Longer commutes may steal health and fitness ? - CNN.com Blogs

Anybody who has a long daily commute knows the frustration of sitting in traffic with nothing to do but wait. Now, a study suggests that long commutes can take away more than just precious time - they also negatively impact your fitness and health.

Previous research has linked longer commutes with obesity. But this new research is believed to be "the first study to show that long commutes can take away from exercise time,? explained lead investigator Christine M. Hoehner of Washington University in St. Louis.

Long commutes are associated with "higher weight, lower fitness levels and higher blood pressure, all of which are strong predictors of heart disease, diabetes and some cancers,? she said.

One discovery that Hoehner found a little surprising was how ?being exposed to the daily hassles of traffic can lead to higher chronic stress and higher blood pressure.?

Here's how the research was conducted: Scientists studied 4,297 residents from the Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin, Texas, metropolitan areas. They documented their commuting distances, body mass indices, and metabolic risk, including waist circumference, fasting glucose and lipid levels and blood pressure. Participants reported their physical activity for the previous three months.

What did scientists learn? ?Commuters who said they drove longer distances also reported they took part in less moderate or vigorous physical activity. They had lower cardiorespiratory fitness, greater body mass index, waist circumference, and higher blood pressure.

For a little historical perspective - as obesity rates have increased - so have the number of American commuters and the length of commute times.

Between 1960 and 2000, workers commuting in private vehicles jumped from 41.4 million to 112.7 million, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. And as suburbs have sprawled across the nation since the 1950s, commuter miles have increased too, along with the time drivers spend sitting behind the wheel. according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

For many commuters, moving closer to work isn't an option but Hoehner said there are solutions that can lead to more exercise.

Commuters should find ways to work physical activity into their work days said Hoehner, by doing things like walking during work breaks. Employers could also help, she said, by encouraging fitness break and by offering schedule flexibility to commuters, if possible.

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Alabama state senators could vote today on immigration law ...

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Alabama State senators could vote as soon as today on pro?posed revisions to the state's stringent immigration law.

Key Republican legislators met last week to discuss potential changes to the immigration law. Rep. Micky Hammon, R-Decatur, has sponsored a bill that passed the House of Representatives. Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale, has introduced his own bill that would make fewer changes to the law.

"I think it will be late (Tuesday) or Wednesday," when the Senate votes on a possibly rewritten version of the House bill, said Sen. Jabo Wag?goner, R-Vestavia Hills. Waggoner is chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, which decides which bills go to the floor for debate.

"They are still talking and negotiating and tweaking and working on the bill," Waggoner said.

Beason said he and Hammon, legislative leaders and lawyers met for more than 11 hours last week discussing how much to change various sections of Alabama's law -- including the "reasonable suspicion" section that would allow police officers to question and detain suspected illegal immigrants.

"We went through every single section that I had adjusted, or the House had adjusted, and had a debate, lively debate at times," Beason said.

"It was a long, long process," Beason said.

Beason said he had not seen a draft of a new bill yet.

Hammon, who collaborated with Beason on the original 2011 law, said legislators still were having discussions, and the goal is to have a clear law that will be enforced.

"The bottom line is illegals are starting to come back to Alabama now," Hammon said.

Beason said one of the issues that was discussed was not changing sections of Alabama's 2011 law that are similar to an Arizona law now before the U.S. Supreme Court. The court is expected to rule on the constitutionality of that law this summer.

Senate President Pro Tempore Del Marsh, R-Anniston, also said he hopes to get the bill up for debate early this week.

"I believe Tuesday -- Wednesday at the latest -- we will be on the floor with the legislation," Marsh said.

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How to Get Your Swimming Pool Ready for Summer

Opening your backyard swimming pool for the season takes more than filling it up and jumping in. Larry Biscornet, president of LBI Swimming Pools in New Rochelle, N.Y., has been in the swimming pool business for 50 years, and he knows the importance of opening a pool correctly?both for the health of the swimmers and the pool. "If a swimming pool is opened properly, you can be assured of proper operation and chemical safety," he says. Here's your eight-step guide to getting ready for lazy summer afternoons.

1. Don't Empty Your Pool

First, Biscornet says, never empty your swimming pool, even if you live in a really cold climate, unless you have no other choice, such as if you need to do structural work or your pool hasn't been covered and there are too many leaves at the bottom to remove. (Also: Get a cover. Really.) That's because draining the pool can bring big problems. For example, an empty pool in a high water table can lift out of the ground without the weight of the water holding it down.

Biscornet says most pool owners aren't even aware of the risk. "People think they're going to empty and clean their pool but they either do it in a very wet season when there's a high groundwater table, or their swimming pool actually sits in a high water table," he says. "When you empty a pool in a high water table, it's very possible that the pool will pop out of the ground like a boat." That could mean a complete pool replacement.

2. Clean It Up

Start the process of bringing your pool up to shape with a "chemical open." Put the filtration system together, clean out all the baskets, and remove any plugs that you put in when the pool closed last year. For now, leave the cover on the pool while you're working on it.

3. Top It Off

If the water level has fallen over the winter, top it off. Make sure to clean the filter before you turn it on. Clean a cartridge filter by removing the cartridge and wash with a hose. If you have a D.E. filter, you might need to take it apart, clean it, and reassemble it. If you have a sand filter, set the filter to backwash, which will clean the sand. Then turn it to the normal setting.

4. Have a Pro Test Your Water

Biscornet recommends having the water professionally tested. Take a water sample to a swimming pool store, Biscornet says, and they'll test the water for you, usually for free (and maybe some up-sell). "It's a good idea because they'll do a complete test," he says. "They'll test the mineral content of the water, along with the total alkalinity and the pH and the chlorine levels." They'll tell you which needs to be adjusted and by how much.

5. Balance Your Chemicals

Time for some chemistry, based on your pool pro's analysis. Here are Biscornet's recommendations:

PH levels between 7.2 to 7.4. The pH level dictates how much chlorine turns into hypochlorous acid in the water. Use soda ash to increase pH; muriatic acid or sodium bisulfate to decrease.

Total alkalinity from 80 to 120. Alkalinity is a pH buffer?pH levels will be consistent if the alkalinity level is correct. Use sodium bicarbonate to increase alkalinity, muriatic acid to decrease it.

Calcium hardness from 150 ppm to 250 ppm (parts per million). This is directly dependent on the hardness of the water. The softer the water, the more calcium it will absorb from its environment. "If you don't put [calcium] in the water, it will take it from the grout in the tiles," Biscornet says. "It will actually ruin a marble dust (a finish product), it will even effect vinyl." Adjust the calcium hardness by using calcium chloride.

Chlorine from 1 ppm to 3 ppm. A popular product for backyard in-ground pools are cyanuric-based tablets (the ones that look like large white hockey pucks). "Cyanuric acid inhibits the sun's ability to burn off chlorine," Biscornet says. "It's like a sunscreen for the water."

You can put the tablets in your skimmer baskets, but their low acid content means they'll eat metal?a problem if your pool has a metal filter system or a heater with a copper heat exchanger. So Biscornet recommends getting a plastic chlorinator, which attaches to the filter system. Get a pro to hook this up.

6. Wait for the Water to Clear

Don't dive in yet. The filter has to be cleaned every day until the water is clear. Expect the entire process to take about a week. You may have to add chlorine to keep it at the right level. Only when the water is clear and you can see the pool floor should you remove the cover. Remove the cover too soon and you'll end up with more leaves and pollen and debris to clean out.

7. Housekeeping

After you've removed the cover, time to vacuum all the leaves and debris from the bottom.

8. Maintain

For the rest of the season, keep the filter clean, vacuum the pool each week, and test the chemical levels every day. Biscornet also advises having a pro test the water once a month.

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Google+ lets you broadcast your Hangouts

You've gotten so good at hanging out ever since Google+ launched last year, isn't about time you started broadcasting your act? After a good deal of time in a limited rollout, the social network is offering up its Hangouts On Air feature to everyone. Now you can broadcast yourself on Google+ or YouTube. On Air lets you monitor views and record and re-share the content after the fact. Get down with the explanatory video after the break.

Continue reading Google+ lets you broadcast your Hangouts

Google+ lets you broadcast your Hangouts originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 May 2012 06:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tuna Scrape: The Pulverized Scrap Fish Paste Inside Your Spicy Tuna Roll [Gross]

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