What you need to know about anaphylactic shock

School is back in session, and sports are underway. If someone in your family has allergies to specific foods, stings, or other substances, you need to know what anaphylactic shock is and what to do if someone you're with suffers from it.

You'd be surprised, for example, to know how many foods are prepared using peanut oil, which can be fatal to some.

Check out this link:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1070360/anaphylaxis_can_be_life_threatening.html?cat=70

Ten Ways to Save on Eating Out

Are you tired of feeling guilty for even planning to have one restaurant meal a week? Fed up when suddenly there's nothing on the menu less than $14.95 at your favorite family restaurant? Then try these tips:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1022542/10_ways_to_save_money_eating_out.html?page=2&cat=22

Practicing the Art of Strategic Shopping

You've read the grocery inserts in the local newspaper. You've used coupons. You even planned five dinners last week.

But your family's food expenditures are still way too painful for your income.

Read about a new way to think about buying food:

http://www.helium.com/items/1171120-how-to-save-money-on-food

How Americans Got Labor Day

We associate it as a day of blessed rest from work, to enjoy picnics and barbecues, to mark the end of summer, and sometimes the day before school starts.

But where exactly did we get Labor Day?

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/987282/how_americans_got_labor_day.html?page=2&cat=74

Honoring a Champion: Genuine Risk

At 31, she was the oldest living Kentucky Derby winner.

She was one of only three fillies to take on the boys at the Derby and ultimately leave them in the dust.

Genuine Risk died on Monday, August 18, 2008, at the farm in Upperville, Virginia, where she was much loved and admired during her retirement.

She led the life that all horses deserve. Her owners looked out for her and guarded her privacy as she aged. This year, she was not available for fans to greet during the Hunt Country Stable Tour on Memorial Day weekend.

From time to time, those of us who loved her sent her goody baskets through a local vendor.

Apparently, "Genny" ate a hearty breakfast on Monday, then was put out in her paddock, where she passed away. She will be sadly missed by thousands.

Sleep tight, Sweetie. You showed the boys.

How to pick the right distance education program

They're everywhere these days: in the newspaper, on TV, on the radio and in endless e-mails. You can find a distance learning program for almost any subject on the Internet.

How do you figure out which one is best suited for you? Try this link:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/944081/how_to_choose_the_right_distance_education.html?cat=4

Easy tips to spend $100 less next week

School is about to start, which means a ton of stuff to buy. Two months from now, you'll see the results on your credit card.

Almost everybody would like to spend $100 less next week than normal. Here's how:

http://www.helium.com/items/1141734-how-to-save-100-next-week

Debtors complaint: we can't afford to file for bankruptcy

It's certainly ironic. But it's also true: thousands of Americans in debt up to their eyeballs consider filing for bankruptcy each year. However, a change in the bankruptcy law has made this unaffordable to many of them:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/924163/filing_bankruptcy_now_too_expensive.html?cat=17

Saying Goodbye to Prof. Randy Pausch

Although we all knew he probably couldn't live much longer, Randy Pausch's death on Friday, July 25, 2008, from the complications of pancreative cancer was a shock.

Pausch had last posted on his cancer update page on June 26. He noted that due to poor results from recent chemotherapy, he was considering abandoning further attempts and would look at immunotherapy as an alternative. The ensuing month's silence was a little unnerving for those who checked his site daily for updates.

On July 24, a poster who identified himself as a friend of the Virginia professor wrote that Pausch's health had further declined, that he was no longer able to post, and that he was enrolled in hospice care.

The next morning, the news services announced that Randy Pausch, 47, had just died in his Chesapeake, Virginia home. He leaves behind a young wife and three small children.

Randy Pausch touched millions of us far beyond the "Last Lecture" he delivered at Carnegie Mellon University in September of 2007. He's the guy we actually "knew" even though we had never met him, and his loss is huge.

While writing that you envy someone who knows he's terminally ill is a bit odd, many of us did just that. We envied him that he knew he had a short time to live and was able to squeeze the most out of every hour. We also wistfully noted that unlike so many terminal patients, who have to slave at their 8-to-5 jobs until they literally drop, Randy Pausch was able to spend his remaining time after diagnosis doing what were the most important things in this world to him: spending time with his family, testifying on behalf of finding a cure for pancreatic cancer, donning a pro football jersey for a practice session, and just plain making the world a better place.

Medical review casts doubt of value of breast self-exams

We all did them routinely in the hope that we might save our own lives someday.

But do breast self-exams for women have any value? A new review suggests they might not and that they might actually cause unnecessary biopsies:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/898757/review_nixes_value_of_regular_breast.html?cat=70

Is it Time to Dump Your Doctor?

No question about it: the health care system in the United States is either broken or cracking rapidly. If you have a condition requiring you see a physician regularly, you might be becoming more and more frustrated with each visit. Read how to determine when it's time to dump your doctor:

http://www.disaboom.com/Living/livingforward/dump-your-doctor.aspx

What to do after your job interview

Should you just sit at home and wait for your 'phone to ring? Or write a brief thank-you note for the opportunity to interview? Here are some helpful suggestions:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/869201/how_to_write_a_thankyou_note_after.html?cat=31

Do you suffer from restless leg syndrome?

If so, you'll want to check out this article. It provides details of a study suggesting the effectiveness of the conventional medications might actually wane over time:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/861423/restless_leg_medication_might_lose.html?cat=70

Making Childhood Dreams Come True

What did you want to be when you weren't an adult?

Almost everyone has childhood dreams. But did yours come true?

Mine did:

http://www.helium.com/items/1085129-writer-free-lance-barbaro-thoroughbred-racing-kentucky-derby-retirement-animal-rescue

Saying farewell to one of racing's kindest

If you passed Mike Becker on the street, you wouldn’t guess he was a philanthropist in any sense of the word.

Philanthropists come in many shapes and sizes. The most common image we have is of a wealthy, aging donor who supports the arts or perhaps an alma mater.

Becker, 49, didn’t come close to matching this description. Nearly penniless when he died May 23, 2008 after a long, debilitating struggle with the complications of diabetes, he had kindness imbedded in every cell of his body.

The love of his life was Influent, the thoroughbred he used to own but for whom he was forced to find a new home due to financial problems. Influent, who is healthy and happy today, won nearly $1 million before his retirement.

Becker was well known in racing circles. He frequented the tracks at Monmouth and Belmont. At one point, he worked as a groom for Genuine Risk, the Virginia filly who is the oldest surviving winner of the Kentucky Derby.

Injured when he was hit by a tractor-trailer, he became partially paralyzed but recovered to a large extent over time. A settlement from the accident enabled him to buy and train some horses. However, he gave away most of his winnings and often provided unsuspecting employees with on-the-spot cash bonuses for jobs well done. He in effect ran his own informal version of a children’s charity, allowing kids to pick a favorite horse and then giving them a portion of the earnings. He spent very little on himself.

Becker’s legacy lives on in the fans of the great 2006 Kentucky Derby winner, Barbaro, who was euthanized in 2007 due to complications of laminitis. When the former thoroughbred owner’s story of medical and financial woes hit the site most frequented by the Fans of Barbaro (FOBs), they mobilized to try to unite him with Influent.

Unfortunately, he died without seeing Influent again. Through the selfless efforts of one woman, Colette Mulhall, Becker’s plight reached hundreds of readers. He is undoubtedly watching over many animals today. And the FOBs will keep his memory alive in thousands of acts of kindness to animals, some random and some orchestrated.

Rest in peace, Mike Becker.