Okay, I saw Rebecca's forecast and I like it! For me, It takes cool, almost cold, drizzly weather for it to seem like the holidays. The twinking lights are great, but they don't have the same impact as twinking lights and rain or fog or even better yet, the threat of possible snow flurries! But that's where it all ends, I don't like lots of snow and I certainly don't like ice. Call me a perfectionist, but for the holidays, the weather shouldn't be perfect.  

Hip and thigh as it turns out. Take a look around and I think you'll see skinny jeans everywhere, and not doctors say they come with health risks like nerve damage in the hip and thigh, in fact it has a name, 'tingling thigh syndrome.' Guys are also wearing skinny jeans and the tight pants can cause the same problem and worse, try low sperm count on for size. All of this is temporary providing you lay off the skinny jeans for a bit. Women I interviewed today told me that beauty is pain, now I understand what they're talking about.

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) has established a new Medical / Good Samaritan Amnesty policy in an attempt to prevent future deaths from alcohol poisoning.

For a young person, nothing could be worse than living with the memory of a friend who died because you were afraid to make a phone call.

Signs of Alcohol Poisoning:

Person cannot be roused / unconscious

Person appears confused or in a stupor

No response to pinching the skin

Vomiting while sleeping

Seizures

Slow breathing (fewer than 8 breaths per minute)

Irregular breathing (10 seconds or more between breaths)

Low body temperature (hypothermia), bluish skin color, paleness

They run, they jump and they use the concrete jungle as their gym. They are called freerunners and what they do is a great way to get outside and get some exercise. Freerunners use park benches, tables, urban art and walls as their gym. They run, they tumble and climb. It all looks so easy, but they take great care in making sure they don't get hurt. Oh sure, they have lots of bumps and bruises, but no broken bones. One freerunner told me he had no idea how many calories he burns in a one hour romp through Dallas, but he says he's never been in better shape. Here's to being a kid again. For me, it sounds like a great way to take the work out of workout.

The AP did a survey of NFL players and the results were surprising.

Thirty of 160 NFL players surveyed from Nov. 2-15 replied that they have hidden or played down the effects of a concussion.

The AP embarked on the most extensive series of interviews about concussions since the subject became a major issue this season, talking to five players on each of the 32 teams -- nearly 10 percent of the league -- seeking out a mix of positions and NFL experience to get a cross-section of players.

 

Should your dress or pant size matter when it comes to paying for an airline ticket? That is the big debate after an American flight attendant took a picture that was then posted to an aviation blog.

The picture shows a large man, sitting on the arm rest and spilling over into the aisle. We don't know, "the rest of the story", but it raises questions about obese passengers. Some airlines already charge extra if a person needs two seats, but American doesn't do that on a routine basis. American says it tries to be "flexible" with those who have a little extra weight. 

But what if the overweight passenger inconveniences others or worse puts other passengers in danger? Tell me what you think and share some of your experiences. 

How about baby home delivery, without the benefit of a doctor or midwife? Healty officials say more and more women are doing just that. It's called do-it-yourself birth. Women claim it's liberating and what giving birth is supposed to be all about. As you might imagine, doctors think it's a pretty bad idea because even the healthiest of women can have complications. Unassisted deliveries only comprise about 1% of births, but it certainly gives new meaning to home delivery.

There is going to a huge wave of air traffic controllers retiring soon.  Some estimate the FAA will hire 17-hundred new controllers a year for the next 10 years.  So, if you go through air traffic control school now and get certified by the FAA you are almost assured a job.  Air traffic controllers average about 92-thousand dollars a year and can make 130 to 155-thousand dollars a year with great federal benefits.  But, there is a catch.  This is when everyone in the newsroom heard the bummer buzzer from "Price is Right" show.  You have to start your training before your 30 and must retire by 56.  The FAA will take controllers for training that are 31 if they have had some military training.  It turns out the FAA says this job is so stressful and intense they recruit young people because they can handle the pressure better and are less likely to burn out if they make it through the first year.  L-3 Link out of Arlington just gave young people a fast track on that career as well.  Instead of going to college for four years and then getting certified, L-3 Link's program in Denison in Grayson County is only 10 months long.  Tuition is about 41-thousand dollars.  But, when you graduate you're can basically take your pick of jobs.  It is definately a career young people need to keep on their radar.

High school student across Texas dream about their class ranking. I'm told that it is so stressful when the numbers are assigned that many students cry or scream if they drop a rank or two. That stress is real in many competitive districts, where students struggle to be top of their class.

Normally a Bradie James sack is mean and vicious, but on this day it brought joy to some underprivileged children. Be sure to join us tonight at nine to see how The Cowboys Defensive Captain made Christmas a lot merrier for those less fortunate.

Many residents who live a natural gas well are now wondering, is it safe? Recent air sampling reveals high levels of a cancer causing toxin near some wells. Who wouldn't hear that and worry just a little. 

Don't want to be late to work? If you drive on State Highway 114\112 you may want to check dfwconnector.com before heading out. The website will offer drivers updates on lane closures, alternate route maps and construction schedules. Work on the massive project is set to begin in Feb.15.

Here are a few of the Tiger Woods Text messages to alledged mistriss Jaimee Grubbs.

July 20, 3:04 p.m.

Tiger: Hey Sexy I can't come out this week. Something came up family wise

Jaimee: That's okay I hope everything is fine ... would have liked to see you

Tiger: We will make it happen

-----------------------

Sept. 27, 6:38 p.m.

Tiger: do you have a boy friend (8:45 p.m.)

Jaimee: I don't even have someone I am dating ... no ... u can be my boyfriend

Tiger: then I am

Jaimee: I wish

Tiger: quiet and secretively we will always be together

Tiger: when was the last time you got xxxx

----------------------------

Oct. 18, 3:40 p.m

Tiger: send me something very naughty

Jaimee: some things are worth waiting for lol ... besides im at work

Tiger: go to the bathroom and take it

Jaimee: haha ur too much

Rembember writing that letter to Santa as a kid? Maybe you asked for a new bike or roller skates. Well, these days kids are asking for food, clothes and even a job for a parent. It is a reflection of the hard economic times.

US Postal Office employees tell us that this year they are reading letters from more kids who seem to be needy. Many say it is heart-breaking to hear a kid ask for socks, instead of a game. Some say it shows just how aware children are of what is going on around them.

There are plenty of ways that you can help. The Salvation Army Angel Tree program is still down thousands of gifts for less fortunate kids. You can head to a local mall and pick one up, soon. You can also check out many of the other charities that are helping needy kids. Look for my story at the33tv.com.

I was your typical kid, doing something I wasn't supposed to be doing. I remember it well, I was in the basement of my parents house using a nasty, rusty saw. You guessed it, I sawed right into my left index finger. I went to the doctor and got a Tetnus shot and soon after my shoulder became very swollen. I was allergic and had to wear a medical ID bracelet for years. My, how times have changed. That bracelet was tiny and not very cool to wear. Today I did a story about a medical ID bracelet, dog tag style that has a USB device loaded with your medical information. It's cool and high tech. I interviewed a girl who has numerous health issues and she loves her dog tag. It give her peace of mind knowing that if she can speak for herself, her USB device will speak volumes. I really didn't like my bracelet, but I think I could wear the dog tag.

Thousands of rape survivors are waiting and waiting and waiting in Dallas. There is evidence that could identify their rapists, but it is sitting in storage on dusty shelves, untested in rape kits.

Dallas police say there is a tremendous backlog, about 10,000 rape kits. The money isn't there to test all of the kits. It costs about $1,000.

Survivors like Cindy Herb want to see the process speeded up. She was raped more than 40 years ago, when she was 9. She says a rape kit was done, but isn't sure it still exists. She hopes that one day it will be able to point her to the man who took her innocence. 

And now Danish scientists prove it! They studied more than 1,800 twins in their 70's and found that the twin who appeared younger, lived longer. We talked to a doctor who says the study basically supports what doctors have always known. If you look older than your age, there may be an underlying health issue. 

Here is the bottom line: If you're in your 30's or 40's and you're still getting carded, you have to reasons to be happy.  

You don't want to get a mother upset and right now there are a few moms in NE Tarrant county who are pretty angry. These women are writing editorials, forming Facebook groups and overall being vocal about gas drilling in North Texas. 

I've always loved coffee. Even when I was a kid. I even like the free stuff here at the TV station. Some people bring in their own stash. Not me, even bad coffee is good coffee. That might be a good thing because a new study indicates there may be a link between coffee and it's ability to lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Researches analyzed a bunch of studies and found that people who drank 3 to 4 cups a day lowered their risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 25%. Decaffeinated coffee and tea also showed an ability to reduce the risk. Doctors aren't yet conviced, they want to see more evidence, so don't expect doctors to say "drink three cups of coffee and call me in the morning.

Now, excuse me while I go brew a pot of the Christmas blend.

The holidays are fun and a great reason to celebrate, but what happens when you host a party and your guests or corporate employess have a little too much to drink? According to the lawyer I interviewed, social hosts are pretty safe and secure from liability. Companies are too, except if they serve the booze. And those drink tickets they hand out? It doesn't matter how many you have, servers and bartenders must, by law, stop serving you when you've had too much to drink. In most cases I'm told, the bartenders and servers are liable. All of this is good information, but if we all just drink a little less and keep an eye on our friends, maybe liability is something we won't have to worry about this holiday season. Cheers.

You may not know what CART stands for, but you should. It is the Child Abduction Response Team. This task force just received certification as the first response team of it's kind in the state. These are police officers who really care about kids.

If a child is abducted, this is the team that will respond. These team members could make the difference between life and death for a child. This unit will put dozens of officers on the scene, quickly and that is critical when minutes count. It is shocking, but statistics show that if a child dies it is usually in the first 3 hours.

Tell me your close calls as a parent? Was there a time that you felt your child was in danger?

Generic or name brand? That's my question. A growing number of people claim that generic drugs simply are not the same as name brand. The FDA says they work fine. I don't think twice about when my prescription includes generics, maybe that's because I assumed they were just like name brand only made by a different company. But the experts say some generics have different fillers and release phases but over time they work just the same. So what do you think? Do you notice a difference in generic drugs? Feel free to post a comment. 

And the time limit the Transportation Department has imposed on the airlines is three hours. Three hours as in how long the airline can keep you on a delayed airplane on the tarmac. We're all heard the horror stories of people being held hostage on a plane for hours and hours. The DOT didn't just say three hours, it said three hours and the airline gets fined $27,500.00 dollars for each passenger on board the delayed/stranded plane.

People who support the passengers bill of rights say it's a victory. The airlines claim it will cause cancelled flights rather than delays. A passenger I interviewed for the story today worries that airlines will just pass the cost of the fines on to the passengers via more baggage fees. I'm torn. If I got stranded on a tarmac for more than three hours I would vote with my feet and simply not fly that particular airline. The government reaps the reward of the $27,500.00 while the passenger gets nothing other than another delay or now, if you can believe the airlines, a cancelled flight.

The family of 55-year old William Linsey didn't expect him to live through liver cancer, but he did. Now, they hope he can survive what some never expected, an arrest. Linsey was charged with three counts of intoxication manslaughter after slammed into a group of motorcyclists, killing three of them.

Prosecutors say Linsey was intoxicated on prescription drugs. His family says he used the powerful painkillers to numb the pain of cancer. But, officials say he had levels far above the normal level.

By all accounts, Linsey has never been in trouble before. But he could get jail time if convicted. What do you think. Should this cancer survivor be given some leniency? 

Dallas police say they are getting ready to release a better version of the surveillance video that was released yesterday in hopes of finding the gunmen soon. 

You have to love tecnology, until it breaks down..but that's another story. This story is about a new high tech way to get some quick advice from your doctor. It's called NowClinic, a new web based way for patients to have a face-to-face chat with their doctor. All the patient and doctor need is an internet connection, prior relationship and an online appointment. For $45.00 the patient gets a ten minute consultation with the doctor. The doctor we interviewed stressed that it's not for emergencies and doesn't replace your annual exam.

We also intereviewed a patient who is about to not have access to health insurance. He told us he's interested in NowClinic because you don't have to have insurance. Proponents say it will expand access to doctors. Opponents say it's just not a good idea. The doctor we interviewed told us he just wants patients to have choices. Now his patients can choose between a virtual visit or going old school and driving to the doctors office.

Santa is tightening his belt this holiday season.  No, nothing to do with food.  Everything to do with gift-giving.  The economy is causing EVERYONE to cut back on the presents this year and kids might be disappointed come Christmas morning, IF they're not well prepared.

It's weird, this summer I had thoughts of the holidays. I couldn't wait for the first Christmas commercial. There is something cozy about it. I'll have to admit, it was great to see that first commerical, it meant a change in the weather and all the great stuff that comes with it. So what the heck happened to me? My wife and I were so busy this year, we didn't even put up a tree. Last year, we put up TWO trees. Here's what I think the problem is. We bought a fake tree that could not be a bigger hassle to put up. It's big and jammed into a box in the attic and to make things worse, it has glitter all over it. When it's all decorated, it's beautiful, but it takes most of the fun out of of Christmas. Here's the real problem: We vaccumed glitter through the 4th of July. Our cats looked like something out a science fiction movie. It just feels weird this year not having a tree or garland or anything around the house. When we decided not to decorate a tree this year I didn't think twice. Now, I think we should have done it. Maybe next year, I don't want this to become a trend.

It is a scary thought that you could be driving down the road and the accelerator could stick. That is the problem occuring with some models of Toyota and one the federal government is certainly concerned about. 

Okay. I enjoyed the white Christmas, now enough already. I still have snow in shady areas around my home. I scraped ice off of my driveway two days after the storm..but wait..there's more. More SNOW in fact. Yes, we're supposed to get more snow, and maybe ice, on Tuesday.

I really enjoyed the Christmas Eve storm, but I'm now ready for spring. Baseball anyone? 

That's the kind of snow event I like. Just show me some pretty snowflakes on a chilly day and then make it all go away. I am not a fan of the lingering snowpack or the ice patch that won't go away for a week. I still have some snow on my lawn. It's la little like the guest who is the last to leave the party. Tuesdays snow event was the perfect guest, light up the room, and then leave.

Made you look! I did a story today about Prevnar, a vaccine that's been on the market for ten years. It was designed to protect against common childhood illnesses. Doctors say it's worked wonders, sort of a wonder vaccine. According to a new study, there is even a side effect, believe it or not, because kids get sick less often, older adults are spared getting sick, especially during the holidays. I interviewed a doctor who said the number of adults getting sick after the holidays has dropped. It's because kids on vacation and around older family members, including grandparents.

The next generation of Prevnar is expected to be approved and available early next year. Grandkids and grandparents alike will be happy.

Members of the Allied Pilots Association Union said the U.S. Transportation Administration should done more to warn in-air pilots about the failed terrorist attack on a Northwest Airlines flight Christmas Day.

Below is a copy of the letter sent to some APA members.

Fellow pilots,

We continue to examine the process by which intelligence about the Northwest Flight 253 event was disseminated from the Transportation Security Administration to the airlines and then to our airborne crews. Our initial investigation has found several communications failures.

The TSA should have mandated that information about this security event be passed on to all airborne flights. Instead, TSA specifically directed airlines to implement security measures for inbound trans-Atlantic flights.

At our airline, SOC complied with the instructions and sent the message only to the trans-Atlantic arrivals. APA believes that American Airlines should have sent this information to all airborne flights, so that all of our captains would have been aware of the threat and could have made the proper adjustments to their in-flight security procedures.

Further investigation has yielded additional information about why our pilots and airline were left out of the loop during this critical time. Initial reports of the event came to SOC via an FAA ATC conference call, rather than directly from the TSA. It is our understanding that American Airlines did not receive any official notification about this event from the TSA until the receipt of the Security Directive (SD) at around midnight on Dec. 25. According to our investigation, the first TSA conference call that management participated in concerning this event occurred on the evening of Dec. 26.

Clearly, we have seen a large-scale communications breakdown concerning this terrorist event. The APA Security Committee, in concert with the APA Government Affairs Committee, has been in contact with the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security to discuss these issues and suggest changes for the future to ensure that our crews are informed in a timely manner. To take the guesswork out of the process, we are recommending that the TSA mandate that airline managements immediately notify all airborne flights any time there is a Level 3 or Level 4 event. It is essential in times like these that we act swiftly to ensure our crews are prepared to thwart any terrorist attack.

Congress has expressed a desire to examine the issues associated with this event, and your APA Security Committee and APA Government Affairs Committee will bring all of these issues to its attention.

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Hard to believe, but this is my last blog entry for 2009. I'll keep it short.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Come back next year-

Barry