Vol. 18: #38 • The Mighty Spider Web • (9-18-2022) Tidbits of Coachella Valley

by Janet Spencer

While you may be among the populace majority who regard spiders as loathesome and menacing insects to be avoided, these creatures of the arachnid family posess a unique ability well worthy of our admiration and respect. This week Tidbits looks into the amazing world of spider webs and the ways their construction and design have revealed remarkable discoveries in modern science!

AN AMAZING SUBSTANCE

• Spider silk is incredibly elastic, able to stretch up to 130% of its original length, and it is five times stronger than a similar strand of steel. It is also chemically inert, stable at high temperatures, waterproof, and non-allergenic.

• Silk originates in the spider’s body in the form of liquid protein. As the spider squirts it out, it passes through a narrow tube which forces all of the protein’s molecules to align in the same direction. This orderly alignment turns the silk strand into a solid, rod-like, semi-crystalline thread as soon as it contacts the air. Look at a

TRIVIA

1. GEOGRAPHY: Which European country has the largest population?

2. HISTORY: The storming of the Bastille took place in which country in 1789?

3. ASTRONOMY: What is the brightest star in any constellation called?

4. MYTHOLOGY: Who is Thor’s father in Norse mythology?

5. COMICS: Where is the superhero Aquaman from?

6. MOVIES: How many characters does Mike Myers play in the “Gold member” movie?

7. LITERATURE: How many lines does a haiku poem have?

8. TELEVISION: What was the name of the ranch on the 1960s west ern “Bonanza”?

9. U.S. STATES: Which state’s offi cial animal is the raccoon?

10. BUSINESS: What is the Ford Mustang automobile named after? Answers

1. Russia.

2. France. It is celebrated on July 14. Alpha.

• In the early stages of the space program NASA realized the need to acclimate astronaut candidates by subjecting them to zero gravity conditions. In 1950, the U.S. Air Force recruited two German brothers, aeronautical engineer Fritz Haber and physicist Heinz Haber. They proposed simulating the microgravity in airplanes that would make parabolic flights in a wave-like configuration similar to a rollercoaster. In 1957, the Air Force began what would become NASA’s Reduced Gravity Program for astronaut training.

• During a typical flight, the plane flies out over the sea, climbing in a wave pattern of steep climbs and sharp dives. As it climbs up the parabola, or the top of the “hump,” passengers achieve several seconds of weightlessness at the peak. The plane then dives back toward the ground, pulling up to create the bottom of the wave. Passengers experience nearly 2-Gs, twice the tug of Earth’s gravity from the midpoint on the way down, across the bottom and then apward climb halfway back up.

• Adjusting the flight pattern can vary the pull of gravity and adjust the amount of time spent in weightlessness. Complete weightlessness generally lasts about 25 seconds. Passengers can experience different gravity sensations, ranging from Martian gravity (about one-third of Earth’s gravity), which lasts about 30 seconds, or lunar gravity (one-sixth Earth’s gravity), which lasts about 40 seconds. This maneuver is typically repeated forty times during a two-hour flight, making up to one hundred parabolas on some flights.

• Because of the nature of the unusual body stresses, many people will begin to experience varying degrees of motion sickness. Generally, one-third become violently ill, one-third become moderately ill, and one-third do not get sick at all. Thus, it has fittingly earned the nickname “the Vomit Comet.”

• In 1973, NASA took over the program from the Air Force. However, since 2008, a private company, Zero-G Corp., has handled the training. Although the program was designed for astronaut training, it’s open for use by other curious people as well -- who can afford it.

Branson, have all taken flights on Zero-G planes. In 2007, renowned physicist Stephen Hawking flew on G-Force One.

• Actors in the movie “Apollo 13” Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, and Bill Paxton, were probably the most famous visitors on the Vomit Comet in the 1990s. Set designers created a spacecraft interior adapted to fit inside the airplane, then the cameras captured shots on film, 25 seconds at a time. Director Ron Howard leased the aircraft over six months to achieve the needed footage of weightless shots.

• Today you can book a ride on the Zero-G Experience now for $8,200. Each ticket includes 15 parabolas, your own Zero-G flight suit, a “Regravitation Celebration,” a certificate of weightless completion, photos, and video of your unique experience.

• To avoid becoming ill, it’s recommended that you always try to stay right side up even if it is more fun to have your feet on the ceiling. Doing flips in mid-air is fun but will exacerbate the nausea. Try to lay down during the period of heavy gravity. You are also welcome to partake in motion sickness remedies, including either a pill or an injection of an intense version of Dramamine which slows the movement of fluid in the inner ear. Don’t make any quick motions while on the ground after taking these meds as it interferes with the sensation of movement.

Office: 760-320-0997 email: valleybits@msn.com

Contact your Tidbits representative immediately with changes or corrections. of

Contact your Tidbits representative immediately with changes or corrections.Changes DUE: review carefully. Double check: 760-320-0997

• Celebrities such as director James Cameron, “Star Trek” actor George Takei, and Virgin Galactic’s billionaire founder, Sir Richard

Bill LeGrave Talks About Rolfing and Flexibility

Rolfing® is a system of deep connective tissue manipulation and education in new movement patterns that guides the body toward anatomical order of increased balance and length, centering it around its vertical axis. Rolfed persons generally experience a marked increase in Flexibility by:

A: The physical manipulation of fascia, freeing layers of muscles that have become stuck to one another, and lengthening the myelin sheathing-enclosed muscle, which often become shortened with misuse and trauma.

B: By aligning the body in its most structurally sound arrangement, Rolfing® allows each muscle to do its designated job and not be forced to overwork to compen sate for a body dragged down by gravity. Still the only Rolfer in the Coachella Valley.

thread of silk under a powerful microscope and you will see that some of the protein rods are straight and some are curved. Woven together they function as strategically placed links in a chain. When the silk is stretched, the curved rods straighten out. When the stress is released, they curl back to their original curved shape. The structure of the thread is so incredibly integrated and sturdy that it can only be fragmented by boiling it in acid.

UNIQUE DESIGNS

• Some types of webs last for years, such as funnel webs built by house spiders which can shelter many generations of spiders.

• Other webs such as the iconic wheel-shaped webs built by orb weaver spiders are fragile and easily damaged by wind and rain, while their sticky properties are affected by pollen and dust. Orb weavers often rebuild their entire webs every single night, requiring that they manufacture 20 yards of silk.

• Some species, such as tarantulas, use their silk to build trap doors, and to line their underground lairs with silk tubes. When an insect gets too close, tarantulas can spring out, grab the prey, and drag it inside.

• The diving bell spider spends its entire life underwater—the only spider known to do so. It survives submerged because of its waterproof air-tight bell-shaped web, which it anchors to aquatic plants, with lines of silk extending up to the surface. The spider climbs these lines of silk and lifts its rear out of the water to collect air bubbles around the tiny hairs that line its legs and abdomen. Carefully holding the air bubbles between its back legs, it descends back to its bell-shaped web and places the bubbles inside to form one large bubble. The bell can

also take up dissolved oxygen from the water.

• The female Darwin’s bark spiders build enormous webs, some extending more than 80 feet across rivers and lakes. By building their super-strong web across the water like a bridge, they can catch large insects like dragonflies that quickly swoop and rise along the water’s surface. The female will spend days building and reinforcing the bridge lines that she casts across rivers to anchor the web on each bank, and repairing damage to the center caused by large insects.

SPIDER WEB HARVESTING

• A group of 70 people spent four years collecting golden orb spiders from telephone poles in Madagascar, while another dozen workers meticulously extracted about 80 feet of silk filament from each of the spiders before letting it go. The resulting 11-foot by four-foot cape is the only large piece of cloth made from natural spider silk existing in the world today. By the end of the project, they had extracted silk from more than 1 million female golden orb spiders.

• No one has been able to produce commercial quantities of spider silk. Silkworms are much easier to work with because they are docile and slow, whereas spiders are quick and independent. In addition, silkworms eat mulberry leaves which are easier to obtain than the live flies needed to attract spiders.

WEB FACTS

• Spiders have been observed changing the size and shape of their web depending on what prey is available. For example, they will build small webs with a fine mesh to catch small flies, and larger wide-meshed webs to catch termites.

• One type of assassin bug sits on the edge of a spider web and tweaks the strands of silk in just exactly the same way that a small innocent trapped bug would. When the curious spider emerges to investigate, the assassin bug quickly pounces and the spider itself becomes the meal.

• One type of tiny spider discovered in Taiwan survives not by eating insects but by stealing and eating pieces of other spider’s webs.

• Balloon spiders, which throw silk strands into the air in order to be lofted by the wind, have

been found floating in the air more than 200 miles from land. Weather balloons have found them floating as high as 30,000 feet above the earth's oceans.

STICKY SITUATIONS

• Why don’t spiders stick to their own webs? Some spiders are covered with a special oil that prevents them from sticking to their webs. Others spike the strands of their web with tiny drops of sticky glue spaced exactly one footstep apart so the spider can run up and down the strands placing its feet between the drops. Some make some of their strands sticky

Spider Webs: Turn to page 15

QUIZ BITS

1. Do all spider species produce silk?

2. What percentage of spider species produce webs?

By Lucie Winborne

* A town in Washington state has a treetop bridge over a busy road that’s just big enough for squirrels, called the Nutty Narrows Bridge.

* Russian author Vladimir Nabokov came up with the idea for smiley emoti cons in 1969.

* Now here’s a great way to “go green”: Residents of Surabaya, Indone sia, can pay their bus fare with plastic waste, which will earn them two hours of travel time. The dual aim is to reduce waste as well as the number of cars on the road by encouraging the use of public transportation.

* If you’ve ever questioned the idea that smartphone addiction is real, con sider the case of computer programmer Maneesh Sethi, who hired a woman (at $8 an hour) to slap him in the face every time he tried checking Facebook during working hours!

* The average MLB baseball lasts for just 5-7 pitches. In the beginning of a game, at least 90 balls are required on hand, with about 60-70 used per the average game.

* When Apple purchased rural land for a new data center in Maiden, North Carolina, an older couple refused to sell the one-acre plot they’d originally purchased for $6,000 more than three decades earlier. After all offers were rejected, Apple finally asked them to name a price. Success at last! For just a cool $1.7 million.

***

Thought for the Day: “Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of pa tience. Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence.” -- Ralph Waldo Emerson Inc.

using recipes from this book. Did I say it’s a big book? Yep, more than 250 pages and worth its weight in gold.

How to Use Your New Instant Pot -- It’s Safe and Simple

by Mary Hunt CHEAPSKATE by Mary Hunt

About 25 years ago, there was a pres sure cooker renaissance in America. Our grand mothers knew the day would come that we would return to their favorite kitchen tool to make fast and tender braises, stews, soups and casse roles. They just didn’t know how we’d get there.

If you are like me -- a Nervous Nellie who grew up hearing stories about a great aunt who plastered her ceiling with country stew when the thing nearly blew her to Oz and back, relax. I’ve powered through the fear syndrome and discov ered modern pressure cookers have amazing safety features to put all such fears to rest. Now it’s time for you to start exploring these cooking wonders as well, especially if you’re busy, hate spending hours in the kitchen and hate even more having to go out and spend a fortune on a marginally edible restaurant meal.

Perhaps you bought an Instant Pot on a whim and it has now sat on the countertop for months and, truth be told, you don’t have a clue what to do with it.

It’s possible you have used an Instant Pot, tried it once and it turned out to be a com plete disaster. The pot roast turned out dry and tough as shoe leather. The pasta came out a frothy, sloppy mess. Disappointment, thy name is Instant Pot.

Whatever your situation -- even if you’ve never heard of a pressure cooker, let alone how or why you need to -- today’s the day. It’s time to put away all preconceived notions, rumors and failures and start over on the right foot. It’s different. Pressure cooking is a com pletely different kind of cooking. You can’t just throw stuff in willy-nilly and expect perfection five minutes later. There are rules, which when followed pay off in spades. But you have to know them, learn them and follow them. It’s not hard, but it is completely different from what you might be used to.

Join a group. One of the most helpful things I did the day I got my Instant Pot was to join Instant Pot Community, a Facebook group. It’s free and so helpful. With nearly three-quar ters of a million Instant Pot fans and fanatics in the group, this is the place to learn anything and everything there is to know about how to use your Instant Pot successfully.

Get a cookbook. You need specific reci pes for pressure cooking, at least in the begin ning. It’s not the same as slow cooking or tradi tional stovetop cooking, trust me on that!

I have reviewed so many cookbooks writ ten specifically for Instant Pot and related types of pressure cookers and all of them have some thing to add. But the best and most complete -- the one I refer to constantly and laugh a lot because there is a photo with every step of every recipe -- is “The Step-By-Step Instant Pot Cook book” by Jeffrey Eisner.

Not only is this cookbook the best tuto rial on the art of pressure cooking but it has 100 recipes for everything you can imagine, from breakfast to dessert. Each recipe is specific for Instant Pot. I have not had a bad experience yet

I suggest that you follow recipes for a while until you begin to understand the specif ics of pressure cooking and how to experience success every time. Soon you’ll be able to adapt your own recipes, but for now, lean on recipes specifically created for pressure cooking.

Bookmark a website. If you Google Instant Pot or pressure cooking websites, you’ll be overwhelmed in no time flat. Let me help. There is one site that is all-around helpful, which I suggest you bookmark: HipPressureCooking. com. This is not my primary go-to for recipes, but when I have a question on how stuff works or what to do, Hip Pressure Cooking is great.

Boil water. You’re going to learn quickly that your first experience with Instant Pot should be to boil water. Do it. See how this thing works. Cook eggs. One of the most remarkable things I do with Instant Pot is boil eggs. Serious ly. From soft-boiled to full-on hard-boiled, they come out perfect every time, provided I follow the rules.

Resources. You will find the resources for everything in the column including how to boil water and cook eggs at EverydayCheapskate. com/quickstart-ip

So, there you go -- a quick-start guide to becoming acquainted with your Instant Pot. Take the plunge, get started and take it easy. You’ll be pressure cooking like a rock star in no time at all!

* *

Mary invites you to visit her at EverydayCheap skate.com, where this column is archived complete with links and resources for all recommended products and services. Mary invites questions and comments at https:// www.everydaycheapskate.com/contact/, “Ask Mary.” This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually. Mary Hunt is the founder of EverydayCheapskate.com, a frugal living blog, and the author of the book “Debt-Proof Living.”

Here's more fodder from our folders for trivia fans to add to their files of frivolous facts.

• Cats use a litter box because of primordial instincts to hide their scents from predators.

• The world record for a cat surviving a fall is 43 stories.

• Babies will cry without shedding tears until they are several weeks old.

• Jerry Springer was born in the London underground tube system.

• The University of Oxford in London (est. 1096 AD) predates the establishment of the Mayan culture (est. circa 1428).

• “Jazz” is the hardest word to guess in the game of Hangman.

• The antlers of a moose are so sensitive they can detect a fly landing on them.

• The Canadian province of Alberta has no rats, the largest inhabited region of the planet that is officially rat-free. Pet rats are not allowed.

• The human body consists of 65% hydrogen atoms; 24% oxygen atoms; 10% carbon atoms; and 1% other atoms.

• Thomas Edison proposed to his wife using Morse code, which he had taught her.

• Tokyo is the most populous city in the world with 38 million people.

• The only times the Olympics have been cancelled have been because of war (1916, 1940, 1944) and Covid (2020).

• Chihuahuas have the biggest brain in the canine world, relative to their body size.

• Before 1912, tires were white or beige. They only turned black when carbon was added to improve their strength and durability.

• Not only can a starfish regenerate a lost limb, but a limb can regenerate the entire starfish.

ADVERTISING PROOF

• The giraffe has the same number of neck vertebrae as humans.

Final Changes DUE: 5:00 Spelling

• The original ampersand sign “&” was formed from overlapping the letters “E” and “T” because “et” is the Latin word meaning “and.” Its name is a contraction of “and per se and.”

• Every human has a tongue print as unique as a fingerprint. Dogs have a unique nose print.

Office: 760-320-0997 valleybits@msn.com Fax: 760-320-1630

• When the Pentagon first opened in 1943, it was the first non-segregated building in the state of Virginia. President Roosevelt insisted that no federal buildings would be segregated.

• The tip of the finger can feel items as thin as the width of a hair.

• In 2002, a barber who cut Neil Armstrong’s hair sold the clippings to a collector for $3,000. When Armstrong found out, he insisted the trimmings be returned and that the barber make a $3,000 donation to a charity.

• Tic Tac mints are named after the sound their container makes.

• It’s estimated that 85% of the world’s oxygen is made by phytoplankton in the oceans.

• When you lose weight, you don’t get rid of fat cells; it’s just that the fat cells shrink.

• Erno Rubik invented the Rubik’s cube. It took him nearly a month to solve his first one. Today the record is 3.47 seconds.

• There are over 60,000 species of tree on earth. Half exist only in a single country - Brazil.

• Every lamppost in Central Park, New York City, has an ID tag attached that tell you the nearest street names and numbers.

• Among the mammals, humans and other primates are the only ones that cannot see ultraviolet light.

• The opposite of “déjà vu” is “déjà reve” which is the feeling that you’ve already experienced something in a dream.

• The word “muscle” comes from a Latin term meaning “little mouse.

Anytime. Coachella Valley archive.

www.issuu.com/valleybits/docs Coachella

www.issuu.com/valleybits/docs

Good Recipes from

Spiced Pork Tenderloins with Mango Salsa

Pair this tangy mango salsa with spicy grilled pork.

Mango Salsa:

2 medium ripe mangos, peeled and coarsely chopped

2 medium kiwifruit, peeled and coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar

1 tablespoon grated, peeled fresh ginger

1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro leaves

Spiced Pork Tenderloins:

2 (about 1 pound each) whole pork ten derloins

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon(s) ground ginger

Prepare Mango Salsa: In medium bowl, combine mangoes, kiwifruit, vinegar, fresh ginger, and cilantro. If not serving right away, cover and refrigerate up to 4 hours. Makes about 4 cups. Prepare charcoal fire or preheat gas grill for cov ered direct grilling over medium heat.

Meanwhile, cut each pork tenderloin lengthwise almost in half, being careful not to cut all the way through. Open and spread flat. Place each tenderloin between 2 sheets of plastic wrap;

with meat mallet or rolling pin, pound to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut each tenderloin into 4 pieces.

On waxed paper, mix flour, salt, cumin, coriander, cinnamon and ground ginger. Add pork to spice mixture and turn to coat evenly.

Place pork on hot grill rack. Cover grill and cook pork 5 to 6 minutes or until lightly browned on both sides and pork just loses its pink color throughout, turning pork over once. Spoon Mango Salsa over pork to serve.

 Each serving: About 215 calories, 6g total fat (2g saturated), 71mg cholesterol, 455 mg sodium, 15g carbohydrate, 23g protein.

Tropical Mango Smoothie

Paradise in a glass. Make it with a firm, ripe banana for best flavor.

1/2 cup pineapple juice, chilled 1 cup diced mango

1 banana, sliced

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

1/2 teaspoon grated, peeled fresh ginger

3 ice cubes

In blender, combine pineapple juice, man go, banana, lime juice, ginger and ice and blend until mixture is smooth. Pour into a tall glass.

 Each serving: About 289 calories, 1g total fat (0g saturated), 0mg cholesterol, 6mg so dium, 74g carbohydrate, 3g protein.

* * *

For thousands of triple-tested recipes, visit our web site at www.goodhousekeeping.com/food-recipes/.

(c) 2022 Hearst Communications, Inc.

All rights reserved

By John Allen

NEXT WEEK in

TIDBITS HAS THE INFO ON SOME INTERESTING GUYS NAMED

9/18 U.S. Air Force Birthday

9/19 Talk Like a Pirate Day

9/20 National Voter Registration Day

9/21 World Alzheimer's Awareness Day

9/22 Autumnal Equinox - Fall Begins

9/23 Checkers Day

9/24 Use Correct Punctuation Day

J IMDog Talk with Uncle Matty

By Matthew Margolis

Wake in Wedlock

“They dream in courtship, but in wedlock wake.” -- Alexander Pope

Some days it feels as if my 40 years of work ing with dogs have also earned me professional competency in the field of couples counseling. This was especially true this week, when I took a call from a man whose first words to me were: Ya gotta save my marriage.

"How did it get so late so soon?

It's night before it's afternoon.

September is here before it's June. My goodness how the time has flewn!

How did it get so late so soon?"

-- Dr. Seuss

He and his wife, newlyweds, are just back from their honeymoon. As the next logical step in building a life together, he is in the process of mov ing into her home, soon to be their home. Along with his wardrobe, toiletries, favorite furnishings and beloved doodads, he will bring his dogs: two five-year-old Pomeranian mixes who have been spoiled, indulged and appeased as a matter of dayto-day life.

The problem? She doesn’t like dogs.

While one might question the wisdom of the “marry first, get to know each other later” school of thought for those willing to agree to such daunting terms as “till death do us part,” my years of experience as a marriage and family counselor, ahem, dog trainer, suggested something else was going on.

In talking with the two of them together, a far less insidious truth was revealed. It isn’t that she doesn’t like dogs. Period. It’s that she doesn’t like the behavior of dogs, generally, and of these dogs, particularly. An entirely different beast...

In his bachelor days, this man enjoyed sleeping with his dogs at night, cuddling with them on the sofa, sitting with them on his lap, and romp ing and roughhousing with them in his home. Were he insistent on bringing these rituals untamed into his marriage, he’d find himself divorced and for reasons on par with those of Woody Allen, who once said, “Basically, my wife was immature. I’d be at home in the bath, and she’d come in and sink my boats.”

Marriage doesn’t have to mean the end of all that, but it does call for boundaries and compro

SENIOR NEWS LINE

by Matilda Charles

Meals When the Larder Is Empty

I learned of a neighborhood group, six seniors, who are trying to keep themselves fed against all odds. They’ve come up with a brilliant plan: At the end of each week they pool whatever foods they have left over and have dinner together. They split the leftovers to take home.

The woman who told me about this talked about a website she discovered where all manner of ingredients could be entered, with the machine scouting the internet for recipes that could be cre ated using those ingredients.

Whoever created the SuperCook website (www.supercook.com) did a fantastic job. Meats, grains, fruits, vegetables, dozens of cheeses, nuts, spices, dairy substitutes ... it’s all there, ready to be clicked. You only need to scroll down the left side and select the ingredients you have on hand.

The Art of DESIGN

by Joseph Publillones

Designer on Skates?

Designers are larger than life! This is what the general population of the world believes. It might seem a bit pretentious, but really, this is what most ordinary folks think. It is not uncommon for designers to get that frantic phone call...

“My sister-in-law is coming next week. Can you redecorate our guest bedroom suite?” or “My law firm has temporarily relocated us to Timbuktu. Is there any way you can help make our rented place feel more like home... And, by the way, can you do it in a week?”

These are the kind of unre alistic expec tations that are some times placed on designers. Can we do it? The answer is some times... yes.

Most people think designers work on skates or hoverboards, and that tomorrow or next week is just too long of a time.

Like short-order cooks, we have to be able to get simple ingredients and mix them in a palat able way. In most parts of the United States, it is possible with the aid of the internet, video camer as and courier services to do a project most any where -- even in a week ... or two. For those who are completely inept at creating home or holding a hammer, most designers will travel, for a fee. But if you have a little chutzpah, designers can formu late a master plan that can guide you through the process of redecorating your guest suite or creat ing your home away from home.

Here's some quick tips:from a design skater: If a small-scaled floor plan is available,

I tried it out, clicking that I have butter, milk, onion, ground beef and rice. The result came back that I could make a potential 521 recipes. Some of them actually sounded pretty good. When I swapped the ground beef for bacon, it was even better. A little suggestion note at the top of the screen said that if I had certain other ingredients on hand, I could find an additional 51 recipes.

Another website, My Fridge Food (myfridgefood.com), offers the same thing, although on a more limited basis. There’s even a phone app, and when you click on a recipe it tells you the cooking time, calories and serving size of each recipe.

Once I found those two sites I went on a hunt for more and found a public library database titled “Finding Recipes for Ingredients You Already Have.” You can check it out at www.pennington library.org/finding-recipes-for-ingredients-youalready-have

Maybe you don’t need another trip to the grocery store, at least not yet. Maybe you already have on hand what you need to make a nice meal once you find a creative recipe.

* * *

Matilda Charles regrets that she cannot personally answer reader questions, but will incorporate them into her column whenever possible. Send email to columnreply2@ gmail.com.

make sure to give this to your designer. It will save the time necessary to redraw a floor plan or, worse yet, measure the space and draw it out. Your de signer can quickly draw in furniture on the floor plan as he or she sees or imagines the space. This layout is most important as it will serve as a prescription of what you’ll need to buy.

Find out from your landlord if you are al lowed to paint the walls. If you are able, great! In the case you are redoing a room in your own home paint away. Paint is the easiest and most effec tive way to customize a generic beige or white in terior. Even painting one wall in a small space will make an incredible impact.

If you are not able to paint, adding drapery is the way to go. Find ready-made drapery, which is available in most home decor shops and some department stores.

I would suggest picking a bold color that will liven up the vibe of the place. A nice set of drapery hardware will make your home lose the temporariness. (In sider secret.) Pil lows and drapery can change almost any room.

Most furniture catalogs offer quick-ship programs that can prove to be heaven-sent when you need a lighting-fast interior design. Neutral up holstery is the best way to go -- and easiest to get rid of when it comes time to close down the pad.

Even the most plain-Jane furniture can get a boost when paired with an area rug that makes a statement. This may be one of the items you add to your guest bedroom to remove the blahs.

Framed posters can serve as art in a quick design, as they are colorful and usually light-spir ited.

* * *

Joseph Pubillones is the owner of Joseph Pu billones Interiors, an award-winning interior design firm based in Palm Beach, Florida. His website is www. josephpubillones.com. To find out more about Joseph Pubillones and read features by other Creators Syndi cate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndi cate website at www.creators.com.

Cody’s Corner (from page 9) mise.

Generally speaking, dogs are malleable both in behavior and in preference. Princess Pom eranians accustomed to the master bed can be guided toward the use of dog beds and trained to respect boundaries. The great majority of domes ticated dog behaviors, by which this dog lover’s bride is so repelled, are in actuality the reflection of human preference.

In this case, the prognosis is good be cause their marital preferences are aligned: Both husband and wife prefer to share a bed, and with each other. Concerned about the implications for his dogs, he asked whether they’d feel bad about being relegated to another sleeping space. My an swer: No. They’ll learn, and they’ll be fine.

Today, with people remaining single longer, with more people living alone and with more people sharing space with dogs, a blending of homes often requires the help of a professional dog trainer. This version -- two dogs who live together moving into a non-dog home -- is one of the easiest. Dog people moving in with cat people; two head-of-household dogs suddenly under one roof; multiple dogs horn ing in on an “only dog” household... Those are tougher.

While he has been permissive over the years, and she isn’t fond of the dogs’ behavior, these two have two things going for them: They’re open to training, and they’re open to change. And because of this, they will wake in wedlock and live the dream -- happily, hopefully, ever after.

Woof!

* * *

Dog trainer Matthew “Uncle Matty” Margolis is the co-author of 18 books about dogs, a behaviorist, a popular radio and television guest, and the host of the PBS series “WOOF! It’s a Dog’s Life!” Read all of Uncle Matty’s columns at www.creators.com, and visit him at www.unclematty.com.

YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY

by Tom Margenau

Why Privatizing Social Security Can’t Work

About a month or so ago, I wrote a column in which I just briefly mentioned that any plans to privatize Social Security would never work, and I said I had covered that topic in prior columns. Well, several readers told me they didn’t remem ber those older columns (the latest was about four years ago) and they asked me to address the topic again. So, here goes.

The idea of privatizing Social Security used to be all the rage back in the 1980s and 1990s. But ever since the almost catastrophic financial crash in the late 2000s, saying you want to turn Social Security over to Wall Street brokers (i.e., to “priva tize” Social Security in the traditional sense of the term) is like saying you want some monkeys with a dart board to make financial decisions about our nation’s primary means of supporting older folks, people with disabilities, and surviving widows, wid owers and children.

Still others claim that Social Security should be managed more like other public pension funds. Most of those funds have a diversified portfolio, with a variety of investments. But every nickel of Social Security assets is invested, by law, in U.S. treasury notes, considered by everyone the safest of all places to stash your cash. What most folks who advocate putting Social Security funds into private markets can’t comprehend is the immense size of the Social Security trust funds. Compared to a large public pension fund (like many teachers’ retirement funds or police and firefighter funds) Social Security is like Fort Knox, and these public funds are just big piggy banks. Those funds may have billions of dollars in assets. But Social Secu rity has trillions. You simply can’t compare them.

Or put it another way. Social Security makes up about one-fourth of the entire federal budget of the United States. You just don’t take a quarter of our country’s budget and put it on Wall Street. After all, would you want the federal gov ernment, via the Social Security trust fund, to be the major owner of Chevron stock or the primary investor in Phillip Morris?

A more reasonable approach to “privatiz ing” Social Security would allow individual taxpay ers to use private or managed accounts to supple ment future Social Security benefits. And when you hear talk of such proposals, please remember to ask this question: Is it a “carve-out” plan or an “add-on” plan? There is a huge difference.

Both plans involve requiring younger workers to contribute money to an IRA-type ac count that would offer several investment options. The worker could choose a safe but generally lowyielding account or a riskier but potentially more rewarding one. The investments from this account would then be used to augment Social Security re tirement benefits.

But the difference lies in the funding de tails. In a carve-out plan (these are usually the plans touted by Republicans), the worker’s IRA in vestment would be funded with a portion of his or her Social Security payroll tax. For example, cur rently 6.2% of a worker’s salary is deducted for So cial Security taxes. A carve-out plan might specify that 4.2% continue to be used to fund Social Secu

rity while 2% would be funneled into the private ac count. In other words, this plan gets its funding by carving it out of the current Social Security system.

On the other hand, an “add-on” plan (the plans usually touted by Democrats) would require a worker to contribute an extra amount to fund the private account investments. So, 6.2% of his or her salary would still be deducted to finance Social Se curity benefits. But in addition, that worker would be required to chip in an extra percentage point or two of salary to fund the Social Security supple ment. So, this plan gets its funding by adding to the current Social Security system.

Each plan has its pros and cons. The down side to an add-on plan is that more out-of-paycheck spending would be required from workers to fund their retirement portfolio. But the advantage to the plan is its greater rewards. Most “add-on” proposals are modeled after the highly successful “Thrift Sav ings Plan,” an add-on IRA that has been available to federal government workers for years and has given many of them the kind of financial security in retirement not usually associated with middle-class civil servants.

The upside to “carve-out” proposals is that no extra financial burden would be placed on young workers to finance the supplemental benefits. But the often-unexplained downside is that huge reduc tions would be necessary in future Social Security benefits. It’s just simple math. If you are going to carve out about one-third of the Social Security payroll tax to fund a worker’s private supplement, then obviously future Social Security benefits for that same worker are going to have to be cut by at least one-third. Apparently, the hope is that a well-managed private account will more than make up the difference. Also, carve-out plans come with huge transitional costs. Remember: Social Security is a “pay-as-you-go” program, meaning the money deducted from today’s worker’s paychecks is used to fund benefits to current retirees. So, if you cut

the amount of money going into the system, you must get funding from other sources to pay prom ised benefits to current retirees.

But here is the most important point I need to make about proposals for private accounts -- whether carve-out or add-on. Although they are often mentioned in the same breath as other pro posals to “save Social Security,” they do nothing of the sort. Social Security’s long-range financing problems are the result of baby boomers quickly turning into senior boomers. For years, Social Security has been working extremely well with a ratio of three workers supporting one retiree. But by the time all the boomers retire (and that will be happening at a quickening pace over the next 15 years), there will be only two workers supporting each retiree. The system simply cannot work AS IT IS CURRENTLY STRUCTURED at a two-to-one ra tio.

As I’ve pointed out many times to my read ers, there are many relatively modest proposals for reform that will keep the system running for many more generations. All of those possible solutions involve either slight tax increases or moderate cuts in benefits. None of them involve the creation of private accounts for Social Security beneficiaries. I am not saying the private accounts are a bad idea. I am saying that they have nothing to do with the future financial health of the program.

* * *

If you have a Social Security question, Tom Mar genau has a book with all the answers. It’s called “Social Security: Simple and Smart.” You can find the book at www.creators.com/books, or look for it on Amazon or other book outlets. To find out more about Tom Mar genau and to read past columns and see features from other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2022 CREATORS.COM

1. The book of III Chronicles is in the a) Old Testament b) New Testament c) Neither

2. What "holy" thing did Paul tell Timothy that Christians should lift up in prayer? a) Voices b) Hearts c) Sacraments d) Hands

3. From 2 Kings 9, which king of Israel drove his chariots like a madman? a) Jehu b) David c) Zimri d) Saul

4. Who succeeded Belshazzar as king of the Chaldeans? a) David b) Darius c) Ahasuerus d) Hezekiah

5. What place was known as the "Land of Promise"? a) Israel b) Canaan c) New Jerusalem d) Babylon

6. Who was the brother of Moses? a) Eli b) Kaleb c) Aaron d) Joshua

Sharpen your understanding of scripture with Wilson Casey's latest book, "Test Your Bible Knowledge," now available in stores and online.

(Answers on page 16)

For comments or more Bible Trivia go to www.TriviaGuy.com © 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.© 2022 King Features Synd., Inc.

M.D.

Incontinence Caused By an Enlarged Prostate Calls for Medication

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 55-year-old male in good health and was diagnosed with a slightly enlarged prostate several years ago. My primary care doctor said he wasn’t concerned enough to prescribe any medi cations. I get an annual physical, and there haven’t been any changes. However, in the past couple of years, there have been times when, once I get the urge to urinate, I’ve got to get to a restroom posthaste.

But, it’s comical at times! Once, I was halfway through a three-hour road trip and started thinking I should stop. I made it all the way home without a problem, but couldn’t make it from my driveway to the bathroom. I read up on Flomax, which appears to work for those who have trouble urinating. Are you aware of any over-the-counter medications for my situation? -- R.J.

ANSWER:I’m glad you can see the humor in the situation. With even one episode of incontinence, I would consider medication if the person wanted it after a discussion.

There are several herbal treatments (such as saw palmetto, South African star grass, stinging nettle and Africatn plum) for an enlarged prostate with recurring symptoms. Some of my patients take them and feel like they are effec tive, but the evidence is not definitive. Supple ments are not subject to the same standards of purity that prescription medications are. Conse quently, I do not recommend these treatments. Tamsulosin (Flomax) and similar drugs are safe and well-tolerated for most men.

One way to assess severity of prostate symptoms is using the AUA score, available at tinyurl.com/BPHscore. Men who have a result of moderate or severe symptoms benefit from treatment.

***

ideal.

Women with mild prolapse and no symp toms do not need treatment. Many women with mild symptoms will do well with conservative treatment such as a vaginal pessary, a silicone device that supports the pelvic organ. Pelvic floor muscle exercises also may be tried before considering surgery. Surgery is indicated when conservative treatments have not been effective.

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I am glad you had a good outcome with surgery, because not all women are so lucky -- a third, or perhaps half, of women who get surgery for prolapse will require a second surgery for recurrence of symptoms.

Corrections due by: 5 pm, Mon., 6/19/17PROOF Changes DUE: 5:00 p.m.. review carefully. your

VETERANS POST 

by Freddie Groves

The VA OIG Strikes Again

I have the utmost respect for the VA Office of Inspector General and even more respect now. It appears they’ll go after anyone breaking the law, bending the rules, doing wrong ... even one of their own.

In this case it came to their attention that a senior OIG employee was still carrying an OIGissued firearm and credentials after no longer be ing eligible to do so. Having been transferred out of one position into another one where carrying the firearm was not authorized, the individual should have turned the firearm in when he switched jobs. Didn’t happen. Further, others knew of this and didn’t speak up ... for six months.

Enter the OIG investigators.

They unearthed a tangle of job classifica tion language that revealed that nobody was read ing the fine print nor filling out the correct forms, even the ones who should have done so. And no body stepped forward to take the firearm away from the employee, even the ones who knew he wasn’t authorized to have it.

Free Transportation for Veterans to the Loma Linda VA Hospital

American Veterans (AMVETS) Post 66 provides free transportation by van Monday thru Friday to the VA Hospital in Loma Linda for Coachella Valley veterans. Pick up locations are in Palm Springs and Cathedral City. Medical appointments must be scheduled for mornings only as the return trip leaves Loma Linda at noon. Transportation reservations must be made in advance. Call for more information.

Volunteer drivers needed. Call Tom Hernandez: 760-324-5670

Eventually word reached two people in the organization who knew instantly that the employee was not authorized to carry an OIG-issued firearm and credentials, and acted pronto to retrieve both the firearm and the credentials.

The end result is a thing of beauty. The em ployee in question retired. Two senior executives are no longer employed by the OIG, having re signed during the investigation. Another employee received a letter of reprimand. And the two employ ees who were in charge of the firearms program are no longer in charge of the firearms program.

If you suspect something is wrong in either the VA programs or operation, contact the VA OIG hotline at 800-488-8244. You also can go online to www.va.gov/oig/hotline. If you need to submit a complaint about violations, abuse, fraud, misman agement or other problems, that’s where you do it. They don’t take regular email submissions. To see the OIG’s reports, go to www.va.gov/oig 760-320-1630 your Tidbits representative immediately with changes or corrections. Veterans Post 66 Tom Hernandez 760-324-5670 pg. BW (PSA) for available run

DEAR DR. ROACH: Please tell the public about prolapses that women may experience and the fact that surgery may be totally successful. I was lucky to find my sur geon and, after surgery, have a dandy little old body. A majority of women do not know about the problems nor the solutions. -- M

ANSWER: Many women experience pelvic organ prolapse, especially older women who have had one or more children. The symp toms that alert a woman may be varied, but one screening question that identified most women with this issue was whether they had symptoms of “a bulge, or that something is falling out of the vagina.”

Other symptoms include urinary inconti nence, difficulty voiding and problems with bowel movements, either constipation or incontinence. Many women do not bring these symptoms up with their regular doctor, so I am glad you wrote. Unfortunately, some doctors are not experts at making the diagnosis of mild prolapse by ex amination, so consultation with a gynecologist is

How to Find Travel Companions for Older Travelers

are available too.

percent of their 190 operating territories.

Or, for medical travel companions do a search for “traveling nurse escort” or “medical travel companion,” or checkout Travel Care and Logistics (YourFlightNurse.com), which pro vides registered nurses as escorts.

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But be aware that these services aren’t cheap. You will pay for the travel companion’s tickets, the companion’s hotel room if necessary, meals, incidentals and fees for the service. The price to accompany a client on a plane trip within the United States – including the companion fees and travel costs for all parties – can range any where from $2,500 to $5,000 or more, depending on the flight transfers and length of the trip.

If, however, your parents don’t require a lot of assistance, or if you can’t afford a travel escort, consider asking a trusted family member or friend that has some air travel experience.

Final Changes DUE: 5:00 p.m..

Please review carefully. Double check: Phone Number(s) Prices Hours

DEAR SAVVY SENIOR: I am inter ested in finding some type of travel escort service to help my elderly parents fly across the country. My son is getting married in the fall and would love for my parents to attend, but they’re both in their late 80s with health issues. They will need help with their lug gage, navigating through the busy airports, boarding the planes, and so forth. Can you direct me to any travel services that can help us? -- Looking for Assistance

Office: 760-320-0997 valleybits@msn.com Fax: 760-320-1630 your Tidbits representative immediately with changes or corrections. 4

Final Changes DUE: 5:00 p.m.. valleybits@msn.com 760-320-1630 immediately with or corrections.

To locate a travel companion service in your area, search online for “senior travel compan ion” or “senior travel escort,” followed by your par ent’s city or state. Or use an experienced national service like Flying Companions (FlyingCompan ions.com), Travel Helpers (GoTravelHelpers. com) or FirstLight Home Care (FirstLightHomeC are.com), which has a national network of fran chises that provides in-home care for seniors and offers travel companion programs in about 80

Vet the Service

If you’re interested in hiring a travel com panion service, there are a number of things you need to check into to ensure you get the right escort.

First, if you parents require personal or medical care while traveling, find out if the escort is trained to manage their healthcare needs. What sort of medical certifications do they have? (Nursing credentials? C.P.R. training? etc.)

Dear Looking: Traveling can be chal lenging under the best circumstances, but for seniors with medical problems, physical limita tions or dementia it can be nearly traumatic. Fortunately, there are a bevy of companies today that provide traveling companion/escort services to help older adults with the rigors of travel.

A good travel escort can provide your parents with transportation to and from the air port, manage their luggage, navigate and assist them through the airport, sit next to them on the flight, help them to their hotel, and much more.

Some companion services even provide personal care like medication management, dressing, bathing and feeding. And for those with specific medical needs, traveling nurse services

Final Changes DUE: of the Tidbits’ clean, wholesome and entertaining whenever and wherever you are ...and, of course, it’s news. Anytime. Anywhere. - 08-2015

In addition, find out how many trips the companion has taken with clients. Have they completed trips with travelers like your parents? How long has the travel service company been in business? What is the company’s safety record? And what sort of insurance does it carry, and what exactly is covered?

Also, get a quote breaking down exactly what you’ll be required to pay, in addition to the companion’s fees. And get a list of two or three clients/references who have used their service and call them for a report.

* * *

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior. org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.

-- by Jim Miller

JUNQUE

Dining Furniture Featured at Chicago American Furniture Mart

Q: I have sent a close-up photo of my antique buffet. It is part of a set that includes a dining table and six chairs. Only one of the chairs has arms, all the rest are side chairs. On the back is a paper label with the words “American Furniture Mart -- Lake Shore Drive -- Vaughn Furniture Indiana.” I inher ited the set from my grandfather and think it must date back to the 1920s. The finish is the original, but it is not good.

I have considering selling the set, but I would like more information before I decide what to do.

centrally located for tradeshows and galleries. Over the entrance door of the mart was a carving of a lumberjack, a sawyer and a carpenter all symbol izing the furniture industry. Today the building houses condominiums.

Based on the label, your set was made by Vaughn Furniture in Indianapolis and is featured in one the Mart galleries.

Currently, demand is minimal for Colonial Revival furniture. Based on the poor condition and the need of refinishing, the value for your set would probably be in the low hundreds.

* * *

Q: Enclosed is my drawing of the mark that is on the back of four wall plaques that ap pear to be carved wood. Each one measures 6 by 23 inches and depicts the four seasons. The dogwood is spring; the rose is summer; autumn is the chrysanthemum; and winter is the holly. They are gold with a dark stain and in excellent condition.

What can you tell me about my set?

* On Sept. 22, 1776, in New York City, Na than Hale, a captain in the Continental Army, is executed by the British for spying. Before being executed, legend holds that Hale said, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” There is no historical record to prove that Hale actually made this statement.

* On Sept. 23, 1846, German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle discovers the planet Neptune at the Berlin Observatory. The blue gas giant has a diameter four times that of Earth and completes an orbit of the sun once every 165 years.

A: You are correct; your set was made around 1920 when Colonial Revival was in vogue. The bulbous legs, applied panels, the use of mul tiple woods and the veneered top with decorative crest are representative of the Jacobean Colonial Revival. The chair with arms is a host’s chair and usually included with dining sets made in the early 1900s. The style is Jacobean Revival, one of the variations of Colonial Revival.

The American Furniture Mart was located on Lake Shore Blvd., Chicago, Ill. It opened in 1926 and was designed to showcase new furniture. The building was 30 stories high, and at the time, it was the largest building in the world.

The Midwest housing market was expand ing, resulting in a plethora of furniture manufactur ers. Homeowners were in a buying mood for both homes and furniture. Chicago was accessible and

A: Syroco wood was made by Syracuse Or namental Co. Inc. in Syracuse, N.Y. The company was founded around 1908 and closed in 2005. Their decorative pieces were made from molded wood pulp that appeared to actually be carved wood Your Four Seasons set would probably fetch $35 to $55 in an antiques shop.

* * *

Antiques expert and columnist Anne McCollam has recently retired and no longer receives inquiries nor answers reader letters. Due to the popularity of her col umn, this publication will continue to reprint previous col umns of interest to our readers.

To find out more about Anne McCollam and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoon ists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators. com

* On Sept. 24, 1902, pioneering cookbook author Fannie Farmer, who changed the way Americans prepare food by advocating the use of standardized measurements in recipes, opens Miss Farmer’s School of Cookery in Boston. Farmer later educated medical profes sionals about the importance of proper nutri tion for the sick.

* On Sept. 24, 1975, “Three Days of the Condor,” a political thriller starring Robert Redford, opens. In the film, Redford played a low-level CIA employee being stalked by an assassin. The film was based on the novel “Six Days of the Condor” by James Grady.

* On Sept. 20, 1988, at the Summer Olym pics in Seoul, South Korea, American diver Greg Louganis wins the gold medal on the springboard despite nearly knocking himself unconscious during a qualifying round dive the previous day. Bloodied and dazed, he received five stitches from a doctor before returning to the board.

* On Sept. 19, 1995, a manifesto by the Unabomber is published in the hope that someone will recognize the person who, for 17 years, killed and maimed innocent people by sending homemade bombs through the mail. David Kaczynski linked the writing style to that of his older brother Ted, who was later con victed of the attacks.

* On Sept. 21, 2008, the last game at historic Yankee Stadium -- “The House That Ruth Built” is played. In the finale, the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles, 7-3, as future Hall-of-Famer Mariano Rivera closed the game with a perfect ninth inning.

(c) 2022 Hearst Communications, Inc.

"This is the problem I was talking about, when the bad weather makes him move his practice game inside."

Dining Furniture showcased in American Furniture Mart.

Syracuse Ornamental Co. was in business from 1908 to 2005.

and other strands not sticky and then they run only on the non-sticky

DEATH WEB

• Two Yale biologists noticed that certain strands in webs had a slightly different appearance from the rest of the web. On a hunch, they put the webs under ultraviolet light and found a distinct pattern in each web that showed up best under UV wavelengths. Wondering why, they took two webs from the same spider and placed them in opposite ends of a Y-shaped chamber. One of the webs was bathed in light which included the UV wavelength, but the other had UV blocked out. A swarm of fruit flies was released, and most headed straight into the ultraviolet web and were trapped. The researchers theorized that ultraviolet-reflecting strands are invisible to insects, who see them as clear blue sky and fly into them assuming nothing is there. The web, therefore, was designed to catch two different kinds of prey.

STUPEFIED SPIDERS?

•

In another study, a scientist recorded the effect of drugs on spiders. Drugs such as marijuana and phenobarbital made the spiders lazy and imprecise in their web-building, while spiders on amphetamines made smaller webs with a distorted pattern. Those on mescaline produced odd angles in webs, while spiders given caffeine caused them to build structures so tangled and disorganized they couldn’t really be called webs. LSD made spiders construct square webs, zig zag webs, and webs so weak they couldn’t even support their own weight.

SCIENTIFIC SCRUTINY

• Curious scientists all over the world have studied spider silk because of its incredible strength, flexibility and toughness. Various methods have been used to study the silk at a molecular level to identify protein substructures and other unique properties in its unusual structure and composition. Not only is spider silk stronger than steel, but it also has ten times the possibilities of modern materials like Kevlar. As the scientific community continues these studies, new breakthroughs are certain to be discovered. □

Game Changers

by Jason Jenkins

Final Changes DUE: 5:00 p.m..

A good finish should have the left leg straight, the right thigh up close to the left leg, the right foot up on the toe, and the upper body arching back slightly. The trick is that the hips are now “tucked under” the upper body or the stomach is pushed forward. Many beginners, or players who don’t have good core strength, will finish with their hips pushed out behind their upper body. Learn to correct the finish by tucking the hips under or pushing your belt buckle forward in order to feel the correct position. Good leg work will assist in correct hip positioning as well.

During the early years of golf instruction, turn ing in a barrel became a popular image as to how the legs and hips were to move in a con fined, rotary type fashion. Players like Bobby Jones seemed to exemplify this over turning image, at least in the backswing.

Yet, Bobby and all the greats that followed him made one huge, significant change to that vivid barrel turning image….they broke through the barrel on the forward swing with demonstra tive weight shift and footwork.

Turning in a barrel may not be a terrible poor backswing image, but it implies never really shifting the weight during the motion. Instead, picture turning back and brushing up against the side of the barrel going back, then busting through the other side with the left knee and hip in the forward swing.

When I of beginning to in termediate finish position is contorting into an unusual to be balanced to be players the finish when it comes to

Tuck It Under PROOF

By using an alignment stick in the ground along the left leg at address, you should notice the leg leave the stick in the backswing, and then knock into it on the forward swing. Trying to stay glued to the stick or not ever touching it results in poor pivot motion. Fax: