Author: Alerts CC

Approximately 35 million men are currently experiencing some form of hair loss, but could some of that hair loss be a result of holiday stress? Winter is harsh on the body, sapping moisture from skin and forcing many to stay indoors. The holidays are certainly a time of joy, but also a time of stress for many.

However, according to workplace psychologist Jennifer Newman, managing stress is the key to enjoying the holidays with minimal impact on your body, including your head of hair.

Newman explained that the holidays are difficult for many workers who must juggle work in addition to increased responsibilities at home. “Unrealistic expectations are more likely during this time of year,” she added.

The pressure to not only act happy, but make others feel happy, also rises during the holiday season. These additional pressures can work negatively against the body, even changing hormone levels.

Hair loss specialist Alan J. Bauman, M.D. explained that the holidays typically elevate cortisol levels, which is “a type of steroid hormone produced by the adrenal gland,” explained Bauman. Cortisol, besides being associated with stress, can influence a condition called telogen effluvium, also known as excessive shedding.

In other words, holiday hair loss is a condition that plagues many people over the winter. In addition to loss of sleep and extra physical demand over the holidays, avoiding stress can seem impossible.

Above all else, Newman recommends acknowledging the issues and recognizing them as they appear. One of the biggest problems for many, she explained, is depression or anxiety. Social gatherings can often be an additional stress on those who struggle with anxiety. In these situations, Newman recommends thinking about seasonal topics and avoiding controversial issues.

In addition, Newman has advised workers to steer clear of holiday deals and advertising when possible. The pressure to buy can often place extreme financial pressure on people, increasing levels of stress even more.

Newman also warned against perfectionism. She said that above all else, you should know yourself and be aware of any perfectionist tendencies.

With 90% of American households regularly indulging in a sweet, frozen treat, it is no secret that over eating and having a high body weight are just a couple of the reasons so many take up the same New Year’s resolution: losing weight.

Unfortunately, only eight percent of Americans actually accomplish their New Year’s resolutions. However, recent research has shown that this may not be all too bad for our health after all.

The American Psychiatric Association warns that New Year’s resolutions could be a leading factor behind many Americans developing orthorexia. This eating pattern, while not officially recognized as an eating disorder or a different category of mental illness, is the fixation on eating healthy.

According to the APA, orthorexia is described as a “dietary pattern in which an individual restricts intake to include only ‘healthy’ foods, such as vegetables or organic foods, but in doing so develops significant problems, such as an obsession with food and severe weight loss.”

The association goes on to explain that while orthorexia starts off as a simple commitment to clean eating, this healthy behavior soon becomes chaotic. Although those who start eating healthier have good intentions, the APA is noticing more cases of orthorexia occurring as a result of the mainstream ideas surrounding healthy eating and fad diets.

“Veganism and clean eating have seen a surge in popularity in recent years,” the APA explains to Medical Daily. “The decisions to eat food that is closest to its natural state and/or not to eat animal products are not inherently problematic choices or cause for alarm. … It is when the need to eat ‘good’ foods becomes ‘extreme, obsessive, psychologically limiting and sometimes physically dangerous’ that it is disruptive to an otherwise healthy life.”

However, orthorexia is not widely understood, so those who suffer from it may be misdiagnosed. Its symptoms are similar to both anorexia and restrictive food intake disorder. Orthorexia is seen in those who already suffer from mental illnesses such as obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety.

While members of the medical community have pushed to have orthorexia classified as its own eating disorder, the idea is in dispute. Opponents believe orthorexia is too similar to the behaviors seen in bulimia, anorexia, and OCD to distinguish it as a new disorder.

Nevertheless, doctors believe the risks of orthorexia are everywhere. They note that gluten-free, dairy-free, and carbohydrate-free products are more popular than ever, even though dairy and gluten intolerance aren’t as prevalent. Plus, with celebrities bragging publicly about their juice cleanse diets, doctors warn the risk of developing orthorexia or any other eating disorder is all too possible.

Not only that, but a new study from Vanderbilt University found that consumers tended to only buy healthier food if it was more expensive. An additional study determined that if consumers had two similar food items and weren’t sure which was healthier, they’d choose the more expensive one.

This assumption that a higher cost equates to healthier food is false, researchers report. Associate professor Kelly Haws of Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management actually proved the opposite. She believes that despite theories, eating healthier doesn’t necessarily mean the food will cost more.

Haws explains to FOX 17 that studies show a healthy equals expensive bias when choosing food. In her studies, if a cheaper food was explained to be healthier, the consumer would spend more time researching the food and reading reviews.

As a result, Haws believes consumers on a budget are paying too much for their nutrition despite having the information that allows them to make budget-conscious decisions that are good for both their bodies and wallets.

Last year, the global construction equipment market was estimated to be sized at around $145.5 billion USD, but if President-elect Donald Trump has anything to do with it, that number may be on the rise.

Back on the campaign trail, Trump promised to spend $1 trillion within the next 10 years on a variety of infrastructure projects if elected. While that number may seem extreme, financial analysts believe this promise can lead to the approval of a spending bill already sitting in Congress.

“The GOP Congress is likely to work with Trump to pass a budget reconciliation bill that includes major tax and health-care changes, and the president-elect is probably going to want an infrastructure component as well,” said Loren Smith at Capital Alpha Partners LLC, a Washington, D.C.-based consultancy to the Wall Street Journal.

Since his win was announced, construction stocks have soared to new heights. Concrete, sand, and gravel suppliers Vulcan Materials Co. and Martin Marietta Materials Inc. grew to 10% and 12% respectively, while companies Manitowoc Co. and Terex Corp, which both manufacture construction equipment, increased 15% from the week before.

Trump has explained that he would develop a system of tax credits that will finance much-needed upgrades to roads, bridges, and airports through a partnership with public and private construction businesses.

While establishing these relationships can take a good chunk of time, financial analysts believe the long-term financial gain will be significant. As of right now, infrastructure work accounts for $150 billion going back into the U.S. economy. Trump claims that his suggested infrastructure program can increase that number 60%.

However, Trump hasn’t released any details on what projects he plans to create while in office. The only specific idea he identified is building the controversial border wall with Mexico. But if that plan ever got off the ground, the materials would come from an international company instead of a domestic partnership.

“If the wall were to be built, then we would of course be prepared to supply building materials for it,” said a spokesman for Germany-based HeidelbergCement AG.

It’s common to make renovations on your home. While 35% of remodeling jobs involve the entire home, most only focus on one or two areas. Yet one Wisconsin couple hired a contractor to do work on their gutters and deck before the winter weather hit, but unfortunately did not get what they paid for.

ON July 22, Richard Hunn of Waukesha made his second payment to Thomas Krivitz, owner of TK Improvements, for the services he requested. The contract stated that Krivitz was to start the project in 15 to 20 days, and would finish within 10 days. After receiving a total of $11,400 from Hunn, Krivitz did not return to the job site.

An investigation by Waukesha Police began on Sept. 16 to address the possibility of contractor theft and fraud, and what they found was astonishing.

During their investigation, the police found that Krivitz had spent $350,000 while gambling. After learning this, the police launched a further investigation to find out if the contractor had duped other victims as well. So far, police know of three victims and they expect more to come forward soon.

Prior to hiring TK Improvements, Hunn said that he’d researched the company with the Better Business Bureau, as well as checked out its references.

The company is not accredited with the BBB, but it does hold a B+ rating.

While he didn’t find anything incriminating, Hunn expresses remorse for not backing out sooner.

“I should have caught it a lot sooner,” said Hunn. “[Krivitz] was just making things up as he went along.”

Hunn does not anticipate getting any of his money back, but hopes that by launching the investigation and paving the way for more victims to come forward, no one else will suffer the same fate that he and his wife have. In the meantime, he’s still worried about having his deck and gutters fixed.

“I’m stuck now trying to find somebody else to finish this job before winter hopefully,” said Hunn.

Thomas Krivitz has been charged with theft by contractor, a felony, and is expected back in Waukesha County Court at the end of October.

Waukesha County Police are still looking for additional information about Krivitz as well as any additional victims. If you have any leads, please call Detective Tom Casey at 262-524-3924.

According to the U.S. Office of Comptroller of the Currency, an employee who recently retired took along with him over 10,000 activity and staff records sometime in November 2015.

The unnamed worker copied a “large number” of files onto two thumb drives and, when asked to give them back, stated that they were lost

This internal security breach is being treated as a major event, but luckily, the risk to the government is not high. The data was encrypted, and thus far there is no sign that any information has fallen into the wrong hands.

The main issue for the OCC is that the data left the premises in the first place. Data and other security breaches cost America’s hospitals about $6 billion every year.

In August of 2016, the OCC implemented a new policy barring employees from transferring data to removable storage without a supervisor’s approval.

The policy came too late to prevent this particular incident, and investigators also stopped what might have been another breach on September 1st. These episodes reflect poorly on the United State’s cyber security efforts.

In the summer of 2015, hackers breached a computer at the personnel department of the U.S. government, compromising the data of over four million current and former employees.

The breach was later traced to China, but the Chinese government claimed that it was the work of criminal hackers, not state-sponsored ones. The hack resulted in millions of people having extremely sensitive information, including their fingerprints, Social Security numbers, and background checks stolen, the OPM director Katherine Archuleta resigning, and the government offering to pay to protect employees from possible identity theft.

A baseball ticket in the 1920s may have only cost a single dollar, but today, the average ticket price for a seat on the Green Monster in Fenway Park is about $165. Thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, however, one young Red Sox fan now has his very own replica of Fenway Park in his backyard.

Ten-year-old Thomas Hastings of Windsor, Connecticut has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a genetic disorder that causes progressive muscular weakness and degeneration. Because of his condition, Thomas was never able to participate in his favorite sport, though that never diminished his love of the game.

When Make-A-Wish reached out to Thomas, there was only one thing he wanted – a ballpark. To make his dream come true, hundreds of people from the community came together to build a near-exact replica of Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox.

The replica was completed in just 34 days. It features the iconic Green Monster, the Citgo sign, a Pesky Pole, a bullpen, a press box, and bleacher seating, which were donated by the Red Sox themselves. A ramp was also installed so that Thomas, who spends around 50% of his time in a wheelchair, can play, too.

“That’s one of the things that was so great about his wish, it’s giving him back the ability to compete,” said Thomas’s father, Brad. “His love for baseball is deep.”

Thomas attended his first Red Sox game at the age of three and threw the first pitch at Fenway in 2014. He is also an honorary member of the University of Hartford’s baseball team.

The Hartford team, family, friends, and contractors all visited Thomas’s “Fantasy Fenway” last month for the opening game. Thomas threw out the first pitch, of course, and performed the pregame routine of his favorite player, David Ortiz. Windsor police transported attendees to the Hastings home in shuttles.

While the miniature ballpark was still under construction, Dave Mellor, the head groundskeeper at Fenway Park also paid a visit to Thomas to show him his World Series rings.

Brad said of his son, “He was 100% in his element. Here’s a kid who gets so tired out and so worn down so easily, and he was running on pure adrenaline, so full of energy.”

Studies show that over half of homeowners who upgrade their outdoor living spaces spend six or more hours there per week. If it were up to Thomas, he’d probably spend all day out on the baseball diamond with his friends.

Biking is one of the more favored American pastimes, with nine million bike trips made every day. One of the biggest hindrances to the sport, however, are bike thefts, which are extremely commonplace. Luckily, a new bike lock is in the works to make theft a lot more difficult — or disgusting.

The inventors at SkunkLock have developed a new bike lock that shoots a noxious spray into the face of a bike thief, causing them to vomit uncontrollably.

“Basically we were fed up with thefts,” said Daniel Idzkowski, one of the inventors of SkunkLock. “The real last straw was we had a friend park his very expensive electric bike outside a Whole Foods, and then went to have lunch and chat. We went out and his bike was gone.”

The friend had used not one, but two expensive bike locks, each costing $120.

Indeed, most locks are completely ineffective at preventing theft from those with the right tools — according to Idzkowski, thieves can cut through most locks in under a minute. He said they “talk in seconds: a 15-second bike, a 20-second bike, and it goes up to 30-60-second bikes, with Kryptonite locks that require two cuts, each about 25 seconds”.

So Idzkowsji and his co-inventor, Yves Perrenoud, created a U-shaped lock made of carbon and steel and containing a hollow chamber with three pressurized gasses. When about 30% of the lock is cut through, the gasses erupt in the direction of the gash.

“It’s pretty much immediately vomit inducing, causes difficulty breathing,” Idzkowski said. “A lot of similar symptoms to pepper spray.”

The lock has not been tested on any real thieves yet, but the inventors have tested it on themselves and volunteers at various distances. Their chemical has passed compliance tests and is legal.

The entrepreneurs are crowd-funding their lock, raising funds using an Indiegogo fund — a pledge of $99 promises a SkunkLock of your own in June 2017.

For many of us, even a small increase in our monthly utility bills could throw off our entire budget. But what would you do if your next bill was nearly 10 times its normal amount?

That’s precisely what happened to Moreno Valley resident Jay Rajcevich and his water bill. When Rajcevich called the utility to find out what he owed, he was shocked to hear an amount that was eight times the normal bill. In August and September, Rajcevich’s water usage hovered between 600 and 800 gallons per day, for which he paid around $165 per month. But in October, his bill showed that he used over 4,000 gallons of water a day and owed $1,307.68.

Considering the fact that Rajcevich’s water usage has remained consistent over the past 20 years, both he and water district officials suspect that a water leak was the cause of the sudden increase. Water leaks are a common cause for spikes in usage and amounts owed. In fact, 10% of homes have leaks that waste 90 gallons or more on a daily basis. But thus far, Rajcevich has been unable to locate the leak.

Though Rajcevich has expressed frustration with the water district, they maintain that the onus of finding and fixing leaks is on the customer. Due to liability concerns, utility companies cannot task their employees with locating the leaks and cannot make recommendations to find someone who can.
“That’s not our role and responsibility,” said water district spokesperson Kevin Pearson. “It’s up to the customer to seek out somebody they are comfortable with to help them repair that issue.”

The response may seem surprising, given its California location. Though the state reversed its mandatory water reductions in May, California is still struggling to manage one of the worst droughts in its history. The mandates are now set by the districts. Moreno Valley is currently in Stage 3C of its water shortage contingency plan, which eliminates all excessive use water budgets.

Rajcevich initially suspected that his swimming pool or koi pond might hold the key to finding the leak, but after turning off the water supply to both for a few days, he was no closer to locating the source. He’s shut off the irrigation valve to the sprinklers in his front and back yards, checked all pumps and valves, and sought help from the two lawn maintenance workers who installed the sprinklers. But he still can’t figure out where the leak might be originating from.

The water district has informed Rajcevich that he can apply for a charge reduction as part of a program they offer for concealed leaks, which a property owner has no reasonable way of being aware of. He may be able to get the charges lowered by his utility company, but these options offer little comfort. For now, Rajcevich will have to continue to search for the source of the leak and hope that he will soon find a solution — before he’s drowning in water bills.

Renderings from Milestone Communications confirm that a cell phone tower is to be built near an elementary school in Fairfax County, causing parents to worry about the health of their children.

Mothers and fathers of students at A. Scott Crossfield Elementary School are protesting the plans for the cell phone tower, which will be built next to the school’s playground.

“[The tower] would expose our kid to long-term radiation very close to where there is a permanent population,” said parent Randy Griffin.

Parents like Lisa Namerow, whose son will start kindergarten at Crossfield Elementary next year, are banding together to ask the school system to reject the proposal.

“They have control over what happens here, so if they want to withdraw the application – which is what we’re asking for – they have the power,” said Namerow.

A recent study from the National Toxicology Program revealed a link between cell phone radiation and cancer. The study was conducted in Chicago at the Illinois Institute of Technology, and its findings were reported worldwide.

Researchers continuously exposed 3,000 mice and rats to high levels of RF for two years and found that eight percent of the subjects developed brain tumors and other complications as a result.

“I think this is a signal,” said Dr. David McCormick, the lead researcher on the project. “I don’t think this study is definitive in saying yes we have a smoking gun here. However, it’s a signal that something may be going on.”

According to McCormick, the location of the cell tower antenna is a major risk factor. He noted that RF radiation decreases dramatically as one moves further away from the tower.

“If this is at the level of the roof that antenna could be pointing more or less directly into a classroom or an occupied space,” he said. “You know, 25 feet from the tower is an awful lot different than if it’s 100 feet or 200 feet away from the tower.”

Other experts say that if there is a clear and unobstructed view of a cell phone tower facing your location within a distance of about 984 feet, you are advised to consider radiation shielding solutions.

Fairfax County Public Schools, however, told local NBC affiliate News 4 that “Radiation emitted by cell towers is well below the limits set by the FCC.”

Regardless, parents are concerned that if this plan is approved, cell phone towers will soon be built at dozens more schools across the county and the state.

A skyrocketing number of construction-related deaths has prompted the demand of information on recent accidents from NYC officials and labor groups.

Specifically, these groups want the city to classify the growing numbers by specifying whether the jobs being completed were on union or non-union sites.

Advocates have long argued that union workers are not only more skilled, but also safer on a job site. However, the lack of information on the job sites where injuries have occurred has made those claims difficult to confirm or deny.

“Tracking it may actually be helpful in finding out what’s actually going on,” said Councilman Jumaane Williams, who chairs the Committee on Housing and Buildings.

Williams went on to say that the statistics could provide critical data that tells city officials which workers are safe and which are not.

The construction boom may be great for the industry, but the skyrocketing number of deaths and injuries has led to stop-work orders all over the city.

However, the debate between the qualifications of union and nonunion workers isn’t new. In fact, they first surfaced with the 2015 death of 22-year-old hardhat Carlos Moncayo, an Ecuadoran immigrant who was killed at a Meatpacking District construction site.

The city experienced an increase in construction deaths that year, as well.

However, another city is experiencing construction concerns, though not as serious as New York’s.

A flashing construction sign in Chicago was recently hacked to display a disparaging message about the city’s mayor.

The sign read, “Rahm Lies, Children Die.”

Apparently, it wasn’t the first time a construction sign had been hacked in the area, either.

In October 2015 a similar message was put on another construction sign and displayed for all to see.

The only question now is whether or not the hacker will come forward. Both instances involved the speedy removal of the disparaging messages.

Unfortunately, New York’s problems won’t be solved so easily. Approximately 98% of privately owned buildings are constructed in permit-issuing areas, but there’s no way to tell if they’re union or nonunion sites without data released by the city.