Stroke is uncommon in women, especially in younger women. But there's an alarming study out showing that women are experiencing strokes at an accelerated rate:

Nearly 2 percent of women ages 35 to 54 reported suffering a stroke in the most recent federal health survey, from 1999 to 2004. Only about half a percent did in the previous survey, from 1988 to 1994.

Men in the same survey did not show an increase. The risk factor that appears to be in play is increased obesity.

The increase makes stroke more common in middle aged women than in men, a significant reversal from the previous statistics, where men in this age range had twice the rate of strokes.

The article notes that these women were on medications to control blood pressure and cholesterol, which are supposed to limit the risk of stroke.

While they are showing that women are getting larger around the waist, I'm skeptical. Surely the men are putting on pounds at a similar rate, and yet their risk did not change in this survey. What could be going on?

"Everyone's a rail fan. Some people are just quieter about it than others."

That's what a gentleman said to me when I asked him if he was a railfan. Diehards are easily recognized by their casual identification of a location that is to the casual observer, nowhere.

But I loved the truth in it. Trains are special. A road trip, the classic American vacation is fine, but the train version is far better. A dining car, the chance to walk around, no sleepy drivers, easy bathroom access - all of the inconveniences of car travel are gone. Even a familiar path is different from the tracks.

He works for Burlington Northern, and he grew up in Wyoming. So, he comes by his knowledge from more than mere fandom. He tells me that the switch we've just passed is the path to Cheyenne.  We talk about Amtrak, and the perennial battle to keep it alive in Congress. The track we're on used to be on a regular route between Denver and Seattle, but it was dropped despite ample ridership because somebody in Washington had to make a budget cut. He tells me about the towns in Wyoming that used to rely on the train in winter, that are unaccessible by road when the train can still get through. Not many people can tough it out.

Amtrak doesn't suffer from lack of ridership. What vexes it is an upfront, obvious subsidy that has to be explicitly renewed each year. Highway funding does not require reauthorization, and the need for highways is obvious even to the dullest Congressman. Airlines are barely profitable even though they don't pay for their own airports or runways. Amtrak, forced to get by on crumbs, rents time on the tracks from the freight companies, which run their cargoes first, making Amtrak trains late and slow. The tracks are functional, but they're not the sleek, smooth tracks of Europe that permit bullet speeds. Even at 50 MPH, the train rolls and jerks from side to side as it travels.

Why are we the only industrialized country without a solid passenger rail system again?

There are several interesting health-related articles over at the Los Angeles Times at the moment, but this one in particular caught my eye:

Girl, you'll be a woman sooner than expected

Earlier breast development is now so typical that the Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society urged changing the definition of "normal" development. Until 10 years ago, breast development at age 8 was considered an abnormal event that should be investigated by an endocrinologist. Then a landmark study in the April 1997 journal Pediatrics written by Marcia Herman-Giddens, adjunct professor at the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, found that among 17,000 girls in North Carolina, almost half of African Americans and 15% of whites had begun breast development by age 8. Two years later, the society suggested changing what it considered medically normal.

The new "8" -- the medically suggested definition for abnormally early breast development -- is, the society says, 7 for white girls and 6 for African American girls.

Like some of the mom-scientists quoted in the article, this whole thing makes me twitchy. My daughter the second grader was upset because one of her classmates is getting breasts, and where are hers? What the heck is going on with this? No one knows, and no one is really even sure how we can do the experiment at this point. We're awash in all kinds of potential culprits - or maybe it's just a result of better nutrition? Mother Nature doesn't expect us to have such reliable access to food. But even then... it just doesn't seem like a good idea for the reproductive plumbing to mature so far ahead of the rest of the body structure.

I just wanted to alert y'all to this very funny recommended diary on DailyKos, where you'll be treated to a different angle on last night's Republican debate. Click here to enjoy a 9-year old rendition of a fight between Sarge, Wrinkles, Bunny Ears, Oily, Beagle Eyes and Carrot Face.

This reminds me of my own childhood and interest in politics. The earliest election I remember is Carter v. Ford, and I was actively interested in elections after that. I remember with some chagrin supporting Bush Sr in 1980, until some family members discussed with me why they supported Carter. My elementary school population was mostly very conservative, and naturally my opinions were shaped by my friends. Over time, I developed my own strength of conviction, and I remember being the only one in my Government class to vote against a law one of the kids proposed, to outlaw the clubbing of baby harp seals in Canada. It's not that I didn't like harp seals, but I didn't think we could pass a law that affected only Canadians. I recall my teacher was quietly proud of me but highly amused by the whole discussion and how it played out.

My seven-year-old says she'd vote for Duck for President (which is a very funny sequel to Click Clack Moo). Are your kids taking an interest in the election?

Vegetable Dishes I Can't Live Without, by Mollie Katzen

I first heard about this cookbook on a segment on NPR, where Katzen was cooking something as unlikely as sauteed greens and making them sound good. When my local bookstore promoted it, so I stopped in to browse it. I was intrigued enough that I had to buy it on the spot, maybe as a gift, maybe for me, details to be worked out later.

So I tried it out. The recipes were simple, things I could easily try for the first time on a busy weekday, and used ingredients I mostly already had. In the 10 busy days before Christmas, I made 6 new recipes from it, each a success. Yum! I started shopping specifically for some of the recipes. I hid it Christmas Eve, furitively checking pages in the bedroom, so that I could cook with it without tipping off my possible recipient. When Christmas came, I liked it so much that I did give it away... but then I couldn't live without it ... so I bought it again.

There are a couple of things that make this cookbook really sing for me. First, the recipes are quick but add great flavor, so they're worth a few minutes of trouble. Instead of plain green beans, which I make frequently as a side dish, with just a few more minutes I made a fabulous Green Beans Amandine, with far more flavor. I liked it so much that I barely had any of the main dish that night, and stuffed myself with green beans and almonds. Brussel sprouts: it turns out that if you boil them first, then sear them with some nuts and some salt - yum! Even the 7-year-old liked them. DH (infamous veggiephobe) enjoyed the artichoke and spinach gratin. I made goat cheese stuffed mushrooms and a broccoli and apple dish with a simple honey mustard dressing. And then there are the recipes that I haven't tried, but sound really intriguing: Green Beans with Crunchy Peanut-Lemon Coating. Gingered Asparagus. Coated Carrots. My cast iron pan has gotten a big workout.

If you're looking to get more vegetables into your life, check this book out. They're wonderful everyday dishes, and yet different enough to perhaps tempt the resident veggiephobes.

Our daughter had last week off and this week off, and we've done pretty well staying active, going outside, and having fun. But now it's storming and we're supposed to get 7-10 inches total by the end of the weekend. I think it's a good thing that I haven't planned on doing any major work while she's home this week.

She begged me to play chess yesterday, so we did. She's getting better at it, and she no longer sulks if I take one of her pieces. But just to show you that kids can add imaginative play to anything, when I took her bishop, she had him shower the Queen with kisses when I took too long to make my next move. I told her it was a good thing the Queen was not in line-of-sight of the King.

Somehow, I doubt Kasparov ever tried this technique against Deep Blue.

When my daughter was very young, I was looking for some good kid-friendly music that would suit us both. One of my friends suggested getting a CD of the HMS Pinafore, Gilbert and Sullivan's opera. It didn't really click with my daughter then, but I pulled it back out last month and we have been listening to it in the kitchen while cooking. I especially enjoy the sly political satire:

    I grew so rich that I was sent
    By a pocket borough into Parliament.
    I always voted at my party's call,
    And I never thought of thinking for myself at all.
         I thought so little, they rewarded me
         By making me the Ruler of the Queen's Navee!

            CHORUS. -- He thought so little, etc.

Of course, with lyrics like that jumping out at me, completely applicable to the current occupant of the White House, and perhaps to his party in general, I had to go get the whole libretto, which is impossible to decode from the audio alone. And I needed the context. Why would they write this in 1878? Were they clairvoyant, or more likely, do we have the same politicians as they did, perhaps preserved with a fine waxy coating? I wanted to know all about how and why this opera came to be.

There are some novels that become part of you forever.

The Speed of Dark, by Elizabeth Moon, is one of the most unusual books I have ever read. Set in the not-too-distant future, Lou Arrandale is autistic. Thanks to a variety of therapies, he holds a highly specialized job as a pattern recognition specialist for a pharmaceutical company, and lives on his own. He's learned to behave as "normal" as possible, even as he wonders exactly what "normal" people are like. His therapists tell him things that he knows cannot be true. Normal people are clearly not all the same.

Dr. Fornum says I should learn to enjoy music other people enjoy. I do. I know other people like Bach and Schubert and not all of them are autistic. There are not enough autistic people to support all those orchestras and operas. But to her other people means "the most people." I think of the Trout Quintet, and as the music flows through my mind I can feel my breathing steady and my steps slow to match its tempo.

Our small, rural public school district has a wonderful program, which I've written about here on several occasions. It is a K-12 campus, with about 20 kids per grade; students don't fall through the cracks, and there are many opportunities for individual attention. The staff is dedicated and bright and happy. As a California Distinguished School, we're doing quite well by the state's measures for our demographics. I've met many adults who graduated from this district, and I find them to be well educated and happy people.

Like many, it is experiencing declining enrollment and declining funding. The staff and school board have been actively investigating options for making the school more attractive in an increasingly competitive education environment. With increasing home prices and smaller families, there are fewer children in our 200 square mile territory. Open enrollment allows students to attend any school in the area, and some parents choose schools nearer their place of employment, or to go to the larger neighboring high school. Several excellent private and charter schools are in the area. Many parents opt to homeschool for various reasons, including commuting times and scheduling flexibility.

Our district is investigating the concept of a 4-day school week, with an optional 5th day that will be supported via the current afterschool program. They envision concentrating the academics into Monday through Thursday, leaving Friday free for field trips, art projects, sports, perhaps some theater and music, and other activities that don't fit into the tightly regimented, STAR-testing influenced day. Bus service would be provided for Fridays, so working parents would not be left at loose ends. (Indeed, it might end up being better for working parents, with the elimination of the dreaded minimum days.)

There are quite a few school districts running similar programs, particularly in Oregon and Colorado, and they generally like it. Very few have changed back, and they find that parents and students and staff really like the new schedule. Benefits have included lower absenteeism and lower dropout rates. High school kids are better able to schedule part-time work. Athletes miss far less academic time travelling to away games.

So, MotherTalkers, what is your reaction to a 4-day week? What questions would you have, and what features would you need? Would you be more inclined to actively enroll your kids in this situation, or more inclined to actively avoid it?

I am one of the luckiest people alive.

Today, even though it was a Saturday, the day's tasks ran long and I found myself doing my evening chores into twilight and dusk.

I love that time at my place, a rural parcel in Northern California, especially on a clear evening. I especially love that special moment when the shadows shift from the east to the north, because the illumination of the moon has overtaken the light of the sun.

When I got the school lunch calendar for this month, I was shocked to see how early Thanksgiving came this year - and reminded that this year, the calendar gives them the whole week off. Last year they had Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday off. And, last week was a short week for Veterans's Day - made even shorter for us due to a nasty cold that kept her at home an extra two days.

My first reaction was mild despair - I love spending time with my daughter, but as work-from-home parents, it is both easy (in that, unlike my neighbor, I am not scrambling for child care) and hard (in that, unlike my neighbor, I can't really take a whole week off without doing any work). Only now am I realizing what a gift it was for my mother to be a teacher, getting the same holidays as me automatically. Christmas with a child is a joy when you have the week off to prepare together. I don't know how anyone who works retail manages to celebrate and decorate with their own families.

Thank you for posting, Shenanigans. It is shameful that such devastating news takes a back seat to what is happening in our own backyards. -Elisa

Category 4 Cyclone Sidr is coming ashore in the Ganges delta, pummelling Bangladesh and India. The last time a large storm hit this area, which like New Orleans, is low-lying and extremely vulnerable, over 500,000 people died. Half a million. Our losses as a nation pale, reminding me how fortunate we are to live in a wealthy nation with strong infrastructure. Winds are at 155 MPH and the storm surge is at 18 feet and potentially higher.

See FishOutO fWater's DailyKos diary  or Weather Underground for more.