WebMD magazine can be found in the waiting rooms of most physicians.
I like to read it because it contains useful articles about the newest breakthroughs
in medicine. Some recent articles addressed: children's cold medicines, overeating,
hemorrhoids, strep throat, and why garlic is good for you. Other articles
gave detailed information about nicotine patches, PMS, and rheumatoid
arthritis. Ask your doctor for one of his/her free copies. Patients are supposed to
read them. Become an informed patient!

One feature I found interesting and useful is their web site called "symptomchecker."
This site does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, nor treatment. But,
when you are trying to determine which doctor to call, because you are not certain
about how to describe or to detail your symptoms, this site can be quite helpful.
By answering a series of questions, you will receive information on the names of
conditions, diseases, and medications. This is an interactive tool to help you
identify your problem.

For more information: www.WebMD.com or http://symptoms.webmd.com/

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Gumbo Limbo Nature Center is located in Boca Raton, Florida at
Red Reef Park, between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway.
1801 N. Ocean Blvd., Boca Raton
561-338-1473 - Volunteer Line 561-338-1588
gumbo@gumbolimbo.org OR www.gumbolimbo.org
Twenty acres of Boca Raton's Red Reef Park include a nature center and sabal palm
hammock, coastal dunes, and mangrove wetlands. There are a variety of mammals,
birds, reptiles and fish. Rare and endangered species such as the manatee, the
brown pelican, the osprey and sea turtles can sometimes be observed. A beautiful
butterfly garden and a boardwalk offer tranquil settings for a lovely stroll. Climb the
40 foot observation tower and look out over the Atlantic Ocean and Intracoastal.
This center aims to make visitors aware of the need to preserve and protect nature.

Gumbo Limbo is open from Monday through Saturday from 9AM to 4PM and
Sunday: 12PM to 4PM. They are closed on New Year's Day, 4th of July,
Thanksgiving and Christmas day. There is no charge but a “suggested ”donation
of $ 3.00 per person. Their nature-themed gift shop has imaginative gifts.

The Great Backyard Bird Count - February 16th - 9:00 A.M.
Free - Must Register Naturalist Rick Newman plans a 2 hours walk around
the grounds of Gumbo Limbo to search for birds and count them for the 11th
Annual Great Backyard Bird Count! Bring binoculars and field guides if you
have them. Open to beginners and experts alike! Space is limited so register
today! Supervision Required: An adult must participate with children - all ages.

Third Annual Sea Turtle Day - Saturday March 8th -
10:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. Sea turtle nesting season kickoff, exhibits,
educational talks, games, crafts for kids, food, and more. Must register.
Call for further information. Children must be accompanied by adult.

Would you like to see more articles like this about places to visit nearby?
Please post a comment. Your e-mail address is never posted.

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Beef Recalls are making me emotionally and physically sick. I feel anxious about
eating meat in restaurants. I'm not referring to a steak dinner or a hamburger.
Beef is included by chefs in spaghetti sauce, taco sauce, beef crumbles, lasagna
and taco filling. I'm certain there are hundreds of other recipes that include beef.

During the first week of February, 2008, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced
that it was placing a hold on beef from a slaughterhouse that appeared to be processing
cattle too sick or injured to walk. "Downer cows," is the term used for these cows
which are excluded from the food supply because they’re considered at higher risk
for transmitting mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy).

According to Consumer Reports, "carcasses can move through slaughterhouses at a
rate of up to 390 per hour, making inspection difficult. If meat tests positive for E. coli,
companies are allowed to cook it for sale in other products, such as pizza or tacos."

Undercover video taken by the Humane Society of the United States last fall,
at the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Co. in Chino, Calif., shows workers
ramming old dairy cows with forklifts, prodding them with electric shocks
and other methods in what appears to be an attempt to get them to stand up.
Because they’re not able to stand, the cows lie in their own feces, therefore
risk picking up bacteria that cause food borne illnesses like E. coli 015:H7.

Where is the beef now? Well, some of the meat would have been distributed
through the Emergency Food Assistance Program, which the Department of Human
Resources of each state oversees. But, they also shipped 27 million
pounds to federal nutrition programs in 2007, in 36 states.

Some positive news: Wal-Mart has become the first chain to adopt Global Food Safety
Initiative. It is requiring its private-label and other suppliers to have their factories
certified against the Global Food Safety Initiative, an international standard that
goes beyond the FDA’s requirements for food safety.

The Global Food Safety Initiative was launched in May 2000 to establish food-safety
management systems to ensure confidence in the delivery of safe food to consumers.
The initiative has fostered a convergence among food safety standards, achieved
cost efficiencies through common acceptance of GFSI recognized standards,
and provided a forum for exchange of best food-safety practices.

Consumer illnesses trigger more recalls than government or industry testing.
So make yourself heard!!!

Want to be an informed consumer? To find out what has been recalled by
the six federal agencies that oversee consumer safety, go to:
www.recalls.gov.

If you have questions about food safety, you can go to the website of the
USDA's Food Safety & Inspection Service. http://www.fsis.usda.gov/

Comments are welcomed! Your e-mail address is always kept private.
What do you think about this topic?

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Wakodahatchee Wetlands was constructed by Palm Beach County Water Utilities
Department on 56 acres into a thriving wetlands habitat. Approximately two
million gallons per day of highly treated reclaimed water is used to maintain this
wetlands habitat, in a park-like setting. The name is derived from a Seminole Indian
phrase meaning "created waters."

"The Wakodahatchee Wetlands have attracted an abundant variety of wildlife,
including turtles, frogs, otters, alligators and more than 150 different species of birds.
There is a three-quarter mile boardwalk that winds through three of the wetland's ponds,
allowing visitors the opportunity to read interpretive signs and learn about water
purification, wetlands ecology, natural history and the interdependence of people
and their environment. The existing pond berms have been planted with native
plants using natural landscaping techniques to provide extensive planted buffers,
which eliminate views from the top of the berms into the adjacent neighborhoods.
The constructed wetlands benefit the community in a variety of ways, combining
the seemingly unrelated functions of water treatment, wildlife habitat and recreation
into a wetland ecosystem that is fully accessible to the public." Photo by Abe Korn
"Environmentally, it detains storm waters, protecting downstream areas from flooding.
It naturally purifies waters containing nutrients, like nitrogen and phosphorus,
without using fossil-fuel energies or producing sludge."
Visitor Information
Wakodahatchee Wetland is located in Delray Beach, Florida, on the east side of
Jog Road, between Woolbright Road and Atlantic Avenue. The wetland is open to
the general public from sunrise to sunset, seven days a week. Tours of
Wakodahatchee Wetland are conducted on the second Tuesday of every
month at 9:00 A.M., and on the third Wednesday of the month at 4:00
P.M., during winter months. The tour lasts approximately one hour, and the tour
group size is limited to 20. Space on the tour must be reserved in advance.
For reservations or questions about the wetland, please phone (561) 641-3429.
Community organizations and school groups may request tours on an "as available"
basis. Tour group size is limited to 20 people, and group tours need to be scheduled
at least one month in advance.
For group tour information, please phone (561) 434-5372.

Information for this BLOG was obtained from Wakodahatchee Wetlands Web page
and the Palm Beach County Water Utilities Department brochure

Did you like this posting? Would you like to learn about more places to visit that
are nearby? Please post a comment. Your e-mail address is always kept private.
We'd like to hear from you.

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Coalition of Boynton West Residential Associations (COBWRA) meeting
at 9:30 A.M., on Wednesday, February 20, 2008, at
the Palm Chase clubhouse, 10755 Palm Lake Ave.

The entrance is located on the west side of Military Trail between
Boynton Beach Blvd. and Woolbright Road.
PROGRAM:
Terry Verner, Palm Beach County Director of Code Enforcement..
Nominating Committee's slate for COBWRA Officers will be announced.
Nominations from the floor will be accepted.
Elections will be at the March meeting..

Open to the public. No tickets or reservations needed.

Contact COBWRA at 789-8140 or cobwra@yahoo.com for more information.

(This information provided by Jack Leicher, COBWRA Program Chairman)

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Every day there are new web sites that offer to solve problems, correct life's
mistakes for you, improve your health, help you to exercise, etc. My BLOG today
is about a new, fun web site, that I discovered, called SpongeFish (www.spongefish.com).

On Spongefish, people tell about themselves and then share what they know in
video, photos, stories and recordings. Imagine a place where all the most fascinating
and useful things you know were just magically downloaded out of your mind and
broadcast to the world. It would be like having your own publishing company or
television or radio station. “Josh’s TV!” “Jillian’s Radio!” “Jessie’s PubCo!”
The key word here is "share." Every article posted contains so many fascinating items.
Most of it is fun, but it also offers insights into what is going on in our world.

One very interesting article told me amazing facts about the human
body. Did you know that the more you dream, the higher your I.Q.?

Even though it’s only a few months old, SpongeFish already gets over 4000
visitors a day. The Co-Founder and Chairman is David Porush. If you’re interested
in knowing more about the site, you can write him at david@spongefish.com
or just log on to their web site.

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Tri-Rail, South Florida's commuter rail service, is a convenient,
comfortable and affordable way to travel throughout the South Florida region.
You can travel to your favorite places from Miami to West Palm Beach in
air-conditioned comfort - seven days a week! Want a fun afternoon for your family?
Take a ride on Tri-Rail.

Striving to be more reliable, convenient and efficient, Tri-Rail serves thousands
of riders traveling to work, major airports, South Florida attractions and special events.

Passengers must have a valid ticket prior to boarding the train. Tickets are NOT sold
on board the train. Tickets are available at all Tri-Rail stations prior to departure.
Tickets are only valid on the day of purchase. Monthly tickets are only valid from
the first to the last day of the calendar month.

Calculating Your Fare
The Tri-Rail system is comprised of six zones. Weekday ticket prices are determined
by the number of zones through which a passenger travels. To determine the number of
zones traveled, consult the zone fare charts available at the Tri-Rail station or on line, at Tri-Rail.com.

Weekend Fares
Tri-Rail currently offers discounted flat fares for all weekend/holiday travel. These fares
are in effect for travel between all destinations on weekends and holidays only.
Transfers from other systems are not applicable to the discounted weekend fare.
Weekend fares may be discontinued at any time and do not apply to special service trains.
*Adult All Day - $4.00, *Discount All Day - $2.00
For more information on Discounts, please see the Discount Policy.

Holiday Service
"Tri-Rail operates a Sunday schedule on New Year's Day, Memorial Day
Observed, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.

For Customer Service: 1-800-Tri-Rail (874-7248) or 1-888-Go-SFRTA (467-3782)
For more detailed information, visit www.tri-rail.com

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A vaccine for shingles was licensed in 2006. A single dose of vaccine is available for adults
over aged 60 and older. Patients should always consult their physician before getting
this vaccine,

Shingles is a painful nerve inflammation accompanied by skin rash and/or blisters.
It is sometimes called Herpes Zoster. Only people who have had chickenpox in
the past can get shingles.There are about 300,000 cases of shingles that occur
each year in adults over 50. Early signs of a shingles outbreak are often vague,
and can easily be mistaken for other illnesses. The first sign of an attack can be
an isolated pain or numbness in a major nerve in or under the skin or a "shooting"
pain around the trunk or down the arm or leg. Mild flu-like symptoms, such as
headache, fever and upset stomach, may also occur. Sometimes symptoms can
be confused with other illnesses, such as an ulcer, ruptured disc, pneumonia,
appendicitis, or even a heart attack. However as the outbreak progresses,
the symptoms become clear and the diagnosis is made more definite.

A shingles rash usually appears on one side of the face or body and can last from
two to four weeks. Pain is its main symptom, which is sometimes severe.
Other symptoms may include fever, headache, chills and upset stomach.

One of five patients suffer severe pain after the rash disappears. This is called
post-herpetic neuralgia. Unfortunately, this virus stays in your body and may
appear again many years later.

You cannot catch shingles from another person with shingles. However, a person
who has never had chickenpox could get chickenpox from someone with shingles.

For more information:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention www.cdc
or call 1-800-232-4636.

Want to read more on this topic: Try WebMD.com or Health.NIH.gov

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Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge is located
two miles south of Boynton Beach Boulevard, off U.S. 441. It is one of 538 refuges
in the National Wildlife system. There are many activities to enjoy and lots of wildlife
and nature to see. The refuge was established in 1951. In total, the refuge includes
over 221 square miles of Everglades habitat, and is home to the American alligator
and as many as 257 species of birds may use the refuge's wetland habitats.

In addition to being a home to wildlife, the refuge offers many recreational opportunities:
Walking trails, a canoe trail, bike trail, boat ramps, fishing platform,
observation towers, butterfly garden, and a visitor center.

There is a 400 acre cypress swamp. A boardwalk into the swamp even gives the visitor
a chance for an up-close swamp experience, without any danger.
Daily Schedule: Refuge opens at 5:00 A.M. and closes at 6:00 P.M.
Visitors Center: Open Wed - Fri 9:00 - 4:00; Sat and Sun 9:00 to 4:30.
Golden Age Passport gives you free admission.
$5.00 per vehicle.

Saturday, February 9, 2008. Ninth Annual Everglades Day.
Time: 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.
Cost: FREE - For more information: (561) 734-8303
What's Happening: Canoe trips, animal presentations, walking tours.
Brazilian music. Storytelling at 2:00 and at 3:00. Sign up for tours when
you arrive. Wear hats and sunscreen and walking shoes.

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For $1.50 ($1.25 reduced rate) you can travel in a comfortable, air-conditioned
PALM TRAN bus to many places in Palm Beach County.

Palm Tran began in 1971 as Florida Transit Management, Inc. It's name changed
to CoTran, before Palm Tran became its official name. Service began with only 20 buses
on seven routes. Today, Palm Tran owns more than 130 air-conditioned buses on 34
routes and more than 3,500 bus stops. Buses run from the Lake Region to Jupiter
to Boca Raton.

The new LINK program was launched in February, 2008, to serve the senior population.
There will be seven color-coded routes to connect to other public transportation options,
such as Tri-Rail. LINK is a route deviation pilot program serving residential and gated
communities where fixed route service is not available. This is not a door-to-door
service. It will be funded by a $212,500 grant from Florida DOT.

The LIME LINK will travel along Lyons Road, between Lake Worth Road and
Boynton Beach Boulevard.

Other new PALM TRAN features include: limited-stop routes, late night service,
bike racks, and reduced rates for seniors and students. Palm Tran CONNECTION
also provides paratransit door-to-door service to residents and visitors of Palm Beach
County, under these programs:

ADA - Americans with Disabilities Act
TD - Transportation Disadvantaged
DOSS - Division of Senior Services

For information call: 561 - 649-9838 or 1-877-870-9849 (toll free)
Thanks to Lili White, for Palm Tran information

To read a Sun-Sentinel story on the new service, click here.

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