Marine Toys for Tots Foundation for 2012

http://quantico-va.toysfortots.org/local-coordinator-sites/lco-sites/Default.aspx

Hi all,
As a child, I benefited from this program and as I grew and funds were better, I tried to donate whenever I can. Our church handles a lot of practical needs. But to me, a "toothbrush" is not a Christmas present.

I urge you to take some time this year to share with those less fortunate than yourself:

Marine Toys for Tots Foundation

http://quantico-va.toysfortots.org/local-coordinator-sites/lco-sites/donate-toys.aspx

Military Contact
Contact Person	City, State	Phone	Fax
Staff Sergeant Oscar Villegas	Quantico VA, Virginia	(571) 285-3976	(571) 285-5063

 

Gaithersburg Winter Lights Festival - Includes Pets!

Experience the Gaithersburg Winter Lights Festival in a whole new way with your favorite four-legged friend!

Bring your canine for an invigorating 3-mile stroll at Leashes n Lights this Sunday, November 18 from 5 p.m. - 9 p.m. (Rain Date: Monday, November 19th).

Price: $8 per Resident / $10 per Nonresident (when registered online via RecXpress)
Dogs and Children (under 4) are free*

For information, visit www.gaithersburgmd.gov/winterlights.

 

Want to Report Crazy Drivers? Here's How...

I find driving in the Metro DC area to be an "unnecessary" nightmare. The behaviors drivers exhibit are an ugly combination of fragile egos combined with power trips topped with immaturity and spite.

For example, a couple weeks ago, a white Mercedes SUV keeping driving at me and three other people as we crossed Summit to catch the MARC train. The woman glared at me and increased her speed missing me by only 4-5 inches!

The pedestrians are as bad as the drivers by walking into oncoming traffic that has the green light, instead of crossing at designated crosswalks, and doing so when they are texting or listening to an iPod or similar device.

Another example, a month ago a mother was crossing Diamond Avenue against the light with two boys. I pointed to the orange light and her response? Like a spiteful child, she stuck her chin up in the air and threw back her shoulders and continued to cross in front of oncoming traffic.

Those of us who know better can report you in Gaithersburg here:

Gaithersburg Police Department Citizen Information in Traffic Enforcement (CITE)

http://www.gaithersburgmd.gov/apps/cite/ 

What to look for:

Excessive Speed	Failure to Obey Traffic Device	Failure to Obey Auto Signal
Failure to Keep Right of Center	Failure to Make Required Stop	Failure to Obey Stop/Yield Sign
Failure to Drive in Designated Lane	Failure to Grant Right of Way	Improper Passing
Improper Lane Change	Improper Turns	Wrong Way on One-Way Street
Following Too Close	Reckless Driving	Negligent Driving
Unsafe Backing	School Bus Law	Parking Violation
Littering	Other

 

Could The Christina Morris-Ward Tragedy Have Been Avoided

Listening to the news last week, I was saddened about a high school student, Christina Morris-Ward, who got hit by a car and then died.  Today is her funeral. There is no doubt in my mind both families lost out in this tragedy.  My heart goes out to all of them.

 

I am not placing blame. I don’t know who was wrong or if it was just one of those things. What I do know is that people in Maryland, both drivers and pedestrians, have a lot of bad habits that cause accidents and even deaths.

I want to take this opportunity to turn something bad into something good. After living here twenty years, these are the area's problem driving behaviors in a snapshot. If you do them, stop immediately. If you know others who do them, make them stop immediately.

Drivers do many things wrong:

• Drivers: Do not try to run down pedestrians in crosswalks. [Yes, it happens to me!]
• Drivers: Do not use a cell phone while you are driving.
• Drivers: Do not drive aggressively (Speeding, Excessive lane changing, Improper passing, Tailgating).
• Drivers: Do not tailgate. Allow one foot between your car and the one in front of you for every mile you are going. That is, it’s a one-to-one ratio.
• Drivers:  Yield the right-of-way to pedestrians and other drivers.
• Drivers: Do not pass stopped school buses!
• Drivers: Do not switch lanes in the middle of a turn or passing through an intersection.
• Drivers: Always use your turn-signal indicator and do so before you get into the turn lane.
• Drivers: If the driver making a left has the green light, he has the right-of-way. You need to wait to make the right on red.
• Drivers: When the car in front of you is slowing down, you must slow down too. It is not correct to speed up and go around them. Wait your turn!

 People walking also do many things wrong:

·       Pedestrians: Do not always have the right of way. Sometimes you must wait for the car to pass.

·       Pedestrians: Do not cross in the middle of the street. Instead, cross at the street corner or in clearly defined crossing areas.

·       Pedestrians: Do not keep walking into oncoming traffic!

·       Pedestrians: Do not walk behind moving cars (e.g., when the driver is backing out of a parking spot). 

·       Pedestrians: Do not use a cell phone or iPod, etc.  while you are crossing roads.

·       Pedestrians: Do not cross if the traffic light sign warns you Not too.

 

 

 

 

References:

  1) http://improvemaryland.blogspot.com/2011/05/alert-drivers-using-hand-held-devices.html

  2) http://improvemaryland.blogspot.com/2011/05/alert-parking-lot-safety-managed-right.html

  3) http://improvemaryland.blogspot.com/2011/06/maryland-driving-tips.html

  4) http://improvemaryland.blogspot.com/2011/07/gaithersburg-olde-towne-traffic.html

  5) http://improvemaryland.blogspot.com/2012/05/maryland-road-designs-why-stupid-people.html

  6) http://improvemaryland.blogspot.com/2012/08/traffic-worsens-as-gaithersburg-narrows.html

  7) http://improvemaryland.blogspot.com/2012/09/life-in-city-september-shock-in-dc.html

  8) http://improvemaryland.blogspot.com/2012/10/maryland-drivers-need-to-learn-to-wait.html

  9) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggressive_driving

Health Care Plans: Generic vs Brand-name Drugs

It's that time of year again - Open Enrollment for 2013 Health Care Plans.

At our benefits meeting this week, the Kaiser Permanente representative wanted to push employees into choosing their "HMO Select" option. He also stacked the deck towards using generic drugs saying "they are just the same (as the brand-name drug)" and "cost much less". He portrayed pharmaceutical companies as money grubbers with no legitimate reason to recoup their expenses. His emphasis was on the cheap way, not the best way and that is where I find fault with Kaiser-Permanent.

Don't let the copycats fool you. The difference between many generic and brand drugs is not just the cost.

I spent 20 years in pharmaceutical product development and I can assure readers formal data show some people do react differently - although the pro-generic folks will say such data are anecdotal.

While it is true that generics are supposed to be bio-equivalent to the brand-name drug and must meet the same safety standards, the manufacturing method and inactive ingredients may be different. How something is made can be as important as what the ingredients are. The term “inactive” is a bit misleading too because these ingredients can affect how fast the drug is released and/or absorbed.

If you wonder why generics don't look like the brand-name version it's because of Trademarks. And, the generic drug doens't even have to contain the same amount of drug as the brand-name. So, the old saying is still true: Buyer Beware!

There are also different types of generics: Equivalents (equivalents contain the same active ingredients) and alternatives (don't use the same active ingredient).

Everyone needs to know that if the generic drug does not work for you or gives you adverse or intolerable side effects, you can ask your doctor to write “Dispense as Written” or “Do Not Substitute” on the prescription your healthcare provider will have to honor that order even though it costs more.

Finally, it’s selective reasoning to imply drug manufacturers are gauging customers. The cost is not (just) advertising. It is from spending multi-millions to develop, stabilize, ensure safety in humans, and determine the best way to administer the drug.

Those who make generics are really stealing the work and ideas of others.Would you like it if someone took your ideas or your work and made money off it without paying you? I wouldn't.