Houdini & Houdini Jr.

So, surprise, surprise, our escape artist dogs escaped once again. Not even once, they have escaped twice in the last four days! The first time they got out was Saturday and sorry to say so, but it was due to our negligence. When Zeb left that morning for his hair appointment for some reason unbeknownst to me he left out the back door and didn't latch the gate. Of course I didn't know this so I let the dogs out into the backyard without thinking a thing of it. Usually they go out back, do their thing, and then come and bark at the back door. After about ten minutes and no barking I began to wonder what they were up to so I went to the back door to check on them. What did I find you ask? Oh, you know, just the gate standing wide open. That morning Zeb had taken my car and hadn't left me his truck keys. I later discovered that my phone was also in my car so I had no way of getting a hold of Zeb or going to look for the dogs. Once Zeb got home I filled him in on what had happened and we jumped in the car to go look for the dogs. Just as we had put the car in drive after backing out here come the boys galloping up the driveway, Jax with his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. We were happy that their adventure was short and they made it back to us safe.

Last night was a whole other story. We had my brother over for dinner last night because he is in town for spring break. We were grilling out so we left the back door open so we could go back and forth from the backyard and the dogs could do the same. After dinner we brought the dogs in and sat down and watched some TV. About 9:30 we let the dogs out to do their business before bedtime and what do you know, in about ten minutes when I go to let them in they're nowhere to be found, but for once the gate wasn't opened. After searching around the yard for about 5 minutes we found where they had not only dug out underneath the fence but also ripped a part of the fence off while they were escaping. Zeb hit the neighborhood on foot with a flashlight searching for them while I drove around. They were nowhere to be found. We did all we could do and left the back gate propped open in hopes that they would come home in the middle of the night. No such luck. Zeb checked for them on his way to work this morning, on his lunch break, and went to the humane society after work. Still no luck.

There is a happy ending to the story though. When he pulled into the driveway he found the back gate closed and inside were two worn out, muddy dogs by the names of Buddy and Jax. Later this evening one of our neighbors knocked on the door and told us that when he came home today they were just standing in the driveway barking so he put them in the backyard and closed the gate after them. Jax's belly and legs were covered in mud/tar and buddy had gum on one of his elbows. But other than being dirty and a few cut paws they were no worse for the wear. They're always so exhausted after they get out, you would think eventually they would learn…

We're not exactly sure how it happened, but it happened. In the fall of 2005, I somehow managed to develop a herniated disc in my back. However we didn't know it was a herniated disc until the summer of 2007. The pain was just kind of hit and miss at first, it came and went, but was never too bad. That was until I moved to Maryville to attend school at NWMSU. About half way through the semester my back pain became more frequent and much more severe. There were some days that I couldn't even get out of bed. Once I got to this point I went to the university clinic where they diagnosed me with sciatica. Sciatica occurs when the sciatic nerve is pinched. Sciatic is characterized by pain that radiates from your lumbar spine through your butt and often times down your leg, numbness, and muscle weakness. They treated me for my sciatica by giving steroid injections in my sciatic nerve. Although the steroid shots provided relief the first couple days their effects were short lived.

Shortly after I got home for the summer I began to experience tinkling in my right foot. It wasn't a week after that that I lost feeling in my right foot and leg. If anyone has ever experienced anything like that you know it's pretty scary! At that point I made an appointment with my family practitioner who scheduled me for an MRI. Once we got my MRI results back he referred me straight to an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Ipsen. At my consultation with Dr. Ipsen we viewed my MRI and filled us in on that fact that I had a herniated disc, and it was among the worst he had seen, especially considering my age. (I was 19 at the time) A herniated disc occurs when a spinal disc ruptures and a portion of the spinal disc moves outside of it normal boundaries, most of the time herniated discs do not require surgery. However that wasn't the case with me, my herniated disc was causing my sciatic nerve to be pinched which in turn caused the loss of feeling in my foot and leg. He also explained that because the nerve was dying so were my muscles. Something I had not noticed prior to my appointment was the size difference between my right and left leg. My right left is my dominant leg, but was noticeably smaller than my left due to the muscles dying.

It wasn't but a couple weeks after my consultation that I was laying on the operating table having a discectomy. A discectomy is a procedure that is done to remove the portion of the spinal disc that ruptured to remove pressure on the nerve. The surgery was quick and painless, thanks to anesthesia. I woke up the next day and it was like I was a new person. I no longer had pain in my back, butt, and legs. Best of all, I had feeling back in my foot and leg.

This last Friday I went back to Ortho 4 States for a check-up. We got my x-rays back and it looks like I may be developing degenerative disc disease. Degenerative disc disease is not really a disease; in fact it just is the normal wear and tear on the spinal discs that come with age; but they're concerned about it considering my age and history. So I have physical therapy in the morning to evaluate and give me some exercises to improve my core muscles to take some of the pressure off of my back. I am also scheduled for an MRI on Tuesday so we can see just how bad the degeneration is. I guess we'll see…

Music & Its Effects

Last year, in my ENG 101 class, the teacher always encouraged us to bring our IPod to class and listen to our favorite music while writing. His reasoning behind this was that he wrote better, and it seemed that most of his student's wrote better when listening to music. I have found plenty of research to validate his viewpoint. Music has many effects on the human mind and body.

A study conducted by Canadian researchers found that the brains of children who have had musical training not only respond differently than the brains of children who have not had musical training, but also improve their memory. This conclusion was reached after studying and testing two different groups of children at four month increments. The children ranged in age from 4 to 6 years. All the children in one of the groups were taking Suzuki music lessons while all the children in the other group were taking no musical training. At the conclusion of the study researchers found that those who had received musical training received better scores on memory tests that related to literacy, verbal memory, visiospatial processing, mathematics, and IQ. Some of the children receiving musical training showed improvement on the tests in as little as 3 months.

Music can help to slow down the brain waves which can help a person's brain reach the ideal state for learning. In day to day activity our brain waves are in the beta state, in which we are alert and conscious. In the beta state brain waves can range from 13-60 pulses per second; the lower end of the spectrum when we're more relaxed; the higher end of the spectrum when we are agitated, tense, or afraid. The optimum learning state for the brain is the alpha state, in which we are physically and mentally relaxed. In the alpha state brain waves range from 7-13 pulses per second. One of the best ways for your brain to achieve alpha state is by listening to baroque music. Baroque music is normally within the range of 50-80 beats per minute and research has shown that it helps it's listeners to attain a state of deep concentration and focus which then makes learning and processing information much easier.

Most researchers agree that classical music and/or baroque music is the way to go when using music to aid in learning. This is because it is purely musical and provides little distraction since the listener is not concentrating on what is being said or trying to sing along. However, there are many different learning styles and different genres of music affect people's brains differently. Heavy Metal and Hip Hop are said to excite the nervous system and sometimes inspire dynamic behavior and self expression. Rock is said to stir passion and activity and can help to release stress as well mask pain and unpleasant noises. South American music is said to make our heart race and urges us to get up and get moving. Big Band music is said to engage our emotions and provide comfort. Jazz and Blues music is said to uplift and inspire us. Classical music is said to improve concentration and memory. Baroque music is said to encourage creativity and innovation. Romantic music is said to enhance our senses and emotions. Religious music is said to bring peace and spiritual awareness. Impressionist music is said to encourage dreamlike images which can in turn put us in touch with our unconscious thoughts. Ambient music is said to induce a state of relaxed alertness, reduce stress, and quiet the mind. I find that listening to my favorite music while brainstorming for a paper can be very helpful, but I have a hard time concentrating if I listen while I am trying to read or write. Only you can find out what works best for you, if anything.

Casinos: Good or Bad for the Local Economy?

When you talk to people about the effects of casinos on the local economy you are bound to get mixed reviews. Those employed by casinos along with winners at casinos will tell you of the great effect they have on the economy; whereas those who lost at casinos may tell you of the awful effect they have on the economy. After researching the subject I found that most of the research you will find will tell you of the negative effect of casinos on the economy; but I must disagree with the bulk of the research.

I work at Downstream Casino Resort and have since day one. Not only have I witnessed the positive effects on the economy firsthand, but I have also experienced them. When Downstream Casino opened in July 2008, it opened with 1,250 employees, most of which fro the Four-State area. Not only did Downstream Casino creat 1,250 jobs, but when those people left their current jobs to become Downstream Casino employees it opened up they positions that they previously held. Almost two years later Downstream Casino still boasts over 1,100 employees and is one of the few local businesses that has experienced growth and prosperity during the recession. Downstream Casino, along with other local casinos, have had a positive effect on the local economy by decreasing the unemployment rate.

Another way that Downstream Casino, along with other local casinos, have had a positive impact on the local economy is through the flow of revenue. As of August 2009, a little over a year after opening, Downstream Casino had paid $21.5 million in gross payroll. A good majority of that $21.5 million was then spent in the local community on a number of things; rent, mortgages, groceries, gas, as well as other things. Not only did employees spend their paychecks in the local community, but Downstream Casino and Quapaw Casino also generated revenues for the state of Oklahoma to the tune of about $4.5 million. This exclude the millions of dollars that local vendors have received. Oklahoma vendors received $58 million Missouri vendors received $16 million; Kansas vendors received almost $2 million; and Arkansas vendors received about $1.5 million. Downstream Casino alone, excluding all other local casinos, noted a $107 million impact in it's first year. Not only does Downstream Casino, along with other local casinos, contribute to the local economy through payroll, revenues, and vendors, but they also helped to improve the economy by bringing in people outside of our community. Of Downstream Casino's 1.9 million guests in the first year, 65% of them came from outside of the immediate area, which means that they spent their money in our community which in turned gave our local community a boost.

Another way that local casinos boost the economy is through those players who win. Not only do those players then redistribute their winnings back in to the local community through rent, mortgages, groceries, gas, etc; but sometimes they even do things that have a much more significant effect on the community, like opening a business; such as the case of Terry Garrett. Terry had been itching to start a bakery for quite some time but had given up on her dream when she realized that she simply couldn't afford it. That is until she won a $21,000 jackpot at High Winds Casino is Miami, Oklahoma. After winning that jackpot she was then able to open her now successful bakery, Garrett's Bakery, in Southtown Plaza in Joplin, Missouri.

For those of you who believe casinos have a negative impact on the economy, I beg to differ...

Google Chrome

    We have recently switched our web browser from Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox to Google Chrome. My fiancé was the one who first turned me on to Google Chrome. He works at a Grow Marketing in Joplin and had just gotten a new computer in his office and was having some issues with it so they called the IT guy. Once the problem was fixed the IT guy was on his computer testing it out and saw that he used Internet Explorer for his web browser. The IT guy suggested that he try out Google Chrome and downloaded it on to his computer for him. The more he used it the more familiar he became with it and the more he liked it. He liked it so much in fact that he came home and downloaded it on his laptop. After he downloaded it he kept telling me how great it was and that I ought to try it out. Being a creature of habit and partial to Mozilla Firefox I didn't try it out until I absolutely had to. One night while trying to finish up some homework an error message kept popping up and closing out my Firefox browser window, being that I was on a time constraint I had to give in and try out Google Chrome.

    I must say I am now quite partial to Google Chrome. It is so much faster that Firefox and definitely way faster than Internet Explorer. The placement of all the buttons such as "print", "copy", "paste", etc are a little tricky to find, but once you familiarize yourself with the browser it is very easy to use. The one issue I have with Google Chrome and it is a fairly big issue, considering just about the only time I'm on the internet is for class, is it's compatibility with Blackboard, or lack thereof. So far I have ran into two issues on Blackboard, the first being that it won't allow me to send excel files through "Digital Dropbox". This is a big problem for me because I have a class where we turn in 3-4 excel files through "Digital Dropbox" a week. The second issue I ran into with Google Chrome and Blackboard is that it when you are threading in "Discussion Board" it does not show all the buttons. For example I needed to embed an object into a Discussion Board thread last week, and was unable to using Google Chrome because the button was not there. I'm sure there are solutions out there for these issues that I just do not know about. But when I had to switch over to Internet Explorer and send the excel files and embed the object in "Discussion Board" it made me appreciate the speed of Google Chrome that much more.

    Hopefully I can figure out a way around these issues with Blackboard so that I don't have to use Internet Explorer or Firefox. If you haven't tried out Google Chrome I suggest you give it a try!

Bring on Spring!

I must say I have absolutely been loving this weather the last couple of days. I'm not too fond of the allergies and sinus infection that came along with it. But hey, you gotta take the good with the bad.

Since the weather was so nice today we decided we would take our dogs out to the farm to run and play. We have an almost 6 year old Chesapeake Bay Retriever and a 9 month Australian Shepherd, which are two pretty good sized dogs to have living in the house. We have a fenced in backyard, but it's not near big enough for them to run around in; so off to the farm we went. On the way to the farm we stopped at the dollar store and bought a couple Frisbees. While it was a good idea their attention span was darn near non-existent today. After we threw the Frisbee, before it hit the ground they had already lost interest. They were far too busy, sniffing around, running around, and chasing the horses to pay any attention to the Frisbees.

Just the night before we had bought a new handgun, a Taurus 66, a medium frame 357 revolver, so we decided to try it out while we were out at the farm. We put up a couple targets and spent a whole box of ammo doing some target practice. I've shot shotguns and rifles before but never a handgun, so it was a new experience for me. After we finished up target practice we loaded up the dogs and headed back to the house.

After we got home we cleaned up and got ready for dinner. We decided since it was so nice out tonight that we were going to grill out. So we made a quick run to Wal-Mart to get all the ingredients we needed. When we got home I put the groceries away and prepped the food while Zeb fired up the grill. We ending up having salad, steak, and vegetable kabobs with mushrooms, red bell peppers, green bell peppers, yellow squash, and green squash for dinner. It was so good. I am so ready for the weather to warm up and stay warm so that we can cook out more often.

All in all today was a great day!

Procrastination

Someone once said, "If it weren't for the last minute, I wouldn't get anything done." It seems that no matter how hard I try I find myself living by this quotation as do many others.

Although most of us believe we know the meaning of procrastination there are actually two kinds of procrastination; positive procrastination and negative procrastination. According to PowerFull Living positive procrastination is "taking time to gather your thoughts, review or research information to gain clarity so that you can make the best decisions for yourself and take actions that move you towards what you desire." Negative procrastination, commonly just referred to as procrastination is defined by Merriam-Webster as intentionally putting off something that must be done. Just as there are different types of procrastination there are also different types of procrastinators; thrill seekers, avoiders, and decisional procrastinators. Thrill seekers are procrastinators who get an adrenaline rush out of waiting until the last minute and feeling the pressure of being close to a deadline. Avoiders are those procrastinators who put off tasks for fear of success or failure and are often times perfectionists. Decisional procrastinators are those procrastinators who are those who are indecisive. They do not like having to make decisions and by procrastinating they often avoid having to make a decision.

We all know that procrastination is bad and can have some very undesirable consequences, both internal (stress and anxiety) and external (missing a deadline). But why is it that if we know that procrastination is bad and has undesirable consequences that we continue to do it? As well all know there are a number of reasons people procrastinate, some of which I have already covered. The top seven reasons people procrastinate, according to PowerFull Living, are fear of success/failure, lack of desire, lack of inspiration from goals/dreams, lack of motivation, negativity, feeling of being overwhelmed and distractions.

Procrastination is a vice that can be overcome. According to MindTools the first step to overcoming procrastination is to recognize that you're doing it. Once you've established that you are procrastinating the next step is to get to the bottom of exactly why it is that you're procrastinating. Once you have discovered why you are procrastinating it will be easier to address this issue. The final way to overcome procrastination is by adopting anti-procrastination strategies. These anti-procrastination strategies range from making a prioritized to-do list to rewarding yourself for accomplishing the task.

Remember, "a journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."

J