Cold Days = Dry Skin -> Eucerin Lotion (Staff pick)

You don't need me to tell you the days have gotten colder. And certainly you don't need me to tell you that the air out there is dry and murder on your skin. There are a lot of different lotions out there and they all profess to being the answer to all of our dry skin problems. You know better and either you have found your dry skin savior or you have just settled on something that is somewhat ok.

Well in case you want to try something new then give Eucerin a try. I was always turned off by the high price but one of my relatives who is pregnant (and I guess dry skin occurs during pregnancy) recommended it to me after her doctor did to her. I was still hesitant when I saw the price and especially compared to the others around it at the store. I bought it anyways just to give it a try and it was well worth it. First off all you need is a small amount and this small amount goes a long way. It felt a little wet at first but not oily. I forgot about it as I went to work and a few hours later I realized that my skin was not dry and felt great. It seemed to last all day long and I was quite pleased with it and would highly recommend it.

At the very least go to Walmart or Target and get yourself one of those small bottles to see if this great lotion works for you.

Billy Jack

Billy Jack exemplifies many of the extreme attitudes of those who believed the sixties were the greatest decade. The 1971 film was written, directed and starred the husband and wife team of Tom Laughlin and Delores Taylor. Deservedly, the film won no awards. The song One Tin Soldier is used as a leitmotif during the film and I still hear myself singing it once in a while. There were several other films where Tom Laughlin played the same character, but unless you really like this one, don’t bother with the others.

The story centers around the students at a “freedom school” in the Southwest where the kids were encouraged to think for themselves. It was sort of like what I think Montessori Schools are supposed to be today. The students are of varied, diverse backgrounds which was unusual at that time. They are in conflict with the residents of the town, especially the teenagers who intimidate and make fun of them. Their protector is Billy Jack. He talks slowly, practices martial arts, is a mystic and wears a dumb hat. The basic message of the film is supposed to be peace, but a lot of violent things happen along the way. I think Laughlin and Taylor were trying to typify what many of the era called “The Movement.” Some people took the movie seriously; others felt it was over the top. Some of the cable networks tend to run it around Christmastime. It goes on for 2 hours and 35 minutes, but it should keep your interest.

Saturday Night Live did an excellent parody of the movie starring Paul Simon as Billy Paul. If this is available on You Tube, it is worth seeing after you have seen the movie.

Bruce Rosenberg

Beef Kabobs

Ingredients:
1 lb Ground Beef
2 finely minced onions
1 finely minced jalepeno or serano peppers (optional)
Chopped cilantro

1 small chopped tomato
1 tbsp of garlic and ginger paste
2 tbsp of flour, 1 tsp of turmeric, 1 tsp of chili powder, 1 tbsp of ground cumin and coriander powder, salt,1 tbsp of lemon juice

Preparations:
Add all the listed ingrediants into the ground beef and combine them well so all the spices are incorporated into the beef. It's good to let the mixture marinate for an hour if you have time if not proceed to the next step. Then make long kabobs around a skewer as shown or make burger patties; it tastes just as great either way. Grill them with a tsp of vegetable oil like a burger or bake them in the oven until the beef is cooked through in a baking pan lined with aluminum foil for easy clean up. I have learned that cooking them in the oven takes about an hour, so if you have less time either make your kabobs smaller in size so they cook up fast or grill them. Enjoy these tasty beef kabobs over a bed of white rice or make a sandwich in my favorite, pita bread (any kind of bread will work). Kabobs are easy, healthy and tasty. You can also freeze them as individual burger patties for later use. Enjoy!

Anticipate And Plan Your CF Hospitalizations

As a CF patient, you probably get sick at least twice a year if not more like myself. And when you have a CF exacerbation, you probably have to be admitted to the hospital for some IV antibiotics, respiratory therapy, etc. Trust me I have mastered the routine down for the past 12 years and I have some great suggestions for making your hospitalizations as smooth as possible.
First of all, you know when you are getting really sick and will need IV antibiotics. I don't mean the sudden CF flare ups that require ER visits, but the routine ones.
Well, first you should call your CF doctor and let them know that you are really sick. Once they tell you that you have to come in for admission, ask them if they could reserve a room in advance and tell the doctors that you are coming in, so you do not have to wait long hours for a room since you already know you will be admitted. When you are sick, it's really frustrating to wait, so try and see if that's possible. Also this starts up your treatment fast without any delays. And I know you want to get out as soon as possible from the hospital, so this will give you a head-start.   
If you are student like myself in high school or college, the best way to succeed in your career and deal with CF is to plan your hospital visits. I graduated from college last year with a B.S. in Biochemistry, so I really know it works well if you are motivated to put the work in both for your health and education. What I mean by planning is coordinate with your CF doctor to receive a "tune up" during your winter and summer breaks so your CF will be well controlled during the school year with the routine medications. This way you will have time to study without missing much school or work. Yes, you may have sudden flare ups during the school year that may require unscheduled hospitalizations, but hopefully they will be less frequent.
Once you can anticipate your CF exacerbations early and get treatment fast, you will be able to lead a productive life by attending school, work and social events. This way you won't miss out on life. I say , Come'on it's not that hard, just deal with it and move on. Focus on the great things you have planned for your amazing life and career and don't let CF get in the way. This has been one of my ways of leading a great life and if you want to tell me about the way you have lived a fulfilling, great life with CF, please send me your stories in the comments and I would love to post them. My motto is "Fight, Focus and be Free."

Tasty Potatoes and Onions

Ingredients:

Sliced Potatoes

Sliced Onions

Vegetable Oil

Cumin Seeds,

salt,

turmeric,

chili powder,

and cumin&coriander powder.

Preparations:

Take a few tbsp of vegetable oil in a non-stick pan and heat on medium high heat. Add 1 tsp of cumin seeds to the hot oil. Then add the sliced potatoes and onions and stir to mix the oil. Place the pan cover on to cook the potatoes through for about 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally to avoid sticking. Once the potatoes are almost done, add 1 tsp of turmeric powder, 1 tbsp of cumin&coriander powder and 1 tsp of chili powder. Stir everything together and let the spices cook with the potatoes and onions. Once the potatoes and completely cooked through, onions are wilted and the spices have bloomed, the dish is ready to serve. Serve this with some warm pita bread or tortilla and you will please the crowd with this light, healthy snack. It's great for breakfast too with some eggs. Give it a try. Enjoy!

A Man And A Woman

UN HOMME ET UNE FEMME

This movie is considered the ultimate chick flick of all time. It was made in 1966 and directed by Claude Lelouch. The stars are Anouk Aimee and Jean-Louis Trintignant. The score by Francis Lai contains a melody recognizable to everyone, including those who never saw the movie. It won Oscars for Best Foreign Film and Best Screenplay. Since this movie is perceived differently by gender, I am writing two separate reviews. Please read the one meant for you.

For Women: This tender movie centers around two people learning to love again. A script girl and a racing-car driver become a widow and widower. They are extremely vulnerable and must take things slowly. Lelouch does a masterful job of bringing them together. The background, often shot through mists, in slow motion or at sunset along a beach only adds to the romantic feel of the movie. Eventually, they develop trust and love. Although Trintignant is daring in his relations to the outside world, he is totally sensitive with her. If you like romance movies, you will love this one.

For Guys: This might be the most boring movie of all time. I ought to know, I sat through it three times. It is obvious and predictable. It is in subtitles which I did not bother to read. For 1 hour and 42 minutes I had to sit there and tolerate it. On the other hand, if the woman you are with thinks you are an insensitive boor, this could tip the scales in your favor. So, just grit your teeth and it will eventually be over. A tear in your eye at the end is a good touch.

Bruce Rosenberg

How To Setup A New Computer

I personally don’t recommend buying a computer from the brick & mortar stores like Best Buy or Circuit City unless they are dirt cheap and decent specs but these are among the worst when it comes to pre-installed garbage on your computer. The online sellers like Dell have it too but to a lesser degree. What the steps I have outlined do is get rid of any useless programs that are slowing down your computer and give you a FREE antivirus program that in my opinion is better than the ones you pay for (McAfee or Norton's). Give it a try and feel free to respond with any questions or suggestions.

1. Unpack your computer and plug everything in.
2. Run through all the first time logon steps as normal.
3. Remove all unnecessary programs that might be slowing down your computer.
a. Start → Settings → Control Panel → Add/Remove Programs (Vista: Uninstall a Program)
b. Usually I remove games, AOL, Money, and whatever else I am never going to use. Just make sure it’s a program you know what it is and are never going to use.
4. Remove the pre-installed anti-virus program (McAffee and Nortons are horrible and bloated and too expensive in my opinion). These only have a limited trial period after which you have to pay for them. I even get rid of the “helper” programs such as dell support or gateway helper and what not.
5. Go to www.windowsupdate.microsoft.com and update your computer with all the millions of updates that Microsoft keeps putting out. This may take a while.
6. Go to www.avast.com and install the best antivirus software and it is FREE.
7. Open up Avast and set the protection to High.
8. Download www.firefox.com if you don’t like IE (Internet Explorer) and get a better browser. I use both. IE in recent months has finally copied FireFox and made a better browser.
9. There are many free programs out there like winamp for music and you can usually find them at www.download.com.

In my next post I will give you the doomsday scenario of what to do if your computer is completely messed up. DO NOT let yourself get ripped off by people like the Geek Squad.