Congress made Labor Day a federal holiday in 1894.[1] All fifty states have made Labor Day a state holiday.
Traditionally, Labor Day is celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the summer.
Labor Day has been celebrated on the first Monday in September in the United States since the 1880s. The form for the celebration of Labor Day was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday—a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations," followed by a festival for the workers and their families. This became the pattern for Labor Day celebrations. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civil significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.
Today, Labor Day is often regarded as a day of rest and, compared to the May 1 Labour Day celebrations in most countries, parades, speeches or political demonstrations are more low-key, although especially in election years, events held by labor organizations often feature political themes and appearances by candidates for office. Forms of celebration include picnics, barbecues, fireworks displays, water sports, and public art events. Families with school-age children take it as the last chance to travel before the end of summer. Some teenagers and young adults view it as the last weekend for parties before returning to school. However, as of late, schools have begun well before Labor Day, as early as the July 24 in many urban districts, including major southern cities in the United States such as Atlanta, Miami, and Los Angeles. In addition, Labor Day marks the beginning of the season for the National Football League and NCAA College Football. The NCAA usually plays their first games the weekend of Labor day, with the NFL traditionally playing their first game the Thursday following Labor Day.
With the holiday in mind, kids going back to school and Winter coming on, people will be trying to get in their last of the year outdoor activities done. So i will post a few good articles about outdoor activity, in todays blog.
This one is a comman occurance for the hiker, climbers or someone with kids.
The Cure: Head Injuries
To tell the difference between a bad bump and a life-threatening blow, follow these crucial steps.
by: Tom Wilmes
Serious head injuries are rare in the wilderness. But get hit square on the melon by a falling rock, and the resulting brain swelling can cause dangerous intracranial pressure. Unlike skin gashes and broken bones, traumatic brain injuries don't always bleed or even cause pain, making early diagnosis tricky.Diagnosis
Since brain injuries can occur without exterior wounds, the best indicator of serious trauma is a person's level of consciousness, says Jeffrey Isaac, curriculum director at Wilderness Medical Associates.
Use the AVPU scale to establish a person's alertness and monitor any deterioration in brain function. The farther down the scale (A is the best, U the worst) the person registers, the more serious the brain injury.
(A) Victim is Alert and oriented; he knows who he is, where he is, and what happened.
(V) You get a response to Verbal stimuli, but victim is confused and disoriented.
(P) Victim responds only to Painful stimuli, like pinching his arm or rubbing his breastbone.
(U) Victim is Unresponsive to all of the above.
Record any periods of unconsciousness. Blackouts lasting longer than two to three minutes indicate a serious head injury, especially if accompanied by persistent disorientation.
Because brain swelling can develop slowly, evaluate the victim's mental state for 24 hours after the injury.
Watch for behavioral indicators like combativeness, restlessness, or acting drunk, as well as severe headache, nausea, and persistent vomiting.
Treatment
Move the victim to a safer location if necessary. Don't leave a victim in a dangerous place or where you can't treat life-threatening injuries just because you are unable to stabilize the spine, says Isaac. Recent studies have shown that cervical spine damage occurs in a tiny percentange of victims with traumatic head injuries. As a result, new first aid protocols recommend spine "protection" over stabilization when hazardous conditions require moving the victim.
Monitor a victim's breathing and pulse rate, and keep him hydrated and warm. Treat for shock by raising the legs while you gauge his level of consciousness.
Initial disorientation or confusion can improve in a short period. The duration a person remains unconscious isn't as important as how quickly he returns to normal brain functioning, says Isaac.
Contrary to popular belief, the victim of a head injury can doze or sleep as long as he is monitored and woken up every few hours to check alertness.
Initiate immediate evacuation for victims whose alertness or memory remains severely altered, or worsens over time. Even if a victim recovers enough to walk out, he should still seek medical attention. http://www.backpacker.com/june_2008_health_head_injury_first_aid/skills/12429
Here are a couple of recipes to cooking out.
Easy Bar-B-Que Ribs by Kathy and Bruce Jacobs
Ingredients
3 pounds boneless beef ribs
1 bottle barbeque sauce (we use a doctored version of Bill Johnstons - see end of recipe for doctoring instructions)
Preparation Steps
Place ribs in liner pan
Cover with sauce (use whole jar)
Cook until internal meat temperature is 165Grill asparagus spears slightly (optional)
Notes
Sauce Option: I doctor the sauce with:
1/2 cup honey
Liberal amount of garlic
4-6 drops Tabasco
Tender and Juicy Dutch Oven Pot Roast by Kathy JacobsLooking for an easy pot roast recipe? Check this one out!
Ingredients
5 pound pot roast
4 potatoes
3 onions
6 carrots
Garlic powder or salt
Onion powder or salt
Preparation Steps
1. Cut potatoes, onions, and carrots into pieces. Set aside.
2. Rub pot roast with the garlic and onion powders.
3. In a fry pan or liner pan, brown sides quickly to seal juices.
4. Place pot roast in liner pan.
5. Surround with vegetable pieces. Do not over fill the liner. If you can't see the meat, you have too many vegetable pieces.
6. Place liner pan in prepared Dutch Oven.
7. Cook for 2 to 2.5 hours at about 325 degrees. Don't peek too often, as opening the lid lets out the steam. The steam is what keeps the roast moist and tender.
8. Meat is done when tender.
9. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes before carving to eat.
If you are feeding a group, do one pot roast per Dutch Oven. Stack the Dutch Ovens with coals on the bottom of the stack, between each oven, and on the top of each stack. For safety reasons, don't stack more than 3 or 4 high.
The Basics of Bike Riding
Bike riding is one of the simplest ways to have fun in a variety of settings. It is easily learned and not easily forgotten. But there are things to know that will help you, both in technique and equipment. Here in Bike Riding 101 you'll learn all about bikes and bike riding.
Bicycle riding is a fun and popular activity among kids. And with more and more kids becoming overweight, encouraging kids to be more active and ride their bikes regularly can lead to a healthier lifestyle.
Unfortunately, bicycle riding can also lead to kids getting injured or even dying, especially when they don't wear a helmet. According to the CDC, 'more than 500,000 children go to hospital emergency rooms or doctors' offices due to bicycle injuries' each year.
Although it is a simple way to avoid getting hurt, far too many kids don't wear a helmet when riding their bike. In fact, one survey by the National SAFE KIDS Campaign found that 'only 41 percent of all children observed on bicycles, inline skates, skateboards and scooters wear helmets' and that '35 percent of all children observed wearing helmets wear them improperly', either because the chin strap was unattached, loose, or the helmet was tilted. In our own Bicycle Helmet Poll, only about half of children 'always' wear a helmet.
In addition to setting a good example and always wearing a helmet yourself, here are ten tips to teach your children to encourage safe bike riding:
Always wear a bike helmet
Stop and check traffic before riding into a street
Don't ride at night
Obey traffic signs and signals
Ride on the right-hand side of the street
Check your brakes before riding.
Give cars and pedestrians the right-of-way
Wear light or bright-colored clothing so that motorists can see you
Be extra careful turning left - motorists don't expect it
Avoid broken pavement, loose gravel and leaves - which can cause you to lose control of your bike.
But remember that simply wearing a helmet is not enough. Your child has to wear it correctly for it to keep him safe. You should choose a bike helmet that meets current safety standards. Other tips to help you select and correctly use a bike helmet include that you should:
Start children wearing helmets with their first tricycles or play vehicles.
Use foam pads inside to fit the helmet snugly so it doesn't move on the head.
Fit the helmet so the front is just above the top of the eyebrows.
Teach your child to wear a helmet so that it covers the upper part of the forehead and sits level on the head.
Adjust the two side straps so they meet in a "V" right under each ear.
Adjust the chin strap snugly under the chin.
Make it tight enough so the helmet pulls down when the child opens his mouth.
Check often to make sure straps stay snug and the helmet stays level on the head.
Teaching a Kid (and Adult) to Ride a Bicycle
by David Mozer
The traditional method of teaching a kid to bicycle was to run along side them holding them up-right and pushing them until they final did it under their own power and coordination. A tool to help with this is the " EZ-Bar". More on common mistakes while teaching bicycling.
Contemporary bicycle education specialist advocate an alternative method for teaching bicycling that isolates some of the separate skills needed to bike ride. Using this approach (detailed below), the initial experience for the student is far less overwhelming because they aren't trying to master everything (balance, pedaling, steering, etc.) at once. In fact, isolated, the individual skills need for bicycling are in fact pretty quick and easy for most people to learn. Consequently the whole process generally goes fairly quickly -- without the frustration and bumps of traditional methods. Click here for user feedback and comments from parents and kids who have tried this approach.
Here is the sequence teaching child and adults to ride a bike:
Feeling the balance:
Select a bike where the seat can be lowered enough so the child can be seated and have both feet flat on the ground. Lower the seat to the point that the learner can put there feet on the ground. Remove the training wheels. You can also remove the pedals, but most students seem to be able to go through the first exercises without any problems with the pedals attached.
Find a grassy field with a gentle downhill of 30 yards or so, that then flattens out or goes uphill slightly. Ideally the grass is short enough that it doesn't create too much drag on the wheels, but still can provide a soft landing in case of a fall..
Strap a helmet on the child's head. Tuck in shoelaces. Long pants (rubber banded, strapped or tucked into the socks) and gloves can add additional protection if it is warranted.
Go about 15 yards up the hill and hold the bike while the child gets on. Have him or her put both feet on the ground, then you should be able to let go of the bike and nothing should happen.
Tell your child to lift his or her feet about an inch off the ground and coast down the hill or scoot along. The objective here is to get a feel for balancing on the bike. Try to resist holding the bike to steady the learner. Because the bike will coast slowly, the cyclists can put his or her feet down if they get scared. He or she might want you to run beside the bike the first few times; do so, but don't hold the bike. Let the child feel the balance. Give a lot of praise for every improvement. Help count the seconds that they balance and make a game of it. Hopefully, they improve on almost every pass.
Repeat until your child feels comfortable coasting and doesn't put his or her feet down to stop. Throughout the progression there is no need to rush moving on to the next step.
Add pedaling:
Re attach the pedals, if they were removed. Now have your child put his or her feet on the pedals and coast down. After several runs, have him or her begin pedaling as he or she is rolling.
Repeat coasting/pedaling until your child feels comfortable, then move up the hill. When the child is comfortable coasting/pedaling at this level, raise the saddle in small increments and do a few more coast/pedaling runs. You can add some exercises where they stop by braking sooner than they would just from friction with the ground.
Riding in a straight line:
Go to a flat part of the field, cul-de-sac, empty unused parking lot, etc., and practice starting from a standstill, riding in a straight line, stopping, and turning.
Starting from a standstill - Start with one pedal pointed at the handlebars (2 o'clock). This gives the rider a solid pedal stroke to power the bike and keep it steady until the other foot finds the pedal. Kids tend to want to rush and take short cuts on this and get off to very wobbly starts. Work to have them develop habits so that they consistently get smooth steady starts.
Riding straight - Look straight ahead. Keep the elbows and knees loose and pedal smooth circles. When a novice rider turns his or her head, their arms and shoulders follow, causing the bike to swerve.
Stopping - Apply both brakes at the same time (if the bike has both front and rear brakes). Using just the front brake can launch the rider over the handlebars. Using just the rear brake limits the rider to just 20 or 30 percent of braking power and the bike is more likely skid.
Add turning:
Turning - Initially, slow down before entering a corner. Turning is a combination of a little leaning and a very little steering. Keep the inside pedal up and look through the turn. As confidence grows let the speed gradually increase.
When the cyclist is ready to get into any environment that includes cars they should ride like a car. (This may be a couple years later.) This keeps the kid from swooping and swerving on roads, running stop signs and riding on the wrong side of the road. See Teach Your Child Well: Bicycle Safety Issues.
Going for a bike ride
As kids master the skills of bicycling and want to go on longer rides, keep it interesting at their level: bring snacks, plan appropriate rest breaks (initially, these may be a mile apart), stop for fun activities (i.e. play ground, beach, chase butterflies, ice cream shop, etc.) and invite your kid's friend along.
Note: the highest rate of bike-related head injuries is among boys 10-14 years old. For more information on helmets go to www.ibike.org/education/helmet.htm.
Feedback and comments from parents and kids who have tried this approach.
Tips and Common Mistakes in teaching bicycling
Don't make learning day the first day on a new bike. You eliminate some of the avalanche of new experiences and emotion, if you use a bike that they are familiar with (one they have had with training wheels or an older siblings), or one borrow from a friend. The new bike can be a reward for mastering two wheels. If you need to use a new bike put training wheels on it and let them get used to it for a couple weeks before before trying two wheels.
Don't us the one-training-wheel method. It doesn't teach balance and is not uniformly unstable.
If you use the hold-the-back-of-the-seat (better) or run-beside-the-bike method, don't trick your child by claiming you're holding on when you are not. If the child crashes, you erode trust, which erodes confidence. Before you begin a run, tell your child you plan to let go when he or she looks stable. When they are stable, tell them again that you are going to let go BEFORE you do. Make sure they stay stable before you release and then stick with them until they have substantially mastered the skill.
Don't expect the learning process will be crash-free -- though the one describe above likely will be. Be ready to comfort, coerce, cheerlead and bandage -- and possibly to wait for another day.
http://bicycling.about.com/od/howtoride/The_Basics_of_Bike_Riding.htm
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