Danny Puff

By Derrik J. Lang, The Associated Press - The Canadian Press

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Game makers at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo went for the jugular.

That's not just a metaphor about the competitive spirit of the video game industry at its annual trade show this past week. There were also actual depictions of throats being ripped out — as well as spleens, spines, hearts and testicles — in some of the goriest scenes ever shown off at E3.

Developers of such titles as "Bloodborne," "Let It Die," "Mortal Kombat X," "Dead Island 2" and "Dying Light" weren't shy about harnessing the high-powered graphical capabilities of the latest generation of consoles to portray more realistic decapitations, dismemberments and other grisliness.

Why the apparent boost in high-definition gross-outs?

"I think in the early years of a console launch, you have the so-called early adopters and hardcore fan base," said Shawn Layden, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America, which launched the PlayStation 4 last November. "I think they look for the latest gaming experience that takes them to another level from where they've been before, and a lot of our publishing partners are pursuing the new, most impactful experience for gamers."

The parade of carnage kicked off Monday at Microsoft's presentation when the creators of "Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare" demonstrated a level in which a character's arm is ripped off while attempting to sabotage an enemy aircraft in South Korea. Michael Condrey, co-founder of "Advanced Warfare" developer Sledgehammer Games, later maintained the amputation wasn't only intended to shock.

"We know that war is terrifying," said Condrey. "The military advisers that we work with talk about the horrors of war. 'Call of Duty' isn't just about gratuitous violence. The scene that you saw in Seoul at the Microsoft press conference, that's an impactful story moment. The loss of the arm is really part of the narrative. We showed that for a particular storytelling reason."

Other slaughter on display at E3 included a first-person perspective of a decapitation in a demo of the French Revolution-set "Assassin's Creed: Unity" and several bone-crushing new moves in "Mortal Kombat X," like extreme close-ups of characters snapping their opponents' spines and manhandling their genitals.

"It seems, as time goes on, video games continue to become more violent, realistic and graphic," said Brad J. Bushman, a communication and psychology professor at Ohio State University. "This is a disturbing trend. Unfortunately, I see no signs that it will stop. The research evidence clearly indicates that violent video games increase aggression in players, and can make them numb to the pain and suffering of others."

But it wasn't merely blood and guts on display at E3 this year. The virtual horse that players will mount in the open-world action sequel "Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain" has been programmed to spontaneously defecate. And in a creepy abandoned mental institution from the Victorian-era thriller "The Order: 1886," there's not just blood smeared across the walls.

Game makers defend that gore aids the narrative, yet many believe a little goes a long way.

"For us, it's more impactful if it's done tastefully," said "The Order" game director Dana Jan. "If you just throw blood all over the place, it's meaningless. ... We have to look at what we think is disturbing or scary and figure out how to do that masterfully without going too over the top."

E3 wasn't completely consumed with bloodshed. This year's show featured a plethora of non-bloody, artsy games that attracted an unprecedented amount of attention. Still, the biggest games at E3 are usually the most hardcore

While violence has long been part of gaming history, and these gory titles are destined to be restricted to adult buyers by the industry's rating board, such footage received visceral reactions from even the most seasoned gamers this year.

"E3 2014, taken as a whole, doesn't feel as obsessed with violence as past shows," wrote Chris Plante, co-founder at the gaming site Polygon. That was before he cut the show's most graphic violence into a one-minute video. "The supercut is dense with blood, organs and unrecognizable viscera," Plante wrote. "It's strange how these things can wash over you but make an impact when taken together. These conferences can be a bit desensitizing."

AP Entertainment Writer Ryan Pearson contributed to this report.
Follow AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/derrikjlang.

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By Anne T. Donahue - Celebrity News

Father's Day is upon us once again, and because holidays are nothing without being tied to television, we've used it as an excuse to rank dads. But not just any dads -- TV dads. The dads that gave us hope and instilled fear and even introduced us to types of resentment. (Here's looking at you, Danny Tanner, who literally defined "micromanagement.")

So without further adieu, here is the definitive ranking of TV dads, from worst to best. Happy Father's Day!

Walter White ("Breaking Bad")
Walter White (Bryan Cranston) may have started his meth empire to ensure his family had money after he died from cancer, but he was a liar (a damned liar). He did it for himself, and he said so himself. (And by "did it," we of course mean "mentally and emotionally abuse his family.")

Ward Cleaver ("Leave it to Beaver")
Honestly, any father who talks down to his kids and his wife as much as Ward (Hugh Beaumont) would be the type most of us would give dirty looks to in the grocery store. What makes you so special, Ward?

Tywin Lannister ("Game of Thrones")
Not only does Tywin (Charles Dance) love his incestuous twins Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Cersei (Lena Headey) more than son Tyrion (Peter Dinklage), he actively blames Tyrion for the death of his wife -- who died in childbirth. You would, you horrible dad. (Plus, even though Tywin accepts Jaime and Cersei, he still exercises far too much control over their lives.)

Dexter Morgan ("Dexter")
Dexter (Michael C. Hall) was a man who neglected his son so he could kill people. Next.

Don Draper ("Mad Men")
Don (Jon Hamm) tries, and he's damaged, sure. But even though he and Sally (Kiernan Shipka) have a beautiful bond, she also saw her father having sex with his neighbour. On the flip side, Don did buy Sally a puppy in season 1 -- but it was because he bailed on her birthday and left Betty serving a frozen Sara Lee. (Shameful.)

Mitch Leery ("Dawson's Creek")
Mitch Leery (John Wesley Shipp) died in a car accident after trying to pick an ice cream cone up from the car floor, presumably to eat it. He may have been the greatest dad in the world, but guess what: nobody cares now.

Fitzgerald Grant ("Scandal")
President Fitzgerald Grant (Tony Goldwyn) had a baby with a wife he doesn't love to maintain his political popularity. Yeah, what a winner.

Danny Tanner ("Full House")
He was obsessed with cleanliness which inevitably led to complexes in his children as they got older. (Also: too many "life lesson" speeches. Relax, guy.)

Al Bundy ("Married With Children")
Right smack in the middle. Why? Because Al Bundy (Ed O'Neill) is just an average guy trying his best. Kind of. Eh, he's fine.

Tim Taylor ("Home Improvement")
Yes, he was present with his kids (and actually seemed to like them), but Tim Taylor (Tim Allen) needed a lesson or two in feminism and/or the myth of male masculinity. Sports and tools don't make a man -- you can totally take your kids to a musical with your wife, dude.

Martin Crane ("Frasier")
The fact that Martin (John Mahoney) not only puts up with his terrible sons, but also regularly puts them in his place makes him Father of the Year. Give the man a second recliner.

Phil Dunphy ("Modern Family")
He embarrasses his children while trying to be cool because he loves them. On the flip side, he embarrasses his children while trying to be cool (maybe because he secretly hates them, we don't know).

George Jefferson ("The Jeffersons")
The man built a dynasty upon dry cleaning stores, and despite his sometimes-surliness, George Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley) obviously cared. Because here's the thing: anyone with that much drive and family dedication is entitled to being a little tuckered out from time to time. Especially when trying to parent a teenage son.

Bob Belcher ("Bob's Burgers")
He makes delicious burgers and supports his children's dreams. The only downside is his lack of support for Louise's clever burger nicknames. (Just go with them, Bob.)

Louis CK ("Louie")
Louis might actually be one of the most underrated dads on television: trying his best religiously, he gives a realistic glimpse into what raising two daughters is like. It's difficult, rewarding, but more importantly, very entertaining for anyone not involved.

Dan Conner ("Roseanne")
Pro: Dan Conner (John Goodman) was a tolerate, patient, kind dad. Con: the "Roseanne" finale made us question everything we knew, meaning there was a chance he wasn't actually like that at all. Because life is unfair.

Graham Chase ("My So-Called Life")
ABC "But Mr. Chase (Tom Irwin) was an amazing dad!" you argue. "Why wouldn't you place him higher on the list?" Easy: because, if "My So-Called Life" hadn't been prematurely cancelled, it was set up that he might cheat on his wife. And not to judge, but that's Don Draperville, U.S.A.

Cliff Huxtable ("The Cosby Show")
. In one episode, Cliff Huxtable (Bill Cosby) offered a reality check to his children that rivals even the best-written AMC monologue: "This isn't Burger King. You can't have it your way." Ladies and gentlemen, the original mic drop.

Uncle Phil ("Fresh Prince of Bel-Air")
When Will (Will Smith) arrived from West Philadelphia, Uncle Phil (James Avery) stepped up: he was more of a dad than Will's biological father ever was, incorporating Will into a life he wouldn't have known if the then-teen had stayed on the playground, (where he spent most of his days). We miss you, James Avery.

Eric Taylor ("Friday Night Lights")
Coach Taylor (Kyle Chandler) defines "there." As in "being there." And "there for you." And "there there, stop crying, it's just a TV show, Eric Taylor isn't real." But we sure wish he was.

Homer Simpson ("The Simpsons")
Sure, he's clueless sometimes, but remember the episode where Homer bonded with Bart over the soapbox cars? Or when he tried to attend the opera to impress Lisa? He tries! He's an every-dad! And, according to the post about his nuclear reactor station, he even keeps his horrible job for Maggie. ("Do it for her." Tears.)

Keith Mars ("Veronica Mars")
A single father whose mandate is to do the right thing, Keith Mars (Enrico Colantoni) not only believes and believes in Veronica (Kristen Bell), he puts her needs above his own -- without being a doormat, or being taken advantage of. A dad for all of us. A dad for the books. A dad who's currently trying to support Veronica's choice to follow in his P.I. footsteps. (If you watched the "Veronica Mars" movie, which is a great Father's Day choice.)

Who do you think is the best (or worst) dad on TV? Sound off in the comments below, and Happy Father's Day!

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Seek out and eliminate these quiet health destroyers.
By Leah Zerbe, Rodalenews.com

Attack on Your Immunity Viruses and bacteria aren't the only bad actors that test your immune system. Your T cells are being tested 24/7, and by some surprising culprits, ranging from modern-day convenience items in your home to deep-rooted emotions. We scoured the data to bring you common immune-system wreckers so you can eliminate them from your life.

Microwavable Popcorn
Immune System Assassin: Microwavable popcorn bags are commonly coated in nonstick chemicals called perflurorinated compounds (PFCs) so grease doesn't penetrate the bag. A recent study in Environmental Health found levels the government considers "safe" are 100 to 1,000 times too high for children. These chemicals have been shown to mess up your immune system; vaccines given to people with higher levels of PFCs in their bodies were much less effective.

Immunity Boost: Make popcorn on the stovetop or use this DIY microwave popcorn trick. These same chemicals hide out in many stain-repellent carpets and furniture treatments and greaseproof fast-food containers and wraps, so be sure to cut down on these exposures, too.

Pots and Pans
Immune System Assassin: Some of the same nonstick chemicals added to popcorn bags also hide out in many nonstick pots and pans. A recent study published in Environmental Health Perspectives found women with higher levels of hormone-disrupting perfluorinated compounds like perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in their blood were more likely to have the autoimmune disease osteoarthritis.

Immunity Boost: Don't panic if you have nonstick pans, but when you start noticing scratches and chips, replace them with glass, made-in-the-USA cast iron, or stainless steel to avoid nonstick chemicals.

Loneliness
Immune System Assassin: Your immune cells are social, and they want you to be, too. T cells scan your body for disease and then share information like honeybees, according to a recent scientific breakthrough. But if you're not so social, it could impact your ability to fight disease. Ohio State researchers recently found worrying about close relationships acts like a chronic stressor that suppresses your immunity. Previous research found we're more likely to get sick--and die earlier--when we have fewer social connections.

Immunity Boost: If you just can't seem to click with new people, try volunteering where you'll find generous and grateful folk, such as at a soup kitchen. You're not necessarily looking to make new friends there--though it's great if you do. But you may find it easier to lower your guard in an atmosphere of altruism and gratitude.

Lack of Sleep
Immune System Assassin: Slacking in the sleep department can lower the number of killer cells your body needs to wipe out infections. A University of Chicago study found that sleeping just four hours a night for a week cut the number of flu-fighting antibodies in study participants' systems in half.

Immunity Boost: Stay away from looking at screens for at least two hours before going to bed. The light from electronics' screens can trick your brain from easing into sleep mode. Aim for seven to nine hours of uninterrupted sleep.

Antibiotics
Immune System Assassin: Taking antibiotics can slash your levels of cytokines, the hormonal messengers your immune system relies on during sickness.

Immunity Boost: Cold and flu and most middle ear and sinus infections are caused by viruses, so taking antibiotics will do nothing for your ailment and will wipe out immune-supporting bacteria in your gut. Find out when you actually need antibiotics, here. When you are on antibiotics, be sure to take doses on time and finish the entire course. Eat low-sugar yogurt and fermented foods to repopulate your gut flora.

Canned Food
Immune System Assassin: Bisphenol A, or BPA, coats the inside lining of most canned foods. In 2010, University of Michigan School of Public Health researchers found that adults with higher levels of BPA also had higher cytomegalovirus antibody levels, suggesting that their cell-mediated immune system is malfunctioning.

Immunity Boost: To avoid BPA, opt for fresh or frozen foods, versus canned, or reach for soups and broths in Tetra Pak boxes.

Sugar
Immune System Assassin: Eating 100 grams of sugar (think a bottle of soda, fruit yogurt, and a candy bar) significantly lowered the ability of white blood cells to kill bacteria for up to five hours, according to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Immunity Boost: Avoid foods with added sugar as much as possible, especially during cold and flu season. It's in obvious places, such as juices, sodas, and desserts, but significant amounts also hide out in many low-fat yogurts, bread, condiments, and salad dressings.

Dehydration
Immune System Assassin: Fluids help flush your body of immune-damaging toxins and carry nutrients to any infection sites. Little-known fact? Many of us walk around mildly dehydrated most of the time without even knowing it.

Immunity Boost: If your pee is dark yellow in the morning, drink more water before bed--you're aiming for pale yellow for a visible sign of proper hydration.

Antibacterial Soap
Immune System Assassin: Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center found children exposed to antibacterial chemicals are prone to food and environmental allergies. Children with higher levels of antibacterials in their urine experienced higher IgE blood antibody levels. High antibody counts signal a response to an allergen; the researchers believe the antibacterial chemicals alter healthy immune system development.

Immunity Boost: Children with more triclosan, a popular antibacterial soap chemical, in their blood high the highest allergy risk. Washing with regular soap and water works just as well, without the added risks.

Air Pollution
Immune System Assassin: Cutting-edge research is unearthing a connection between air pollution--specifically polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)--and damaged immune systems. PAHs pour from exhaust pipes and flake off of driveways, playgrounds, and parking lots treated with coal-tar sealant.

Immunity Boost: Check local pollution levels and avoid exercising outdoors on high pollution days. Push for a coal-tar sealant ban in your city, state, or municipality to reduce PAH exposure from blacktop surfaces. (Safer alternatives without coal tar are readily available at most hardware stores.)

Insecticides
Immune System Assassin: Using toxic insecticides to kill household and lawn pests could increase your risk of developing an autoimmune disease, according to data recently presented at an American College of Rheumatology meeting. Women who sprayed insecticides at least six times a year were about 2½ times more likely to develop lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. Those who hired a professional lawn service to apply insecticides to their yard had a two times greater risk.

Immunity Boost: Use nontoxic pest control measures and use these organic lawn-care tips to keep your house pest free without chemicals. Plant native plants in your garden to attract beneficial insects that prey on pests, too.

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There are definitely one or two things he only does because it makes you happy.

By Frank Kobola,
cosmopolitan.com

1. He finds your best friend / sister / mom attractive. If you think she's pretty, he probably does too. He also wants to avoid a fight about it not mattering how *~cHiLL~* you are because it really does mean nothing to him. But yes, she's pretty.

2. He's scared of spiders. He's going to suck it up and kill that giant spider that got into the room even though it freaks him out. What is that thing? A Brown Recluse? Definitely gonna be your fault if he gets paralyzed from the venom.

3. He's scared of the future. Making a five-year plan is scarier than spiders, but only marginally scarier.

4. He has no idea what he's doing. Is the furnace broken? Yeah, he'll go down there and bang around on the pipes with a wrench in one hand while he Googles "how to fix a furnace" on his phone. There! Fixed.

5. If you've gained weight. He will never touch this one. No matter how many ways you phrase, "I think I need to lose weight," he will change the subject. He will start a house fire just to avoid the subject.

6. If he's not that into your hobbies. You two probably have a lot in common, but there are definitely one or two things he does just because it makes you happy. He will sit there and get excited about Scandal with you, and he will take his hatred for it to his grave.

7. He loves some of the things you hate. Sure, he was all about taking a stand and boycotting McDonald's with you for the sake of solidarity after you watched Super Size Me. He also sometimes sneaks a Big Mac at work. It tastes like two all-beef patties, special sauce, cheese, pickles, onions, and tears.

8. How he really feels about your family. If he doesn't like something about your family, you'll never know it. Unless your mom tried to stab him because he wouldn't take off his gang colors in her house or something.

9. How much porn he watches. He watches a lot of porn, OK? Just, a lot. The amount of porn he watches will make you sad. Don't ask this question.

10. He knows exactly how long his penis is. To the second decimal place, off the top of his head.

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By Elizabeth Bernstein, The Wall Street Journal


"How can I tell if someone is lying to me online, or in a text or an email?"

Readers have been asking me about this issue a lot lately. In an age of online dating and constant emails, texts and social media, people write to tell me about communications that feel incomplete, disconnected or just a little off. Their gut is telling them something is wrong.

With so much room for ambiguity and misinterpretation, it's hard to tell what is fact and what is fiction. This can happen when we are flirting with a stranger on an online dating site, as well as when we are messaging with a work manager or planning a family party with a sibling.

Experts say the vast majority of our interpersonal communication involves body language—gestures, facial expressions, tone of voice. Take these intangibles away, as we do with digital messages, and we are left with far fewer clues as to what is really going on.

In the office and elsewhere, many relationships begin on email and remain that way for years. So it's critical to have tools to help evaluate whether the person on the other end of a digital communication might be lying.

Research shows people tend to be suspicious of information they receive online but override their suspicions and trust the information anyway. Experts call this our "truth bias."

We often have powerful emotional reasons to believe what someone is telling us. We really want to believe the message from the cutie on the dating site is real. Ditto the text saying our spouse is working late.

A few years ago, Brian Bohne, of Lauderdale by the Sea, Fla., was contacted through an online dating site by an attractive woman in Russia. Almost immediately, she asked to communicate via email.

From the start, Mr. Bohne had suspicions—her messages appeared to be written with the help of translation software—but he decided to play along.

He says he found her story of longing to get out of her small town believable. He was surprised that she wrote for months, professing her love without asking for money.

"Waking up in the morning to an email love letter can be exciting and flattering," says Mr. Bohne, a 51-year-old retired Army veteran. He found himself thinking, "What if?"

After four months, the woman said she wanted to visit and was going to apply for a passport. Then she contacted him to say if he didn't wire her $1,000, she was going to be in "big trouble." Mr. Bohne googled the email address she had provided—and found it on websites warning about so-called bride scams. He didn't wire the money.

It is possible to catch people lying because they often are bad at it, says Tyler Cohen Wood, an intelligence officer and cyber branch chief at the Defense Intelligence Agency's Science and Technology Directorate, and author of a 2014 book titled "Catching the Catfishers: Disarm the Online Pretenders, Predators and Perpetrators Who Are Out to Ruin Your Life." (Her views on the subject are her own and not those of her employer, she emphasizes.)

"The majority of people prefer to tell the truth," says Ms. Cohen Wood. "That's why when they are lying, the truth is going to leak out."

There will be clues. To identify them, Ms. Cohen Woods suggests using a modified version of a law-enforcement technique known as statement analysis, which is a way to look for deception by analyzing a person's words.

To begin with, pay attention to a person's use of emphatic language. It doesn't necessarily mean he or she is lying, but rather that he or she really wants you to believe what is being said. This is also the case when a person keeps saying the same thing over and over in slightly different ways. "They wouldn't repeat it if it wasn't important to them," Ms. Cohen Wood says.

Look for language that distances the writer from the intended reader. In person, someone may unconsciously distance himself by crossing his arms in front of him. In writing, he can achieve this same effect by omitting personal pronouns and references to himself from a story.

Say he receives a text that says, "Hey I had a great time last night, did you?" He might reply, "Last night was fun."

Another technique to watch out for is the unanswered question. You ask, and the other person hedges or changes the subject. Most likely, the person doesn't like saying no, or doesn't want to hurt your feelings. But he or she also may also be keeping something from you.

"This is all very subtle," says Ms. Cohen Wood. "And it depends on the context." It helps to know a person's baseline behavior—certain words, phrases and punctuation he or she uses often, and the amount of time he or she tends to take when replying. Pay attention when any of this deviates from the norm. Did someone who is usually chatty and full of details suddenly become curt or vague? Did a quiet person turn into a chatter box?

Noncommittal statements are red flags—"pretty sure," "probably," "must have" and, my least favorite, "maybe." ("Did you let the client know, Jim?" "We covered a lot of ground. I must have mentioned it.") "These words leave the person an out," Ms. Cohen Wood says.

Qualifying statements, what I call "tee-ups," are another potential tell. Ms. Cohen Wood says these expressions—"to be honest," "there is nothing to worry about," "I hate to tell you this"—often signal that the person is uncomfortable with his or her next statement.

Another sign of lying is "tense hopping." Someone describing an event that happened in the past usually uses the past tense. But if midway through the story the person starts fabricating, that material plays out in his or her head and leads to a switch to the present tense.

Ms. Cohen Wood advises people who meet someone online to consider a few protective steps. They can apply in other situations, too.

First and foremost, if an email or text exchange feels off, ask the person if he or she would mind switching immediately to phone or Skype. A slightly more skeptical request is to ask for a real-time photo stamped with the time and date.

Ask questions. Pay attention to vague answers, slip-ups and inconsistencies. Don't brush it off if a person tells you he or she is an only child and then mentions a sibling.

One red flag may be a misunderstanding or an honest mistake, Ms. Cohen Wood says. "But if they meet multiple things on the checklist, then you have a problem," she says.

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Make sure your anesthesiologist won't be checking Facebook during your surgery!

By Susan E. Matthews, Everyday Health

You're ready to go in for surgery. You've read everything you can about your condition and how the surgery will help you. You've even used our tip sheet to schedule your surgery for the right time, with the right doctor. Just to make sure you're as prepared as you can be, here's what your doctor may not tell you about anesthesia, which will help you get through the procedure with as little pain and awareness as possible.

1. You could be awake during the procedure.
For most major surgeries (think open-heart), you'll be put completely under so that you're both blissfully unaware of what's happening, and so you won't move and disrupt the work of the doctors. But for certain surgeries, you might just get localized anesthesia, meaning that you won't be able to feel where the doctors are operating, but you are aware of your surroundings. This might happen if the procedure is minor, like dental surgery, or if it's important that the person is aware of what's happening and responding, as can be the case for certain brain surgeries.

2. It could make you more forgetful.
Undergoing anesthesia has been shown to affect memory in some people, sometimes for weeks or months after the surgery. Patients with postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) report that their memory is impaired following surgery for days, weeks, or even months, but there's little evidence to show long-term impairment. Researchers have found that anesthesia kills brain cells involved in memory and learning in mice.

3. Your age might affect your recovery time.
Cognitive issues following surgery seem to be especially pronounced for older adults. Problems with concentration and attention have been reported in 25 percent of patients over 60 in the week following surgery, but they do tend to subside over time. There's currently a medical debate as to whether anesthesia increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease in the elderly, with some research showing it does, and other studies show it has no effect.

4. You're not just "asleep."
You're actually unconscious - which is helpful, because it means you won't respond to pain. But it also means that someone will have to monitor your vital signs, like your pulse and your breathing, at all times.

5. Your insurance may not cover your anesthesiologist.
Even if your procedure is covered. If someone's going to be monitoring your vitals throughout the entire surgery (and making sure you're getting the proper amount of anesthesia medication to keep you under), it's going to cost you. Anesthesiology yields the sixth-highest earnings compared to other physician specialties, according to a 2013 report. Unfortunately, that cost may not be covered by your insurance, even if your procedure is. Women who have needed an epidural while giving birth have found this out the hard way. The same is true of other more minor procedures, such as a colonoscopy. Ask if your anesthesiologist is in-network, and ask what the service will cost before-hand.

6. You might wake up during the surgery.
This is called anesthesia awareness, and it's estimated to happen 20,000-40,000 times a year in the United States. That means it occurs in one or two for every 1,000 surgeries performed. The scary part is that while you might wake up, the drugs may prohibit you from talking, moving, or signaling that you're awake. It's more likely to happen if the anesthesia drugs are delivered only intravenously, rather than inhaled, so talk to your doctor about your options if this is something you're nervous about. If you do wake up during the surgery, your anesthesiologist should realize it and correct the problem.

7. You need to disclose a drug or alcohol addiction.
If your body is used to processing large quantities of alcohol or other drugs, your liver may process these sorts of drugs more quickly than the average person. This is important because it will also mean your liver is more effective at processing anesthesia drugs. Be sure to disclose any sort of addiction to your doctor, so you receive the correct level of anesthesia.

8. You might wake up with a sore throat.
You may be intubated with a breathing tube to be sure your body is getting enough oxygen during the surgery. While you'll have muscle relaxants to ensure that your windpipe doesn't interact with the tube, it's still likely that you'll wake up with a sore throat. Other side effects of anesthesia include dry mouth, hoarseness, sleepiness, shivering, nausea, and vomiting.

9. The risk of dying is relatively low, but it exists.
Death rates from surgery in which general anesthesia was used have improved dramatically in just the last 50 years. While in the 1970s, 357 patients for every million patients died, by the 1990s and early 2000s that had dropped to just 34 patients for every million, a 2012 analysis found. The risk of dying simply from anesthesia is just 1 in 250,000, lower than the mortality rate for household injuries.

10. Your anesthesiologist may be on Facebook during your surgery.
Still, you'll want to make sure your anesthesiologist is up to snuff. Take, for example, Christopher Spillers, an anesthesiologist who is being sued for checking and posting to Facebook while supposedly monitoring a patient during surgery. Check out your hospital's quality score here, first. You can also check the status of your doctor's licence with your state's Board of Medicine.

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By Dan Tynan, Tech Columnist

One day about four years ago, I came home from work and heard utter mayhem coming from my son's room: Russian voices, screeching tires, gunshots. I bolted up the stairs and threw open his door.

I found him parked in front of his Xbox, playing Grand Theft Auto IV. I watched his avatar lead police on a high-speed chase through the absurdly empty streets of Liberty City. He crashed a car into a light pole, hopped out of his car, and began emptying a .45 Magnum at the cops.


This game was most definitely not on the family approved-to-play list. My first instinct was to grab the Xbox and throw it out the window. My wife persuaded me to conserve my moral outrage for those moments when he did something dangerous or stupid in the real world, not in a virtual one.

Still, for a little while I felt like the world's worst parent. Then I sat down and watched him play, and I also watched the story on the Xbox unfold before him. I realized that GTA is a dystopian satire not all that different from movies like A Clockwork Orange, which thoroughly outraged parents when I was his age.

The idea that playing video games makes kids violent and antisocial is often accepted as a sobering fact of modern life. Whether it's true is less clear — some studies say yes, others say nyet. In the real world, watching Clockwork did not make me into a droogie. And playing GTA did not turn my son into a murderous thug. He's a great kid.

But let's assume the fear has some truth, that violent media contributes to violent behavior. If so — if games teach kids to shoot first and to drive as if cars are weapons — can't games also be used to impart positive life skills like empathy or compassion? Can video games boost a child's emotional quotient (EQ)?

Some people think they can. One of them is Trip Hawkins, founder of Electronic Arts, most famous for creating the most popular sports simulation game of all time, John Madden Football. Now he's trying to prove it via a fantasy adventure game called IF… aimed at tweens.

You the dog, man
Just as Madden Football is based on actual NFL playbooks, IF… is based on decades of research in social emotional learning (SEL). The game takes place in a land called Greenberry populated by dogs, cats, and magical Pokemon-like characters known as Vim. Long ago, the dogs and cats were driven apart by conflict, and Greenberry fell into ruin.

Guided by the Yoda-like YouDog, players must learn how to tame the Vim, resolve the conflicts, and bring Greenberry back to harmony. Along the way they're presented with questions and a choice of answers measuring their degree of empathy and other SEL attributes.

You’ve got three choices. Pick the wrong answer, and you’ll get a lesson in sensitivity from YouDog.

Each chapter teaches 20 distinct SEL skills, such as listening, managing emotions, or expressing gratitude. As each chapter is completed, parents get a report detailing how well their child did. The first chapter of the book-like adventure is available for free in the iTunes Store. New chapters will start to become available in June for around $5 apiece.

To be frank, this is not the most exciting game your child will ever play. The first chapter is didactic, slow, and unlikely to lure anyone away from Minecraft, Runescape, or Club Penguin. (I'm told things get livelier in Chapter 2.) But Hawkins says the rewards are more subtle and long lasting.

"This game is not about advancing in levels; it's about teaching compassion," he said. "You're like the Jimmy Stewart character in It's a Wonderful Life. You see how the town ends up in tatters without you, and it's up to you to make it right."

Learning to cope
Though IF… is probably the most ambitious and well-funded attempt to employ gaming techniques to teach kids emotional skills, it's not the only one. The Social Express uses Pixar-like animation to teach kids age 5 and up how to read emotional clues and react to them appropriately.

The Social Express starts by teaching kids how to recognize their own emotions, and then how to apply coping skills.

Rather than embed lessons inside the plot of a role-playing game, The Social Express uses brief webisodes that target specific situations and model appropriate behavior, CEO Marc Zimmerman says.

Kids can apply those lessons to their own lives via a 99 cent Android or iOS app called My Digital Problem Solver. My DPS lets kids choose an image that shows how they feel at the moment (frustrated, scared, mad, or whatever) and then select a coping strategy like taking deep breaths or "positive self talk" to calm down.

In use by more than 100 school districts across the country, The Social Express is also available to families for $5 a month per child. Parents can track their child's progress through the lessons via a free mobile app.

IF….. and The Social Express are two examples of a small but growing genre of digital works that explore emotions besides fear and anger, which tend to dominate most video games, said Tanner Higgin, senior manager for education content at Common Sense Media.

"There's a wide range of feelings like loneliness, trepidation, and guilt that have remained largely untapped," he said. "Over the last few years we've started to see a lot more games that implicitly or explicitly build social skills and expand the emotional spectrum."

The play's the thing
Respecting other people's feelings, sharing, being empathetic — aren't these things kids should be learning from their parents, not from a screen? I asked Janice Toben, founder of the Institute for Social and Emotional Learning, who consulted on the curriculum baked into IF… .

Yes, she replied. But she added that many parents lack the ability to model those traits themselves, especially during emotionally charged encounters with their children. So, for example, instead of calmly explaining that a violent video game is detrimental to a child's emotional development, they are instead tempted to rip the cables from the Xbox and hurl it into the street.

"Parents want to be able to create a common vocabulary around things like calming down, listening to each other, and getting along, but not everyone knows how to do it," she said. "I think a game like IF… can help, if the parents are interested and involved."

Research has shown that playing games can sharpen a child's problem-solving skills (not to mention his aim and his reflexes). If games can boost his IQ, why not his EQ? At the very least it's worth a shot — metaphorically speaking, of course.

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By Dan Tynan, Tech Columnist

We'd just crested the ridge at 6,000 feet when I decided to find a nice soft spot to lie down and die. I thought I might just sleep until the snow arrived and turned me into a Popsicle. But I had my 15-year-old daughter with me, and one of us had to act like the adult.


This was our annual "unplugging" trip to the Great Smoky Mountains, and it wasn't going so well. As usual, my 17-year-old son had charged up the trail and was already at the lodge sipping hot cocoa. We hadn't seen my wife for over an hour; she was hiking to the beat of a different drummer. But dad and daughter were feeling the full weight of the seven-mile, 4,000-foot ascent.

Then the phone inside my backpack bleeped. A text message had managed to find me in the middle of nowhere. It was from my wife: "Where r u guys?"

Every year we make a pilgrimage to LeConte Lodge, a dozen cabins at the top of the Smokies accessible only by foot, with no electricity, no Internet, and — theoretically, at least — no cell coverage. (Technically, if you stand in precisely the right spot near the bathrooms you can send and receive texts. That's where she was when she sent her message.)

The idea was to separate ourselves from technology for at least 24 hours. When we first did this four or five years ago it was relatively easy. Now, not so much. Wireless networks have gotten so powerful that we got 4G coverage more than halfway up the mountain. And we've become so dependent on our phones for music, entertainment, maps, and more that none of us could bear to leave our handsets behind.

We did finally manage to unplug, however … when our batteries ran out.

Plug ugly
We're not the only parents concerned about our collective obsession with technology. You were probably too busy looking at your phone to notice, but last week was "Screen-Free Week." The campaign, which has been running in one form or another since the early 1990s, encourages kids to rediscover fun things to do that don't involve electronics, says Josh Golin, director of the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood that oversees it.

Last month, spoken word artist Gary Turk posted a five-minute video to YouTube titled "Look Up" that urged us to stop tapping on our devices and start talking to one another.


That video is a bit preachy for my tastes, but it has struck a chord: It has been watched more than 32 million times.

An excess of screen time has been blamed for a rogue's gallery of childhood ills, including insomnia, attention disorders, a failure to make real-world social connections, and a childhood obesity epidemic. More than a third of Americans under the age of 19 are seriously overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At least part of that may be caused by too many pixels and not enough physical activity.

Tune out, turn off
What can you do about it? I've talked with dozens of parents about this, and while there's no magic formula, it really boils down to a few simple rules:

1. Create a contract. As I've written elsewhere, it's a good idea to sit down with your kids and collaborate on guidelines for when and how they're allowed to use their devices. Write them down so there's no dispute later over what they agreed to.

(Many parents bristle at the notion of negotiating anything with their children. If the "my way or the highway" approach works for you, fantastic. I think kids are more likely to follow the rules if they have a say in creating them, and are also more likely to become responsible adults. But ask me in 10 years and I'll let you know how this has worked out.)

2. Establish tech-free zones. A popular tactic is to set times or spaces where technology is verboten (that also includes you, by the way). Meals are a typical time to ask everyone to check their phones at the door; many parents forbid technology after a certain hour or in kids' bedrooms; and some plan gadget-free trips and other activities.

You will probably need some kind of monitoring system on your home network to help enforce these rules. You'll also want to get familiar with the devices your kids use most. The iPad, Kindle, and Xbox all have rudimentary parental controls built in, while AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon let you set time restrictions and put other limits on their phones for a small monthly fee.

3. Choose your screens carefully. Measuring screen time alone is missing the point. There's a big difference between spending two hours building cool stuff in Minecraft and spending two hours decimating zombies in Dead Rising. I think my son spends too much time watching YouTube videos, but actually many of them are about science or history. It's not a substitute for playing football, but it's not a total brain-melting waste either.
The biggest offender, by the way, is not the computer, console, or phone. Researchers at Boston Children's Hospital concluded that the worst contributor to childhood obesity is the TV. Why? Kids are bombarded with ads for fast food and sugar-saturated drinks. And, worse, their hands are free to stuff this junk down their gullets.

4. Get active. What does a kid do when there's no screen to turn to? What you used to do when you were a kid: Break out the board games, ride bikes, play hopscotch. There was a period in third grade when my daughter was obsessed with knitting and got all of her friends obsessed, too. That worked fine.

There are also dozens of Xbox, PlayStation, and Wii games that allow kids to exercise more than just their thumbs, using the consoles' cameras and motion detectors. These games are also easier for most adults to play along with. It's still technically screen time, but it's social and physically active screen time.

5. Heal thyself. Want to see someone who probably spends too much time staring into the electronic void? Look at the reflection in your monitor. Or smartphone. Or tablet. If you're not dealing with your addiction to pixels, how can you ask your kids to deal with theirs?

Awareness of this problem has given rise to a new phenomenon: unplugging camps for adults, where overly wired professionals free themselves from the shackles of technology. There are dozens of these; one of the better known is Digital Detox's Camp Grounded in Anderson Valley, California. This June, for a little more than $500, you can spend four days taking workshops in archery, dance, tai chi, and fire making, among other things. You're not allowed to tweet about any of it.

"The rules at camp are taken seriously," says founder and camp director Levi Felix. "No digital technology, no work talk, and no networking. The focus isn't on disconnecting from devices as much as it is about reconnecting to the things that really matter in life."


Modern phone age families
If you are feeling the urge to toss your kids' smartphones into the trash, there are two more things to keep in mind. First, this is not a new problem. My parents' biggest complaint was that TV rotted kids' brains. Their parents probably worried about an excess of talking pictures. Go far back enough; I bet we'd discover Fred and Wilma were concerned that Pebbles was spending too much time in front of cave paintings. Most of us survived just fine.

The second thing to remember is that we have to prepare our kids for the world they will inherit, not the one we grew up in. Barring some kind of technology apocalypse, nearly everything they read, do, or say as adults is going to be delivered digitally.

In other words, they will be spending even more time in front of screens. One of our jobs as parents is to make sure they don't spend all their time in front of them. Another is to make sure that the unavoidable time they do spend with technology is spent well and wisely.

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By Arden Moore | vetstreet.com

It's often easy to spot when cats are being finicky or feisty. But what about when they are showing pure feline affection? What does that look like?

We spoke with Dr. Allen Schoen, a veterinarian, behaviorist and author of the best-selling book Kindred Spirits and Vetstreet's own Dr. Marty Becker, author of Your Cat: The Owner's Manual, to share 10 ways cats deliver love and affection to the people who matter most to them.

"I've been studying animal behavior since 1974 and can say without a doubt that cats can and do bond with their favorite people," declares Dr. Allen Schoen, a veterinarian, behaviorist and author of the best-selling book Kindred Spirits. "I've been fortunate to share my life with some of the sweetest, most loving cats. When they come in contact with us, they are consciously making an inter-species connection."

But the trick is to recognize - and appreciate - what they are trying to tell you. Here are nine ways cats show their affection.

1. Lightly touching her forehead against you

Called head bunting, this feline act of affection is delivered only to the A-listers in a cat's life. Your cat will face you, lower her head and lean forward so that the top of her head touches your forehead, face or other body part. This loving touch can often release feel-good hormones called endorphins in your cat and you.

2. Cheek rubbing you

Think of your cat as a feline graffiti artist. To make her turf really feel like home, she will rub her cheeks against the corners of furniture and, possibly, your legs or hands when you pet her. This act secretes oils from her facial glands. It's her way of claiming you as her own. Just be grateful that she does so by cheek rubbing, not spraying.

3. Twitching the tip of her tail

The feline tail acts like a mood barometer. The tail puffs out when your cat is frightened or agitated. Conversely, your cat expresses love to you when she approaches you with her tail hoisted lazily up in the air and the very tip twitches. In cat speak, she is saying, "You rock my world!"

4. Holding eye contact and sharing a soft blink

Don't expect a cat to maintain a steady eye-to-eye stare with a new houseguest. Cats save eye contact for people they know and trust, like you. The bond is accented when she blinks softly at you. This is the equivalent of a kitty kiss. Respond by softly blinking back.

5. Turning on the purr power

This steady, rhythmic sound emitted when your cat inhales and exhales is often associated with contentment. But cats also purr when they need to self-calm or while nursing a litter; however, your cat saves the special full-bodied rumble as a smile directed to you. It is her way of saying, "I love you."

6. Sitting on you or beside you

Cats crave warm places to nap and sleep, but when they bypass a comfy cat bed or your bedroom pillow to perch on your lap, you should feel honored. Your cat has sized up her options and is conveying that she prefers being with you rather than being by herself in her cat bed.

7. Kneading his paws on your lap

If you need a sign it is time to trim your cat's nails, nothing is clearer than when he perches on your lap, purrs and starts kneading your thighs with her front paws. But this is also a sign of affection. Experts say that this action beckons your adult cat back to a safe, welcoming memory when she was nuzzling his mother for milk as a newborn kitten. He is being affectionate and a bit nostalgic.

8. Licking your hair and earlobes

OK, neither of these actions may rate on your top 10 list of affection preferences, but your cat is regarding you as another cat - albeit a big one - in her inner circle. Only special "cats" are deemed worthy of these special grooming sessions. In a multicat household, mutual grooming is a sign of trust and friendship. Pay attention to which cats, if any, in your home team up for mutual grooming. You may be the only one meriting such a gift!

9. Bringing you dead mice, birds and other so-called gifts

Evolution and domestication have not stripped your cat of her inner hunter. After a successful hunt, she may deposit a mouse head or lizard tail in a place she knows you will visit - like your pillow. Yuck? Yes, but your cat is sharing her prey prize with you, a true sign of trusted friendship.

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By Brandon Bailey covers Google, Facebook and Yahoo for the San Jose Mercury News, reporting on the business and culture of the Internet.


Okay, all you Windows XP users – and, by now, you know who you are. The security threat to your computer could get uncomfortably real next week.

Microsoft is set to release its next series of routine security patches on Tuesday, and for the first time, it won't be releasing any patches for the 13-year-old operating system known as Windows XP, according to veteran security blogger Graham Cluley.

"In all probability," Cluley warned on his blog today, "there will be Windows vulnerabilities fixed on that day which will remain unpatched on the unloved Windows XP platform."

"And it would be no surprise at all if malicious hackers reverse-engineered Microsoft's fixes and explored how to exploit on Windows XP security flaws that are fixed on the likes of Windows 7."

It's not that XP users haven't been warned. As we've reported before, Microsoft has been telling everyone for months that, as of this spring, it would no longer issue security updates for the aging, but still widely used XP version of its flagship Windows operating system – even though XP is still running on tens of millions of personal computers around the world.

But Microsoft backtracked from its self-imposed April 8 deadline, when it responded last week to a new and dangerous vulnerability involving its Internet Explorer web browser. Microsoft distributed a set of software patches to fix that problem on May 1, and it deemed the threat so severe that it decided to include a patch for computers running Explorer on XP.

As a Microsoft security official noted, the company is still encouraging users to upgrade to a newer, more secure operating system. And now Cluley is arguing that it's time for Microsoft to show some tough love. Providing further patches for XP is only encouraging people to put off a needed upgrade, he writes.

"I'm not saying it's going to be pretty," Cluley added, but: "It's time for the world to get rid of Windows XP. And it's time for Microsoft to make an honest clean break and not release any more fixes for XP."

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