schedule.

Also consider how quickly you’d like to repay your loan - within 15 years, 20 years, 25 years, 30 years? Do you want to make biweekly mortgage payments? Typically, the sooner you repay the loan, the more you’ll save in interest payments. However, the longer you extend the term of your financing, the lower your monthly payments maybe. So when choosing a loan term, consider your budget, your long-term spending patterns, your income over the life of the loan and how long you plan to stay in your home.

Which loan is right for me?

The lifestyle situations below can help you decide which loan you might want to consider.

“Getting the lowest monthly payment is most important to me, and I’ll be in my home for less than five years.”
An intermediate ARM (five years or longer) if your income is fixed or expected to decline.
A short-term ARM (three years or less) if you expect your income to increase.

“Getting the lowest monthly payment is most important to me, and I’ll be in my home for more than five years.”
A fixed-term mortgage (for example, 30-year fixed).
An intermediate ARM if you expect your income to keep increasing.

“I have little money saved for a down payment.”
AN FHA loan.
A VA loan, if you are a veteran.

“I have no traditional credit references (for example, car loan or credit cards) but I pay my rent and other bills on time.”
An FHA loan.
A VA loan, if you are a veteran.

“Paying off my mortgage faster and saving money by paying less interest long-term is what’s most important to me.”
A shorter-term mortgage, such as 15- or 20-year fixed-rate loan.
A biweekly 30-year mortgage accelerates the reduction in principal by applying more than one extra payment a year, reducing the total interest and term of the loan

Borrowers Protection Plan

Borrowers Protection Plan is an optional feature of your loan that can provide peace of mind during difficult times - like an unexpected job loss or disability. Borrowers Protection Plan will cancel your monthly principal and interest payment should you lose your job or are unable to work due to illness or injury. Borrowers Protection Plan may cancel a total of up to 12 months, depending upon the protection option and benefit period selected. And if you should die in an accident your entire loan balance will be canceled.

Benefits of protection.

Affordable. Decide what you and your family need and we’ll help make it affordable.

Easy to obtain. There are no health requirements or medical exams and any size loan qualifies.

Supplemental benefits. Your monthly benefits will not be reduced because of other state unemployment benefits or disability income you may receive.
Protection options available prior to loan closing include involuntary unemployment and disability and can be purchased individually, or as a combination. These options also include accidental death protection and are available on a single or joint basis.

Fast answers and streamlined processing. The approval process should be fast and simple. Many homebuyers who have excellent credit history can be approved for a mortgage at the time of the application and with very little documentation.

Hassle-free mortgages with 80% less paperwork.

Use a proprietary process to determine if you qualify for this streamlined loan feature. This means less digging, sorting and collecting paperwork for you.

Your qualification for reduced paperwork depends on a number of factors:
Strong credit doesn’t have to be perfect
Type of mortgage you choose many mortgage types and loan amounts up to $750,000 are eligible
Even if you don’t qualify for the 80% less paperwork mortgage feature, your mortgage request can still be approved.

Buying a home is one of the most important events in your life. So talk to the mortgage professionals, do your homework and select a loan that fits your lifestyle and your budget. And enjoy the satisfaction of owning your own home.

Bill Tanebring is a Southern California based writer. His web address is http://www.billtannebring.net

There’s an excellent website online published by a Dr. Holden, a former Disability Determination Services medical consultant. I couldn’t help but comment on one of the good doctor’s recent writings in which he makes several suggestions for disability evaluation reform. To get right to the point, Dr. Holden’s reform ideas seem to strongly revolve around the notions of upgrading the salaries of disability examiners and instituting a better medical training regimen for these workhorses of the disability system.

Dr. Holden’s points are, to some extent, on target. For starters, disability examiners don’t get enough medical training. As a former examiner myself, I don’t mind saying that. And I seriously question the entire concept of SDM’s (”single decision maker” examiners who can slap decisions on cases without the input of their unit medical consultants—-how crazy is that? Examiners are NOT doctors).

Dr. Holden also questions the soundness of utilizing lawyers–who are now wearing the hats of federal administrative law judges–to adjudicate “medical evaluation cases”. Personally, I never really understood just why it is that an ALJ (someone with legal training, not medical training) is necessarily needed to preside over disability hearings. Judges are not medical professionals and disability hearings are not legal court proceedings in the strictest sense. In fact, this is exactly why non attorneys are allowed to represent claimants at such hearings.

I really have no major problem with any of Dr. Holden’s core assertions. However, I guess it’s true that we are all, to some extent, limited by our experiences and this holds true for MD’s as well.

While Holden’s suggestion for more indepth medical training for DDS examiners is a good one, his suggestions for overall reform miss the REAL PROBLEM (IMO - just my opinion) with DDS. What’s that problem?

Here it is: DQB, or the disability quality branch. As all examiners, reps, judges, and CRs know, a percentage of completed DDS files are sent off to this unit to see if all the i’s are dotted and all the t’s have been properly crossed. And, interestingly enough, more cases that were MARKED FOR APPROVAL come back reversed i.e. overturned than vice-versa.

When a case is returned from DDS, it’s like a black mark for the disability examiner because it directly implies that he or she flubbed up. It’s a black mark for the unit supervisor because the return came back to his or her unit. And it’s a black mark for the dds administrators because the more DQB returns you get, the worse it makes your agency look.

So, human nature being what it is, what is the outcome at all dds locations in the good old USA?

It means that supervisors tend to exert an iron grip over the examiners in their units. It also means that supervisors will always lean more toward denials rather than approvals. And…if a case is one of “those” cases that is right on the line, you can be sure that the disability examiner won’t stick his or her neck out because the likelihood is that the unit supervisor will have to talk to the examiner about his or her decision-making ability, (i.e. imply to them that they better get in line with the program and/or potentially find a new job).

Now, this may not have occurred to Dr. Holden because he was not an examiner. And it may not have occurred to most reps because they, too, were never examiners (though some examiners later went on to become attorneys or non attorney reps). And it certainly would not occur to an SSA CR because, for all intents and purposes, they know very little about the actual disability evaluation process, aside from the mechanics of taking claims and then processing them once DDS is finished with the medical evaluation.

Of course, I am not saying that we need to fill the spots currently occupied by ALJ’s with level 3 disability examiners or SSA Disability Case managers (that is, if they ever actually created such a DCM position). I’m not saying we should get rid of the SDM program (though it wouldn’t bother me), or dispense with quality review. But, I do think it’s pretty plain that external quality review has had an insidious effect on DDS claims processing—–with disability claimants coming out the clear loser.

So, what’s the alternative to DQB? In all candor, I don’t know. But, regarding such issues (disability system reform from a “structural perspective”) perhaps that’s something that the brighter heads in NADR and NOSSCR should ponder and make proposals toward.

The author of this article is Timothy Moore, who, in addition to being a former food stamp caseworker, medicaid caseworker and AFDC caseworker, is a former disability claims examiner. He publishes a helpful FAQ on the disability process at http://www.disabilitysecrets.com/questions.html

CO2, Global Warming, and Pollen-Allergies

Thomas Ogren

The benefits of added organic matter to the soil have long been known and are usually attributed to increased nitrogen, greater water-holding capacity and an increase in activity of soil earthworms and microbes. But experiments have shown that the increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) release that accompanies added organic matter is certainly one of the main reasons why adding organic matter to the soil increases plant growth.
Greenhouse owners have long understood that plants consume CO2 and release oxygen. In a greenhouse packed full of plants, through the process of photosynthesis, the plants can quickly use up most of the available CO2 and then their growth slows down or stops. To compensate for this, old time growers used to place boxes or flats of fresh manure underneath their greenhouse benches. As the manure decomposed it released CO2 into the greenhouse air and the plants grew faster as a result.
In today’s modern greenhouses, especially those with concrete floors, lack of CO2 is always a concern. Most of the newer greenhouse ranges are now equipped with automatic CO2 regulators that monitor the amount of CO2 in the air inside the greenhouse and then release more as needed.
In these greenhouses with their gas growth CO2 generators the plants don’t just grow bigger– they also mature earlier.

So, what has all this to do with global warming and allergies?

As we become more and more reliant on burning petroleum products and as our global temperatures continue to rise, carbon dioxide levels in our air are rising. Before the last election we in the US had assumed, incorrectly, that no matter which candidate won the election, new controls were going to be placed on CO2 emissions.
We know better now.
The US with its huge consumption of fossil fuels, (the U.S. produces nearly 25 percent of man-made carbon dioxide emissions worldwide). also is experiencing the greatest increase in CO2. Actually, CO2 accounts for 80-85 percent of the heat trapping (greenhouse) gases contributing to global warming.
The idea that is now called the “Greening Theory” holds that all this extra CO2 is good. It will result in increased plant growth and thus in resulting increases in food supplies. There is some merit to this theory but there are numerous downsides too.

Pollen-Allergies
There are many negative effects from global warming but let’s just consider one here, pollen production and it’s affect on allergies.
Since 1959 allergies have dramatically increased in the US from 2 to 5 percent of the population affected, to a whopping 38 percent now.
Largely because of the huge horticultural “success” of the much over-simplified theory of “litter-free” landscaping we already have vast urban landscapes that are heavily loaded with wind-pollinated dioecious male cultivars (clones) of trees and shrubs. These modern landscape trees result in surrounding air with unnaturally large amounts of allergenic pollen. Because the “messy” urban female trees are now so rare, almost none of this pollen is now trapped, removed from the air and turned into seed. (Female trees produce no pollen, ever, but they do make seeds, pods, and fruit.)
We have tidy sidewalks but pollen-filled air.
Under normal carbon dioxide levels these male cloned trees will always produce abundant amounts of pollen. Under increased levels of carbon dioxide, they produce considerably more. The increase in temperature itself also results in increased pollen production, and in pollen production that starts earlier in the spring and lasts further into the fall. There is research that shows that under stress conditions male plants are able to take up more water than are females. Under stress conditions, such as drought, male trees are also able to hold onto the water they already have better than are female plants.
Where there are abundant water and soil nutrient sources the increases in carbon dioxide levels in our air will result in larger urban trees, which if they’re allergy trees, will be capable of producing ever more pollen.
Increases in carbon dioxide increase plant growth but only if there is enough available extra water and nitrogen in the soil to support this additional growth. When the supplies of water and nutrients are not adequate to support this added CO2-induced growth interesting physiological things happen in plants. Foremost, it is an added stress on the plants and stress often results in an increase in unusual reproduction factors.

A stressed lemon tree, for example, will often produce a huge crop of tiny, very seedy lemons. This is simply the lemon tree’s way of preparing for it’s own imminent demise and also it’s own legacy of possible seedlings.
Another stress example: In daily pollen collections taken by biology professor Dr. Lee Parker and his students from the top of the Fisher Science Building at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, California, taken during the middle of a severe seven year drought, all-time record oak pollen count levels were recorded.
In the past twenty years in particular there has been a huge increase in this planting of male cloned street trees. These trees can not produce pollen until they mature but with the increases in CO2 levels, we can predict that they will mature earlier than expected.
Shannon L. LaDeau, a researcher at Duke University found that pine trees grown with elevated levels of CO2 produced three times the normal amount of seeds and also matured prematurely.
Lewis H Ziska, Ph.D., a USDA researcher, recently found that increased CO2 resulted in huge increases in the pollen production of ragweed and other weeds.
David Karowe, a researcher at the University of Michigan, found another interesting factor about increased CO2 levels and plants: their leaves contain fewer nutrients than normal.
Nancy Tuchman, biology professor at Loyola University in Chicago, is also researching the feed value of CO2 enhanced leaves on microorganisms and insects. She found that they all grow slower when fed these “enhanced” leaves. “If all the plants are altered on a global level, then it’s certainly going to affect all the organisms on Earth,” she said. “No one is going to escape.”
Compounding all of this is that excessive burning of fossil fuels and the resulting pollution may well be compromising our very endocrine and immune systems. Theo Colburn explored this well in the very interesting book, “Our Stolen Future.”
Great increases in the already excessively high rates of urban pollen, combined with further compromised immune systems, may well be the recipe for allergies of true epidemic proportions in the not too distant future.
Dr. Robert C. Stebbins, renowned biologist from UC Berkeley, told me recently in a phone conversation, that the planting of all these cloned male dioecious and compromised monoecious trees, “is a classic example of how they just didn’t think about the ecology involved.”
If we don’t start paying closer attention to how we landscape our cities, and we don’t start getting serious about alternative clean energy sources, rampant allergies and other pollen-related illnesses may well be the end result.

This article first appeared in New Scientist Magazine, in London.

About the Author

Thomas Ogren is the author of Allergy-Free Gardening, Ten Speed Press. Tom does consulting work on landscape and allergies for the USDA, county asthma coalitions, and the Canadian and American Lung Associations. He has appeared on HGTV and The Discovery Channel. His book, Safe Sex in the Garden, was published in 2003. In 2004 Time Warner Books published his latest book: What the Experts May NOT Tell You About: Growing the Perfect Lawn. His website: www.allergyfree-gardening.com

A useful thought process or tool you should familiarize yourself with is placing opponents into categories, both for your current playing session as well as any future sessions against the same player. There are four broad categories of playing styles. By playing against an opponent and learning his or her tendencies, you can place them in a category and adjust your style when contesting a pot with them. I find that by putting names with categories it helps me remember how each opponent plays. Here is a list of different playing styles followed by a suggested name for each. Feel free to use your own names if they are easier for you to remember. One note of caution, just because a player has been included in one category in the past does not mean that he or she cannot be in a different one today. Players play differently at different times for many reasons. Some tight/aggressive players change to loose/aggressive when drinking while others will tighten up after a bad beat. Always take a little time to reevaluate players you have experience with to make sure they haven’t changed their style.

Tight/Aggressive - Being this type of player should be your goal. This player doesn’t play many hands, but when they do, they play very aggressively. The tight/aggressive player will often enter the pot with a raise and bet and raise until they win or are clearly beaten. Every time that a player bets or raises, it forces other players to make decisions and whenever a player must make a decision, he/she may make a mistake. The tight/aggressive player capitalizes on this by providing opportunities for his/her opponents to make these mistakes. The name I assign to these players is Solid. You must respect their bets and raises because they seldom enter a pot with a poor hand. Solid players maximize their intake with winning hands and minimize it with second best hands. When choosing a game, if I see too many solid players in it, I will usually find another game if one is available.

Loose/Aggressive - The loose/aggressive player plays too many hands, usually raises and is very hard to bluff. When playing against them it is important to keep your starting hand requirements tight so that you are often in the hand with better cards than them. Most loose/aggressive players are trying to play the correct way, which is tight/aggressive, but simply play too many hands. In the long run, loose/aggressive players tend to be losing players because they play too many hands. The name I assign to the loose/aggressive player is Semi-Maniac. A player that is at the very outer edge of loose/aggressive is the Maniac. The Maniac plays many hands and always raises if they are in a hand. If you find yourself against a maniac, just sit back and wait for your very best starting hands. The maniac will pay you a very high price when you do have a great hand so you can afford to pass up the marginal ones.

Tight/Weak - A tight/weak player has a solid understanding of starting hand requirements and follows them, but doesn’t play well after the flop. This player doesn’t raise to protect their best hands, which often lets drawing hands catch-up without paying a high price. A tight/weak player much prefers checking and calling to see what is coming next. The tight/weak player may show a small profit in games full of poor players because of the proper starting hand selection, but will be eaten alive by solid players. I call the tight/weak players Sandstone, in reference to a weak rock.

Loose/Weak - The loose/weak player plays too many hands, calls when he or she should raise or fold and almost always will pay you off on the river with second, third and often worse hands. I call these players Calling Stations. These are the players that many poker players call Fish. I know that the loose/weak player will always pay off my good hands and I often try to isolate him/her to take advantage of this.

Wes Young runs a poker web site at www.pokermonger.com where you can find information about poker strategy, poker room reviews and unique poker articles. He also publishes a weekly poker column. For information visit thepokercolumn.com