With the exception of a weird brand of adhesive bandage and penicillin, I am very lucky that I do not have any allergies—especially considering my family history.

The same can't be said for my poor sister whose entire childhood was severely sleep-deprived due to horrific allergies, particularly in the spring and fall. And who can forget the Thanksgiving when we cleared out nearly the entire extended family, not realizing our new pet rabbit would send them rummaging for inhalers—and out the door? Then there was the road-trip when I spent 6 hours freaked out, thinking my friend had pinkeye. Turned out to be a ragweed flare-up.

Suffice to say, allergies are no fun! They become particularly bad this time of year when new flowers are in bloom and pollen is whirling around. Pollen allergies, also known as hay fever, can often be confused with the common cold. Same sneezing, runny nose, coughing, watery and itchy eyes. While a cold typically clears up in a week or so, allergies can last for weeks. Left untreated, it can lead to more serious issues like ear infections, sinus infections, and asthma.

What can you do if you have these extended symptoms? Obviously, the first step is to see your doctor. Once it is determined what you're allergic to, you can then figure out ways to avoid the allergen. Allergic to plants and trees? Keep your windows shut, and use air-conditioning with a filter. For dust allergies, do your best to minimize clutter—where dust gets trapped. Purchase pillow and mattress covers to form a barrier between you and dust mites.

Your doctor may also prescribe you medication depending on your specific problem. Many nasal sprays or antihistamines can be taken at home. Sometimes allergy shots are recommended. These take place in the doctor's office and continue at weekly or monthly intervals for 3 to 5 years.

Determining the cause of seasonal discomfort is half the battle. Don't let allergies keep you cooped up this spring!

In honor of Earth Day, we welcome guest blogger Jeffrey Levy, who has worked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency since 1993. He started out protecting the ozone layer and is now EPA's Web Content Manager.

"Environmental protection."  To me, that phrase often raises images of massive cleanups, scientists taking water samples, and courtrooms. But it's also about individual choices that add up to big differences.  For instance, even my kids know to turn out the lights and toss cans in the recycling.  And Earth Day is all about learning what you can do.

But as fun as Earth Day can be, it's not enough to pay attention to the environment one day a year.  So as corny as my title is, how can you make it a reality?

To start, check out our Earth Day site, where you can:

• Get daily environmental tip emails or use our widget to put them on your own site
• Listen to podcasts
• Read how to help protect the environment at home, at school, etc.

Staying on EPA's site, talk to us in our brand-new blog, Greenversations.  I get to talk to EPA employees all over the country who will be writing, and they've got some great stories.  For example, did you know EPA has a professional team of SCUBA divers?

If those links aren't enough to keep you busy, check out USA.gov's info about the environment from other agencies.

Reading's interesting, but get out there!  For me, anyway, sitting on a mountaintop reminds me why environmental protection matters.  Take a hike, find a federal camping spot on recreation.gov, or take advantage of your state parks.

Okay, I've gone on long enough.  Now it's your turn: share what you're doing for Earth Day and how you can make it every day!

Straight from the "strange but true" file, it's National TV-Turnoff week. That's right the Center for Screen-Time Awareness (CSTA) says April 21-27 everyone should turn off or even unplug their TV so they can "think, create and do."

The first thing you can "do" is order the free and newly published 2008 Consumer Action Handbook, or CAH, as we call it in the office. The CAH is an every day guide to being a smarter shopper. (You're smart already because you're ordering the CAH).

Okay, now back to our regularly scheduled programming or I guess missing or DVRing your regularly scheduled programming.

The CSTA has been hosting National TV-Turnoff Week since 1995 so people can take a hard look at the role of TV in their lives, especially in the lives of their children. They say that TV is a passive activity and if you or your children watch too much, it can cut into family time and lead to unhealthy habits and obesity.

They recommend while the TV is off you and your family spend time outdoors, read, play games or just have fun with each other. Their hope is that you make these activities a habit and you and your family spend less time watching TV in the future.

My TV will be off this week since I'm helping a friend get ready for his wedding (I don't think this will become a habit). Now turn off "The Hills" and get out there, but remember to order the CAH before you go.

Many Gov Gab regulars might know that our Friday blogger, Sommer, has been expecting her first baby. Her son, Andrew, arrived late Wednesday night, and Sommer will be spending the next few months enjoying his company (and changing his diapers!).

In the meantime, I’m thrilled to be your temporary Friday blogger. I’m looking forward to sharing tidbits of information and pointing you to government services in your area. For example, did you know that this week is National Library Week? It’s true. And it seems like the perfect time to remind you that many libraries have government publications, like the Consumer Action Handbook, available in their reference sections.

National Library Week is designed to promote library use and support, and I feel more than qualified to help. Even as a kid, I loved to read. In fact, on a soggy spring day in fourth grade, I managed to get myself locked in a public library after closing time. Boy did that emergency exit alarm cause a ruckus.

Despite this slightly traumatic experience, I’ve decided to celebrate National Library Week by highlighting two free online services. First, "Ask a Government Information Librarian" gives you immediate access (by chat or e-mail) to librarians who are experts in government information and resources. Want to know more about the Presidential election process or where to get a passport form? Want to ask about the history of the Social Security Administration? Go ahead. Test their knowledge. If you have a more detailed research question, "Ask a Reference Librarian" gives you access to researchers at the Library of Congress.

If you’re looking for more information about libraries across the country, don’t forget to check out USA.gov’s Libraries page, which lists government and public libraries and allows you to locate the ones closest to you.

You cover your world with them—invisible markers of where you've been and what you've done. And as technology changes and the country focuses more on security, your fingerprints are being used to identify you more often, in more situations.

Fingerprinting and background checks have been standard for a long time for government and law enforcement job applicants. But many states are now requiring applicants for mortgage broker licenses and childcare and teaching positions to get fingerprinted for background checks. And as their teachers are being fingerprinted, child safety experts recommend that kids themselves should be fingerprinted too, so parents will have a record of their prints in case their kids are lost or abducted.

While those old-fashioned, thumb-on-the-inkpad fingerprints work for background checks and for identifying your kids, technology has helped develop a whole different way of collecting and using your prints using biometrics, the automated system of identifying you electronically by your unique physical characteristics like your fingerprints and irises, and by your movements like the way you walk, sign your name and type on a keyboard.

Even if the term "biometrics" is as new to you as it is to me, you may already be using fingerprint biometric equipment if you clock in at work with your finger and not a time card, you've been to a major theme park in the past couple years or use a fingerprint reader attached to your computer instead of typing in passwords.

This biometric equipment works great most of the time for most people...except those rare few, like a coworker of mine, born without fingerprints. It was hard for her to get her FBI clearance to work in our agency, but it sure makes for great cocktail party conversation.

What's your experience—have you encountered biometric equipment on the job or in your travels? What do you think about it?