UPDATED Monday, April 4, 2016---4:18 p.m.
MADISON, Wis.---A Wisconsin woman made history Monday morning as she became the first female general in the Wisconsin Army National Guard.
Former Wisconsin Army National Guard Col. Joane Mathews was promoted to brigadier general at a ceremony in the senate chambers during a special pinning ceremony.
Col. Mathews not only became the first woman Army National Guard Brigadier General in the state, her promotion is also a milestone for Native American women. Col. Mathews' heritage comes from the Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.
“We are proud of Col. Mathews and congratulate her on her many accomplishments. She is an excellent role model for Native Americans. We wish her much success in all of her endeavors,” said Mike Allen, Executive Director.
Mathews said, "I have several family members who have served well before me, and I am especially proud to carry on the legacy of military services my father had started. I am also sad that he can't be here to see me pin on this rank, as he had been to almost every other promotion in my career."
She said, "I am hopeful to be a positive role model for other female service members."
She was also the Wisconsin Army National Guard's first female Army chief of staff, the first female brigade commander, the first female commander of the 1st Battalion, 147th Aviation Regiment and the state's first non-medical female colonel.
Col Mathews lives in Sun Prairie with her husband and two daughters. She is employed full-time as the Director of Human Resources for the Department of Military Affairs.
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MADISON, Wis.--- A Wisconsin woman is about to make history as the first woman in the state to be promoted to Brigadier General in the Wisconsin Army National Guard.
Joni Mathews has almost 30 years of military experience.
"I was active duty for 11 years, then I joined the National Guard in 1997." said Col. Mathews. "It's been the best decision of my military career to join the National Guard."
Col. Mathews' extensive military career began at Fort Rucker where she flew helicopters and was an aviation instructor. She then served in Germany for more than a decade before returning home to the US and working in Chicago.
"The commander of the 147 at the time in Wisconsin recruited me to come to the National Guard."
Col. Mathews will not only be the first woman Army National Guard Brigadier General in the state, her promotion is also a milestone for Native American women. Col. Mathews' heritage comes from the Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.
"It's inspirational, but I think more inspirational is not only this upcoming promotion to Brigadier General or her assignment to Human Resources Director, but it's about knowing where she came from, and that despite the success, she's a person first, and a mother and a wife, and those are the things we're the most excited about. The rest are just outcomes of hard work." said Tom Sandine, who works alongside Mathews.
"I think growing up on a reservation has given me the culture and the strength to do what I am able to do." said Col. Mathews.
She says she draws inspiration from her husband and her two daughters.
"What also got me here are the women veterans that served in World War I and World War II years ago that helped pave the way for women veterans and women in the military." said Col. Mathews.
"Col. Mathews is an example of the outstanding caliber of men and women we have here in the state working and serving as Wisconsin Guard" said Major Paul Rickert, state public affairs officer for Wisconsin National Guard.
"I think if you do the best job that you can, you can attain any goal, any challenge that you put in front of you," said Col. Mathews" And if you love what you do especially, you're gonna attain those goals."
Colonel Mathews will officially be promoted to Brigadier General at 8:30 Monday morning in the senate chambers during a special pinning ceremony,

For as much as we tend to focus on children’s academic performance and expanding their intellect, there’s an important factor of success that isn’t measured by traditional test-taking. It’s called grit.
Grit, says scientific journalist and Emotional Intelligence author Daniel Goleman, cannot exist without the presence of “cognitive control,” the ability to delay gratification, control impulses, manage emotions and remain focused. As Goleman has witnessed firsthand, any child of any background can be taught to develop cognitive control. He shares a powerful example with Oprah during an interview for “SuperSoul Sunday.”
“I was in a school, a second grade classroom in Spanish Harlem. These are kids who live in the projects ... worst conditions you can imagine,” Goleman begins.
The teacher of that classroom had a very specific exercise she had these children do.
“Every day, each kid goes to their cubby, gets a little stuffed animal, finds a place to lie down on the rug, puts that animal on their tummy and watches it rise on the in-breath and fall on the out-breath,” Goleman says. “Count one-two-three on the in-breath, one-two-three on the out-breath.”
Spending a little bit of time doing this exercise, according to the teacher, had benefits that would last throughout the school day.
“[The] teacher says this keeps them calm and focused all day long,” Goleman says.
But, Goleman points out, the long-term benefits are even greater.
“From a brain point of view, what you’re doing is strengthening the prefrontal cortex, which is the mind’s executive center — it’s the boss. It’s the one that learns, it’s where we plan, it’s where we decide and where we become mindful,” he explains.
In other words, the exercise in part helps foster cognitive control, which Goleman says is a powerful indicator of a child’s future success.
“It turns out, if you take kids [age] 4 to 8, measure their ability in this, and pick them up in their 30s, it predicts their financial success and their health better than IQ or the wealth of the family they grew up in,” he says.

Can't figure it out? It's okay. The top comment puts it eloquently: "It took me an embarrassing amount of time to see the problem." 
The problem is simple: The driveway leads to the side of the home and not to the garage. That means it's completely inaccessible from the streets. For a lot of people, this seems absolutely baffling. Why would anyone do this? 

Redditors hit the comments and starting providing reasons. The predominant reason seems to be is because it's a model home. According to redditor f0gax:
This is a model home and sales office for the builder.
The road in front is still dirt. This house is close to being done, but it's unlikely anyone would want to live in this neighborhood until that road is done.
There's an obvious walk way from that slab to the front door.
There's no "cut" in the curb that would accommodate a different driveway. I'm sure they'll add it later when they eventually sell this house to someone. But for now it's not necessary.
But this leads to even more question, like why wouldn't they just configure it the right way? This could be because:

1. A driveway in front can potentially block a clear view of the property with cars. Remember, it's a model home: they're trying to show it off.
2. The ability to add more landscaping to make the home look better.
3. The ability to add more parking. 
4. Bolognahead: "Home builders also like to 'trap' clients and will sometimes build doors into the garage where
   the sales office is as the only entrance accessible to clients and then building fences around the walkways to force people to go through the sales office before going through the front door to tour the home."

There you have it. What was perceived to be an unbelievable error is just simply a design for model homes. Some might find it wasteful, but, in the end, it's meant to be pretty enough to sell. Sales, am I right?

Couples will sometimes fight over who sleeps in more. And according to a study, it turns out your wife should be the one sleeping in, not you. The study examined 210 middle aged men and women, and found that women suffered greater health issues from lack of sleep than men.
"We found that for women, poor sleep is strongly associated with high levels of psychological distress and greater feelings of hostility, depression, and anger. In contrast, these feelings were not associated with the same degree of sleep disruption in men."
"One of the major functions of sleep is to allow the brain to recover and repair itself," says Professor Jim Horne, director of the Sleep Research Center at Loughborough University and author of Sleepfaring: A Journey Through The Science of Sleep. "During deep sleep, the cortex — the part of the brain responsible for thought memory, language, and so on — disengages from the senses and goes into recovery mode."
He continues, "The more of your brain you use during the day, the more of it that needs to recover and, consequently, the more sleep you need. Women tend to multi-task ... and so, they use more of their actual brain than men do. Because of that, their sleep need is greater."
But why do women need more sleep than men?
"This is because women's brains are wired differently from men's and are more complex, so their sleep need will be slightly greater. The average is 20 minutes more, but some women may need slightly more or less than this."
So in every sense, yes, women's brains are more complex, and need more time to relax and recover overnight.
In other words: Let her sleep in, gentleman. It's important.

The numbers are in.
In the United States, which contains 8 percent of the world's forests, there are more trees than there were 100 years ago. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), "Forest growth nationally has exceeded harvest since the 1940s. By 1997, forest growth exceeded harvest by 42 percent and the volume of forest growth was 380 percent greater than it had been in 1920." The greatest gains have been seen on the East Coast (with average volumes of wood per acre almost doubling since the '50s) which was the area most heavily logged by European settlers beginning in the 1600s, soon after their arrival.
This is great news for those who care about the environment because trees store CO2, produce oxygen — which is necessary for all life on Earth — remove toxins from the air, and create habitat for animals, insects and more basic forms of life. Well-managed forest plantations like those overseen by the Forest Stewardship Council also furnish us with wood, a renewable material that can be used for building, furniture, paper products and more, and all of which are biodegradable at the end of their lifecycle.
AMAZING PHOTOS: The world's 10 oldest living trees
The increase in trees is due to a number of factors, including conservation and preservation of national parks, responsible tree growing within plantations — which have been planting more trees than they harvest — and the movement of the majority of the population from rural areas to more densely populated areas, such as cities and suburbs. Tree planting efforts begun in the 1950s are paying off and there is more public awareness about the importance of trees and forests. Finally, 63 percent of the forest land in the United States is privately owned, and many landowners are leaving their land intact instead of using it for agriculture or logging (at least partially because many of these activities have shifted overseas).
Quantity over quality?
The average age of forests in the United States is younger than it was before European settlement. The greatest diversity is found in the oldest forests, so there may be more forest now, but because it is so young, it is home for fewer animals, plants, insects and other organisms than a fully developed, mature forest ecosystem. It also means that protecting old growth forests is imperative.
As a society, we are likely in the middle of our cultural (and scientific understanding) of the value of forests. The history of conservation in this country is still young, after all. According to Chuck Leavell, director of Environmental Affairs at MNN and a tree farmer, "It was during the Theodore Roosevelt administration that conservation began to take hold, and along with Roosevelt, figures like Gifford Pinchot, John Muir and others began to warn Americans about overuse of our natural resources. Eventually, programs were put into place that encouraged landowners to plant trees ... in some cases encouraging farmers to convert some of their farm lands into forests."
We can't go back and reverse what we've done to the forests, but we can support current conservation efforts. While our forests are recovering, their protection will only encourage what Leavell calls, " ... a remarkable restoration of American forests."
Spotted owls are key indicators of the health of old-growth forests in Oregon. (Photo: Oregon Fish & Wildlife)
Sustainable forestry initiatives
One of the main reasons forests are recovering is the role of government, which now agrees that responsible management practices are important for future forest ecosystem health. In 1992, the United Nations adopted the "Forest Principles" which kicked off the latest round of modern sustainable forest management initiatives in the U.S. and abroad.
The definition of sustainable forest management, as understood by the FAO is: The stewardship and use of forests and forest lands in a way, and at a rate, that maintains their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality and their potential to fulfill, now and in the future, relevant ecological, economic and social functions, at local, national, and global levels, and that does not cause damage to other ecosystems. These rules now govern how forests are managed.
Carbon dioxide, global warming and trees
Trees do more than protect water resources and produce oxygen, they are also good carbon sinks, which is more and more important in a warming world (carbon dioxide is one of the main global warming gases). As they grow, trees use and store CO2, making them popular bulwarks against climate change. In fact, quite a few carbon offsetting companies include tree planting as part of their portfolio.
Basically, the more trees, the more oxygen, and less carbon dioxide, (though there may be exceptions to this rule in Northern latitudes, according to climate models). "At present, the U.S. does not have any type of carbon tax or cap-and-trade system," says Leavell. "Europe does, with mixed reviews and mixed success. But there is not a doubt that the forests of the world sequester more carbon than anything else."
The future of American forests
Leavell points out that many of America's national parks were originally set aside as a "wood resource" though they are largely unlogged today, though there are still some controversial moves in old-growth areas. Only about 7 percent of U.S. forests are part of national or state parks, but many of those now encompass what we consider to be "environmentally sensitive" areas, or unique ecosystems. (Think California's redwoods or small patches of old growth forests on the East Coast.)
Moving forward, we will continue to have more trees, and more forests than in years past. It's important that we encourage foresters and governments in Third World countries, where deforestation is still occurring at an alarming rate, to do the same.

An intriguing, anecdotal finding was recently reported by some news outlets that the implementation of blue-colored streetlights has reduced both crime and suicides:

Glasgow, Scotland, introduced blue street lighting to improve the city’s landscape in 2000. Afterward, the number of crimes in areas illuminated in blue noticeably decreased.
The Nara, Japan, prefectural police set up blue street lights in the prefecture in 2005, and found the number of crimes decreased by about 9 percent in blue-illuminated neighborhoods. Many other areas nationwide have followed suit.
Keihin Electric Express Railway Co. changed the color of eight lights on the ends of platforms at Gumyoji Station in Yokohama, Japan, in February.

Since the railway company introduced the new blue lights, they’ve had no new suicide attempts.
This effect may be attributed to a few possible reasons (some of which are mentioned in the comments section of the article):

• The light color is new and unusual, causing people to act more cautiously in the area (as a person is unsure what to expect in the unusually-lit area).
• Blue is a light color almost universally associated with a police presence, suggesting it is an area of stricter law enforcement.
• Blue may be a more pleasant illuminating color to most people, as opposed to yellow, orange or red (according to some research, such as Lewinski, 1938).

In fact, the article quotes from a professor at the end, noting it may just be an “unusualness effect:”

Prof. Tsuneo Suzuki at Keio University said: “There are a number of pieces of data to prove blue has a calming effect upon people. However, it’s an unusual color for lighting, so people may just feel like avoiding standing out by committing crimes or suicide under such unusual illumination. It’s a little risky to believe that the color of lighting can prevent anything.”

There is a lot of research into the psychology of color, but not as much has looked into the color of blue illumination itself (as opposed to the color of an object or wall). But some research looking into short wavelength light (blue) has demonstrated that it is a potentially effective treatment for seasonal affective disorder (a seasonal type of depression; see for instance, Glickman, et al., 2006), and helps to reduce the stress response in fish (it hasn’t been yet tested on humans).
If this finding is robust and the behavior change associated with it is still prevalent a few years from now (when everyone has become accustomed to the new light color), it would be an interesting finding. A simple, inexpensive change might be effective in helping reduce at least one method of suicide (and reduce crime to boot).

"Acute stress response" was first described by Walter Cannon in the 1920s as a theory that animals react to threats with a general discharge of the sympathetic nervous system. The response was later recognized as the first stage of a general adaptation syndrome that regulates stress responses among vertebrates and other organisms.

Signs and symptoms

Common symptoms that sufferers of acute stress disorder experience are: numbing; emotional detachment; muteness; derealization; depersonalization; psychogenic amnesia; continued re-experiencing of the event via thoughts, dreams, and flashbacks; and avoidance of any stimulation that reminds them of the event. During this time, they must have symptoms of anxiety, and significant impairment in at least one essential area of functioning. Symptoms last for a minimum of 2 days, and a maximum of 4 weeks, and occur within 4 weeks of the event.

Causes

Acute stress disorder (abbreviated ASD, and not to be confused with autism spectrum disorder) is the result of a traumatic event in which the person experiences or witnesses an event that causes the victim/witness to experience extreme, disturbing, or unexpected fear, stress, or pain, and that involves or threatens serious injury, perceived serious injury, or death to themselves or someone else. A study of rescue personnel after exposure to a traumatic event showed no gender difference in acute stress reaction. ^[1] Acute stress reaction is a variation of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The onset of a stress response is associated with specific physiological actions in the sympathetic nervous system, both directly and indirectly through the release of adrenaline and to a lesser extent noradrenaline from the medulla of the adrenal glands. These catecholamine hormones facilitate immediate physical reactions by triggering increases in heart rate and breathing, constricting blood vessels. An abundance of catecholamines at neuroreceptor sites facilitates reliance on spontaneous or intuitive behaviors often related to combat or escape.
Normally, when a person is in a serene, unstimulated state, the "firing" of neurons in the locus ceruleus is minimal. A novel stimulus, once perceived, is relayed from the sensory cortex of the brain through the thalamus to the brain stem. That route of signaling increases the rate of noradrenergic activity in the locus ceruleus, and the person becomes alert and attentive to the environment.
If a stimulus is perceived as a threat, a more intense and prolonged discharge of the locus ceruleus activates the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system (Thase & Howland, 1995). The activation of the sympathetic nervous system leads to the release of norepinephrine from nerve endings acting on the heart, blood vessels, respiratory centers, and other sites. The ensuing physiological changes constitute a major part of the acute stress response. The other major player in the acute stress response is the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Diagnosis

There must be a clear temporal connection between the impact of an exceptional stressor and the onset of symptoms; onset is usually within a few minutes or days but may occur up to one month after the stressor. In addition, the symptoms show a mixed and usually changing picture; in addition to the initial state of "daze," depression, anxiety, anger, despair, overactivity, and withdrawal may all be seen, but no one type of symptom predominates for long; the symptoms usually resolve rapidly in those cases where removal from the stressful environment is possible; in cases where the stress continues or cannot by its nature be reversed, the symptoms usually begin to diminish after 24–48 hours and are usually minimal after about 3 days.^[2]
If symptoms last for more than a month, then the patient might be instead diagnosed with PTSD.

Treatment

This disorder may resolve itself with time or may develop into a more severe disorder such as PTSD. However, results of Creamer, O'Donnell, and Pattison's (2004) study of 363 patients suggests that a diagnoses of acute stress disorder had only limited predictive validity for PTSD. Creamer et al. did find that re-experiences of the traumatic event and arousal were better predictors of PTSD.^[3] Medication can be used for a short duration (up to four weeks).^{[citation needed]}
Studies have been conducted to assess the efficacy of counselling and psychotherapy for people with ASD. Cognitive behavioral therapy which included exposure and cognitive restructuring was found to be effective in preventing PTSD in patients diagnosed with ASD with clinically significant results at 6 months follow-up. A combination of relaxation, cognitive restructuring, imaginal exposure, and in vivo exposure was superior to supportive counseling.^[4] Mindfulness based stress reduction programs also appear to be effective for stress management.^[5]