A Historical Season

For the first time in seventy – nine years a baseball team based in Washington, D.C. has reached the Major League Baseball postseason.  Prior to this year’s Washington Nationals (Nats) making the postseason the 1933 Senators were the last team to still be playing baseball in October when they reached the World Series.  If you had asked me a year ago if the Nats would be in this position, I would have said that you were kidding me.  As of September 25^th, with only nine games left in the regular season any combination of Nats wins or Atlanta Braves losses totaling five would bring the National League East championship to our nation’s capital.  By Monday, October 1^st that number had been whittled down to one and the Nats had the opportunity to celebrate a division championship.  Even though the Nats would lose that game 2 – 0 to the Philadelphia Phillies the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Atlanta Braves 2 – 1.  So, guess what?  The 2012 National League East Championship goes to the Washington Nationals!!! 

After the Montreal Expos moved to Washington in 2005 over the last seven years the Nats record is 589 wins and 703 losses with only one winning season and postseason berth.  The Nats opened the National League Division Series (NLDS) on the road on Sunday, October 7 against the defending World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals.  Unfortunately, the Nats would see their season end when they lost the best of five NLDS three games to two.  What makes this even more exciting is the fact that the Baltimore Orioles are having a good year as well.  With only eight games left the Orioles (O’s) have already assured themselves of a winning record.  By Tuesday, October 2 the O’s had already secured a postseason berth and were only one game behind the New York Yankees for the American League (AL) East championship with only two games left in the regular season.  They would split those games and finish in second place and travel to the Texas Rangers for an AL Wild Card Game on Friday, October 5.  After winning that game the O’s would take on the Yankees in the American League Division Series.  However, they would see their season end on the same day as the Nats.  Despite their early exits from the postseason it has been a year to remember in both Washington and Baltimore.             

by Kris L.

George Huguely Trial Update

Former University of Virginia men’s lacrosse player George Huguely has had his jail sentence reduced to twenty – three years from the original twenty – six.  He has been charged with murdering his former girlfriend Yeardley Love who was a member of Virginia’s women’s lacrosse team.  They were both just weeks away from graduating when this horrible tragedy occurred on May 3^rd, 2010.  What makes this even sadder is the fact that Love’s sister is in the process of getting married and there will be a very noticeable absence at the wedding.  In my opinion, the only reason Hugely’s sentence got reduced was the fact that Virginia law states the judge can reduce but not increase a sentence.

by Kris L.

Food, Mood and tips for Medication Side-Effects

I have recently read a leaflet by Dr. Guy Holmes who is a Clinical Psychologist, Shropshire’s Psychology Consultancy Service and Jan Wallcraft, psychiatric survivor, reseacher and author. While reading the leaflet, I found I was doing some things correctly, some things incorrectly, and some things were completely new to me.

                In the first part of the leaflet it states that the MIND, Food and Mood Project revealed the relationship between eating well and feeling good. Amanda Geary’s book The Food and Mood Handbook was a major source for the leaflet and can answer questions one may have regarding food, nutrition and psychological well-being.

                Many of the symptoms' of irregular eating (going a long time without food and then eating a lot because one’s body is so starved) can cause low blood sugar, apathy, and low mood. When in this state, one’s body may crave foods high in sugar causing a rapid rise in blood sugar. This can lead to cycles of highs and lows in mood, the shakes, irritability, and anger. Eating a well balanced varied diet on a consistent schedule can lead to better functioning of mind and body. Choosing relatively low in fat and salt diet includes: fresh or lightly cooked vegetables, fruits, high fiber foods, nuts, oily fish and lean meats.  The importance of a varied diet can improve one’s chance of sticking to eating in a well balanced way.

                The leaflet gives information about some specific vitamin supplements.

·         Folic Acid: can be accessed through green vegetables, liver, whole meal bread and cereals, rice, nuts and oranges.  A deficiency may cause a depressed mood. Anti-convulsant drugs inhibit the body’s ability to absorb folate.  

·         Iron:  can be accessed through spinach and other dark leafy greens (collards, kale, and mustard green), dried fruits, egg yolks, beans, lentils, chick peas, soy beans, and artichokes. Low iron has been associated with anxiety, depression, and decreased motivation for exercise.

·         Zinc: can be accessed through shellfish and green leafy vegetables can create a calming effect.

·         Vitamin B6: can be accessed through broccoli, lentils, nuts and bananas. Deficiencies in B6 can lead to irritability, depression, fatigue, and learning problems.

·         Vitamin B5: can be accessed through eggs, kidneys, mushrooms, and pork. B5 has been known to be the anti-stress vitamin.

·         Calcium and Magnesium:  can be accessed through dairy foods, fish, green leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains (e.g. quinoa and amaranth) and micro-algae supplements (wild blue-green algae, spirulina, and chlorella). Calcium and magnesium are natural tranquillizers and can aid in reliving nervousness, tantrums, anxiety, and depression.

Foods such as fizzy drinks, highly processed foods, chocolate and sweets can cause negative effects on blood sugar levels that could result in mood swings. However there are some starchy foods that do not create this effect. The safe starches include oats, beans, lentils, yams, millet, sweet potatoes, basmati or brown rice, whole grain pasta, bananas, apples, and pineapple.

                If one is a smoker one will need to more Vitamin C which can be accessed through bell peppers (green, yellow, orange, and red) and citrus fruits (oranges and grapefruit).

                I like fizzy drinks. To avoid drinking soda I buy club soda and mix it with juice (2/3 club soda 1/3 juice) or I just drink the club soda with a slice of lemon or add whole fruit such as raspberries to add a hint of flavor. Bottled fruit juices should be consumed in moderation and not be relied upon as a fruit serving. Since I have a juicer the whole fruit is liquefied and still has many nutrients. The juicer also allows me to make juice blends such as carrot/apple/ginger. Jack LaLanne’s power juicer is the model I have but there are many models/brands and most thrift store have them as well.

                Multi-vitamins with iron can help but are not a replacement for whole foods, preferably fresh whole foods.

                As a mental health consumer I take medication. Medications have side effects that may include nausea, disturbance in taste, and dry mouth.  Here are some suggestions that may help with these side effects. Other side effects treatments may be addressed with a dietician or nutritionist.

·         Disturbance of taste:

ü  allow food to cool to a medium heat or eat cold meats

ü  avoiding saccharine if you have you have bitter taste

ü  gargling with lemon juice to reduce metallic tastes

ü  eating sharper fruits (e.g. grapefruit, gooseberry) and add spice to desserts to reduce sweetness

ü  avoiding processed foods to reduce saltiness

ü  drinking more water (water at room temperature is absorbed faster than cold water)

·         Dry Mouth:

ü  Frequently sipping drinks (not coffee or caffeinated or high in sugar; plain water is the best)

ü  Stimulating salvia with sugar free gum, eating pineapple chunks and/or grapefruit segments, and snacking on ice chips will help not only help with dry mouth but also good dental health as well.

·         Loss of Appetite due to Nausea:

ü  Preparing food in advance to be eaten when appetite returns and add ginger to calm nausea. Savory rather than sweet flavored foods will help as along as one avoids fatty foods.

ü  Not lying down soon after eating.

Mental and physical healths are inter-linked. Those of us on fixed limited incomes will have a hard time affording the very things that will support good nutrition. Poverty in itself creates stressors on consumers including a sense of hopelessness and frustration. To overcome some of these stressors I have made room in budget for whole food consumption. I also go to the grocery store more often with particular items in mind, so that what I am buying is fresh and will be made and eaten within the next few days of purchase. I also go to many stores for different items because they may be cheaper at one store than the others with my staple items. I save receipts and review them to see where my money is going and how often I need to buy certain products. This gives me an idea of what I really eat and what I mean to eat but goes to waste because I do not eat it quickly enough. I cook on Sundays a dish that I can eat over the course of a few days that has all the food groups in one pot.  The consistent message of reducing one’s fat, sugar, salt, and alcohol intake( though as consumers we should be aware of the effects of alcohol with medication and diagnosis); eating 5 portions of fresh fruit and raw or lightly cooked vegetables per day; eating high fiber foods; oily fish and above all having a varied diet. This change may seem difficult at first since fast and processed foods are so readily available and cost less. An easy first step is to drink at least 2-3 liters of water a day is the quickest and cheapest way to detoxify the body. Substituting boiled rice or other whole grains for chips, steaming instead of frying fish and chicken reduces the intake of fats. Replace candy for whole fruits to satisfy craving for sweetness.

                The best first step is talk with a dietician who can help custom design a plan for your goals and budget.  It may take a few months to figure out how to achieve this transition, but it is worth it in the long run. When we eat better we can feel better and have the fuel to deal with the mental energy we expend as well as the physical energy it takes to function during the day. Here at Southport we have an abundant garden that provides us with fresh produce and herbs to make our meals with. Join a cooking group and learn how to incorporate fresh produce into recipes. If your schedule does not permit that be around for the $1 lunches and enjoy a healthy well portioned meal. Learn about growing foods in LSP by showing up for Greenhouse offered Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays.

By Nicole Black

The Beacon United

The newsletter group is one of the most popular groups at Saint Luke’s House.  It is part of the LSP Day Program at the Southport site.  During the newsletter group there are six computers available for use by the clients, and the clients may only utilize the computers to complete one or more of the tasks that are necessary to publish Saint Luke’s House newsletter, The Beacon United, or to post articles on the Saint Luke’s House website (stlukeshouse.org) Tasks that must be partaken to successfully construct a Beacon include:  Writing, editing, copy layout, proofreading, and downloading pictures.  Clients perform one or more of the necessary tasks to construct the Beacon, and staff helps organize the clients work into a cohesive newspaper. Pictures help to highlight the appropriate topic of each article, and the layout of the articles help the reader to focus on the words of the articles.  No newspaper could result unless someone performs each of the desired tasks.

Some articles can be written about events that the clients attend, and other articles can be written about other topics that may be more creative, logical, or factual.  One barrier to writing an article is selecting a topic, and other barriers to writing a successful article include:  Utilizing creativity and logic, selecting appropriate sentence structure, obtaining facts, and organizing ideas.  It is a hidden fact that mental health consumers on average are more creative than the entire population as a whole.  Therefore, The Beacon United and the Saint Luke’s House website, in some ways, are more professional than other newspapers and websites. In any case, much work goes into publishing The Beacon United and posting articles on the Saint Luke’s blog.

The original Saint Luke’s House newsletter was known as The Beacon, but when Saint Luke’s House and Threshold combined their services, the title of the newsletter was renamed, The Beacon United.  The word United refers to the union of Saint Luke’s House and Threshold.  Generally, the newsletter is published every three months; but with the culmination of Megan’s term as Staff Editor of The Beacon, the publishing of the Spring, 2012 newsletter was unfortunately delayed.  However, the new editor, Lauren, is rigidly working on publishing a newsletter as early as the end of September, 2012. Lauren received the job as Staff Editor after Donna relinquished that title after serving only a short while as Staff Editor. 

Making the Most out of Your Giant Gas Points

Participating Giant grocery stores and Shell gas stations in the Washington Metropolitan area have joined together to slightly reduce your gas expenses by ten cents /gallon at Shell gas stations for every hundred dollars spent at Giant grocery stores.  Should you ever really significantly benefit from this savings?  You will probably not.  Assuming you have a ten gallon gas tank, and you always fill the tank when it is completely empty then you will save approximately one dollar on gas for every hundred dollar worth of groceries purchased at Giant.  This is a saving of approximately one percent.  If you purchase a gallon of milk at a price of 3$ then you would save approximately 3 cents.  Occasionally, Giant awards extra gas points on certain specific products, but you must be weary of such purchases as well; because you might not need the product, or you might be able to purchase that product or a similar one for less somewhere else.  The only way that you will gain from such a promotion is if you purchase exactly the same products at Giant grocery stores with the promotion that you would purchase without it.  Few shoppers can actually be that thrifty.  The benefit of changing consumption patterns because of this promotion is negligible. 

 

However, should you wish to take advantage of such a promotion there are several things that you might keep in mind when shopping at Giant or fueling up at Shell.  First, always fill the tank when the tank is as close to empty as possible. Second, never let any of your gas points expire (Gas points expire after thirty days).  Third, try to fill your gas tank on Thursday when gasoline is 5 cents/gallon cheaper than on other days, but do not waste your gas points when the gas tank is not close to empty.  Another strategy might be to only buy gas at Shell gas stations once a month (Before the points expire); otherwise, fill the gas tank at the cheapest gas station.  To most people the market for gasoline is perfectly competitive.  In other words, all types of gasoline are equivalently effective.  Shell gas is negligibly different from the gasoline available at other gasoline stations; some of which are cheaper than the gasoline available at Shell.  Also, when you do purchase gas at Shell stations, always purchase from the cheapest Shell station. 

What types of promotions are similar to this one?  At a fair, players are influenced by the size of the prize.  If the prize for playing a game at the arcade is made more attractive then the players will be better off if they could keep their behavior constant.  The benefit could easily be considered negligible.  However, subconsciously they tend to increase the number of times that they compete at the game; therefore, increasing their losses and also increasing the arcades profits on that particular game.  Also, in the game of blackjack, changing the dealer’s rules of play, such as not allowing the dealer to hit soft seventeen, benefits the gambler who does not alter his play due to this rule alteration.  However, if now the gambler changes his play and “stands” when he might otherwise “hit”, thinking the dealer might have a smaller chance to “bust”, then the benefit of the rule alteration switches to the dealer.  Similarly, shoppers start shopping at Giant and Shell and make purchases that are less attractive than they would have made without the promotion, switching the advantage to Giant and Shell.  There are two dealers, in this case; and they have considerable leeway as to how the profit is split.  The customers lose out.  Giant and Shell manipulate the customers as the dealer manipulates the gamblers in Blackjack, and the arcade influences the players of its games. 

 

Companies that distribute coupons have similar intentions.  They want you to alter your consumption pattern.  Otherwise, they would not behave in that manner.  However, with coupons, the benefit is usually significantly better than one percent.  Therefore, it is possible that both the consumer and the producer may both benefit in the case of distributing coupons.  The benefit of changing consumption in this case is not frequently negligible.  As a result, making a purchase of a product may become profitable to the consumer; whereas, it was not profitable without the discount that the coupon provides.   

MY DAY WITH THE IRONBIRDS

On Sunday August 12^th my parents and I took a road trip to Aberdeen, MD to see the Ironbirds play the Connecticut Tigers at Ripken Stadium.  The facility is named after former Baltimore Orioles legend and Hall of Fame shortstop/third baseman Cal Ripken Jr.  Both he and his younger brother Bill Ripken are co – owners of the team that play their home games in his hometown.  The team’s nickname is derived from the fact that Cal became major league baseball’s all time Ironman when he broke Lou Gehrig’s consecutive innings streak at 2,132 games and played 2,632 before he finally sat down.  There is also a replica of the Baltimore and Ohio (B & O) warehouse from Camden Yards (home of the Orioles) at the complex that doubles as both a Residence Inn by Marriott and a Courtyard by Marriott.  You will also find Cal Sr.’s Yard that is named after Cal and Bill’s Dad who at one point managed both of his sons at the same time. 

By Kris L.      

When Statistics Lie

Eleven statistics that attempt to measure a starting pitcher’s pitching performance throughout a game, season, or career include: 

A)      ERA

B)     Run Allowed/Nine innings

C)     Wins, Losses, No Decisions

D)     Home Runs Allowed/Nine innings

E)      Batting Average Against

F)      Strikeouts/Nine innings

G)     Walks/Nine innings

H)     Walk to Strikeout Ratio

I)        Innings Pitched

J)       Number of Starts

K)      Average  Pitches/Nine innings

Which statistics are more accurate indicators of the performance of a starting pitcher throughout a specific period of time?  Most people believe that E.R.A. is the most obvious indicator of a pitcher’s performance, whether or not the E.R.A. is compiled over the short, medium, or long run.  E.R.A. is a more reliable statistic than runs allowed/nine innings, because E.R.A. attempts to consider the defensive ability of the pitcher’s team.  However, it is not possible to accurately measure a team’s defense simply by the number of errors that a team incurs.  Furthermore, pitchers pitch in different home ballparks where most pitchers pitch in approximately half of their games.  There are no set dimensions to Major League Stadiums.  Pitchers who pitch in hitter’s stadiums where runs are plentiful, generally have higher E.R.A.’s than pitchers who pitch in pitcher’s stadiums where runs are scarcely distributed; Ceteris Paribus. 

What other biases exist to E.R.A. as an exact indicator of a pitcher’s performance.  All teams do not play the exact same schedule as all of the other teams.  Teams play more games against division foes than against League foes; furthermore, they play against different interleague teams than other teams.  Therefore, some pitchers will face different teams with different offensive run potential.  Pitchers who pitch in the American League relative to the National League, have higher ERA’s on average, because of the insertion of the designated hitter in the lineup in games played with American League rules.  Since in Interleague games the rules of the home team’s League apply, American League teams play considerably more games with American League rules than National League teams.

A second good indicator of a starting pitcher’s is his win/loss record.  This eliminates the biases of whether or not the pitcher pitches in a hitter’s or a pitcher’s ballpark, and any bias due to the insertion of the designated hitter in the lineup.  However, it probably has the largest bias that occurs, because some pitchers play on better teams than other pitchers (Won/Loss record).  It would be more accurate to divide the pitcher’s record by the team’s record to retrieve the pitcher’s performance level.   If the pitcher’s record is significantly better than the team’s record then the pitcher is probably performing well; even if he himself has a losing record.  The one exception where a starting pitcher would not be judged accurately by this method is if he plays on a team with four other exceptional or disastrous starting pitchers.

Furthermore, road statistics are more accurate than home statistics, because most teams play approximately the same number of road games in each stadium.  This is truer of teams within the same division.  This reduces the effect of the hitter’s or pitcher’s ballpark on E.R.A.  Still, a team would never play a road game at their own home stadium, leaving a slight bias.  All of the other statistics such as home runs allowed, and batting average against would also be considerately less biased if they were taken from a team’s road games for previously mentioned reasons. 

The same type of analysis could be made for offensive statistics as well as pitching statistics.  Eleven important offensive statistics include:

A)     Runs Scored/At Bat

B)     RBI/At Bat

C)     Batting Average

D)     Hits/At Bat

E)      Home Runs/At Bat

F)      Extra Base Hits/At Bat

G)     Walks/At Bat

H)     Strikeouts/At Bat

I)        Slugging Percentage

J)       On Base Percentage

K)      Stolen Bases

However, categories such as runs scored and RBI depend largely on the team’s run production, as well as the batter’s performance.  Where the batter is positioned in the batting order also has a large effect on runs scored and his RBI total.  The dimensions of the home stadium of a player have a large effect on a player’s number of Home Runs, because there are no standard dimensions to Major League Stadiums.  Offensive statistics do not have a similar statistic to Wins and Losses, because the batter is only one of eight position players in the lineup.