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Entry bubble National Christmas Tree Lighting Lottery

By: Colleen | November 04, 2009 | Category: Fun

I was in the drugstore two days before Halloween and I was greeted by the melodies of Christmas carols and the shelves were jam packed with holiday merchandise.tree

Once again, Thanksgiving gets the shaft.

Since everyone else is jumping the gun and springing right to the holidays, we here at GovGab are going to follow suit.

The 2009 National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony will take place on Thursday, Decemer 3rd. The ceremony includes not only the lighting of the National Christmas Tree, but music from the U.S. Marine Corps Band and 56 (one for each state, 5 territories, and the District of Columbia) other smaller trees arranged in a "pathway to peace."

To attend you must enter a ticket lottery- but hurry! You can only apply from November 4th through November 6th!

In preparation for the holidays, remember to be safe.  Check out some tips HERE.

| Post a Comment | View Comments [1] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: christmas   holidays   national_christmas_tree   safety  

 

Entry bubble Tips for Staying Safe Online

By: Stephanie | October 16, 2009 | Category: Home and Family

computer key with virus written on itDo you want to learn how to protect your computer from viruses and other threats, but don't know where to look? October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month, and it might be a good time to take a look at some of the tips and facts offered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT).

Apparently hackers have been busy. According to US-CERT, if you're connecting a new computer to the Internet, nowadays it can take only minutes for a hacker to exploit the security on some networks. See the Tech Tip for how to protect your new computer before connecting it to the Internet.

Some tips to keep your computer secure:

And if the security of your computer has been compromised, see how to recover from a Trojan horse or virus (pdf), report a phishing site, or notify federal law enforcement if you're a victim of Internet fraud.

For more information on common online threats, protecting your privacy and maintaining your security, and reporting Internet fraud and Internet-related crime, visit USA.gov's FAQ and the Federal Citizen Information Center's publications.

| Post a Comment | View Comments [1] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: cyber_security   cyber_security_awareness_month   fraud   internet   online   phishing   privacy   safety   scams   spam   stephanie   threat   us cert   virus  

 

Entry bubble Trampoline (un)Safety

By: Joanne | September 08, 2009 | Category: Health

Joanne's swolen, bruised left foot and ankleEach year tens of thousands of people (mostly children) are seen in emergency rooms for injuries they suffer as a result of trampoline accidents. This year, I’m one of them.

You see, the accident happened weeks ago while I was having a little fun with my daughter on a trampoline. It’s important that children are supervised on trampolines, and besides, I think they can be fun to bounce around on too.

We were having a grand time bouncing around, until I turned my ankle on a landing. I knew it was hurt pretty badly, and it showed all the signs of a serious sprain. I didn’t go to the doctor right away (mistake) because I was certain that I didn’t break a bone (wrong). The ankle seemed to be healing well, until suddenly it became very painful and swollen again. A sensible friend who is a nursing student shuffled me off to the emergency room for an x-ray.

So here I sit with my ankle elevated and in a splint. I have an avulsion fracture.

There are a few lessons I take away from this:

  • Practice trampoline safety especially not having too many people on a trampoline.
  • If you have a trampoline at home, you may want to consider changing your insurance in case someone hurts themselves on your trampoline and decides to sue you.
  • I’ll never avoid a doctor visit when I have a serious ankle injury again.
  • My mom is right – trampolines are dangerous!

| View Comments [0] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: injury   joanne   safety   trampoline  

 

Entry bubble Wear Your Seat Belt

By: Joanne | May 19, 2009 | Category: Travel

click it or ticket

Here’s a tip: wear your seat belt when you’re in the car this week, because the police are cracking down and ticketing people violating seat belt laws.

This week is the Click it or Ticket National Enforcement Mobilization Campaign. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, only 83 percent of Americans are using seat belts. What really surprised me was that the national data actually indicates that seat belt usage actually went down in many states between 2007 and 2008. I was also surprised to see that night time seat belt usage is significantly lower than day time usage.

I’m a big seat belt advocate. When I was a kid, my parents always insisted that I wear a seat belt in the car – they even got seat belts in the back seat when that was optional equipment. I started wearing seat belts when I was young, and I never stopped. I’ve been in 3 car accidents in my life, and I’m certain that each time my seat belt saved me from injury. I remember getting in the car with my cousin one day and scolding her for not wearing a seat belt. She told me that she didn’t like seat belts because they’re uncomfortable. “So’s a traumatic head injury!” I replied.

So once you get into the habit of wearing your seat belt this week, keep it up.  It’s one of the many little things you can do to help yourself and your loved ones stay safe and healthy.

| View Comments [5] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: belt   car   joanne   police   safety   seat   ticket  

 

Entry bubble Sunscreen: The secret to not looking like a lobster

By: Jess | April 30, 2009 | Category: Health

Sunscreen and sunglasses

In two days I will be leaving to go to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for vacation. I'm hoping I have nice weather so I can spend my days lounging in a beach chair with a good book soaking up the sun.

But because I'm ghastly pale and would rather not come off the beach charred and looking like a lobster, I plan to lather on the SPF. In my younger and perhaps dumber days, I would slather on some SPF4 once in the morning, bask in the sun all day (never re-applying of course because I was trying to get that sun-kissed tanned look) and as a result, spend many an uncomfortable night trying to ease the burn with globs of aloe.

Well, not this year. I'm making a pact with myself to not burn.

To prepare, I read the CDC's guidelines on buying, applying and re-applying sunscreen. I'll be chucking all my expired sunscreens and buying new ones with higher SPFs. My plan of attack is slather on a lotion in the morning with SPF 30 or higher and then tossing one of the sprays in my beach bag for during the day.

Because sunburn isn't the only safety issue I'm concerned about with a beach vacation, I read up on some other beach safety tips.

Do you have any beach safety tips to share with me before I hit the road?

| Post a Comment | View Comments [0] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: beach   beach_safety   jess   safety   skin   sunburn   sunscreen   tanning   vacation  

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