Liz Steyer after breakfast with three of her four children, ages 5 to 16. Laptops and cellphones are banned during meals. Jim Wilson/The New York TimesKarl and Dorsey Gude of East Lansing, Mich., can remember simpler mornings, not too long ago. They sat together and chatted as they ate breakfast. They read the newspaper and competed only with the television for the attention of their two teenage sons.
That was so last century. Today, Mr. Gude wakes at around 6 a.m. to check his work e-mail and his Facebook and Twitter accounts. The two boys, Cole and Erik, start each morning with text messages, video games and Facebook.
The new routine quickly became a source of conflict in the family, with Ms. Gude complaining that technology was eating into family time. But ultimately even she partially succumbed, cracking open her laptop after breakfast.
“Things that I thought were unacceptable a few years ago are now commonplace in my house,” she said, “like all four of us starting the day on four computers in four separate rooms.”
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My Comment: A social trend that has even hit my own home.
Image: Memory Alpha
(Peter Dazeley)
Their study found that Tamiflu caused vomiting in some children, which can lead to dehydration and complications Photo: REUTERS
Credit: Brian Stauffer
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The band of heavy precipitation indicates the intertropical convergence zone. The new findings are based on sediment cores from lakes and lagoons on Palau, Washington, Christmas and Galapagos islands. (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Washington)
Keiko in home waters. Credit: F. Ugarte/arc-pic.com
In 2008, a cargo ship was grounded off Blackpool after being hit by a freak wave.
From The Scientific American:
El Niño conditions over the Pacific Ocean have so far kept a lid on the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season, experts said in August 2009. But there's still plenty of time for a "monster" to form by season's end. Hurricane Andrew, seen above barreling toward Florida on August 24, 1992, also formed during an El Niño year. Andrew was the third most powerful hurricane to make U.S. landfall in recorded history. Photograph courtesy National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 
From New Scientist:
Liz Steyer after breakfast with three of her four children, ages 5 to 16. Laptops and cellphones are banned during meals. Jim Wilson/The New York Times
Heide Benser / Corbis
