2004-04-30
Elvish :: Elvish to English Dictionary ::: My daughter has really been taken with Legolas, Aragorn, and Eowyn. This site helps me understand what she's talking about.
2004-04-10
RENT-A-HUSBAND TAKES CARE OF IT ALL 'For those jobs that never get done'-that's the motto of Rent-A-Husband, one of the latest new businesses to join the Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce. Each Rent-A-Husband franchise sends skilled craftsmen to manage and complete entire projects that encompass everything from hanging pictures and installing ceiling fans to cleaning out garages and building decks. Recently local Rent-A-Husband General Manager Brandon Merkley was one of several 'husbands' to appear on the CBS Early Morning Show's 'Week of Wishes' segment. The segment featured the story of how Merkley and the other volunteers gave their time and talents to renovate the ground floor of a home belonging to a needy family. For more information or to make an appointment, call Rent-A-Husband at 1-877-99-HUBBY or visit www.rentahusband.com."
2004-04-08
Google Search: portland maine walking trails looks like a good place to start planning a day in South Portland, Me. Directions: From the south on I-95 take Exit 6 onto 295, then Exit 1 to Broadway East.
Deborah Fowles in South Portland Maine: Maine's Most Undiscovered City highlights "the historic harbor, ... Bug Light, Spring Point Ledge Light, Willard Beach, [and] the Greenbelt Walkway."
Deborah Fowles in South Portland Maine: Maine's Most Undiscovered City highlights "the historic harbor, ... Bug Light, Spring Point Ledge Light, Willard Beach, [and] the Greenbelt Walkway."
- Spring Point Ledge Light ... sticks up at the mouth of the harbor like a giant spark plug. The lighthouse and the ruins of Fort Preble are reachable from the waterfront campus of Southern Maine Technical College on Fort Road.
- Walkers will want to find the "Greenbelt Walkway, a three-mile, paved path that follows the shore for much of the way and connects to the Spring Point Shoreway, a mile-long walking trail that goes to Bug Light Park, home of what may be the world's most elegant lighthouse, Portland Harbor Light, or Bug Light. Here's a map from Portland Trails
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- In addition to remarkable views, the lighthouse, and the walking paths, Bug Light Park offers salt water fishing and boat ramps.
- Willard Beach is S along Casco Bay from Bug Light
- Fort Williams Park, home to Portland Head Light, is another mile or two S along Cottage Rd / Shore Rd just across the line into Cape Elizabeth (Directions)
- More Portland walks and links.
2004-04-07
Change in prostate cancer testing urged: [USAToday via Yahoo!] "A national network of cancer centers is recommending a much more aggressive approach to prostate cancer screening, including the possibility of testing all men as early as age 40. The change could affect nearly 50 million people.
Some doctors note that many men already have unnecessary biopsies today. Two out of three with a suspicious score on a PSA test - which looks for the presence of a protein called prostate-specific antigen protein - do not have cancer. Prostate cancer treatment carries risks, experts say; it can leave up to 50% of men impotent and 10% to 20% with urinary problems or incontinence.
Other doctors predict that they will find cancers earlier, when they are more curable, by screening younger men. The network advises doctors to offer a baseline PSA to men beginning at age 40. The cancer network also suggests that doctors consider biopsies - taking tissue samples to check for cancerous cells - for men with PSA readings above 2.5 nanograms per milliliter. Today, doctors typically consider a biopsy when a man's PSA test is above 4.0. Research shows that more than 20% of men with scores between 2.5 and 4.0 have cancer.
Deaths from prostate cancer have fallen about 20% among whites and about 16% among blacks since the mid-1990s after use of the PSA test became widespread, said William Catalona, a surgeon who is a member of the cancer network committee that drafted the guidelines.
Some doubt that PSA testing should get the credit. They note that improved treatments may help more men survive. And clinical trials have not shown that PSA tests actually save lives, says Paul Frame, a doctor and professor of family medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. 'We really need data to know whether we are saving lives or just putting people through a lot of misery,' says Frame, a member of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. That panel of experts has found there is not yet enough evidence either to recommend, or advise against, routine prostate cancer screening. 'Having cancer cells in the prostate is incredibly common,' Frame says. 'The vast majority of these cancers don't progress and don't hurt anybody and don't lead to death.'"
Some doctors note that many men already have unnecessary biopsies today. Two out of three with a suspicious score on a PSA test - which looks for the presence of a protein called prostate-specific antigen protein - do not have cancer. Prostate cancer treatment carries risks, experts say; it can leave up to 50% of men impotent and 10% to 20% with urinary problems or incontinence.
Other doctors predict that they will find cancers earlier, when they are more curable, by screening younger men. The network advises doctors to offer a baseline PSA to men beginning at age 40. The cancer network also suggests that doctors consider biopsies - taking tissue samples to check for cancerous cells - for men with PSA readings above 2.5 nanograms per milliliter. Today, doctors typically consider a biopsy when a man's PSA test is above 4.0. Research shows that more than 20% of men with scores between 2.5 and 4.0 have cancer.
Deaths from prostate cancer have fallen about 20% among whites and about 16% among blacks since the mid-1990s after use of the PSA test became widespread, said William Catalona, a surgeon who is a member of the cancer network committee that drafted the guidelines.
Some doubt that PSA testing should get the credit. They note that improved treatments may help more men survive. And clinical trials have not shown that PSA tests actually save lives, says Paul Frame, a doctor and professor of family medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. 'We really need data to know whether we are saving lives or just putting people through a lot of misery,' says Frame, a member of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. That panel of experts has found there is not yet enough evidence either to recommend, or advise against, routine prostate cancer screening. 'Having cancer cells in the prostate is incredibly common,' Frame says. 'The vast majority of these cancers don't progress and don't hurt anybody and don't lead to death.'"
