The newspaper said that Citigroup is one of a number of bidders pursuing Bethesda, Md.-based Chevy Chase, with $14.9 billion in assets, and it is not certain that Citi will prevail.

Chevy Chase Bank has been banged up by the real estate market decline. As of last month, $420 million, or about 4 percent, of its domestic real estate loans were in a non-accrual status. But Chevy Chase did manage to improve from a first quarter 2008 loss and post a second quarter profit of $2.2 million.

In the past year, Chevy Chase has trimmed its operations and holdings, putting the Lowes Island golf club up for sale, reducing hours at some branches, and ending its in-store banking relationship with Giant Food.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, California has a 99.7 percent chance of having a 6.7 or higher earthquake in the next 30 years. The southern San Andreas has a 59 percent chance in the next 30 years to generate at least one magnitude 6.7 quake or larger for the entire California region. The fault runs along the base of the San Bernardino Mountains, through the Cajon Pass and up along the coast.

It can simply run in families. The symptoms which do exist can sometimes be confused with other ailments. It is not surprising to find that over forty percent of people who have high blood pressure are unaware of their condition. It is important therefore that blood pressure should be measured on a regular basis using a reliable monitor. Blood pressure monitors can be purchased at your local drugstore but it is wiser to have your doctor measure it properly.

There are however some symptoms which people with high blood pressure may have and these include faintness or dizzy spells, headaches, frequent nose bleeds, vision problems and nausea.

People who have any of these symptoms should seek medical advice as early as possible. Untreated blood pressure can cause severe damage to vital organs including blood vessels, can cause a heart attack or coronary, and can also cause strokes. There are many high blood pressure medications on the market and with proper supervision by a doctor, the condition can be normalized, especially if the underlying cause can be determined such as hypertension.

Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht the well known Clinical Medical, Sports & Personal Development Hypnotherapist has recently released a downloadable MP3 audiobook entitled Managing High Blood Pressure.

According to the author this one hour audio is designed for the individual looking to regulate his/her blood pressure through the practice of deep relaxation, specialized mindbody imagery & lifestyle change.
The program includes body specific deep relaxation, commands for opening & diminishing stress points, body scanning, mental biofeedback & awareness tools for managing emotions, thought patterns & unhealthy lifestyle behaviors. It also includes subconscious mind suggestions for building new lifestyle behaviors & inner power for change.

You can find high blood pressure articles all over the internet but these are for information only. If in any doubt, consult your doctor.

by Jim Milliot — Extract from Publishers Weekly, 9/15/2008 10:27:00 AM

Sales of spokenword audiobooks rose 12%, to just over $1 billion, in 2007 and the percentage of adults that now listen to audiobooks rose to 28%, according the Audio Publishers Association’s annual sale and consumer surveys. Young listeners are the fastest-growing segment of the market, with the APA reporting that 53% of teens have listened to an audiobook. Sales of CDs and downloads increased in the year, while sales of cassettes declined. CDs represented 78% of audiobook sales in 2007, with downloads comprising 17%, up from 14% in 2006. The market share of cassettes was 3% in 2007 down from 7% in 2006. The library was the most popular place for consumer to get audiobooks, while retail bookstores was the largest sales channel.

The car continues to be the place where consumers listen to audiobooks the most, with 40% of consumers reporting they listen to audiobooks during long drives and another 18% listen on their commute to work. Twenty-three percent of consumers said listening to audiobooks was a good use of time while doing other activities. According to the survey, mystery/thriller/suspense is the most popular segment, followed by general fiction, science fiction/fantasy, biography/memoir, and classic fiction.
What surprises me is that foreign language audiobooks did not feature in the statistics.

With 8.0, iTunes now allows you to change the Media Kind for files to Audiobook, taking them out of the Music section (where they never belonged in the first place). So score one for iTunes for enabling those who just want to use the software, but exercise choice in where they get their audiobook content.
Read entire article here.

Good compares the length of some hefty works of art — CDs of Wagner’s Ring Cycle, the three “Lord of the Rings” films, and the audiobook of Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” — to the annual time spent driving to work in major American cities.

The good news is that the only American city with a long enough annual commute to hear the complete unabridged audiobook of “War and Peace” is Los Angeles. The bad news is that, with a total of 72 hours spent in traffic going to work each year, you could even start on “War and Peace” a second time. Or any number of other classics.
Read entire article here

The library system is now offering Tumblebooks, an animated, online collection of talking e-books for children.

The online TumbleBooks are created from existing picture books published by children’s book authors and converted into the TumbleBook format. There are over 130 TumbleBooks available from the library system’s Web site, and more books being added daily.

The collection includes animated books, language learning books in Spanish and French, audio books, educational games, quizzes, and book report outlines, Read More…