Archive for May, 2010
The New Orleans Hornets Buzz Constantly Towards an NBA Championship
Do you fly to distant cities? During its seasons since the start of the new millennium, the Hornets have racked up the most frequent-flyer miles, buzzing to a new home. Since 2002, the Hornets have flown from Charlotte, to New Orleans, to Oklahoma City, and then back to New Orleans. Here are some fascinating facts about the insect for which the NBA team was named:
Most hornet species are native to Asia’s tropical regions
Though huge and loud, hornets are not aggressive
The hornet’s sting is primarily for killing insects, rather than vertebrates
Hornets can sting more than one time, unlike bees, which die after singing
In some European countries, it is illegal to kill hornets or their nests
Why are the Hornets not the Bees or Wasps? Before they were the New Orleans Hornets, the Hornets played as an NBA expansion team in Charlotte, North Carolina, from 1988-2002. The original proposed name of the franchise was the Charlotte Spirit. However, the local fans preferred “Hornets” instead. During the American Revolution, British General George Cornwallis referred to the opposition in North Carolina as a “nest of hornets.”
How successful were they in Charlotte? Although the Hornets never won their division or advanced to the Conference Finals, they made seven playoff appearances during their tenure in the North Carolinian city.
Before the 2002-2003 season, nearly a quarter of a century after the Jazz transferred from New Orleans to Jazz, the Charlotte Hornets relocated to the Louisiana city. Ironically, the Hornets’ first game after representing a new city was against the Utah Jazz. The Hornets won that game, and ended the season with a winning record: 47-35. In the playoffs, they lost their first series to the Philadelphia 76ers (4-2).
The New Orleans Hornets would make back-to-back appearances in the playoffs, earning another spot during the 2003-2004 season. After finishing the regular season at an even 41-41 record, they faced the Miami Heat in the first round. They played valiantly against the Heat, but were burned in Game 7, 85-77.
After Hurricane Katrina had devastated southeastern Louisiana, the Hornets temporarily relocated to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons. Throughout this period, the Hornets played the majority of their games in Oklahoma City.
During the 2007-2008 season, the Hornets returned to New Orleans and returned to the playoffs as well. They earned a record of 56-26, which was a franchise record. The Hornets quickly stung the Dallas Mavericks in the first round (4-1). In the next round, the Hornets played the defending San Antonio Spurs tightly, but ultimately lost the series (4-3). Prior to the start of the 2008-2009 series, the Hornets unveiled a new logo and new uniforms.
As a franchise, the Hornets have called Charlotte, Oklahoma City, and New Orleans their homes. Nevertheless, throughout the years, the Hornets have survived battles with Grizzlies, Bulls, Bucks, and even Mother Nature. Use New Orleans Hornets merchandise to cheer on the team as they buzz towards their first NBA Championship!
Rick Grantham is an avid sports fan. Most of Rick’s articles focus on new orleans hornets merchandise. Many articles are related to nba gifts and other sports related topics. Rick is a contributing author to BooYah Village.
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Bee Stings – Wasp Stings – the Simple Facts and the Cures
What is a Bee Sting: A Bee Sting is caused by the part ‘stinger’ of a creature such as a wasp or bee, that delivers a poison when used to pierce the skin of another animal or a human.
Bee Sting Symptoms: Bee Stings can cause a lot of symptoms, but the most common is first there will be a sharp pain and burning sensation in the area of the sting. To some people this is very painful, a lot worse than getting a shot in the doctors office. The severe pain and buring is caused by the poison in the bee or wasps venom.
Other symptoms of bee stings are a redness or swelling of the local area. I swell up like a pancake near any sting site. Some people develop a rash or hives, and yet others that are very allergic to the venom will have severe problems such as swelling of the lips or throat, swelling around the eyes, throat tightness, wheezing, difficulty breathing, hoarseness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, lightheadedness, or passing out due to low blood pressure. If you start developing any of the severe symptoms, get to a Hospital ER right away or call an ambulance.
Bee Sting Treatment: There are a lot of treatments for Bee and Wasp Stings, and here are just a few. To ease the pain of a sting, take a pain reliever such as acetaminophen (Tylenol). Some people make a mixture of water and meat tenderizer and apply it onto the bite. Papain, an enzyme in meat tenderizer, breaks down the protein in bee venom responsible for the pain and itching. Don’t leave this on for more than 30 minutes, or it can irritate the skin and cause a rash in some people. Apply an ice pack or bag of very cold water for 10 to 30 minutes after the sting, the cold slows down the body’s allergic response.
Bee Sting Prevention: How does one prevent bee or wasp stings ? If you are outdoors in the spring or summer months, you will encounter bees and wasps. Try your best to stay away from these flying creatures if possible. If you are mowing the grass or walking, or picking berries, you will encounter a bee or wasp in time. Do not swing or react violently towards it, to do so, may excite it, causing it to attack and sting. Just try to move out of the way, or slowly react to it in a calm movement. If you see a bee or wasp inside, kill it with a fly swatter or rolled up newspaper. Do not pick up the dead wasp or bee right after it has been killed, the bee or wasps stinger will often move for over an hour by muscle or nerve reactions, making the creature able to sting a long time after it’s dead.
If you encounter a nest of bees outside and if you are sure you can safely kill them, dress for the occasion and wait until night time to spray it from a distance or very early in the morning, when it’s cool and the creatures are in their nest and are not yet active. But be warned, once you spray a nest, soak it completely and fast, it will only take a couple seconds before the creatures may start flying out and stinging, if they are not all killed right away. Once sprayed, do not walk or stand near the nest, because bees that are sprayed and slowly dying will often drop to the ground, and may crawl up your pant legs or get into your shoes.
There is a website that provides cures, facts and great information on Bee Stings and Wasp Stings and numerous other medical conditions, the website is called: All About Health, and can be found at this url:
http://www.rb59.com/medical-health-info
By Robert W. Benjamin
Copyright © 2007
You may publish this article in your ezine, newsletter, or on your web site as long as it is reprinted in its entirety and without modification except for formatting needs or grammar corrections.
Robert W. Benjamin has been in the software business on the internet for over 5 years, and has been producing low-cost software for the past 25+ years. He first released products on the AMIGA and C64 computer systems in the late 1970′s-80′s.
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http://www.rb59.com
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