Hot Potato Topic May #1

Hey My Favorite Knowledge Gourmets!
Well I know I am not the first to say it and I won't be the last...but humans have definitely lost the art of original creativity. I guess the years of MTV and reality shows have made every brain dead and forgotten what true entertainment is. Did we just talk about entertainment people not taking risks just a few weeks ago?? Well the death by sequel and remake seem to be on the up rise. Now I am not downing all remakes....some of them need to be done. The top ones on my list
1. The Firm
2. The Matrix Reloaded (though I LOVE the freeway sequence)
3. For the Roses/Come Spring (based on J. Garwood's awesome books)
4. Dune
5. Starship Troopers

Remakes or Sequels that we could have done without or are not necessary
1. Clash of the Titans
2. Ghostbusters
3. The Matrix Revolutions
4. Point Break
5. Honey We Shrunk Ourselves
6. Avatar 2 & 3 (I mean really?)

That's my short list off the top of my head while sitting here trying to not be too critical since I am not a movie maker or script writer...but people please. Does the industry think we are all stupid? Really! If you are going to charge me $15 at least let me come away with good memories and something I might recommend or even buy when it comes out on Blu-Ray. I am sure that if you do a search on the internet you'll find plenty of lists of what should be remade and what should be touched since its a classic. Of course bring a movie into the current times isn't always bad...I do find myself getting a great laugh when I see old technology that many are scratching their heads over what is that.

With that said, I am actually looking forward to the remake of the Magnificent Seven!!! Yes sir and Yes ma'am! Check out the trailer and tell me what you think!! Magnificent Seven Trailer Click Here
Another remake, especially for those of use who read the books is Tarzan! Here's another  Wow oh Wow trailer! The Legend of Tarzan Click Here Alright people let's get cooking and be creative and imaginative today!
The Chef

Hot Potato Topic April #4

Hello Everybody!
Whew...what in the world happened to April!?! Did someone accidentally hit the fast-forward button? Some get their foot off the gas pedal and slow things down a bit, please!! I am just not quite ready for summer...yesh!
Today Autism in on the table. I always believed it was all those crazy pregnant women that wouldn't give up their coffee that caused autism. I never believed that faker that said it was vaccinations, boy was that a fiasco! Any way here some more information to keep you in the know.
Until next time my knowledge gourmets,
The Chef

To Vaccinate or Not: Calming Worried Parents

Arthur L. Caplan, PhD; Paul A. Offit, MD

Close Up With Paul Offit

Arthur L. Caplan, PhD: Welcome to Close-Up With Art Caplan. I am very excited today to have as my guest Dr. Paul Offit, Head of Infectious Diseases at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Thank you so much for coming.
Paul A. Offit, MD: Thank you, Art.
Dr. Caplan: It's fair to say that, in my view, Paul is the leading advocate and has done more for promoting vaccination than anybody else I know in the world. He has been a staunch advocate of helping kids receive necessary vaccines and has been a pioneer himself in vaccine research.

Calming a Parent's Vaccine Fears

Dr. Caplan: In your experience, what can be done to calm parents who are worried and hear such things as, "My child got sick after a vaccination"? Putting aside the lack of merit behind some of those fears, how do you calm a parent down?
 
Dr. Offit: A fear was raised originally in the late 1990s and early 2000s that vaccines caused autism. Fair enough. From the parent standpoint, my child was fine, he or she got a vaccine, and now my child is showing signs and symptoms consistent with autism. Could vaccines have done it?
The good news is that this is an answerable question. It has been answered in a scientific venue. Tens of millions of dollars have been spent by public health and academic professionals to try and answer this question: If you receive a vaccine, are you at greater risk for autism than if you don't receive a vaccine? Now we can comfortably say to parents that those 2 things are not causally associated. Vaccines don't cause autism.
 
Dr. Caplan: So we have a mountain of evidence?
 
Dr. Offit: Yes. The problem isn't that parents have the questions. It's fair that they have the questions. Nor is the problem that people haven't responded with millions of dollars to answer the question. They have answered the question. So, what now? Why, with all that information on hand, can't we convince people?
I don't think it's a lot of people, but some people simply have the fear, and it's hard to make the fear go away. In part, it is because we haven't identified a clear cause or causes for autism. We don't have a definitive cure for autism, so that keeps the fear running.
Consider diabetes in the 1800s, when people didn't know what caused it. There were many thoughts about what caused it, and many thoughts about what could cure it. When Banting and Best discovered insulin and we knew the cause of diabetes, and how to cure it, all of the myths disappeared. For something like autism, that may be what it's going to take.
 
Dr. Caplan: Do you think that it would help to say to a parent that there are suggestions that older parents are more likely to have a child with autism, or that environmental toxins might be associated with autism? I have seen these things explored as causes of autism. Would it calm their fears to say that there may be other factors that we are chasing besides vaccines as causes of autism?
 
Dr. Offit: You can certainly say that, with respect to environmental factors, vaccines are clearly the best studied, and many factors have been looked at in autism research that make sense and are confluent. Clearly, there is a genetic predisposition for autism. If you look at the proteins that those genes make -- the so-called developmental proteins -- they are often expressed in the first or early second trimester. Environmental factors, such as valproic acid, thalidomide, or rubella virus, increase the risk for autism because they affect the child in utero.
Eric Courchesne and colleagues^[1] at the University of California, San Diego, showed that there are folding abnormalities in the brain. You can actually see the foldings in utero by looking at the child's brain, so it's all consistent.
When you have autism, you are born with autism. There is no changing that, and to some people, that is helpful to know.

Responding to "That's Too Many Vaccines"

Dr. Caplan: What about parents who are worried about their child receiving too many vaccines at once? How do we handle that concern?
 
Dr. Offit: I don't care how sophisticated you are about virology or microbiology or immunology -- when you watch your child lie down on that white paper and receive as many as 5 injections at once, it looks like it's too much.
When you are in the womb, you are in a sterile environment. When you enter the birth canal and the world, you are not, and very quickly there are trillions of bacteria on the surface of your body. I'm not trying to sound like Carl Sagan, but you have about 100,000 trillion (10¹⁴) bacteria on the surface of your body. You actually have more bacteria on the surface of your body than the number of cells in your body.
We have a way of carrying bacteria from one place to the next, and to which you make an immune response. Adults typically make as much as 5 g of secretory immunoglobulin A and immunoglobulin G daily to make sure that those bacteria stay at the mucosal surface.
One single bacterium out of the trillions of bacteria on your mucosal surfaces has between 2000 and 6000 immunologic components. If you add up all of the immunologic components in vaccines that are given in the first few years of life, it comes to about 160. It's literally a drop in the ocean of what you encounter and manage everyday, but you don't see that.
 
Dr. Caplan: When the parent comes in and says, "I'm worried about too many vaccines," and then goes home and lets the child crawl on the floor or lets the dog lick the child, is that worth pointing out to them? They are not exposed only to what is there naturally, but they are exposed to lots of agents in the ordinary course of wandering around the house.
 
Dr. Offit: And that is good, because it educates the immune system away from this Th2 response toward the so-called Th1 response. It makes you less likely to be allergic as you get older. That actually helps, but if people really want to scare themselves, they should take a cotton swab and swab the inside of the child's nose, put it on a wet-mount microscope slide, and look at it. If it's teeming with bacteria to which your child makes an immune response, that's a greater challenge than what you ever receive in a vaccine.
 
Dr. Caplan: So those metaphors could help.
 
Dr. Offit: I think so, yes.

A Lose/Lose Situation for Clinicians

Dr. Caplan: Here is another issue. Many doctors and nurses have had people come in and say, "I don't want to vaccinate." What can we do with them? Should we say, "Stop coming here," or should we try to work with them? Should we say, "We will stretch out the vaccine schedule"? What's your view about that?
 
Dr. Offit: I feel sorry for the private practicing clinician, my wife being one of them. It's a lose/lose situation. On the one hand, the doctor can say, "I'm going to do the best I can to give this child whatever vaccines I can," knowing that you are sending the child away less than fully vaccinated, and knowing that this is going to be a progressively more dangerous world where there is a greater incidence of measles, whooping cough, and bacterial meningitis.
 
Dr. Caplan: We have had outbreaks of all those diseases in the past year.
 
Dr. Offit: Now, you know you are practicing substandard care. You know you are putting the child at risk, and so it's hard for doctors. But on the other hand, they can say, "If I don't at least try and play it the parent's way, where does the person go then? Do they just go to a chiropractor who is perfectly willing to not vaccinate their children, or to another doctor who is willing to give them no vaccines?"
I have seen my wife progress through this, and she has gone 180° toward the opposite view. She is far more passionate. She says, "Let me love your child. Don't put me in a position where I have to practice substandard care. Don't put me in a position where I'm sending your child out into this world that is becoming progressively more dangerous, where they can get pneumococcal disease or varicella and suffer that. Don't put me in that position. It's like coming to me and saying, 'I love my child, but I don't trust car seats.'"
 
Dr. Caplan: I like that "let me love your child" angle. It makes an alliance with the parents. What about when a child who hasn't been vaccinated comes to the clinic? Do you say, "Don't mix with the other patients in the waiting room"?

Do Parents Have a Responsibility to Others?

Dr. Offit: That's a good question: Do you have a responsibility to the waiting room?
In the measles outbreak in San Diego that occurred a few years ago, that is exactly what happened. The mother didn't vaccinate her children, and she took her children to Switzerland. The 7-year-old got measles, came back, and was sitting in the waiting room. The mother didn't know what it was. She had never seen measles before.
The child had fever and a rash, and was exposing everybody else in the waiting room. Three of the children in the waiting room were less than 1 year of age and hadn't yet been vaccinated. All were severely infected with measles, were admitted to the hospital, and one almost died. The mother of the child who almost died said, "She made a decision for me." Did she have a right to make that decision?
 
Dr. Caplan: Ethically, it may be important to let people know you vaccinate not only to protect your own child, but also to protect your neighbor, and I don't think people understand that clearly. Sometimes it seems that it is all self-interest.
 
Dr. Offit: Do we have a responsibility to our neighbor? Is it our inalienable right to catch and transmit a potentially fatal infection? I would like to think that the answer is no.
 
Dr. Caplan: Pushing that a little further, there have been movements in several states -- Rhode Island, for example -- mandating flu vaccines for pre-kindergarten and daycare, saying that children can't go to these places unless they are vaccinated. I think it includes the teachers now as well. Is this a good idea? Should we push harder for that kind of requirement?
 
Dr. Offit: You are seeing what has happened. Before the 1970s, there were medical exemptions to vaccination, but no philosophical or religious exemptions. Those were established in the 1970s and 1980s, so now 41 states have religious exemptions, and 20 states have philosophical exemptions to vaccines.
 
Dr. Caplan: "Philosophical" just means "I don't like it."
 
Dr. Offit: I'm not sure. It never made much sense to me.
 
Dr. Caplan: As a philosopher, it seems to me it is a deep philosophical objection.
 
Dr. Offit: Philo means love, and sophia means wisdom. Where is the wisdom that says not getting a vaccine is better than getting one?
We are seeing the consequences of those exemptions. When we see such outbreaks as measles or whooping cough, invariably they are centered on groups of people who have chosen to not vaccinate their children. Not only do they serve as a reservoir for the children to become infected, but they infect members of the surrounding community, so now we are starting to see pushback. There was an article in JAMA Pediatrics^[2] on this topic, and we are seeing legislation not for expanding those exemptions, but for contracting them.
 
Dr. Caplan: It seems to me that it still can be respectful of somebody's right to choose if you say you have to watch a video program about vaccines or certify that your doctor discussed the risks and benefits with you. I don't think those requirements are too intrusive into somebody's liberty.
 
Dr. Offit: My problem is this: Is it your right to choose to put your child at risk and those who are going to come in contact with your child? On the one hand, we are trained as physicians to be open to all attitudes and beliefs. On the other hand, we watch children come into our hospitals. Every year, at least 1 will die of an infectious disease, and when you watch that happen -- when you watch a child get flu, for example, and come into the hospital initially on face-mask oxygen, and go onto a ventilator, and then an oscillator, and then a heart/lung machine, and then die -- you see those parents slowly watch their child fall off a cliff. When another parent comes to you a week later and says, "I don't want to give my child a flu vaccine," it's very hard to be passionate and say, "It's your right to choose." I just don't feel that way.

Expand Vaccines for Pregnant Women

Dr. Caplan: We have spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to manage resistance, fears, and doubts. Where are we going? What is coming down the line? Are we going to continue to give vaccines through needles? Are we going to have the same array of vaccines, or are new ones imminent? What does the future hold with respect to vaccination?
 
Dr. Offit: I predict that the next great platform will be the pregnancy platform. You are already seeing it to some extent. We now give the whooping cough vaccine in the third trimester of pregnancy to try and prevent the deaths of 20-30 children every year from whooping cough, all of whom are less than 2 months of age. That is the only way to prevent that.
 
Dr. Caplan: And they die because they don't have any immunity to it?
 
Dr. Offit: That's right. They are too young to have developed an active immune response, and too young to be vaccinated. The first vaccine is given at 2 months of age, so that is why we give pregnant women a pertussis vaccine. We give the flu vaccine primarily to protect the mother who is pregnant and who has a 7-fold increased risk of developing pneumonia and dying of it than if she was not pregnant. We could have a meningococcal vaccine in pregnancy to avoid the need for the meningococcal vaccine that is given in the first year of life. I would like to think that down the line, we will have a respiratory syncytial virus vaccine that is given during pregnancy.
 
Dr. Caplan: Those are disorders that people often mistake for the flu.
 
Dr. Offit: Another disease is group B streptococcus. All of those would be reasonable vaccines to give to pregnant women, and they would benefit the newborns.
 
Dr. Caplan: There is more to be said here, but hopefully we have provided some useful information, solid tips, and maybe even some management strategies to those in the field who are trying to engage vaccination.
Thank you for all of the work you have done to promote vaccination and grapple with these questions in public. You have been a great example to physicians who say to me often, how do I engage? What do I do? You write, you speak, you go toe-to-toe with critics on national television or at a local high school assembly. You have shown a clear-cut path as to how that should be done.

Hot Potato Topic April #3

So the email from the concerned mom basically states, "If you have a penis, pee in the bathroom with the urinals. If you have a vagina use the appropriate bathroom. Urinating according to how you "feel" is not something I should be teaching my impressionable children. Of course when our sons start getting sodomized and our daughters raped we'll see what our fellow transgenders have to say then."
From Concerned Mom

So there you have it ladies and gentlemen. Concerned mom is in support of North Carolina and is asking others to help her with this ever evolving issue. Maybe we don't need public restrooms anymore....maybe the route to go is making sure you go before you leave the house will become the new norm.
Also remember we are to treat everyone fairly. We should never discriminate, even if we don't agree. You might think all penises should be with other penises and the same for the female genitalia but we are living in a world where the fight against labels and people with evil hearts and intentions, so we must all be careful. Arm yourself with knowledge and information. Below I have put the ACLU has to say. Decide for yourselves.

Alright people keep those Hot Potato Topics coming! And if  you're looking for something new to add to your blog listing, check out Finances Are Us and stay informed. This week they will discussing retirement.
Yours in the Kitchen,
The Chef

Open Letter to Schools about Restroom and Locker Room Access for Transgender Students

This open letter to principals and superintendents explains why public schools have a legal obligation to allow transgender students to use restrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their gender identity.

Re: Transgender students’ access to sex

-segregated facilities

Dear Principal or Superintendent:

You have been presented with this letter because at least one of your schools may be denying transgender students access to the same restrooms and facilities used by other students that correspond to their gender identity. The school’s decision to exclude transgender boys from the boys’ facilities and transgender girls from the girls’ facilities harms transgender students by

stigmatizing them and impairing their ability to participate fully at school and to enjoy a safe learning environment. I write to in form you that allowing transgender students to access restrooms and other sex-segregated

facilities that correspond to the gender they live every day not only is in the

best interest of the students, but also is required by federal antidiscrimination

law.

Background

A transgender person is someone whose gender identity is different from the

sex they were assigned at birth. For example, a transgender boy is a person

who was assigned the sex female at birth, but his gender identity is male.

Gender identity is a person’s deeply held sense of their own gender.

Medical opinion is unequivocal that gender identity is not a choice.

Many people in school or even before they reach school age have and express a clearly established gender identity that is different from the sex they were assigned at birth.

Requiring transgender students to use the restrooms that correspond with the sex they were assigned at birth, instead of the gender they live every day,

or requiring them to use separate single user restrooms, is profoundly harmful.

Excluding transgender students from the same restrooms used by other students that correspond to their gender identity sends a message to transgender students and their peers that transgender students

should be treated differently and that their mere presence in

the same facilities used by their peers is unacceptable. When transgender students are required to use separate facilities, it does not go unnoticed by other students. Being separated from other students in this way would be damaging to anyone, but it is especially harmful for transgender children. Transgender children are at heightened risk of stress and victimization by other children and adults, and those stressors can lead to problems in adulthood including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, and suicidality.

2

In addition, requiring transgender students to use single user restrooms can cause a host of problems because those facilities may be far from classrooms, causing students to be late for class after using the restroom. Students often try not to use the restroom even though they need to leading to painful urinary tract infections or other problems to avoid being tardy or being forced to use restrooms that do not correspond to their gender identity. Your school or school district’s refusal to allow transgender students to use the appropriate facilities harms their health and well being and disregards widely accepted standards of medical care for transgender people. It also violates federal antidiscrimination law, as explained below.

Legal Analysis

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”) prohibits

discrimination based on sex in any education program, such as a public

school, that receives federal financial assistance.

3

Federal courts have ruled that Title IX’s prohibition on discrimination “on the basis of sex” protects students from discrimination based on their gender identity, gender nonconformity, or transgender status.

4

Likewise, many courts have also recognized that discrimination against transgender people is sex discrimination under other federal laws.

5

Additionally, many states explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity.

Read entire letter at
https://www.aclu.org/letter/open-letter-schools-about-restroom-and-locker-room-access-transgender-students

Hot Potato Topic April #1

Hey, hey my favorite gourmets! I actually did try this out and it was great!
Bon apetit!
The Chef

Chicken Pasta Salad

Ingredients

Time 3 h, Nutrition: 476 calories a serving, Makes: 8 servings

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 3/4 cup steak sauce
• 1 (12 ounce) package fusilli pasta
• 2 cubes chicken bouillon
• 1 Vidalia onion, diced
• 2 avocados - peeled, pitted and diced
• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• 1 cup Ranch-style salad dressing
• Add all ingredients to list

Directions

• Prep 15 m
• Cook 35 m
• Ready In 3 h

1. Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat. Place breasts into a glass baking dish and marinate in steak sauce for 15 to 60 minutes.
2. Grill chicken until no longer pink and the juices run clear. Remove from grill, and chop into bite-size pieces.
3. To a large pot of boiling water, add bouillon cubes and pasta. Cook pasta until al dente. Drain, and rinse under cold water.
4. In a large bowl, combine chicken, pasta, onion, avocados and tomatoes. Mix in salad dressing, cover, and refrigerate until chilled.

 

Hot Potato Topic March #4

Hello Beautiful People!
So what are you currently reading? What is weighing down your night stand? What is keeping you from sleeping or making you rush through your day to get to your favorite spot in your home? From page turning pie burning, wee hour epics to what-was-I-thinking when I selected this title we all have something keeping our interest. Sometimes a Book Club is a great way to find a great read and meet new people. Don't knock it till you try it!
The Chef

How to Start a Book Club

You and your friends love to read and have thought of starting a book club. Well, that's a great idea! But, although it's a fantastic idea, it still requires a bit of planning. No worries, though. Just follow the steps outlined below and have a blast exploring new novels and genres!

Steps

1. 
   1
   Figure out what your book club will read, for both your first novel and in general. Will you be a general adult book club reading anything? A teen mystery book club? Deciding on a theme (or no theme, in the case of the first example) will help you keep you group motivated and supplied with reading ideas.
2. 
   2
   Find a core group of people with a passion for reading. They could be friends, family, or acquaintances you know through various activities, but they should all love to read. Also, make sure that this core group of members can commit to meetings on a regular basis. You don't want your entire group flaking out on you!
3. 
   3
   Decide where to meet. When you first begin, especially if the members are friends or you plan to serve alcohol, meeting your own home is a great idea. Later, different members could "host" different meetings. If there are members that you are not quite as familiar with, or don't want to meet at your house, ask your local library about using some of their space for a book club.
4. 
   4
   Set meeting time length. An hour is a good start. Eventually, two hours or an hour and a half may work better if you add more members to your group. Don't exceed two hours, because when meetings get too long people get bored. When people get bored, they quit coming to meetings. Your club could end before it even begins if it gets a reputation of being boring.
5. 
   
   5
   Poll members of your club. Ask what books they have been reading and what times and dates work best for them to meet.
6. 
   6
   Announce your first meeting. Set the date at least two weeks in advance, to allow for people to have time to read the book. Three weeks is even better. Send out e-mails a week before the meeting to give people a written reminder.
7. 7
   Start thinking of a cabinet. For instance, vote for president, vice president, secretary, and get a few people for a club newsletter. This step is optional for smaller groups, but is very handy for very large groups of over ten or fifteen people.
8. 
   8
   Make a list of about five books and bring it to the meeting. Get ideas for books from the internet or library recommendations. Let everyone discuss and vote upon what book to read for the next meeting. After deciding, let everyone get to know each other and discuss their reading tastes.

   • Serve snacks and refreshments. This can help start conversation and will keep people much more content. Your refreshments don't need to be fancy or expensive; cookies, breads, nuts, and popcorn are all good ideas. Be mindful of vegetarian members or members watching their weight.

Tips

• If nobody comes to the meeting, don't worry. You'll have more people next time

Warnings

• There may be some mutiny when voting for a cabinet, you may wish to not have one for this very reason.

Things You'll Need

• A book
• People
• Imagination
• A place to read

http://www.wikihow.com/Start-a-Book-Club

Hot Potato Topic March #3

News and information you can use!

The Chef

How to Pay for College With No Financial Aid

Along with buying a house, paying for college can be one of the biggest investments you will make in a lifetime. If you don't have access to college financial aid, then paying for your education will take some careful planning. Fortunately, there are alternatives to financial aid that can considerably reduce the economic burden of college. You can apply for scholarships, earn college credit in high school and save money for college from a job.

Part 1

Applying for Scholarships

1. 
   1
   Find some scholarships that may be a fit for you. There are many types of scholarships to help you pay for college, and not all are based on academics. For example, you may qualify for a scholarship based on your ethnicity, your gender, or your parents' military background.^[1]

   • Other scholarships relate to your hobbies and interests, or your area of study.
   • There is no limit to the number of scholarships you can use toward paying for college.
   • Many scholarships renew each year that you are in school. If your funding renews each year, you don’t have to search for other funding sources to replace a scholarship that has ended.
2. 
   2
   Work with an expert who can help you locate scholarships that may be a fit for you. Both your high school and all universities have staff that can direct you toward scholarships. Applying for scholarships can be time-consuming, but it’s worth making the effort.^[2]

   • If you are in high school, sit down with a guidance counselor to discuss your scholarship options. Many organizations that offer scholarships will reach out to contacts at high schools. These organizations want qualified candidates to apply.
   • Ask an administrator at your college of choice about the scholarships the college offers, as well as qualification and submission requirements. If the college administrator helps you find scholarships, there is a higher chance that you will attend their school.
   • Many scholarships are given by organizations to advance a particular mission. You may be required to write an essay, or demonstrate service to the community as part of your application. If you apply for a scholarship from a non-profit, for example, you may have to document how you’ve volunteered in your community.
3. 
   3
   Search the web for scholarship opportunities. Keep in mind that some scholarships are not publicized by the organization that provides them. If you perform a search on the web, you may find opportunities that other students miss.^[3]

   • Search scholarship websites like FastWeb and Sallie Mae's Scholarship Search for programs where you can apply. Through these sites, you can get the information required to apply for the scholarships, as well as what it takes to be approved.
   • Check your locate community newspaper. Many local charitable organizations grant scholarships to students in the community. You may find information about these opportunities in your local paper.
   • Review your local library’s website. Library bulletin boards often have postings of local scholarship funds operated by private parties and area businesses. The library may also post that information on their website.

Part 2

Deciding On A College

1. 
   1
   Earn college credit in high school. Your high school counselor can also help you find courses that allow you to earn college credit. Those credits will reduce the amount of course work you need to take in college.^[4]

   • In addition to your high school, you may be able to take courses at your community college while you are in high school. Those credits can also transfer to a 4-year university.
   • When considering a university, make sure that they accept the transferred college credits from your high school or community college. If they don’t, consider a different university that does accept the credits.
   • Some four year colleges will accept the credit hours, but not the grade you earned. This can still help you, since the credit transfer will reduce the hours required to graduate.
2. 
   

   
   
   2
   Use AP courses and CLEP exams to earn additional college credit. Both of these programs are offered through the College Board. If your high school does not offer certain AP courses, you can take them online.^[5]

   • You can take AP (or Advanced Placement) courses in a variety of subjects, including math, science, history and social studies.
   • After taking an AP course, students sit for an exam. If you score well enough on the exam, you can earn college credit.
   • CLEP offers 33 exams in 5 subject areas. If you pass a particular CLEP exam, you can earn 3 or more college credits.^[6]
3. 
   3
   Analyze the type of college you want to attend. The tuition between colleges can vary greatly, based on the type of school you choose. You can select a public or private university. Your school may be near your home or out of town.^[7]

   • A private university can be twice as expensive as attending a public (or state) university. To keep your costs down, narrow your choices to public colleges.
   • If you decide to attend school near your home, you can live at home and commute to school. This eliminates the need to pay for room and board.
   • You can attend a community college for two years then transfer to a university. The credit hours you pay for at a community college will be cheaper than the rates at a university. You may earn up to half of your university credits at a cheaper community college.
4. 
   4
   Use a work-study program or the ROTC. Many colleges meet the financial needs of students by offering work-study programs. You may also consider a Reserve Officer’s Training Corps (ROTC) program to pay for college.^[8]

   • A work-study program normally involves working a certain number of hours on your college campus. In exchange for your work hours, your tuition costs are reduced.
   • The Reserve Officer’s Training Corps (ROTC) program trains college students for future careers in the military.
   • The ROTC offers scholarships that cover the cost of your college education. In exchange, the student commits to active duty service in their chosen branch of the military.

Part 3

Using Savings And Work Income

1. 
   1
   Start a savings plan for college at an early age. Parents can plan for college expenses when a child is very young. The savings they accumulate can be used for college expenses.^[9]

   • Consider a 529 Plan for your college savings. These plans may allow the investor to invest pre-tax dollars into an investment, like a mutual fund.
   • Because the dollars have not been taxed, more money goes into the investment. Say, for example, that you want to invest $100 a month on a pre-tax basis. The entire $100 gets invested. If you had to pay taxes on the $100 first, you may only invest $80.
   • Set up a family budget. Include an amount of college savings in that budget. When you’re paid each month, move funds into the college savings plan immediately. That self-discipline will help you keep your investing plan on track.
2. 
   2
   Get a job. Even students who do get college financial aid often have to find employment to make ends meet while they go through school. You may need to work full time and attend school part time.^[10]

   • Alternatively, you may be able to work part time and go to school full time.
   • Look into alternatives to traditional shift-work, like multiple part-time jobs. Part-time jobs give you more flexibility to fit in your courses at school.
   • Check your school's website for alternative sources of income. You may find small tasks that pay you something and don't take much time. For example, nearly all colleges need people to take research studies.
   • Consider taking more classes online, if they are available. Some colleges offer degrees completely online. An online program can provide the flexibility that can allow you to work while you’re in school.
3. 
   3
   Look into tuition reimbursement. Some employers offer to reimburse their full-time workers for the cost of tuition. These costs are covered when an employee attends college while they work at the firm.^[11]

   • Employers want their workers to increase their skills. A business may offer to pay for college degrees that increase your value to the firm.
   • If you pursue tuition reimbursement, the company may require you to stay with the firm for a period of time after your courses are completed.
   • If you leave before the time required, you may have to repay the tuition costs to your former employer.

Sources and Citations

1. ↑ https://www.scholarships.com/scholarship-search.aspx
2. ↑ https://www.unigo.com/scholarships/high-school-students
3. ↑ http://www.fastweb.com/
4. More citations and sources at: http://www.wikihow.com/Pay-for-College-With-No-Financial-Aid  

Hot Potato Topic March #2

This article speaks for itself. Enjoy, I'm going shopping!

The Chef 

How to Shop at Thrift Stores

Thrifting is a fun and responsible way to make the most from your shopping dollar. Not only can thrifting provide unique, rare, and vintage accessories for your wardrobe and home, it is a form of recycling that reduces environmental waste and sweatshop labor. Make the most of your thrifting trips by learning how, where, and when to do your shopping.

Part 1

Shopping at Thrift Stores

1. 
   1
   Decide what you are looking for. Listing is a handy way of establishing shopping goals. Also consider the following:^[1]

   • It is often best to have a "master list" and then create a smaller list of short term goals that need to be addressed first.
   • Be prepared to search. Some thrift stores are well-organized by gender, size, type of item, or other metrics. Others are a free-for-all of bins and warehouse space. Dress appropriately and be prepared to sort, lift, tug, and push your way through second-hand items
2. 
   2
   Try things on. Without trying clothing on, it's difficult to tell whether it is worth your money.^[2][3]

   • Ask for a fitting room with a mirror or a convenient restroom.
   • Dress in form fitting attire in case a fitting room is not available. That way you can try on clothing over your existing clothes.
3. 
   3
   Assess quality. Thrift store items are purchased "as is"; therefore, it is important to look all purchases over thoroughly before committing to a purchase. Some things to look for are:^[4]

   • If looking at clothing, check seams, cuffs and collars for wear and damage. Also look for staining around the neck, armpit, and inseam.
   • For furniture, make sure that it is sturdy and does not require repairs you are unable to provide.
   • For appliances, ask to plug the item in to make sure it works before purchasing.
   • Check the washing instructions. Getting a silk shirt for $3 dollars initially looks like a great deal; however, when you consider that it's "dry clean only," the savings aren't nearly so great.
4. 
   4
   Have vision. Part of thrift shopping is having a basic idea in mind but being open to opportunities when you find them. Consider the following:^[5]

   • Recognize when a clothing item could be repaired or resized with minimal tailoring.
   • Have a style and color scheme in mind for each room you are decorating. This ensures consistency of theme and avoids impulse purchases.
   • Listen to your gut. Sometimes you may come across an item that you weren't looking for but which is unique, classic, and perfect for a place in your home.
5. 
   
   
   5
   Set shopping limits. You never know what you'll find thrift shopping and the temptation to impulse buy is strong. Ways to avoid over-purchasing are:^[6][7]

   • Go shopping with a price limit in mind and stick to it. This may be a limit you set per item, or for the overall trip, but the idea is to remain mindful of how much you are spending.
   • Don't buy it unless you love it. If you are on the fence about something, take another spin around the store and think about it. If you come back and aren't committed, it wasn't meant to be.

Part 2

Thrifting Tips and Tricks

1. 
   1
   Use your smart phone. This works great for vintage or antique items when you are not sure an item is worth the price listed. Go to Google or eBay and see what it would retail for elsewhere.^[8]
2. 
   2
   Shop for sales. Many stores like Goodwill have weekly "Tag sales," where items with a certain color tag go on sale. Other stores have clearance racks or do periodic sales to clear out inventory. Some larger volume stores even do sales by the pound for items like clothes and linens.^[9]

   • Don't be afraid to haggle. Did you just miss a sale on a large item purchase? Are you making multiple purchases and want to round off the total? Don't be afraid to ask for reasonable accommodation, especially if you are a regular customer.
   • Don't believe the "SOLD" sign. Sometimes the item is already paid for; however, often people say they will come back for something then find something else they like better at a different store. If you see something you love with a sold sign, talk to an employee and/or manager. It's possible the item has been sitting like that for days and no one remember to remove the sign.
   • Always ask for a discount. Does the item in question have a few flaws that are worth a discount? Is the store running a sale that day? If you are buying sale items, often employees can extend the sale to the rest of the items in your purchase.
3. 
   3
   Look for "best value" items. Some types show up in thrift shops looking kind worn out or dated. Other items are donated regularly and you'd never know they were used or second-hand. Look particularly for the items below:^[10]

   • Belts: Accessories like belts are one of the first items to get decommissioned from a wardrobe when styles change. An advantage to belts is that, with a little creativity, the buckles can be replaced and a strip of plain leather doesn't really go out of style.^[11]
   • Shoes: Decent leather shoes command steep prices in most retail stores, so when you can pick up gently used ones at a thrift store for 90% less, it's a significant savings for your budget. Plus with a little oil and polish, they can look brand new.^[12]
   • Furniture: Often stores like Rooms-to-Go and Target will donate last season's merchandise to area thrift stores for tax purposes. In addition, vintage furniture can be recovered, repainted, or reupholstered with new fabric to look like a chic DIY dream.^[13]
   • Jeans: New branded jeans can run from $50 to upwards of $200 dollars while shopping for next-to-new, second-hand jeans usually means paying $10-25 a pair. Especially after Christmas, it's easy to find them with tags still intact.
4. 
   4
   Talk to thrift store employees. The people who work in thrift stores are a wealth of information. Things to ask about are:

   • What days do shipments arrive? Employees can tell you what days they get new items in and when things go on sale.
   • Who are they partnered with? They can tell you whether their store has a donation program with a larger retain store where they take possession of clearance items from a prior season.
   • Have you seen [x] item? If you are a regular customer and make donations, thrift stores will often let you know via phone or email when a specific item you are looking for comes it.
5. 
   5
   Know how to spot a bargain. People often send items to thrift stores not knowing their actual value. Consider the following when thrift shopping:

   • Brand warranties: Some appliances and kitchen tools have lifetime warranties. For example, Le Creuset cookware is ensured against rust along with other cosmetic issues. Proof of purchase is not required to send an item back to the factory and receive a replacement, free of charge.
   • Antiques and hidden treasures. Despite wear and condition, items often go to thrift stores that are invaluable, based on their rarity and place within history. If you suspect you've found such an antique, use a smart phone to look for it online and see the price tag other sellers have placed on it.

Part 3

Finding Thrift Stores

1. 
   1
   Search online. Many thrift stores have websites that will show up in a basic search. Also consider using thethriftshopper.com to find smaller, independent stores along with larger stores in your area.
2. 
   2
   Consider location. The types of residents living around a thrift store can be a good indicator of the sort of items and level of quality you can expect from a thrift store. For example:^[14][15]

   • Thrift stores in more affluent neighborhoods have better quality furnishings than thrift stores in other parts of town. Also, residents in affluent areas are more likely to redecorate based on style and not necessity, meaning that it can be easier to find matching items of good quality.
   • Thrift stores near college campuses are always stocking name brand clothing.
3. 
   3
   Thrift on vacation if possible. This works best when vacationing with a car. Especially if you are visiting a large city, larger volume thrift stores tend to offer a wider selection of items, often of better quality. there's also the chance that trends in the area you are visiting are different than where you are from, and you could find unique and eclectic items.^[16]
4. 
   4
   Utilize other discount shopping venues. Thrift stores are not the only source of bargain shopping.

   • Flea markets. Show up early-- 6am is a good estimate. Do a sweep for furniture items first, picking and choosing what you want. Don't be afraid to haggle, but be fair to the seller. Once you've found furniture and larger items, load them and look for smaller items-- furniture, accessories, clothing, etc.^[17]
   • Consignment stores. These are a type of second hand store that purchases clothing from sellers as opposed to selling donations. This makes them more expensive than thrift stores, but they are a dependable source of well-made, discounted, name brand clothing that is in fashion at the time of purchase.
   • Neighborhood yard sales. While yard sales occur in every city almost every weekend, in order to maximize shopping and save time, look for neighborhood yard sales. These often take place in a single location, like a church or school, or span several blocks, with people selling from their own yards. These are a great way to find furniture and antiques.
   • Estate sales. The ultimate source for gently used antiques, ranging from furniture and dishes, to jewelry and quilts. These take place literally on the "estate" where a person lived and require a little more foreknowledge and research in order to get the best deals.^[18]

Part 4

Creating a Thrifting Schedule

1. 
   1
   Get on email lists and shop online when possible. Most chain thrift outlets like Goodwill and the Salvation Army will put you on a mailing list for coupon and sale opportunities.

   • These same stores often take pictures of furniture and other "in demand" items and post them online. Reviewing online offerings before shopping can save you trips around town.
2. 
   2
   Shop seasonally. Anticipate what people will be turning out of their closets at certain times during the year. When planning your thrifting trips, for certain items, consider the following:

   • Shop for summer clothes in the fall when people are thinning out their warm weather clothes in favor of sweaters and coats. The same goes for getting winter clothes in the spring.
   • Look for kitchen items and accessories after college graduations. When students are done with school, they often move back home or to a new city for employment, leaving behind many gently-used kitchen items, lamps, bedding items, etc.
   • Look for furniture during the summer and early fall. More people get married during the summer than any other time of year and often have duplicate furniture items that wind up at thrift stores.
3. 
   3
   Have a weekly rotation. Looking to get the best deals that thrifting has to offer? Create a weekly rotation for thrifting, centered around when new shipments arrive at each store. Other things to consider are:^[19]

   • Shop early. If you want to get first pick, arrive as the store opens.
   • Shop late. On sale days, some stores are looking to clear out all items on sale, and will offer deeper discounts just before closing.

Warnings

• Wash then wear. Thrift stores are required to wash clothing before it goes on the rack. However, it is necessary to wash or dry clean all linens, clothing and blankets before use. This ensures health and safety against illness.
• Avoid personal products. Be careful purchasing undergarments or body products at thrift stores. Also remember that makeup items, even if sealed, have an expiration date. Cream blushes and foundation, depending on age, can go rancid without being opened. Never purchase items that are already open, as makeup can cause and/or spread infections.^[20]

Sources and Citations

1. ↑ http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/10/16/thrift-store-shopping-tips_n_4108664.html
2. ↑ http://theartofsimple.net/12-tips-for-thrift-store-shopping/
3. ↑ http://money.usnews.com/money/the-frugal-shopper/2014/03/06/9-thrift-store-tips-and-tricks
4. more citations and sources at http://www.wikihow.com/Shop-at-Thrift-Stores