January 25, 2010
By Adam Frank
My 15-year-old son and I had just come out of the movie theater. After two hours of the usual explosions and mayhem (I can’t really remember what movie we had seen) I made the mistake of telling him to wait outside while I chatted with a friend. Five minutes later I find him on the theater roof jumping from one large air conditioning unit to the other. “What are you crazy?” I yelled hoping to get him down, and us away, from there before the blue siren’s arrived.
Well, yes. Of course he’s crazy. He’s 15. Ever since we made the mistake of watching District B13 my son has become a fan of Parkour, which is like freestyle skiing without skis or snow or mountains. Practitioners of Parkour (or its variant Free-running) believe that a good time equals climbing straight up the face of impossibly high walls or leaping from the roof of one 10 story building to another (even if there happens to be a city street in between them). It is a mix of gymnastics, rock climbing and insanity. It’s beautiful, graceful and terrifying (if you are a parent). So of course my son loves it and yearns to be an adept. I am trying to guide him to something safer.
Which brings us to today’s question. What is the balance between the hardwiring evolution has given us and the cultural programming we have given ourselves? Read the rest of this entry »
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January 25th, 2010
Teen Drinking May Cause Irreversible Brain Damage
For teenagers, the effects of a drunken night out may linger long after the hangover wears off.
A recent study led by neuroscientist Susan Tapert of the University of California, San Diego compared the brain scans of teens who drink heavily with the scans of teens who don’t.
Tapert’s team found damaged nerve tissue in the brains of the teens who drank. The researchers believe this damage negatively affects attention span in boys, and girls’ ability to comprehend and interpret visual information.
“First of all, the adolescent brain is still undergoing several maturational processes that render it more vulnerable to some of the effects of substances,” Tapert says.
In other words, key areas of the brain are still under construction during the adolescent years, and are more sensitive to the toxic effects of drugs and alcohol. Read the rest of this entry »
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January 18th, 2010
Floyd cited for underage drinking
ESPNChicago.com
Notre Dame receiver Michael Floyd and a University of Minnesota football player were cited for underage drinking after the car they were riding in was stopped by police Friday in Minneapolis, according to a police report.
Floyd, 19, a St. Paul native who starred at nearby Cretin-Derham Hall, was allegedly fleeing the scene of a fight with Gophers running back Shady Salamon, a high school teammate of Floyd’s, in a car driven by Casey Marylee Radcliffe, 20. The driver was charged with underage drinking, obstructing police and driving while intoxicated.
Floyd, who had blood on his shirt and hands, and Salamon admitted to drinking, according to the police report which also said Floyd had gotten into a fight at the party.
Floyd has been an impact player in each of his two seasons at Notre Dame. As a freshman, he started 10 games with 48 receptions for 719 yards and seven touchdowns. Slowed by a broken collarbone this past season, the sophomore still had 44 catches for 795 yards and nine touchdowns.
A call seeking comment from Notre Dame was not returned.
The Chicago Tribune first reported the story.
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January 14th, 2010
AAI Ahead of the research Curve
AAI has been driving this sleep agenda with top athletes for two years and our reaction timing studies that we have done on top athletes, conclude that sleep is clearly a predictor of performance in any skill based sport. Cheri Mah from Stanford University did the pilot studies with athletes and we simply did the same with the elite population. Same impact and results. A rested CNS and brain can function… a highly fatigued one cannot.
Rachael Rettner
LiveScience Staff Writer
LiveScience.com rachael Rettner
livescience Staff Writer
livescience.com – Wed Jan 13, 2:16 pm ET
If you think staying in bed on the weekends will make up for a weeks’ worth of sleep deprivation, think again. A new study finds that going long periods without sleep can lead to a sort of “sleep debt” that cannot simply be undone with a little extra snoozing from time to time.
Such chronic sleep loss may eventually interfere with a person’s performance on tasks that require focus, becoming particularly noticeable at nighttime when the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle isn’t giving you an extra boost.
Anyone who’s ever pulled an all-nighter knows how debilitating sleep loss can be in the short term. Indeed, studies show that after 24 hours without sleep, a person’s performance can drop to the level of someone who is legally drunk.
But what about if those all-nighters turned into all-weekers? The authors of the current study turned their attention to long-term sleep loss, and examined whether the effects of such constant sleep deprivation could be erased with an extended resting period. Read the rest of this entry »
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January 13th, 2010
Well of course he did….
By Tim Brown,
And now that he wants something – a job, a reasonably nonbelligerent working environment, peace of mind, forgiveness, I suppose – Mark McGwire has come a little closer to the truth.
He and his handlers typed out a statement, sent it along to the Associated Press and, presumably, put their hands over their ears. He later sat for an interview with Bob Costas and was inarguably contrite.
Turns out, he had a damned good reason not to talk about the past, but we knew that, and he knew we knew, so what exactly do we have today, the day McGwire simply confirmed that so many of those home runs were manufactured not in a batting cage, but in a lab (and not in a bathroom stall)?
For one, we have a man so used to hiding and lying that, years after cheating a nation of baseball fans, he feels sorry for … himself.
“Looking back,” he wrote, “I wish I had never played during the steroid era.”
Really. Read the rest of this entry »
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January 11th, 2010
Three Cape Fear High athletes investigated for underage drinking
Published: 06:21 AM, Fri Jan 08, 2010
By Earl Vaughan Jr.
Scholastic sports editor
Three Cape Fear High School athletes are being investigated for possible involvement in underage drinking. All three could be barred from athletic competition for 365 days.
According to Cumberland County court records, Cape Fear baseball player Blake Wilson and softball players Lindsey Vicary and Evie Johnson were given citations charging them with underage drinking by a Cumberland County sheriff’s deputy on Dec. 26.
Leon Mack, student activities director for the Cumberland County Schools, said the school is conducting an investigation into the incident.
He said once the investigation is completed, he will meet with principal Jeff Jernigan and athletic director Maria Nessen to discuss how the cases will be handled.
Current Cumberland County Schools athletic policy calls for athletes found guilty of underage drinking to be suspended from competition for 365 days from the time of the incident. Read the rest of this entry »
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January 8th, 2010
Police Say Teen Was Texting, Drinking, High
Posted: 11:31 am PST January 4, 2010Updated: 7:01 pm PST January 4, 2010
BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Bellingham police said a teen who hit and killed a pedestrian then fled the scene on New Year’s Day had been text messaging, drinking and high on mushrooms.
The victim’s wife reported 54-year-old Mark Christian as missing Friday night after he did not return home after his nightly walk.
An officer checking the Arroyo Park area where the man usually walked found a van with recent damage to its windshield, police said.
Upon running a check on the van’s license plate, the officer discovered the van was recently reported stolen.
At about 10:15 p.m., an officer found the body of a man on the side of the road at Chuckanut Drive and Sea Pines Road who was later identified at the missing person, Bellingham police reported. Read the rest of this entry »
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January 7th, 2010
John Underwood Director AAI
I just returned from Minnesota where I spoke at Shattuck St. Mary’s School. It was for me an absolutely positive experience. Having visited many prep venues in the past decade I found one that absolutely shines. The overall environment echoed one tone “EXCELLENCE”…
The coaches, teachers, administrators and staff, were among the most caring and in tune with the young people that I have seen in the past decade. They support excellence at SSMS through concern for what is in the best interest of children. They had no reservations about serious discussions of social drug use and the ramifications for those who partake. They realize that our youth are influenced by the same cultural issues on all fronts. They cared enough to support proactive educational efforts while many other similar venues are in fantasy land. I saw young adults at SSMS with great character. I saw incredible facilities, caring mentors and a model for all who deal with young people. That model is that if you offer incredible opportunity, there is only one way to take advantage of the opportunity and that is to do it the best way possible. I saw young people that were inspired, enthusiastic and full of life. When you raise the bar for youth they will jump over it. Excellence is what makes it happen.
Programs of Excellence are successful for a reason. They understand success comes at a price, determined not only by what you are willing to give… but also what you are willing to give up. The example of what education and youth development can be is alive in Minnesota. It should be that way everywhere…
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January 7th, 2010
Judge Bondy sentenced Rogers to 93 days in jail.
Mike Martindale / The Detroit News
Novi — Former Detroit Lion Charles Rogers was ordered back to jail today after passing out in a Mexican restaurant Tuesday, apparently from drinking too much.
Novi District Court Judge Robert Bondy today ordered Rogers to serve 93 days in the Oakland County Jail with credit for 17 days served.
The trouble-prone Rogers, 28, was arrested after the restaurant incident on suspicion of failing to fulfill his probation in a Novi 52nd District Sobriety Court program, Novi Deputy Chief Tom Lindberg said.
Rogers was taken into custody Tuesday at an On The Border restaurant on Haggerty Road about 3:15 p.m. after employees were unable to rouse him and were concerned he might have suffered a heart attack, another police source said.
Rogers, who pleaded guilty last year to operating a vehicle while visibly impaired by alcohol, tested positive three times for alcohol and failed to appear once for testing in November. Read the rest of this entry »
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