The EDUCATION box

So, are you going to college?

In 2013, you might as well look at continued education as minimum requirements for any job. 

               

Consulting firm Accenture conducted a survey by speaking with 1,005 students who graduated from college in 2011 and 2012.  The survey, out Tuesday, found that 41% of college graduates from the last two years are stuck in jobs that don't require a degree (New York, CNN Money, Isidore May 1, 2013)

 

You have done the math already.  All of the students working jobs with a no degree requirement are moving the bar up a notch.  Take into consideration that employers find that the person with the degree might be overqualified, but demonstrates a higher degree of work performance.  Thus, you do need a degree to have that position.

When an applicant reaches the EDUCATION box on a job application, it should be full, and diverse.  One four year degree, a few certificates, and a master’s degree show great diversity and better qualifications.  Graduates get their hopes up without an understanding of the economy out of the textbook.  There is a lack of job options.  The typical graduate will feel that if a different major had been taken there would not be an unemployment problem. 

 

“Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed said they would need additional training in order to start their chosen career, with 42% saying they expect to go to graduate school (New York, CNN Money, Isidore May 1, 2013).”

 “Most jobs attract a large number of applicants, and those who have graduated from college are more attractive to employers, because they have taken an additional step toward gaining knowledge, skills and training (http://www.happynews.com/living/college/college-required-jobs.htm).”

 

When you get the question, “So, are you going to college?”  This question should follow with a quick, proud, self-assured, “Yes, indeed.  You want to see what my application will look like?”

Those that have gone to college are always pleased to answer that question. In the EDUCATION box, there isn’t enough lines.

FLUOXETINE

Fluoxetine (NO6ABO3) is an antidepressant.

Fluoxetine's mechanism of action is predominantly that of a serotonin reuptake inhibitor.  Fluoxetine delays the reuptake of serotonin, resulting in serotonin persisting longer when it is released. 

Basically, fluoxetine, controls emotion and behavior.  “Serotonin and norepinephrine are synaptic messengers in the limbic regions of the brain involved in pleasure and motivation, suggesting that the pervasive sadness and lack of interest (no motivation) in depressed patients are related at least part to deficiencies or decreased effectiveness of these neurotransmitters.  (Human Physiology, from cells to systems, Sherwood 2010)  

Serotonin is involved in the biosynthesis of physiologically active amines. “Epinephrine (adrenalin), noreepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine), gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and histamine are hormones and or neurotransmitters derived from amino acids.  (FUNDAMENTALS OF BIOCHEMISTRY, Voet 2/E, 2006, Wiley) “

Serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRIs) are believed to increase the extracellularlevel of the neurotransmitter serotoning by inhibiting its absorption into the presynaptic cell, increasing serotonin availability in the synaptic cleft available to bind to the postsynaptic receptor.

A popular fluoxeting pill is Prozac which has been made popular throughout the media by being placed in sitcoms like ALLY MCBEAL.  In Season 3 the character played by Calista Flockheart) is convinced by her psychiatrist Dr. Shirley Flott, played by Betty White, to take the medication. Flott opines the wondrous benefits of Prozac to almost eucharistic proportions explaining to Ally that she "won't find happiness through love or God: it comes in a pill." Flott also asserts that she herself takes Prozac in suppository form. Ally is initially persuaded to take Prozac in order to combat her hallucinations, and she is later dissuaded by a friend and coworker.  She ultimately ends up disposing of the pills by flushing them down a toilet.

Also, in the classic HBO series THE SOPRANOS, mobster Tony Soprano played by James Gandofini is prone to panic attacks. His psychiatrist Dr. Jennifer Melfi, played by Lorraine Bracco, prescribes Prozac as a result.

Despite the availability of newer agents, fluoxetine remains extremely popular. In 2010, over 24.4 million prescriptions for generic formulations of fluoxetine were filled in the United States alone, making it the third most prescribed antidepressant after sertraline (SSRI; became generic in 2006) and citalopram (SSRI; became generic in 2003).  In 2011, 6 million prescriptions for fluoxetine were handed out in the UK.

Fluoxetine isn’t a great drug.  Just like any drug, you need to intelligently assess whether the potential side effects outweigh the initial problem.  Antidepressants cause an individual to get fat, stay sleepy, and have a feeling of being overly unconcerned.  The big problems with fluoxetine is that the patient is still sad, not happy, weight gain, unmotivated for sex, sleep deprivation, afraid of the meds, and sometimes suicidal thoughts are still present.

Slow-n-Low, frame 2.500.3513, gonbup productions 2014

Nice Tattoo?!

     Spring Break is on its way, again.  Awesome!

     Enjoy it responsibly.

     There is a list of the greatest things to accomplish on Spring Break, and getting a tattoo is one of them.  Increasingly, skin art has become a global trend.  There are parlors everywhere. You can even find places with a buy one tattoo get one on your girlfriend for free.  After throwing back a few, or just getting caught up in the DUBSTEP-like atmosphere of Spring Break, your judgment will lighten up.  When it is tattoo show time you could end up getting the ultra-sarcastic, “nice tattoo.”

     Don’t get a tattoo.  Personally, women are already works of art, so don’t damage the goods.  Guys should stay as clean cut as possible.  Have you seen an ironically, tatted-up police officer, with full sleeves, neck, and facial tags?  No comment, huh?

     Among other reasons, here is a great reason not to get a tattoo during SPRING BREAK 2013:

   “Allergic reaction to the tattoo pigments is one of the most common problems associated with tattooing. Infections also can pose a serious threat to health. Along with localized bacterial infections, there have been reports of people being infected with syphilis and hepatitis B and C due to non-sterile tattooing practices.” Dr. Michi Shinohara, a clinical assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Washington in Seattle (American Academy of Dermatology, FRIDAY, March 1 HealthDay News).

     Why not get a tattoo?

                                Skin cancer

                                Moles

                                Staphyloccocus aureus

        Squamos cell carcinoma

S. aureus infection resulting from ink pigment of the tattoo.

“…choose a design that you can enjoy for hopefully the rest of your life. Tattoo removal is costly and painful, so try to avoid any inking on spring break that you will later regret. (http://ezinearticles.com/?Spring-Break-Tattoos&id=1036165) (Tracy Falbe, publisher of Destination Tattoo)

     Recommendations:

• Only go to a professional tattoo parlor and to an artist who has been licensed under state requirements.

•Visit a dermatologist.

•Patients with a chronic skin condition such as psoriasis, eczema or a tendency toward keloid scarring should check with a dermatologist before getting a tattoo.

•Never get a tattoo over a mole.

     Yes, there is a list of the greatest things to accomplish on Spring Break, and you know getting a tattoo is one of them.  Make a smart decision, and have an awesome Spring Break.

Spring Break 2013

Superbowl 47 2013

The Superbowl XLVII:

Ravens vs. 49ers

New Orleans

Mercedes-Benz Superdome

February 3, 2013

6:30 pm ET

Check out TICKETMASTER if you have the mechanical urge to see the best of the best go head to head for THE trophy.  These are the guys that beat all odds to make it through JV football.  Their parents loved it when their son came home with the Varsity jersey, and announced he would be starting the entire season.  All the moms had the jitters every time their helmets crashed together.  Then, college football made the dream begin to take on an entirely new perspective.  Seriously, all the players came to play football.  Fraternities, jobs, grades, girlfriends, fun, and football grew with them to a new Super size.  NFL agents began to take notice.  The players felt like the world revolved around them.  Their friends graduated to struggle to pay for their college loans, and their first house.  Meanwhile, they were seeing their first 5 or 6 digit pay check.  Overcoming the odds of not getting hurt, by NFL guys that hit you like a drunken rich guy in a new Cadillac truck, the NFL rookies and superstar players have to prove themselves on a championship team.  No choking for the fans, the families, the dreamers, the gamblers, or even the owners.  This is the Superbowl, baby! 

The ticket prices could buy you a hoopty.  You could buy a hoopty that you could potentially fix up for those days when you feel like showing off.  Dubstep that, though.  It is time.  The game is on.  How big is your tv, man?  Are you just an ordinary fan?

Check out the goods:

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Panasonic's TH-152UX1 massive 152" professional plasma display.  Twerk, pop, bounce…

 

The Superbowl requires big tvs because it is a huge event in America.  Gear up!

     It is estimated that CBS, the network showing the game this year, will be able to charge more than $3m for each 30-second advertisement that airs around the game.

     More than 50% of adult Americans will have a bet on the game, according to RJ Bell, of Pregame.com, and only 1% will do so legally (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21277122).

     Super Bowl 2013 is expected to a fuel $185 million in spending in New Orleans, largely from the National Football League, media outlets and other businesses, according to a new analysis by international accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. The firm described the Super Bowl as "the latest event to bolster economic recovery in New Orleans." (www.nola.com)

     Sabias que:  The Superbowl performer doesn’t plan on lip syncing the anthem.  The game is on CBS.  The Boot Blaster is a cocktail with:

                        1 oz. rum

                        ½ oz. Pepsi

                        1 oz. gin

                        1 oz. vodka

                        1 oz. orang liquer

                        14 oz. lemon-lime mix

So, the game is on.  Get up, right now.  Go contribute to our economy.

The Ravens need to cover the spread: 4 pts. 

The 49ers are about to bust’em up!

Enjoy the game, responsibly, and don’t forget your ticket.

FISCAL CLIFF jumping.

The media has built up the huge cliff for us all to jump off of just after a new year celebration full of calamity.

The government, on the other hand has been working hard to put an elevator on that cliff, so we wouldn’t have to jump.  The elevator was composed that weekend by Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Mitch McConnel.

The cliff was originally constructed by the preceding Bush administration through a variety of tax changes. 

Where we stand, now:

The Bush-era income tax rates will be permanently extended for all income up to $400,000, and $450,000 if you are married. Bush tax cuts that apply to income above those levels will expire.  The compromise bill, from Biden and McConnel, would also preserve the expanded parameters for the American Opportunity Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit for 5 more years.

The income exemption levels for the Alternative Minimum Tax for inflation have been permanently adjusted.  The Biden-McConnell compromise will reinstate limitations on how much those making $250,000, and married couples making $300,000, may take in itemized deductions and personal exemptions. The bill will extend ,two more years,  several tax breaks for businesses, including a production tax credit for developers of wind projects, the research and development tax credit, and a measure allowing for bonus depreciation. The compromise bill will extend for one or two years a few "temporary" tax breaks for individuals that regularly are extended. These include an option to deduct state and local sales taxes in place of state and local income taxes; and a deduction for elementary and secondary school teachers for certain expenses. The legislation will preserve the current estate tax exemption level of $5.12 million but index it to inflation for future years. And it will raise the top rate to 40% from 35% currently. The bill will continue a federal extension of unemployment benefits for one year. The Biden-McConnell compromise will prevent a scheduled 27% cut in reimbursement for Medicare services for one year. The so-called "doc fix" will boost the deficit by $31 billion.

The new deficit is a different story.  Put on your thinking caps, U.S. government.

The UNITED STATES FOOD and DRUG ADMINISTRATION

How many times have you read about the FDA (Food and Drug Administration)?  Are you sure as to what “they” can and can’t do?            

Most recently, in the news, some drugs were totally recalled because there were small particles of glass contained in them. (CNN.com, Cholesterol drug recalled over glass concerns,  http://edition.cnn.com/2012/11/25/health/statin-recall/index.html?hpt=hp_bn1&imw=Y)  Lifesavers, huh?  These drugs will not be placed back on the market until they are able to meet U.S. standards.

The FDA makes shopping feel wonderful.  You just browse and buy because you know deep down that if it is on the shelf, then it is OK.  Also, if it isn’t OK then you will surely find somebody liable.  In comes the FDA. (http://www.fda.gov/)

The FDA is a member of the executive branch of the government.  The FDA is in place in order to protect and promote public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety, tobacco products, dietary supplements, prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceutical drugs/medications, vaccines, biopharmaceuticals, blood transfusions, medical devices, electromagnetic radiation emitting devices, and veterinary products; in turn enforcing, Section 361 of the Public Health Service Act and associated regulations.  Many of these laws are not directly related to food or drugs. These include sanitation requirements on interstate travel and control of disease on products.  This could include certain household pets to sperm donation for assisted reproduction.

The FDA is the feds.  You know, black Lincolns, and blacked out Surburbans, etc.   The FDA also works globally.  “Why?”, you may ask.  Sabias que, food and drug must assure that U.S. public health protection is maintained while still constructing more on an international scale.

Their annual budget is about 5 billion dollars.  The FDA serves underneath the Department of Health And Human Services. 

“Although it was not known by its present name until 1930, FDA’s modern regulatory functions began with the passage of the 1906 Pure Food and Drugs Act, a law a quarter-century in the making that prohibited interstate commerce in adulterated and misbranded food and drugs. Harvey Washington Wiley, Chief Chemist of the Bureau of Chemistry in the Department of Agriculture, had been the driving force behind this law and headed its enforcement in the early years, providing basic elements of protection that consumers had never known before that time.” (http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/WhatWeDo/History/default.htm)

The FDA helps with:

FOOD:

a.       Keeping holiday leftovers edible.

b.      Information on contaminated food in weather emergencies.

c.       Maintaining our knowledge of foodborne illnesses.

d.      Adhereing to food safety with new programs like FSMA.

VACCINES, BLOOD, AND BIOLOGICS

a.       Provides information on the shelf life of biologics.

b.      Updating influenza vaccines for this season.

c.       Core blood banking.

d.      Progress with vaccine testing.

ANIMAL and VETERINARY

a.       Food Safety and Modernization Act regulations.

b.      Taking care of pets in environmental emergencies.

c.       Aquaculture drug basics.

d.      Drug compliance for pet medicines.

COSMETICS

a.       Eye cosmetic safety.

b.      Nail care products.

c.       VCRP.

RADIATION-EMITTING PRODUCTS

a.       Mammography Quality Standards Act.

b.      Medical imaging safety.

c.       Providing information for Benefit-risk Determinations.

d.      Radiological Health Programs.

TOBACCO PRODUCTS

a.       Betobaccofree.gov launch.

b.      Spanish language community.

c.       Great American Smokeout.

You have read about the FDA more times than you can think of.  You didn’t know you were reading about them when you were reading about them, and they knew you were reading about them.  Read about them.

You might think, “It is interesting.”  This thought crosses your mind as you crunch open a 5-hour-energy.