There May Be Help For You After All

Internet addiction treatment center opens in Washington

Ben Alexander, 19, of Iowa City is Restart's first patient

FALL CITY, Wash. - China, South Korea and Japan have several already. Now, the first in-patient treatment center for Internet addiction is launching in Fall City. And it already has its first patient: a 19-year-old whose parents tried everything before finding this program. Ben Alexander is a long way from his home in Iowa City. At the reSTART Internet Addiction Recovery Program, he feels a world away from his gaming addiction. "My game of choice was 'World of Warcraft,'" said Alexander. He played so much, it started affecting his schoolwork. "I'd have all these rationalizations of, well, it's not a big deal to just miss this one class," he said. One class turned into several and he eventually withdrew from college. "I would play until I fell asleep on my keyboard," he said. His parents struggled to find appropriate help. Initially, he went to a substance and alcohol abuse program, even though he didn't have that kind of addiction. "It was kind of hard to really relate to the other people there," he said. His parents finally found reSTART Internet Addiction Recovery Program, which sprawls over 5-acres. It's the first of its kind in the U.S., specifically aimed at treating people who are addicted to the Internet. Co-founder Cosette Rae saw the need in her job as a social worker. "Concerns like their children would be gaming 16, 17 hours a day; that they stopped bathing; that they would just eat at the computer," said Rae. Rae launched the new six-bed facility with Dr. Hilarie Cash, who specializes in Internet addiction. The 45-day program works to launch tech-addicted people back into the real world. "What are they avoiding? What are they using the Internet to numb out for?" said Rae. Alexander was once interested in biology and animals, so now he helps with taking care of the goats, chickens and other animals on the reSTART property. Cross country running is also something Alexander used to enjoy 'pre-gaming', so it is again part of his daily routine at reSTART. Alexander knows the internet will likely be a part of life down the road, but he believes he's finally found a balance in Fall City. "I'm not able to say, oh, I'm never going to be online ever again," he said. "But at this point I'm not really worried about it." The reSTART Center offers individualized plans to treat a number of Internet issues. The program is not covered by insurance and runs about $14,500 for 45 days. They do have a few scholarships available now, based upon need.

Constantly Searching for New, Cool Stuff

some of my music from Imeem

mtrying to post a couple of Imeem playlists..I'm not sure if you have to be a member to listen..let me know..

Feelin Fine

this player contains 999 Rockabilly tunes..name it, it's probably here if it's rockabilly

The Unique Neo Rockabilly Collection

the Groom is a Lifesaver

Most couples remember their wedding day, but Adam and Julie Hatfield have some unusual mementos to recall theirs. Take the holes in Adam's trousers, the ones he got while pulling a little girl and her grandfather out of the Mississippi River. The bride and groom were in Riverside Park on Friday afternoon, posing for photos just before the ceremony, when they heard a man yelling "Allie! Allie!" They saw the man looking over the wall at the water. Then he jumped in. Adam jumped the railing and ran to the edge. The photographer, Russ Konrad, of Woodbury, Minn., handed his camera to his partner and climbed down closer to the water, where the man was treading water with the girl in his arms. Julie hiked up her wedding dress and ran to get help. Adam and Konrad leaned over, each grabbing one of the girl's hands, and pulled her to safety. She was wet and cold, Adam said, but otherwise fine. Then, with the help of a passerby, they pulled the man from the water. Konrad had a white drop cloth to keep dirt off the bride's dress, which the rescued pair used to dry off. A police officer Julie had summoned made sure everyone was safe. Adam shook hands with the man but never did learn his name. "We were kind of on a strict time schedule," Adam said. "These people are OK. We've got to be on time to our wedding." It wasn't until after the ceremony that the day's events sank in. Someone pointed out the knee holes in Adam's black pinstripe suit - his, not a rental - and his best man incorporated the rescue into his speech, coining the phrase "save a life, get a wife." "I don't think it hit me until that point," said Adam, a 28-year-old editor at WKBT. "It definitely made for an interesting story." Said Konrad, "I've never had to save anybody's life during a wedding before." Adam and Julie, a 27-year-old preschool teacher, always had spent time in the park. In fact, that's where Adam proposed. "Now the park means even more to us," Julie said.

AND NOW..FOR SOMETHING TOTALLY DIFFERENT....

Calvin Harris performs a version of his new single Ready For The Weekend on a unique human synthesizer. The instrument employs 15 bikini clad models painted with Bare Conductive, a new skin safe ink which conducts electricity. When the performers touch the connection completes a circuit, triggering a sound. The instrument consists of 34 pads on the floor which have been painted with the conductive ink and connected to a computer via some clever custom electronics. The performers stand on the pads, and touch hands to complete a circuit and trigger a sound. Different combinations of pads trigger the different sounds needed to play the track. The project is the result of a collaboration between Calvin Harris and masters students from the Royal College of Art's Industrial Design Engineering programme. Bare Conductive was developed by RCA students Bibi Nelson, Becky Pilditch, Isabel Lizardi and Matt Johnson.

Vermonster arrested for fifth DUI.. Driving a snowmobile on a snowless highway in August

file photo..yeah crazies even use them on lakes

COLCHESTER, Vt. -- Police arrested a Colchester man Saturday morning for allegedly driving an unusual vehicle under the influence. Police said around 1:13 a.m. on Saturday -- one of the hottest days of the year so far -- an officer saw a snowmobile traveling on Porters Point Road in Colchester. The officer followed it for a short distance before the driver left the snowmobile in a yard on Macrae Road and ran off into the woods. With the help of Police K9 Tazor, Joseph Quigley was tracked down and arrested the 31-year-old him for his fifth DUI offense. Quigley's blood alcohol content was .183%, more than twice the legal limit.

Chortles for Tuesday

One day a man came home from work to find his wife crying hysterically in the kitchen. "What's wrong dearest??" asked the confused husband. "Oh darling," sobbed the wife, "I was cleaning little Suzie's room when I found whips, handcuffs and chains under her bedm, along with a very erotic porn magazine! What ever are we going to do???" "Well," replied the man... "I guess a spanking is out of the question?" --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Young King Arthur was ambushed and imprisoned by the monarch of a neighbouring kingdom. The monarch could have killed him, but was moved by Arthur's youthful happiness. So he offered him freedom, as long as he could answer a very difficult question. Arthur would have a year to figure out the answer; if, after a year, he still had no answer, he would be put to death. The question was: What do women really want? Such a question would perplex even the most knowledgeable man, and to young Arthur, it seemed an impossible query. Well, since it was better than death, he accepted the monarch's proposition to have an answer by year's end. He returned to his kingdom and began to poll everybody: the princess, the prostitutes, the priests, the wise men, the court jester. In all, he spoke with everyone, but no one could give him a satisfactory answer. What most people did tell him was to consult the old witch, as only she would know the answer. The price would be high, since the witch was famous throughout the kingdom for the exorbitant prices she charged. The last day of the year arrived and Arthur had no alternative but to talk to the witch. She agreed to answer his question, but he'd have to accept her price first: The old witch wanted to marry Gawain, the most noble of the Knights of the Round Table and Arthur's closest friend! Young Arthur was horrified! She was hunchbacked and awfully hideous, had only one tooth, smelled like sewage water, often made obscene noises...etc. He had never run across such a repugnant creature. He refused to force his friend to marry her and have to endure such a burden. Gawain, upon learning of the proposal, spoke with Arthur. He told him that nothing was too big a sacrifice compared to Arthur's life and the preservation of the Round Table. Hence, their wedding was proclaimed, and the witch answered Arthur's question: What a woman really wants is to be able to be in charge of her own life. Everyone instantly knew that the witch had uttered a great truth and that Arthur's life would be spared. And so it went. The neighbouring monarch spared Arthur's life and granted him total freedom. What a wedding Gawain and the witch had! Arthur was torn between relief and anguish. Gawain was proper as always, gentle and courteous. The old witch put her worst manners on display, and generally made everyone very uncomfortable. The wedding night approached: Gawain, steeling himself for a horrific night, entered the bedroom. What a sight awaited! The most beautiful woman he'd ever seen lay before him! Gawain was astounded and asked what had happened. The beauty replied that since he had been so kind to her when she'd been a witch), half the time she would be her horrible, deformed self, and the other half, she would be her beautiful maiden self. which would he want her to be during the day, and which during the night? What a cruel question! Gawain began to think of his predicament: During the day a beautiful woman to show off to his friends, but at night, in the privacy of his home, an old spooky witch? Or would he prefer having by day a hideous witch, but by night a beautiful woman to enjoy many intimate moments? What would you do? What Gawain chose follows below, but don't read until you've made your own choice.

Noble Gawain replied that he would let her choose for herself. Upon hearing this, she announced that she would be beautiful all the time, because he had respected her and had let her be in charge of her own life. What is the moral of this story? The moral is that it doesn't matter if your woman is pretty or ugly, underneath it all, she's still a witch---and don't you forget it!