DIY Project Could be Deadly

One of the topics that has come up on Bruce Barber's Real Life Survival Guide is The Home Improvement Quandary. How do your prioritize you home improvement projects?

As a weekend warrior who has tackled many projects, there is one I'm glad I never got around to.
We have a tub that was installed in the 70s. I know because it is dark brown. We've often thought about changing the color of the tub rather than replacing it. That would be the green thing to do.  Well, maybe not. There's a stripping chemical that you can buy at the home improvement center that takes off the old finish and allows a new finish to be applied. The caution on the label warns that you need plenty of ventilation. That might be an understatement.

CDC: 13 Deaths Tied To Bath Refinishing Chemical

NPR carried a report last week from the AP that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a warning Thursday about using a common paint-stripping chemical to refinish bathtubs after tying it to 13 deaths in 10 states. All of the deaths were among professional refinishers. Despite the warnings about ventilation, the fumes overcame the workers.

Vaccines Causing Autism - Still a Hoax

The assertions and rumors still persist. I still get questions about the link between childhood vaccines and the link to autism. There still are parent refusing vaccines. The are concerned about the link to autism. As reported by the Wall Street Journal  a study of Connecticut pediatricians published last year, some 30% of 133 doctors said they had asked a family to leave their practice for vaccine refusal, and a recent survey of 909 Midwestern pediatricians found that 21% reported discharging families for the same reason. According to the CDC, lower immunization rates have been blamed as a factor in U.S. outbreaks of whooping cough and measles in recent years.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203315804577209230884246636.html?KEYWORDS=SHIRLEY+S+WANG

I get the comments and questions because I'm on the board of Focus Center for Autism. Many still believe the link. I believed the doctors and scientists who said there was no link long before it was revealed that Dr. Andrew Wakefield  had actually perpetrated a hoax. 


It's one thing to have a bad study, a study full of error, and for the authors then to admit that they made errors," Fiona Godlee, BMJ's editor-in-chief, told CNN. "But in this case, we have a very different picture of what seems to be a deliberate attempt to create an impression that there was a link by falsifying the data."  Britain stripped Wakefield of his medical license in May.


http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/01/06/autism.vaccines/index.html

Part of the problem was the way the research was covered by the media. Part of the problem was with the way parents heard the reporting.

There still are parent refusing vaccines. The are concerned about the link to autism. As reported by the Wall Street Jouranl;

There are remarkable advances being made by researchers. The cause is not yet known. Recent research using MRI's might detect autism long before the symptoms manifest themselves. Here's the tricky part that many people seem to miss...

"The findings need to be repeated by other researchers before doctors can begin to create a reliable early detection system.The study has other limitations, says Charles Nelson, a professor of pediatrics and neuroscience at Harvard Medical School. The findings would be stronger if researchers compared them to those of a control group of normal-risk children, who don't come from families with other autistic children. He questioned why 30% of the high-risk children were diagnosed with autism, a rate that's 50% higher than expected. Nelson also notes that it can be hard to definitively diagnose autism at age 2, and that a child's diagnosis can change over time."

http://www.digtriad.com/news/health/article/215107/8/Study-Autistic-Brains-Show-Changes-Months-Before-Symptoms

Another Tour Winner Loses Title

There was a time when I thought I was pretty good at bike racing. I was faster than most in the sprints but, not world class. It was in the distance races that I became aware of the difference. My body could not hold up to the grueling effort it took to compete for more than 50 miles.  I think because I was young, I thought I could do anything. I even identified with "Breaking Away."

 Because of that early interest in bike racing, I follow the Tour de France each year. My interest was rekindled when Greg Lamond won the race. He was first American and non-European to win the race.
Lamond retired from racing when he discovered he could no longer compete because of the doping going on in the sport. He decided he could not do that.

It was announced today that Alberto Contador is banned for two years after finding the Spanish cyclist guilty of doping, a decision that will strip the 2010 Tour de France champion of his title. American Floyd Landis lost the title in 2006 after testing positive for testosterone. In turn, Landis accused Lance Armstrong of doping. The investigation against Armstrong has just been abandoned. 


I still think about racing and the adrenalin rush in the sprints. I even take my 1978 Super Course out sometimes. The bike really flies. I can still move pretty fast for a geezer. 


I feel a little sad that my youthful idealism is tarnished by the drug scandals. I hope Dave in "Breaking Away" never lost his idealism.


There's more on the ban at NPR.

Autism's Reach

I'm interested in autism because it directly affects my family. Because of that interest I'm always looking for more information about Autism. Increasing my understanding helps me in my relationship with my family. There was recently a story on NPR about a man with Asperger's. In an interview with David Finch he relates that he did not discover his diagnosis of Asperger's until he reached 30. He's written about his life with Asperger's and how it is affecting his family. The diagnosis has opened up a lot of possibilities for him.

http://www.npr.org/2012/02/03/146342668/best-practices-learning-to-live-with-aspergers

Further down on the page is a story about how some of those diagnosed with Asperger's are not happy about being put on the Autism Spectrum.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123527833

I'm a member of the board for Focus Center for Autism. The mission of Focus:

Specializing in the treatment of children and adolescents who are on the Autism Spectrum, have anxiety disorders, experience processing and social learning difficulties; and who are otherwise, as we like to say, "creatively wired and socially challenged".

You can find out more about Focus at their Website and on their Facebook page.

Learning to Value Introverts

Introverts...are they shrinking violets...doomed to be the wallflower at the dance?  The person who never speaks up...or takes risks? Is he the guy that is afraid to ask the girl he likes to the prom. Hardly. That person is shy. There's a difference.

There was an interview on All Things Considered tonight with Susan Cain who wrote the book "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking." Cain points out in the interview "Introversion is really about having a preference for lower stimulation environments. So it's just a preference for quiet, for less noise, for less action. Whereas extroverts really crave more stimulation in order to feel at their best. ..."


I've taken the Myers Briggs more than once. I'm an introvert. (I'm an INTP.) It means I'm driven from within. Susan Cain's book is about valuing differences and appreciating the different ways people think. Some Introverts include Gandhi, Joe DiMaggio, Mother Teresa and Bill Gates.


Check out the interview on NPR's Website.

Civility Is Giving Way to Rudeness

The Public Respects Civility, But Rewards Rudeness

Alan Greenblatt's piece on NPR points out that in politics people say they prefer civility....but rudeness is rewarded. The article also points out that bad behavior abounds in our society from people who snack in church, to texting at weddings and wagging fingers at presidents.

There's a key point in the story. George C. Edwards III, a scholar on the presidency at Texas A&M University says, every political incentive in the current climate seems to reward attacks on politicians from the other while discouraging collaboration or compromise. "We as Americans don't just see the people on the other side as having different views, but as evil."

This unwillingness to respect the views of an opponent is leading to extremism. There is no compromise because the other person's view is demonized. 

The Effects of Rejection Piles Up

This morning on Morning Edition they continued their series on college grads who have been looking for work. Today they featured Melanie Singer who has been looking for work as an accountant for about a year.

Underlying the frustrations of looking for work is the damage to self esteem as the rejections (in many cases you never hear back) pile up.  "At the time, she said she always wanted to put the blame on herself when the rejections came. Was she not qualified? What could she do better? Did she do something wrong? Thinking about it now, 18 months later, Singer's eyes well up with tears."

"I feel like I've grown up now and become that independent individual," she says. "So it's a much better feeling than feeling like you're hopeless and living off someone else."

Searching for a job in this market is wearing. So many, like myself, have been underemployed or unemployed for a very long time. Employers can receive 100's of applications. Networking helps. So does a strong support group. Volunteering helps rebuild self-esteem. As do the many small jobs I've picked up. Those small jobs have come from networking and my support groups. But, nothing beats employment in the areas we've been trained for. 

There are other stories you can link to in this series.

Related NPR Stories

Aspiring Writer Questions Value Of English Degree June 1, 201

Study: College Grads Unprepared For Workplace May 28, 2010

Economy Seems Bleak For Graduating Law Students May 21, 2010

On-The-Job Training While Unemployed May 18, 2010

New Jobs For A New Decade Jan. 8, 2010