Signs and Symptoms of Alcohol Abuse

temporary blackouts or memory loss after heavy drinking

unusually irritable and aggressive behavior (intermittent)

using increasing amounts of alcohol to relax, sleep, cheer up, deal with problems or feel “normal”
Examine your attitude toward drinking.

If you notice yourself getting drunk despite efforts not to, hoarding alcohol.

Making statements that minimize how much you drink or reacting angrily if someone confronts you about it, seek professional help.

Avoid Becoming a Victim of Alcohol Abuse

Don’t drink as an attempt to escape anxiety or depression.

Substitute other, more healthful activities for social drinking if, during the day, you find yourself eagerly anticipating those martinis, beers or glasses of wine.

Ivory Skin Cleansing Liqui-Gel — This brand claims it will wash away dirt and bacteria, but is gentle enough to be used on the face. A 16-ounce bottle sells for $1.89 on more.com.

Tone Moisturizing Body Wash — Like its bar counterpart, Tone’s body wash boasts moisturizing cocoa butter and sells for about $4.99 for 18 ounces at Stop & Shop.

Kiss My Face Aromatherapeutic is a natural shower gel and foaming bath product. You pour it into a warm bath or massage the gel into muscles and joints in the shower for a mild athletic muscle relaxant. A 16-ounce bottle sells for $6.89 on more.com.

Softsoap Relaxing Body Wash includes “moisture beads” and comes in several varieties that claim to moisturize and provide a calming, pleasant fragrance. A 12-ounce bottle sells for about $3.99 in Stop & Shop.

Suave Moisturizing 2-in-1 Body Wash boasts aloe vera and water lily with Vitamin E, which is said to offer extra moisturizing power. The makers also market it as a shaving lotion. It sells for $1.89 for 12 ounces on more.com.

Herbal Essences Moisturizing Body Wash offers chamomile, water lily and Vitamin E.

But that is changing, and today we are seeing more and more alliances form. Thesealliances, through unity, cooperation and leverage, are what will ultimately make our industry a success.

Fitness Management and IHRSA haveformed one of the more recent alliances that will bring greater recognition to facilities that are working extra hard to grow our industry in both membership and professionalism. The alliance creates anall-new awardsnight at the2002 IHRSA International Convention &Trade Show in Phoenix, Ariz.In additionto receiving trophies and having storiesprinted about their innovations in the April2002 edition of Fitness Management, nova7award winners will
be recognized ata fun-filled evening under the stars, complete with food and socializing.The awards event will take place on Thursday, March 7th, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Outdoor Pavilion of the Phoenix Civic Plaza. AllIHRSA Convention and Trade Show attendeesare invited to the event, and of course, representatives from clubs that submit entries into the nova7awards program are encouraged to be there. Who knows,your club may be the winner!

This year marks the ninth year of thenova7awards. In the program’s past eight years, Fitness Managementhas recognized 168 facilities for outstanding innovations. Each of these winners, while just one banana in the bunch, have boosted the morale of its facility and the facility’s members.

They have shown they care about providing a standard of care and service to their members, and they have brought prestige to the industry — our entire bunch.

Even if you don’t enter the nova7awards, we encourage you toattend the awards ceremony, as it will show your support toward industry progress. Plus, you’re likely to take away some valuable ideasto put into practice in your own club, by learningwhat other facilities are doing to creatively solve common problems, and how they succeeded at creating new and effective programs or services. (And, in some cases, a whole new facility.)

See you in March, and good luck to all the entrants!

One important marketing tool is your front desk staff. They should know each week’s schedule, along with any changes, and have quick access to upcoming events and classes. Members will regularly call or ask about the schedule, and prospective members are often interested in what type of classes you offer. If your main member contacts don’t have the information, you could be losing members.

Another important marketingtool is your website. Keep a regularly updated group exercise schedule on your website, and make sure your members know that it’s there.

Instructor cross-promotion can bring participants from one class to another. This only works if your instructors are kept informed about what else your club offers, and if they are encouraged to attend other classes.

Finally, you could organize a promotion to hype your group exercise program. Offer introductory classes once a month, or give out prizes to members who attend a certain number of classes. Make your program new and exciting, even for members who have been attending classes for years.

More so than the Net itself, in-progress deregulation of the utilities industry is driving change here. Consumers in 21 states can now choose their power and gas supplier, and nationwide deregulation should be complete by 2008. Meanwhile, the Net has merely given utility companies a user-friendly makeover, and generated a few online middlemen with moderate effect.

Deregulation and the Internet have forced utilities to become more customer-friendly through online services. Led by Con Edison and Boston Edison, the industry has been the fastest adopter of online bill presentment and payment, which saves $1.15 per bill — that’s $23 million for the industry in 1999 and a whole lot of trees. Real-time billing and metering online is coming soon. Problem is customers must adopt the services in order for them to matter. Companies such as Con Edison send bills online and through snail mail unless customers request otherwise. But over the next two years billing will migrate online, predicts Datamonitor’s Alison C. Hills.

Here’s where the action is: Altra is the online B-to-B energy exchange where utilities buy and sell oil, natural gas, and energy. Other companies have emerged as online power middlemen who buy wholesale from power producers, and then mark it up for online sales. Utility.com promises cheaper rates (though the difference is minimal to most consumers) and GreenMountain.com sells only wind, hydroelectric, solar, and geothermal power. Essential.com bundles energy with phone and Internet access. Feasible…if customers want brand-name power.

Thank to the long distance calling card, you can economize money, since you may effortlessly check your bill.

For this reason, the Health and Racquet Club at the PGA National Resort and Spa in Saratoga Springs, Fla., invented a way to help golfers, who make up a large portion of its clientele, use stretching to improve their sports performance and reduce their risk of injury. The club’s Golf Cart Stretching program offers enthusiasts a series of simple stretches that can be done right on the links with the aid of a golf cart.

Exercises include a low-back stretch, squat to strengthen the hamstrings and calves, middle-back and hamstring stretch, front and rear shoulder stretch, and lunge to build power in the swing. “Until recently, most golfers did little but complain about their tight muscles,” says Randy Myers, PGA fitness director. “With the development of this new program, stiff muscles can be stretched right on the golf course.” Adding greater versatility to the program, the stretches can also be performed in the gym.

While stretching and flexibility is important for any sport, Myers says it is particularly important for golf since the back and shoulder can be stressed easily during the swing.

“Recent studies indicate that nearly 45 percent of all golfers will experience some form of injury,” Myers says, adding that back and shoulder injuries make up more than 80 percent of all golf-related injuries.

Since implementing the program in October of 1994, Myers says the club has seen a rise in participation among members who ordinarily don’t stick to an exercise program. “By providing a non-threatening fitness program for golfers, many individuals who may have feared exercise are now working out on a regular basis,” he says. Within one year, more than 1,000 individuals took advantage of the basic stretching program.

That’s why we joked in our Light Bulbs to Yottabits book that in the future, you’ll go to answer your front door, and see the Maytag repairman. “I didn’t call you,” you’ll say. “No, your fridge did.”

Far-fetched? Perhaps, but more believable than the idea of ordering fried chicken with my TV remote through the MegaConvergeCorp Multimedia Interactive SuperChannel.

Once you start thinking about the Internet chip, you begin to realize how far reaching the implications of the converged world will be. As anyone involved with Y2K knows, we are already surrounded by microprocessors. Intel suggests that by noon, most of us have already interacted with 130 different microprocessors. They’re in our cars, cellphones, toaster ovens and garage door openers. It is estimated that there are 600 billion of them.

And the simple fact is, the next generation of microprocessors, in development now, is being engineered with the ability to talk TCP/IP. And once you do that, the fundamental role of the microprocessor, and the device in which it is embedded, forever changes.

One of the most fascinating areas of opportunity is the manufacturing sector. IP-chips permit a level of interaction and monitoring of the production process never possible previously. Or consider a $5 device with a chip in it that can monitor the flow in a flood prone river. Attach a few to several bridge supports, build an application, and you’ve got a tool by which emergency crews can monitor for dangerous conditions. The possibilities are endless, and intriguing.

Career opportunities? I think there will be plenty with anything having to do with the word “embedded.” There are already many companies actively working in the area of hardware. The embedded software market is extremely active. Then there are the control and monitoring systems that go with this interconnected world, not to mention the opportunities that will emerge in interface design. I think this will prove to be one of the most fascinating and fast-paced areas in the world of technology in the years to come.

As for the other idea of convergence? Twenty years from now, we will have the same old, tired entertainment telecom and broadcast executives pushing their idea of the supercharged ad-driven couch-potato entertainment universe. And most of us will still continue ignoring them.

Prepaid call сards used for local and international phone calls are quite fresh, popular and relevant option. The most important plus of long distance call cards for international calls is their very cheap price, thanks to what there’s a big savings.

After all, it is the most over- used, overdone, overhyped phrase to come out of the Information Age.

I shudder every time I see yet another telecom, broadcast or entertainment executive talk about their vision of convergence. From their perspective, it is a world in which we become wired couch potatoes. We’ll watch their latest entertainment pap on TV, and as soon as something catches our eye — zap — we’ll click our way into consumer heaven, instantly using our remote control to buy the latest, greatest Chia-Pet.

Gosh, when are these people going to get a clue?

To many, convergence is more than warmed-over, stale, rehashed ideas that have little likelihood of succeeding. Indeed, the real concept of convergence is found in the fact that in the next 10 years, much of the Internet is going to disappear as the world of microprocessors becomes tightly linked to the Internet.

From my perspective, one of the most significant developments today is that the very essence of the computer revolution — the microprocessor — is about to become an integral part of our global Internet.

The emergence of the Internet chip, or what I call the “IP-chip” (for Internet-Protocol-Chip) is going to lead to some pretty fascinating developments through the next 20 years. It leads us into a world in which the various devices that surround us in our day-to-day lives, whether used for personal or business reasons, are about to become linked to the Internet. And to me, that’s convergence.

Let’s contrast the “old” model of convergence with the IP-chip model. In the old model, bandied about by those who don’t have a clue, one day we’ll buy an Internet fridge. They believe consumers will want a fridge with a Web screen, and we will stand there and surf the Web, buying our groceries. A bar code reader built into the fridge will “see” that we have just emptied a milk carton, and instruct the fridge to go off and buy a carton or two. As it does so, it will flash us some great coupon offers for yogurt and instant Pina Colada mix.

In their converged world, our fridge — heck, our kitchen — becomes yet another shrine to consumerism, a world in which we are all too willing to turn our homes into a non-stop, flashy-trashy advertising extravaganza.

As if.

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Everyone seemed to enjoy the quality of the activities and the positive family atmosphere that it encouraged. Post-event evaluations showed that Fitness Works was the favorite station.

“Fifty-four percent of the adults and 46 percent of the children considered Fitness Works to be the best part of the day, while 37 percent of the parents and 33 percent of the kids were most impressed by the Living Laboratory,” noted health and fitness specialist Jessica Stevens.

“These two exercise-related stations captured the attention and imagination of the participants, while imparting the gift of knowledge in an exciting and fun way.”

Campin’ P.W. proves that today’s children are interested in fitness and learning how the human body functions during physical activity. While it may seem that young people are becoming more sedentary each year, the experience at Campin’ P.W. suggests that children just need a bit of encouragement and knowledge to become more active. PaineWebber’s Health & Fitness Exchange has shown that it may only take a fun afternoon to get the ball rolling.

This goal was accomplished at PaineWebber Health & Fitness Exchange with its Campin’ P.W. program. The four-hour weekend event provided a structured, stress-free environment where parents and children could play and learn together. “While many family programs focus on activities for children where the parents just sit back and watch, Campin’ P.W. went one step further,” says assistant program manager LaShawn Michalski. “We had the parents participate in all of the day’s activities. This allowed them to spend quality time with their children and encouraged positive role modeling. It demonstrated the benefits of regular physical activity in a setting that reinforced the bonds between Mom, Dad and the kids.”

Campin’ P.W. evolved from requests for additional family programming in the center’s Annual Customer Satisfaction Survey. PaineWebber responded with the event, which was held at a cafeteria/auditorium on two Saturday afternoons. Staff members dressed up in camp counselor uniforms and decorated the auditorium with painted animals. During check-in, children were assigned to one of two age-specific groups, allowing the staff to tailor instructions to their needs and attention spans. Each group of children then traveled with their parents along a “trailhead” that contained five main stations: Campfire Games, Fitness Works, Nutritious Nibbles, Safety 101 and Living Laboratory. Approximately 30 minutes were spent at each of these stations.

Campfire Games was a fun way to start the event. Everyone sat around a “fire” and listened to a drum concert that featured Cherokee Indian music. Children learned to celebrate diversity as they sang songs and heard stories about the circle of life. This station also served as a staging area until everyone completed the check-in procedure.

At the Fitness Works station, children learned the importance of incorporating regular physical activity into their daily lives. The younger group played Hokey-Pokey and the Chicken Dance, while the older children played beanbag games and other relay events. Parents always played along with their children and often had as much fun as their kids. Each of these exercise programs included a warm-up, stretch and cool-down, with explanations of why these components of a workout are necessary. There were also lessons on various muscle groups. For example, youngsters learned about the Popeye muscle (biceps) and what its function is.

Safety 101 focused on the importance of safety. A registered nurse told children about the 911 emergency number and discussed its appropriate use. The nurse also gave demonstrations of the Heimlich maneuver, showing parents how to help their children if they are choking. A table with objects that young people often choke on was provided, with tips on how to reduce the chances of a choking incident.

Nutritious Nibbles emphasized the right way to eat. Run by a registered dietician, this station provided information on the food pyramid and the U.S. Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) guidelines. The dietician also instructed participants on how to fix nutritious meals. Plates of good and bad foods were available for comparison. Children then prepared a healthy meal with their parents’ help.

Living Laboratory contained a series of experiments designed to teach parents and children how the human body works. Although this station was the most difficult one to develop and administer, the final result was well worth it.

The 31 substations taught the functions of the muscles, bones, organs and senses using a variety of age-appropriate activities. For example, parents performed balancing tests after their children had blindfolded them to demonstrate the importance of vision in balance.

There were also places to measure blood pressure, heart rate and body fat. Participants could determine their fitness level as well with a long jump, high jump and other tests.

At the end of the “trail” was a treasure chest. Participants were allowed to search for treasure that had been hidden throughout the auditorium earlier in the day. Prizes included jump ropes, coloring books about the human body, and stickers with slogans such as, “I am a Healthy Kid.” After the children had discovered their treasures, everyone returned to the campfire for a final round of singing and camaraderie.