SUNNYVALE, California — Hundreds of years ago, Yemen helped introduce the world to coffee. Lately, the mountainous, war-ravaged country that borders Saudi Arabia and Oman is exporting something else: its coffee culture. Yemeni coffeehouses are opening at a rapid pace across the U.S. The ...
Yesterday was a nice sunny day to wash laundry. It was windy, but with the sun it made the towels dry soft and fluffy. I have two big bags of laundry that I brought home from sister Verena's house that I want to wash this week sometime. We had rain and thunderstorms during the night. Nothing ...
DEAR ANNIE: I have had a close friend for 44 years. We have been through marriages, children, illnesses, holidays, losses and all the ordinary ups and downs that come with a friendship that lasts nearly half a century. That is why something very small has hurt me more than I expected. Recently, I was very ill for three weeks with vomiting, then bronchitis, and I ended up in the hospital over Easter. Because I was still recovering, I asked this longtime friend if she would pick up a box of tea for me. It cost $4. A few days later, we met at bingo, and she brought me the tea. I thought ...
DEAR HELOISE: I subscribe to the print and digital versions of the San Antonio Express-News. While I sincerely like being able to access the digital edition when I travel, I see two main drawbacks to it: First, I do almost all of the daily puzzles, and printing them out is a hassle — and frankly quite difficult to do when I’m on the road. I do recognize that I can’t access my home print edition from the road at all, but buying a local paper at a corner store is nearly impossible anymore. I’d be very happy if the paper made their puzzles interactive so that I wouldn’t have to ...
DEAR DR. ROACH: My primary care physician scheduled me for a cardio stress test and ultrasonography with intravenous “microsphere” imaging. I’m slightly concerned about the term “microsphere.” Is this a safe procedure? Are there any complications stemming from this chemical/procedure? Should I be concerned about a stroke? How long do these microspheres stay in the body? Do they become a part of plaque? Are there other safer imaging methods? — K.O.S. ANSWER: Intravenous microbubble contrast agents are made from compressed gas that is contained in a phospholipid or ...
Assume you’re East and partner leads a heart against three notrump. You take the ace and realize that a heart return would be pointless, since it is impossible for partner to have a holding where a heart return would be beneficial. Your best chance, therefore, is to shift to your own suit, spades. But it is also clear that in returning a spade you should not make the normal lead of your fourth-best card. There is too good a chance that declarer has three to the king, in which case he would play low from his hand and acquire an extra spade trick. The best way to try to beat the ...
