Discovery of sexual mating in Candida albicans could provide insights into infections

Jan. 30, 2013 ? Like many fungi and one-celled organisms, Candida albicans, a normally harmless microbe that can turn deadly, has long been thought to reproduce without sexual mating. But a new study by Professor Judith Berman and colleagues at the University of Minnesota and Tel Aviv University shows that C. albicans is capable of sexual reproduction.

The finding, published online by Nature January 30, represents an important breakthrough in understanding how this pathogen has been shaped by evolution, which could suggest strategies for preventing and treating the often serious infections that it causes.

The most common fungus that infects humans, C. albicans is part of the large community of microorganisms that live for the most part harmlessly within the human gut. But unlike many of its neighbors, this one-celled yeast can also cause disease, ranging from thrush (an oral infection) and vaginal yeast infections to systemic blood infections that cause organ failure and death and usually occur in people with immune defects related to HIV/AIDS, organ transplantation or chemotherapy. C. albicans is responsible for400,000 deaths annually.

Most single-celled organisms reproduce by dividing, but others reproduce asexually, parasexually or via sexual mating. Scientists have long believed that C. Albicans reproduce without mating.

Organisms that produce asexually or parasexually are diploid, which means they have two sets of chromosomes and thus can reproduce without a mate. Organisms that reproduce sexually are haploid, which means they have one set of chromosomes and need a mate to provide a second set. C. Albicans was believed to be diploid, but this study shows that the yeast is sometimes haploid, and that these haploids are capable of sexual reproduction.

Sexual reproduction fuels the evolution of higher organisms because it combines DNA from two parents to create one organism. The haploid isolates discovered in Professor Berman's lab arise only rarely within a population, and have been detected following propagation in the lab or in a mammalian host. These haploids can mate with other haploids to generate diploid strains with new combinations of DNA, which may provide the diversity required for fungus to evolve.

The haploid C. albicans isolates also pave the way for genetic studies of the pathogen, such as the construction of "libraries" of recessive mutant strains. In addition, the ability to perform genetic crosses between haploids will help produce modified diploid strains that should help scientists better understand interactions between the fungus and its host and how it transforms from a harmless microbe into a deadly pathogen.

Berman holds appointments and has laboratories at the University of Minnesota's College of Biological Sciences and Tel Aviv University.

The work was done in collaboration with researchers at Bowdoin College (Maine), Brown University (Rhode Island), A*STAR (Singapore) and at the Taipei Medical University (Taiwan) and was funded, in part, by the National Institutes of Health.

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Journal Reference:

1. Meleah A. Hickman, Guisheng Zeng, Anja Forche, Matthew P. Hirakawa, Darren Abbey, Benjamin D. Harrison, Yan-Ming Wang, Ching-hua Su, Richard J. Bennett, Yue Wang, Judith Berman. The ?obligate diploid? Candida albicans forms mating-competent haploids. Nature, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nature11865

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/1FYaYSrBel8/130130143632.htm

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Letters: Debt ceiling has nothing to do with spending

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA ? SEPTEMBER 25: California Gov. Jerry Brown looks on during a news conference at Google headquarters on September 25, 2012 in Mountain View, California. California Gov. Jerry Brown signed State Senate Bill 1298 that allows driverless cars to operate on public roads for testing purposes. The bill also calls for the Department of Motor Vehicles to adopt regulations that govern licensing, bonding, testing and operation of the driverless vehicles before January 2015. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

TUSTIN,?Dan Jacobson,?chairman, Democratic Foundation of Orange County:?The first step in solving a problem is defining the problem. If the bicycle wheel doesn?t turn, working on the car wheel won?t help. A common refrain from some Republicans is that Washington has a spending problem.

Let?s discuss whether there?s a spending problem and, if there is, how to solve it. Let?s not argue about the debt limit ? which has nothing to do with spending, and has everything to do with simply paying the bills that have already been incurred.

The debt limit is found at Title 31, Section 3101(b) of the United States Code. That statute states the dollar amount ?of obligations whose principal and interest are guaranteed by the United States Government.?

Note what the statute does not state. It does not state the amount that the government can or should spend. Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 of the Constitution gives the power to spend solely to Congress, subject to the president?s power to veto.

Congress has required that the government spend a certain amount of money. We don?t have enough revenue to cover the tab, so we have to borrow.

If we don?t borrow the money, we?ll be no better than common thieves. We won?t pay for things that we?ve already ordered or received; we?ll be breaching contracts right and left; we?ll be deadbeats. We?ll cause a worldwide economic disaster because the most trusted nation will no longer be trusted. Ultimately, we?ll have to spend much more money than we otherwise would, because interest rates will skyrocket.

We?re better than that! We?re not deadbeats or thieves; we?re an honorable nation.

The debt limit, which has nothing to do with spending, must be raised in order for us to retain our honor.

Gov. Brown?s address

HUNTINGTON BEACH,?H.R. Smith:?After listening to Gov. Jerry Brown?s State of the State address, I am amazed at the supposed progress he and the Legislature have made [?Brown: Hold off on spending,? Front Page, Jan. 25].

Citizens were duped into believing Proposition 30 revenue would be used solely for the salvation of the schools. It is now apparent that the monies have been spirited off for other purposes, such as rebuilding the union retirement fund. This was, of course, predictable.

Brown is extolling the virtues of his administration for saving the state and congratulating the unions on sticking together.

Unfortunately, new revenues will be squandered, as in the past, and pet projects like the high-speed rail will be pushed forward, thereby costing the state even more as this questionable project develops.

The governor has always used ?smoke and mirrors? to get his. The reality is, the economy is still in the tank. Unemployment is at 9.8 percent and businesses are fleeing the state or suspending expansion due to the unfriendly business climate.

Conservative Obama?

NEWPORT BEACH,?Mark Tabbert:?President Barack Obama expressed his goals in ?conservative terms? because he is a conservative, a holdover from conservatives long departed [?A confident, but detached, inaugural,? Opinion, Jan. 24]. Conservatives care about people.

For instance, Earl Warren, the 30th governor of California and a radical Republican conservative, proposed and worked hard for universal health care. Under President Richard Nixon we passed the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act ? all conservation measures true conservatives should be proud of.

Today?s Republicans and Democrats have sold out to multinational corporations. As to climate change, it is settled science ? unless you?re ExxonMobil or Big Coal. Exxon, for instance, employed ?public relation firms? to create doubt about the science of climate change, using the same tactics the tobacco industry used to fight the science on smoking and health. Republicans have followed Exxon?s lead ? hook, line and sinker.

True conservatives should be leading a fight for a carbon tax that is a free-market solution to climate change. Obama, it seems, plans to do it wrong. EPA regulations, cap-and-trade schemes and subsidies all fall short of what a revenue-neutral carbon tax could do.

A carbon tax would truly begin to address the climate problem, would stimulate the economy, add jobs and establish American leadership on the issue internationally.

The ?right to die?

SAN CLEMENTE,?G.M. Wesner:?Columnist Joseph Perkins? opinion piece on assisted suicide is out of place considering the libertarian and conservative principles of the paper [?Soft on assisted suicide,? Jan. 25].

I am 79 years old. I believe there is a big difference between living and being alive. The notion that as long as a person is neither terminally ill, bedridden nor immobile that they should go on living is unfair. There are also other criteria important to me that make it enjoyable to be alive. Living unassisted, reading, being able to watch TV, drive a car, play golf, play bridge, volunteer, enjoy hobbies and maintain relationships with friends and family ? those are all examples.

Don?t make it a crime for a doctor or someone else to help end my life. Live and let die ? mind your own business.

Chastising Cheesecake

LAGUNA HILLS,?Carol Brower:?The health advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest finds fault with the Cheesecake Factory [?Calorie bombs wins ?awards,'? Life & Wellness, Jan. 24]. The group?s executive director alleges that the restaurant is ?scientifically engineering these extreme meals with the express purpose of promoting obesity, diabetes and heart disease.? This is quite a vicious accusation, and there is no reason to think it is true.

The Cheesecake Factory lists calories in their menu and allows customers to make a choice. They offer some of the tastiest lower-calorie options, but it really is up to the customer to choose what they want.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest does not deserve the press they received ? their accusations are sensationalistic.

Drafting women?

HUNTINGTON BEACH,?Chuck Trout:?Sounds good when we say it should be a woman?s choice to be in a combat zone but there are other considerations [?Women in combat a good thing for U.S.,? Columns, Jan. 28].

Having fought in the Korean War, I experienced conditions that were far from pleasant. If you were in a foxhole and nature called, you did not leave your position. There are times when two people shared the same foxhole. When a woman shares a foxhole with a man, the man must decide if he should remain in his position and risk being charged with indecent exposure ? or, even worse, leave the foxhole and possibly give away his position to the enemy.

We have to stop using our military to prove we are socially correct.

?______

FULLERTON,?M.T. Graves: ?Males must register for the draft or suffer consequences with respect to lack of eligibility for student loans and other penalties [?Ban lifted on women in combat,? Front Page, Jan. 24]. Will women be equally required to register for the draft?
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Scientists learn more about how inhibitory brain cells get excited

Jan. 30, 2013 ? Scientists have found an early step in how the brain's inhibitory cells get excited. A natural balance of excitement and inhibition keeps the brain from firing electrical impulses randomly and excessively, resulting in problems such as schizophrenia and seizures. However excitement is required to put on the brakes.

"When the inhibitory neuron is excited, its job is to suppress whatever activity it touches," said Dr. Lin Mei, Director of the Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University and corresponding author of the study in Nature Neuroscience.

Mei and his colleagues found that the protein erbin, crucial to brain development, is critical to the excitement.

It was known that a protein on the cell surface called TARP gamma-2, also known as stargazing, interacts with a brain cell receptor called AMPA, ensuring the receptor finds the cells surface. It is here that the receptor can be activated by the neurotransmitter glutamate. AMPA receptor activation is essential to activation of the NMDA receptor, which enables cells to communicate, ultimately enabling learning and memory, Mei said. How TARP gamma-2 was controlled, was an unknown.

Inside the nucleus of inhibitory cells in areas of the brain that control learning and memory, the researchers found erbin interacts with TARP gamma-2, enabling it to survive. "If you do not have this mechanism, your stargazing becomes very unstable and your AMPA receptor cannot be on the surface so this neuron is inactive," Mei said. They also found that erbin is only in these inhibitory neurons, called interneurons. They're already working on what they believe to be the counterpart for excitatory cells, which account for about 80 percent of brain cells.

"Interneurons basically control firing," releasing GABA, a major inhibitory neurotransmitter, Mei said. They tone down or synchronize the activity of pyramidal cells, pyramid-shaped neurons that get both excitatory and inhibitory input then make the call on what action to take.

When scientists ablated the erbin gene in mice or kept erbin from interacting with TARP gamma-2, a protein that helps anchor the AMPA receptor on the cell surface, TARP gamma-2 couldn't do its job. The result was less receptors on the cell surface and mice that were hyperactive with impaired learning and memory.

Cell activity hinges on receptor activity and receptors must be anchored on the cell surface to work. Ensuring AMPA receptors are strategically placed is a lifelong task since the busy receptors wear out and each brain cell has tons of them, Mei said.

He and his colleagues reported in the journal, Neuron, in 2007, two genes -- neuregulin-1 and its receptor ErbB4 -- that help maintain a healthy balance of excitement and inhibition by releasing GABA at the sight of inhibitory synapses, the communication paths between neurons. Years before, they showed the genes were also at excitatory synapses, where they also could quash activation. Both genes are involved in human development and implicated in schizophrenia and cancer.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Georgia Health Sciences University. The original article was written by Toni Baker.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Yanmei Tao, Yong-Jun Chen, Chengyong Shen, Zhengyi Luo, C Ryan Bates, Daehoon Lee, Sylvie Marchetto, Tian-Ming Gao, Jean-Paul Borg, Wen-Cheng Xiong, Lin Mei. Erbin interacts with TARP ?-2 for surface expression of AMPA receptors in cortical interneurons. Nature Neuroscience, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nn.3320

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/genes/~3/5e3pfQjjfxE/130130121641.htm

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Video: Blumenthal: Common ground needed on gun show loophole

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/newsnation/50642175/

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Kerry wins confirmation as secretary of state

Sen. John Kerry walks past reporters after Tuesday's committee vote. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

The Senate on Tuesday easily confirmed one of its own?Democrat John Kerry of Massachusetts?to be the next secretary of state, ending a largely noncontroversial process and kicking off what is expected to be a hotly contested special election for the seat Kerry has held since 1985.

The vote was 94-3 for Kerry at a time when bipartisanship is rarely on display in Washington. Just three Republicans voted against his nomination?Texas Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn and Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe.

Kerry voted "present" on his confirmation. He is set to succeed Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is stepping down after four years of service.

Kerry, a decorated Vietnam War veteran and the 2004 Democratic nominee for president, has served on the Foreign Relations Committee since his arrival in the Senate and has chaired the committee for the past four years.

Kerry began the hearing process with the backing of senators of both parties, many of whom came together on Tuesday to publicly laud his service.

"Sen. Kerry is uniquely qualified to serve as the next secretary of state," Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., said on the Senate floor before the vote, noting Kerry's personal history as the son of a diplomat as well as his deep knowledge of international affairs and his relationships with diplomats.

Menendez is on tap to succeed Kerry as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.

Earlier Tuesday, that committee unanimously voted to send Kerry's nomination to the full Senate.

Kerry's departure from the Senate is expected to spark a major political fight for his vacant seat in Massachusetts.

Democratic Rep. Ed Markey has already announced his intention to seek Kerry's seat in the special election. Markey has won solid Democratic support from party leaders?and Kerry himself?for his campaign. Party leaders are coalescing around Markey's candidacy in the hopes of avoiding a bitter primary fight ahead of what's expected to be a competitive general special election.

But wide support from Markey may not be enough to keep interested Democrats out of the race.

Fellow Rep. Stephen Lynch is planning to announce Thursday whether or not he will run against Markey in the Democratic primary, spokesman Scott Ferson confirmed to Yahoo News Tuesday. A competitive Markey-Lynch primary could weaken the Democratic winner in a state in which Democrats are eager to build on their recent electoral success.

Democrats in Massachusetts scored a major victory in 2012 when Democrat Elizabeth Warren ousted Republican Sen. Scott Brown. That race was devoid of major outside spending as both candidates had agreed to a ban on third-party spending. Markey on Monday called on his potential challengers to agree to the same type of ban.

That is likely to happen if Brown enters the race, as Brown introduced the "People's Pledge" to ban outside spending in 2012 and has expressed interest in running for Kerry's seat.

Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin on Monday revealed plans to set the special election to choose Kerry's successor for June 25 after an April 30 primary.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/john-kerry-wins-senate-panel-approval-secretary-state-184944263--election.html

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After big rally, RIM selling off before launch

TORONTO (AP) ? Research In Motion investors are turning skittish ahead of Wednesday's critical launch of the company's much-delayed new BlackBerrys.

THE SPARK: The sell-off in RIM shares this week follows a months-long rally. The company's stock had nearly tripled from a nine-year low in September after favorable reviews on blogs and financial analysts started to see some possibility of a comeback.

THE BIG PICTURE: The BlackBerry, pioneered in 1999, has been the dominant smartphone for on-the-go business people and had also crossed over to consumers.

But the iPhone's debut in 2007 showed that phones can do much more than email and phone calls, and exploded RIM's market. The company's shares sank for years as the BlackBerry lost ground to the iPhone and phones running Google Inc.'s Android system.

Now RIM promises to unveil a new operating system to catch up. Chief Executive Thorsten Heins will show off the first phone with the new BlackBerry 10 system in New York on Wednesday.

THE ANALYSIS: But doubts remain about the ability of BlackBerry 10 to rescue RIM.

"We'll see if they can reclaim their glory. My sense is that it will be a phone that everyone says good things about but not as many people buy," said BGC Financial analyst Colin Gillis. He said he wondered how many would ultimately sell and how profitable the new phones would be for RIM.

"We don't know how successful it will be," said Gareth Watson, vice-president of investment management and research at Richardson GMP Ltd.

Moreover, RIM is initially releasing only a touchscreen version of the phone, but Gillis said that the company should release a keyboard version at the same time. RIM has said it will release a version with a physical keyboard soon after the touchscreen model launch.

"You have 80 million subscribers and the No. 1 feature that they like is the physical keyboard," Gillis said.

SHARE ACTION: Down 83 cents, or 5.1 percent, to $15.35 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq. Shares dropped 7.8 percent on Monday. But in the four weeks through Friday, shares had gained 47 percent.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-01-29-CN-TEC-RIM-Mover/id-231729fb780c4ebc9b71826c6410565c

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Safer way to vaccinate? Polymer film that gradually releases DNA coding for viral proteins may beat traditional vaccines

Jan. 28, 2013 ? Vaccines usually consist of inactivated viruses that prompt the immune system to remember the invader and launch a strong defense if it later encounters the real thing. However, this approach can be too risky with certain viruses, including HIV.

In recent years, many scientists have been exploring DNA as a potential alternative vaccine. About 20 years ago, DNA coding for viral proteins was found to induce strong immune responses in rodents, but so far, tests in humans have failed to duplicate that success.

In a paper appearing in the Jan. 27 online issue of Nature Materials, MIT researchers describe a new type of vaccine-delivery film that holds promise for improving the effectiveness of DNA vaccines. If such vaccines could be successfully delivered to humans, they could overcome not only the safety risks of using viruses to vaccinate against diseases such as HIV, but they would also be more stable, making it possible to ship and store them at room temperature.

This type of vaccine delivery would also eliminate the need to inject vaccines by syringe, says Darrell Irvine, an MIT professor of biological engineering and materials science and engineering. "You just apply the patch for a few minutes, take it off and it leaves behind these thin polymer films embedded in the skin," he says.

Irvine and Paula Hammond, the David H. Koch Professor in Engineering, are the senior authors of the Nature Materials paper. Both are members of MIT's David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. The lead author of the paper is Peter DeMuth, a graduate student in biological engineering.

Gradual vaccine delivery

Scientists have had some recent success delivering DNA vaccines to human patients using a technique called electroporation. This method requires first injecting the DNA under the skin, then using electrodes to create an electric field that opens small pores in the membranes of cells in the skin, allowing DNA to get inside. However, the process can be painful and give varying results, Irvine says.

"It's showing some promise but it's certainly not ideal and it's not something you could imagine in a global prophylactic vaccine setting, especially in resource-poor countries," he says.

Irvine and Hammond took a different approach to delivering DNA to the skin, creating a patch made of many layers of polymers embedded with the DNA vaccine. These polymer films are implanted under the skin using microneedles that penetrate about half a millimeter into the skin -- deep enough to deliver the DNA to immune cells in the epidermis, but not deep enough to cause pain in the nerve endings of the dermis.

Once under the skin, the films degrade as they come in contact with water, releasing the vaccine over days or weeks. As the film breaks apart, the DNA strands become tangled up with pieces of the polymer, which protect the DNA and help it get inside cells.

The researchers can control how much DNA gets delivered by tuning the number of polymer layers. They can also control the rate of delivery by altering how hydrophobic (water-fearing) the film is. DNA injected on its own is usually broken down very quickly, before the immune system can generate a memory response. When the DNA is released over time, the immune system has more time to interact with it, boosting the vaccine's effectiveness.

The polymer film also includes an adjuvant -- a molecule that helps to boost the immune response. In this case, the adjuvant consists of strands of RNA that resemble viral RNA, which provokes inflammation and recruits immune cells to the area.

The ability to provoke inflammation is one of the key advantages of the new delivery system, says Michele Kutzler, an assistant professor at Drexel University College of Medicine. Other benefits include targeting the wealth of immune cells in the skin, the use of a biodegradable delivery material, and the possibility of pain-free vaccine delivery, she says.

"It's an interesting approach that can be applied not just to delivery of DNA-based vaccine antigens, but other small molecules," says Kutzler, who was not part of the research team.

Eliciting immune responses

In tests with mice, the researchers found that the immune response induced by the DNA-delivering film was as good as or better than that achieved with electroporation.

To test whether the vaccine might provoke a response in primates, the researchers applied a polymer film carrying DNA that codes for proteins from the simian form of HIV to macaque skin samples cultured in the lab. In skin treated with the film, DNA was easily detectable, while DNA injected alone was quickly broken down.

"The hope is that that's an indication that this will translate to large animals and hopefully humans," Irvine says.

The researchers now plan to perform further tests in non-human primates before undertaking possible tests in humans. If successful, the vaccine-delivering patch could potentially be used to deliver vaccines for many different diseases, because the DNA sequence can be easily swapped out depending on the disease being targeted.

"If you're making a protein vaccine, every protein has its little quirks, and there are manufacturing issues that have to be solved to scale it up to humans. If you had a DNA platform, the DNA is going to behave the same no matter what antigen it's encoding," Irvine says.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The original article was written by Anne Trafton.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Peter C. DeMuth, Younjin Min, Bonnie Huang, Joshua A. Kramer, Andrew D. Miller, Dan H. Barouch, Paula T. Hammond, Darrell J. Irvine. Polymer multilayer tattooing for enhanced DNA?vaccination. Nature Materials, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nmat3550

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/matter_energy/biochemistry/~3/S-p9Fg4Dyxo/130128113922.htm

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Password Security Tips - Business Insider

Today being Data Privacy Day and all, it's a perfect time to revisit that most basic element of internet security ? the password.

Just because your password replaces an "E" with a "3" and ends in an exclamation point doesn't make you invincible.

Here are some pointers to see how secure your password is and then pick a newer, stronger password if needed.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/password-security-tips-2013-1

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USD/CAD: Loonie trading below its MA's | GCI Forex News

GCI Forex News - USD/CAD: Loonie trading below its MA?s

?

USDCAD Movement

For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, the USD declined 0.22% against the CAD to close at 1.0060.

Yesterday, Moody?s Investors Service downgraded six of Canada?s major financial institutions on concerns over high levels of consumer debt among Canadians and elevated house prices.

Separately, the current Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney, who will take over the head job at the Bank of England in July this year, stated that unless workable measures are put in place, the credit crisis which began reverberating around the global economy in 2007 will be repeated. He further indicated that policy in developed countries is not ?maxed out? and that central bankers should be prepared to take aggressive measures to help boost economic growth.

In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 1.0058, with the USD trading marginally lower from yesterday?s close.

The pair is expected to find support at 1.0037, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 1.0017. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 1.0090, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 1.0123.

The currency pair is trading just below its 20 Hr and 50 Hr moving averages.

This entry was posted in USD/CAD. Bookmark the permalink.

Source: http://forexnews.gcitrading.com/currencies/usdcad/usdcad-loonie-trading-below-its-ma%E2%80%99s-3.htm

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Social Knowledge Community - Early-Retirement.org

Being Social in Retirement

Today, 11:10 AM	? #1
Full time employment: Posting here. ? Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Illinois and Florida Posts: 658	Being Social in Retirement Before we retired, from a job that was somewhat stressful, and required considerable interaction with upper level management and a large number of subordinates, my retirement dream was... and this is not an overstatement... A log cabin near the top of a mountain in the Adirondaks, surrounded by barbed wire. In truth, a wish to be a hermit. Away from neighbors, only venturing out to do solo (DW and I) traveling, camping, and whatever was necessary to satisfy hedonic pleasures. Two or three close friends, but never, never, to live in a place where there were neighbors or anyone who would direct our lives. We ended up in a Florida retirement community, where there is never, ever a moment where something "fun" is not going on... and where we can draw away whenever we want. For a workaholic, a total change. Bought a boat, in our 52 slip marina, and explored the 710 miles of shoreline. Joined the computer club, crafts, pool, line dancing, bowling, painting, cards, called bingo (didn't play), shuffleboard, permanent member of decorating committee, for the first 15 years organized and planned many dances and parties shows and pot luck dinners. Also part of "Thursday's Child" five closest couples, with a moveable feast, dinner each and every week at one couple's home. With 360 home in the community, we know each and every resident, and most of the 80+ dogs. Twenty two years... never a serious argument or falling out. After reading several thousand posts, it struck me that most of the members are either not yet retired, or, retired for a relatively short time... like 4 or 5 years. In all of this time, as far as I can see, there are very few members who have, or plan to retire to a close, gated community, with people of similar ages and interests. In particular, a community that is unusual, in that members interact as a family. A social structure that is directly opposite to the working world home. A place where sports, entertainment, social events, and mutual support are the hallmarks. A place where keeping up with the Jones's doesn't exist. A place where it's easy to find others who will become close friends because of mutual interests and temperament. If it didn't sound so strange, I would have used the word commune. This changed our lives... much for the better. For a couple who intended to be unto ourselves, a complete and total turn around. I wouldn't pretend to give advice, except to share our experience, and offer it as a avenue to explore. Like... what will you be doing in the next 30 years? And so the subject... Being Social in Retirement. The difference as we see it, is having several hundred friends versus only the family and a dozen or so other friends. Everyone is different. Sometimes we are different, because we haven't considered all choices. ' + '?' + google_ads[i].line2 + '?' + google_ads[i].line3 + '?' + '' + google_ads[i].visible_url + ' '; } } '' } if (google_ads[0].bidtype == "CPC") { /* insert this snippet for each ad call */ google_adnum = google_adnum + google_ads.length; } document.write(s); return; } google_ad_client = 'ca-pub-7757781251671730'; google_ad_channel = '3711355403'; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '6'; google_ad_type = 'text'; google_feedback = 'on'; // --> __________________ my opinion only
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Today, 11:18 AM	? #2
Recycles dryer sheets ? Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 92	Very insightful...thanks. ' + '?' + google_ads[i].line2 + '?' + google_ads[i].line3 + '?' + '' + google_ads[i].visible_url + ' '; } } '' } if (google_ads[0].bidtype == "CPC") { /* insert this snippet for each ad call */ google_adnum = google_adnum + google_ads.length; } document.write(s); return; } google_ad_client = 'ca-pub-7757781251671730'; google_ad_channel = '3568142076'; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '6'; google_ad_type = 'text'; google_feedback = 'on'; // --> __________________
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Today, 11:23 AM	? #4
Administrator ? Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: New Orleans Posts: 23,585	Like a lot of the other INTJ's here, I am not exactly a social butterfly. In fact, I am the reverse. F and I spend quality time with one another every day, but I would rather spend the rest of my time in solitude. I have gotten to know a dozen or so retired folks at the gym who are regulars there, and we greet each other by name and seem to have plenty in common and to get along just fine, but I have no desire to see them elsewhere. We sometimes run into one another at restaurants, and smile and wave but do not eat with them. a community that is unusual, in that members interact as a family. A social structure that is directly opposite to the working world home. A place where sports, entertainment, social events, and mutual support are the hallmarks. A place where keeping up with the Jones's doesn't exist. A place where it's easy to find others who will become close friends because of mutual interests and temperament. If it didn't sound so strange, I would have used the word commune. The difference as we see it, is having several hundred friends versus only the family and a dozen or so other friends. The idea of living in such a community does not appeal to me at this stage in life. Having several hundred "friends" sounds like Hell on earth to me, to be perfectly frank. When I was younger, that was more appealing. Perhaps it will be again some day. __________________ "Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harborless immensities." - - H. Melville, 1851
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Today, 12:33 PM	? #5
Moderator ? Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Charleston, SC Posts: 9,049	Thank you for your insight and perspective. It is certainly food for thought. And I think I see what you mean, and as yet another INTJ like W2R, I do like my private time, but I guess my sole complaint about a life like yours is that everyone is the same age. I would rather live as ERHoosier noted, in a more "chronologically-diverse" 'hood. Some of our most favorite people in the world have been those we met outside of our geographic comfort zone, and I think that I would be less likely to venture forth to find them if I was ensconced in such a place where all the entertainment was ready-made. But maybe, if I was older, it would be more appealing to me. Attitudes change as we age, that's for sure. __________________ "Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference." - Mark Twain?One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching.? Gerard Arthur Way
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Today, 12:41 PM	? #6
Full time employment: Posting here. ? Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Illinois and Florida Posts: 658	The idea of living in such a community does not appeal to me at this stage in life. Having several hundred "friends" sounds like Hell on earth to me, to be perfectly frank. When I was younger, that was more appealing. Perhaps it will be again some day. Absolutely!... It was my feeling to a "T".... and the change didn't come easy. We went to Texas and Florida, looking for warm, and a place to call our own, w/o relatives or obligations. It was only after we ended up in a retirement village, (free house for 3 days) that we found ourselves drawn in... Perhaps the dance party and free kegs had something to do with it. Hadn't danced in ten years, and found ourselves trapped in a world we knew nothing about. Everyone happy and appreciating retirement. Rented for another week, and couldn't wait to leave and go back to Illinois, to pack enough to go back to FL to live. (6mo. FL, 6 mo. Il) It was a new world. The villages was mentioned. It's truly a great place to visit, and for many a great place to live. It was too big for us, and in a way a bit too formal. We just love the close knit community where we live now, and though we're getting a little older and leave the parties early at 10PM, it's nice to be able to walk to the clubhouse, and know everyone along the way. Still plenty to do. Younger folks fit in perfectly, and many have bought convertibles just to be part of the new group that goes exploring... (ten couples now, I think). Having new folks coming in (many aged 55) keeps us all relatively young... I may try the FL Senior Triathalon (0ver 75) this year... Our Park manager came in third in the much younger group. FWIW... the total cost for living there, including lot rent (we own the mobile home and rent the land) upkeep, utilities, lawn, taxes etc, is about $7 to $8K per year... We can come and go as we please, live there 3 months, 6 months or all year. .................................................. .... In any case, something to look at before taking the big final step. __________________ my opinion only
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Today, 12:43 PM	? #8
Moderator ? Join Date: May 2007 Location: San Francisco Posts: 7,623	Like a lot of the other INTJ's here, I am not exactly a social butterfly. In fact, I am the reverse. F and I spend quality time with one another every day, but I would rather spend the rest of my time in solitude. I have gotten to know a dozen or so retired folks at the gym who are regulars there, and we greet each other by name and seem to have plenty in common and to get along just fine, but I have no desire to see them elsewhere. We sometimes run into one another at restaurants, and smile and wave but do not eat with them. The idea of living in such a community does not appeal to me at this stage in life. Having several hundred "friends" sounds like Hell on earth to me, to be perfectly frank. When I was younger, that was more appealing. Perhaps it will be again some day. Same here. I love to spend quality time with true friends and family, but I do not care to have lots of Facebook friends and acquaintances. I also dislike any kind of club or club-like community usually. __________________
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Today, 01:08 PM	? #11
Recycles dryer sheets ? Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Dallas Posts: 96	DW and I are headed to a retirement community in Florida much as the OP describes. We already purchased and we'll make the move from Texas to Florida next year. Can hardly wait to join in on the fun! As for any interest in age diversity, the beach is only 5 minutes away. __________________ _______________________________________________ "A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do" --Bob Dylan.
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Today, 03:23 PM	? #14
Full time employment: Posting here. ? Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Illinois and Florida Posts: 658	We are thinking of a gated community, for security reasons, not social ones. Yes, I realize that "gated" and "security" are not always synonymous. Trouble with "exclusive communities" is there always seem to be one or more Queen Bees and King Pins who like to be in charge of everything. Nonconformist opinions are made fun of, and the opinion-holders marginalized. Just like high school. Tell me I'm off base... Amethyst Always is a pretty broad statement... We have leaders, thank goodness, but 22+ years without a serious problem has been our experience. One of the possible reasons could be that while we have our share of doctors, middle management, and professionals, it is essentially a working man's park. Good people, attracted to other good people is the way we see it. It's hokey, but a good way to describe it, is a learned "love" of others, and tolerance of those who are little different. Guys don't toss the "love" word around too much, but they don't have to. It's just the way things work, and the ones who don't enjoy this, or who are super competitive, soon leave the community... by choice. Very few do... And oh... by the way... we are by no means "exclusive". __________________ my opinion only
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Source: http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/being-social-in-retirement-64827.html

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AUD/USD: Australian Dollar trading higher this morning | GCI Forex ...

GCI Forex News - AUD/USD: Australian Dollar trading higher this morning

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AUDUSD Movement

For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT on Friday, the AUD weakened 0.31% against the USD to close at 1.0412.

LME Copper prices rose 0.3% or $24.0/MT to $8059.8/MT. Aluminium prices rose 0.8% or $15.5/MT to $2042.3/MT.

In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 1.0418, with the AUD trading marginally higher from Friday?s close. Activity thin this morning with Australian markets closed for a National Holiday.

The pair is expected to find support at 1.0390, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 1.0361. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 1.0459, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 1.0499.

The currency pair is trading below its 20 Hr and 50 Hr moving averages.

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Source: http://forexnews.gcitrading.com/currencies/audusd/audusd-australian-dollar-trading-higher-this-morning.htm

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Spain's Rajoy adds some stimulus to the austerity

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's conservative prime minister is preparing a package of small measures - such as tax breaks for young entrepreneurs - to stimulate the economy even as he vows to stick to budget cuts.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, whose popularity has plummeted after a year in the job, will announce the steps on February 20 in his first State of the Union address in an effort win back public trust after severe spending cuts.

He took office promising to reduce Spain's high public deficit and win back investor confidence but the recession has deepened and more than a quarter of the workforce is unemployed.

"It's a plan of micro-policies, focused on concrete sectors," a spokeswoman for Rajoy said.

She declined to provide details or a specific cost to the program but said: "In no way does it undermine our commitment to reducing the deficit."

The package will include tax incentives for small exporters, developing a commercial paper market for small companies that will give them access to funds, and a new official credit line for businesses, according to media reports.

Labour Minister Fatima Banez also told reporters on Monday that women under 35 and men under the age of 30 who want to start a small business will get a major break on social security tax, paying 50 euros a month instead of more than 250 euros.

Last week, during official visits to Peru and Chile, Rajoy said that Spain's massive deficit - expected to stand at some 7 percent of gross domestic product at the end of 2012 - still blocked the country from investing in the economy.

But in the same trip he announced he would extend a 2,000-euros-per-car rebate program that would cost 150 million euros and help stem the fall in automobile sales [ID:nE8N0AT002].

On Monday Spain's Official Credit Institute, or ICO, priced a 1 billion euro seven-year bond. New low-interest credit lines from the ICO for small businesses are among the measures Rajoy is expected to announce in February, ABC newspaper reported.

PLEAS TO GERMANY

The International Monetary Fund and leaders from the Americas have criticized the emphasis on austerity in the euro zone debt crisis, saying it has made the recession worse.

In recent weeks Rajoy has called on euro zone creditor countries such as Germany to do more to stimulate growth, a plea that has largely fallen on deaf ears.

He broached the subject in a brief meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Chile last week and will bring it up again when the two leaders meet at a Spain-Germany summit on February 4 in Berlin, the government spokeswoman said.

Last year his government made an estimated 20 billion euros in budget savings and must make a similar effort this year to stay on track to cut the deficit to an EU-agreed level of under 3 percent of GDP.

Spain's borrowing costs have come down steeply since last July when the European Central Bank said it would do whatever it took to protect the euro. A 40 billion euros rescue for Spanish banks also helped confidence and talk of Spain needing a full international bailout has died down.

But unemployment is now 26 percent, the highest level since the 1970s, and the economy shrank in the fourth quarter, dragged down by a steep drop in private consumption due in part to a September VAT hike and public wage cuts.

(Editing by Sarah White and Anna Willard)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/spains-rajoy-adds-stimulus-austerity-174731903--finance.html

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The Will to Survive: The New Demoratic Order

A new disease is sweeping across the US turning those infected into flesh craving monstrosities. They've lost all humanity and their only instinct is to feed. Now with a zombie apocalypse befalling the nation, those immune to the virus try to survive.

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Green Blog: An Ecolabel for McDonald's Fish Fare

McDonald?s has signed on with the Marine Stewardship Council to show that the fish it serves is caught in an environmentally responsible manner. While the fish is not changing, the deal will make the council?s distinctive blue logo familiar to tens of millions of Americans for the first time.

The world?s biggest fast-food company announced last week that its sourcing of fish for the United States market, which is entirely wild-caught Alaska pollock, had been certified by the council, perhaps the best-known organization promoting sustainable fishing around the world.

The most tangible effect of the sustainability imprimatur is that, beginning next month, Filet-O-Fish wrappers sold in the burger giant?s 14,000 American restaurants will display the Marine Stewardship Council label. McDonald?s also announced on Thursday that it would roll out a new promotional menu item in February called Fish McBites ? think chicken nuggets, only made from pollock ? that would also carry the council?s label.

Judging from photos like this one, it will be impossible to eat a McDonald?s fish product without getting reassurance that your meal is not harming the seas.

McDonald?s did not have to do much to comply with the council?s requirements. Susan Forsell, McDonald?s vice president for sustainability, said that under the company?s own in-house sustainable fisheries program, which began 10 years ago, 100 percent of McDonald?s fish is already purchased from fisheries that have received stewardship council certification.

In Europe, where McDonald?s products rely on both the Alaskan pollock and sustainable European fisheries, the council?s logo already appears on the company?s packaging, Ms. Forsell said.

While McDonald?s packaging in Asia does not currently carry the label, she said, obtaining certification there would not present a problem because McDonald?s fish products there are also sourced from sustainable fisheries.

Beyond burnishing the company?s green credentials, the deal bolsters the image of the Marine Stewardship Council, which has already entered the consciousness of some American consumers through arrangements with Kroger, Costco, Supervalu and Wal-Mart.

Mike DeCesare, a spokesman for the council, said that it receives a 0.5 percent licensing fee on wholesale fish sales when the label is used by a partner.

He declined to provide additional details, saying that partner data was confidential. But McDonald?s sold more than 200 million Filet-O-Fish sandwiches last year in the United States alone, so the deal will probably work out to be a substantial windfall for the organization.

How good the deal is for the fishery, or sustainability in general, is less clear. As I?ve reported in the past, many fisheries scientists are skeptical about the value of the Marine Stewardship Council?s stamp of approval. The organization, founded in 1995 to provide a market-based solution to overfishing, assesses fisheries on the basis of three major criteria: the quality of stock management and the health of the stock and the ecosystem that supports it.

Some of the council?s decisions have met with wide criticism, including the certification of a fish called the New Zealand hoki that McDonald?s serves in some Filet-O-Fish sandwiches outside the United States. The council has also certified as sustainable fisheries for which scientists say the data is so scarce that any management plan is pure guesswork, including those of the Antarctic krill and the Antarctic and Patagonian toothfish.

Many conservationists, including groups like the World Wildlife Foundation, one of its founders, continue to support the council, and some argue that in the absence of straightforward regulation, it is better than nothing. The Marine Stewardship Council says its own analysis shows that the fish stocks it certifies have proved vastly less likely to be overexploited than uncertified stocks.

The Alaskan pollock fishery, the largest food fishery in the United States, is said to be worth about $1 billion. The majority of the catch is turned into fish sticks and surimi, in which the fish is processed into products like imitation crab. The stock is also, the National Marine Fisheries Service likes to say, considered one of the world?s best-managed major fisheries.

As if to prove that one person?s sustainability is another?s catastrophe, native fishermen decried the McDonald?s announcement almost before the ink was dry. They argue that the commercial pollock fishery is responsible for the waste of thousands of king salmon each year as bycatch.

Source: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/27/an-ecolabel-for-mcdonalds-fish-fare/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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