Studies have shown when employees are allowed to take an half hour nap at work they our more alert and have more enengy. Several companies are using this practice to increase productions and cut down on accidents.

Do’s and Dont’s of Dozing

Napping at work has become acceptable at some companies. Yet pulling off a “productivity nap” at the office isn’t easy. Here are suggestions from sleep scientist Dr. Sara Mednick, author of Take a Nap! Change Your Life.

1. Make Time and Space

Twenty to 30 minutes is all you need to reap the rewards of midday slumber. The best time is the early afternoon when your body is tired—so consider reserving the second half of your lunch break for shut-eye. If your employer doesn’t have a nap room, a yoga mat beats a bathroom stall, though the most comfortable option may be a parked car.

2. Set the Proper Conditions

In the dark our brains produce more of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin, so close the blinds, turn off the lights, and consider using a sleeping mask. Keep the temperature on the warmer side. If you must nap sitting up, use a travel pillow to avoid the dreaded “nap nod.” And don’t forget to turn off your cell phone.

3. Careful With the Chemicals

Avoid caffeine for a few hours before a nap. The same goes for nicotine, diet pills, and antidepressants. Although alcohol makes it easier to nod off during the day, it interferes with sleep and should also be avoided. Refined sugars and carbs may keep you up, but meat, dairy, and some nuts have tryptophan, which our bodies break down into melato

On Tuesday, September 7, 2010, the Town of Amherst will begin a flood mitigation project involving the replacement of the existing bridge culverts located under the Chapel Woods roadway between Chapel Woods West and Brandywine Drive.  In order to replace these existing structures with a large concrete box culvert, the existing roadway will be removed, during which the roadway will be temporarily closed.  While this small section of Chapel Woods will be temporarily closed, all other roadways within the subdivision will remain open to traffic. 

 The project is anticipated to start on September 7, 2010. Chapel Woods roadway will be closed that day and remain closed for approximately four to six weeks.

Another oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico has exploded. 

The Coast Guard says no one was killed in the blast, which was reported by a commercial helicopter flying over the area Thursday morning. All 13 people aboard the rig have been accounted for, with one injury. The extent of the injury was not known.

authorities do not know whether oil was leaking from the site.The Department of Homeland Security said the platform was in about 2,500 feet of water and owned by Mariner Energy of Houston. DHS said it was not producing oil and gas.

read more…

When do workers become ineligible for health insurance?  How about:  When they die?  That seems to be a sensible time but Buffalo and Amherst have both had a difficult time determining who that applies to.  They are working to correct it. 

Now it seems, New York State is also guilty of similar issues and and audit uncovered fraudulent activity.

Buffalo isn’t the only government insuring dead people.

So is New York State.

And the dead are just one small part of an even bigger problem — 27,000 people, maybe more, who received taxpayer-funded health care coverage they didn’t deserve.

Even worse, a third of those people received health insurance because they cheated the system.

The elimination of those benefits, revealed in an audit scheduled for release today, is expected to save the state $25 million a year.

read more…

When you read a book do you have a copy of it in your hands or do you hold one of the new “Readers?”  The answer points out the very different ways people feel about books.  Book publishers are trying to get a handle on this issue to stay afloat.  It boils down to a choice:  print or pixels?

Auriane and Sebastien de Halleux are at sharp odds over “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” but not about the plot. 

“She talks about the smell of the paper and the feeling of holding it in your hands,” said Mr. de Halleux, 32, who says he thinks the substance is the same regardless of medium. He added, sounding mildly piqued.

read more…

Kyle Warren at 6 years old. At 18 months, Kyle started taking a daily antipsychotic drug on the orders of a pediatrician trying to quell the boy’s severe temper tantrums.

Children who demonstrate behaviors that are not “normal” at an early age are often given medications to help them attain better behavior.  For many the side effects of the medications are worse than the problem. 

At 18 months, Kyle Warren started taking a daily antipsychotic drug on the orders of a pediatrician trying to quell the boy’s severe temper tantrums.

Thus began a troubled toddler’s journey from one doctor to another, from one diagnosis to another, involving even more drugs. Autism, bipolar disorder, hyperactivity, insomnia, oppositional defiant disorder. The boy’s daily pill regimen multiplied: the antipsychotic Risperdal, the antidepressant Prozac, two sleeping medicines and one for attention-deficit disorder. All by the time he was 3.

He was sedated, drooling and overweight from the side effectsof the antipsychotic medicine.

read more…

Where do old “Bees” (Amherst Bee) go if nobody takes them?

They get dumped by the boat load in the recycling dumpster behind the Williamsville Library.  Could they have been doing this for the last 100 years?  (simple humorous comment to go along with the 100th birthday celebration.)

At least we know the Bee “bee-lieves” in recyclying.  Nice work.

This year the Williamsville Public Library is celebrating its 100th birthday.  There have been and still will be many activities to honor this milestone.  If you haven’t been to the library on Main St. in the village you really should stop by.  I know there are folks out there who are very upset with the condition of the parking lot at the Clearfield library.  No problem here.  Easy parking, easy access.

Happy Birthday to the public library in the Village of Williamsville.

Laughter is the best medicine.  Enjoy this story and put a smile on your face.

Top This One For A Speeding Ticket in Kingsville, Tx,
 
   

 Two Texas Highway Patrol Officers were conducting speeding enforcement on Hwy 77, just south of  Kingsville, Tx. 
 
    One of the officers was using a hand held radar device to check speeding vehicles approaching the town of Kingsville.  The officers were suddenly surprised when the radar gun began reading 300 miles per hour and climbing.
 
    The officer attempted to reset the radar gun, but it would not reset and then it suddenly turned off.   
 
    

Just then a deafening roar over the Mesquite treetops on Hwy 77 revealed that the radar had in fact locked on to a USMC F/A-18 Hornet which was engaged in a low flying exercise near this, it’s Naval Air home base location in Kingsville Tx.

     Back at the Texas Highway Patrol Headquarters in Corpus Christi the Patrol Captain fired off a complaint to the US Naval Base Commander in Kingsville for shutting down his equipment.
 
    The reply came back in true USMC style:

 
    ‘Thank you for your letter….  

       You may be interested to know that the tactical computer in the Hornet had detected the presence of, and subsequently locked on to, your hostile radar equipment and automatically sent a jamming signal back to it, which is why it shut down.

   Furthermore, an Air-to-Ground missile aboard the fully armed aircraft had also automatically locked on to your equipment’s location.  

   Fortunately, the Marine Pilot flying the Hornet recognized the situation for what it was, quickly responded to the missile system alert status and was able to override the automated defence system before the missile was launched to destroy the hostile radar position on the side of Hwy 77 So. of Kingsville… 

   The pilot suggests you cover your mouths when cussing at them, since the video systems on these jets are very high tech. 

   Sergeant Johnson, the officer holding the radar gun, should get his dentist to check his left rear molar. It appears the filling is loose.. Also, the snap is broken on his holster.’ 

      Semper Fi