Amblyopia Undetected `lazy eye’ causes vision problems

This condition — amblyopia, sometimes called “lazy eye” — can result from strabismus, crossed eyes that turn in or eyes that turn out. When eyes turn in, double vision results and the brain discards the image from one eye to “fix” the problem. When eyes turn out, the brain receives input from only one eye at a time and learns to favor the better eye.

An eye that drifts off center by just a degree is enough to cause amblyopia, but the untrained eye will not notice a disparity until one eye turns in or out by about five degrees.

Jane Brody
Mercury News
June 1, 2005

Monty Python Spamalot Tickets at Shubert Theatre-NY

THE TALE OF SPAMALOT

Almost three years of my life so far on Spamalot and it still seems like a good idea to transform Monty Python and The Holy Grail into a musical. For several years I thought about it; after all, there are three songs in the movie and there are several points which seem almost to demand a song:

“I’m not dead yet!”
“Run Away!”
“I fart in your general direction!”

Monty Python fans, you won’t want to miss David Hyde Pierce, Tim Curry, and Hank Azaria currently starring in Spamalot, inspired by the comic genius of Eric Idle. Based on the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, this hysterical play pays homage to Spam, the infamous canned meat. Buy your Spamalot tickets now!

Monty Python Spamalot Tickets at Shubert Theatre-NY

Philips HeartStart Home Automated External Defibrillator

The Philips HeartStart Home Defibrillator

It’s the latest in essential safety equipment. Fire extinguishers. Seat belts. Airbags. Home security systems. All essential safety equipment to protect yourself and your loved ones. You know they are there, silently standing by, just in case. They give you peace of mind so that you can focus on life’s good things.

Be prepared for the unexpected

When sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) strikes, the electrical system of the heart short circuits, causing the heart to quiver rather than pump in a normal rhythm. It typically results in the abnormal heart rhythm know as ventricular fibrillation (VF). It usually happens without warning and the majority of people have no previously recognized symptoms of heart disease. And it most often happens at home. For the best chance of survival from SCA caused by VF, a defibrillator should be used within 5 minutes. Yet, less than 1 in 20 people survive largely because a defibrillator does not arrive in time.

Just as seat belts or airbags do not save every life in a traffic accident, a defibrillator will not save every person who suffers a sudden cardiac arrest. Yet many lives could be saved if more people could be reached more quickly.

HeartStart was designed with you in mind

That’s why we created the HeartStart Home Defibrillator. This award-winning safety equipment has been designed so that virtually anyone can use it to help save the life of a person who suffers a sudden cardiac arrest.

Clear, calm voice instructions talk you through each step. HeartStart senses and adapts the instructions based on your actions. Using sophisticated technology, HeartStart quickly decides whether a shock is necessary. It is designed to only deliver a shock if needed. It will even coach you through the steps of CPR.

Like other essential safety equipment, you buy HeartStart hoping that you never have to use it. Yet in that moment you need it, HeartStart must be ready. It performs comprehensive daily self-tests. You can check its status at a glance. Virtually no maintenance is required.

Who should have a HeartStart?

Anyone who wants a safer home.

Consider the other essential safety equipment you own to protect your loved ones in case of an emergency. Fire extinguishers. Seat belts. Airbags. Now consider the likelihood of needing this equipment.

Social Security: Help for the Poor or Help for All?

In attempting to fix Social Security’s long-term problems without raising taxes, President Bush has chosen to recast the 70-year-old retirement program as one that would keep the lowest-income workers out of poverty but become increasingly irrelevant to the middle class and the affluent.

Read more…

By EDMUND L. ANDREWS and EDUARDO PORTER
New York Times
Published: May 1, 2005