DiBartolomeo Law Offices Jan. 2018

DiBartolomeo Law Offices Jan. 2018

Makin’ It Better NEWSLETTER

January 2018

Oregon Workers’ Compensation | Personal Injury | Social Security Disability

1139 Exchange St. Astoria, OR 97103 • 503-325-8600 • JoeDiBartolomeo.com

YOUR READING LIST

FOR 2018

Can you believe 2017 is behind us? Elections, weather, and just about everything on the news left us feeling uncertain. We could all use a dose of optimism in the new year. Here are some books that celebrate the triumph of the human spirit, even in the most challenging situations.

really like to be in the great unknown. If you’re looking for inspiration in the new year, reading about Kelly’s harrowing year of challenges will surely give you the courage to overcome your own.

If You Loved the ‘Divergent’ Series

Veronica Roth brings us a new sci-fi/ fantasy series with “Carve the Mark.” Roth whisks us to a planet where each person has a “currentgift,” a special power they develop. But for heroes Cyra and Akos, currentgifts are more of a curse. The two must work to overcome their distinctly different pasts and unite to save their world — or die trying.

Finding Forrest

When an actor tries their hand at other creative mediums, the results are varied, but the buzz about Tom Hanks’ new book,

“Uncommon Type,” has been largely positive. His literary debut is a collection of 17 short stories, all featuring, in some way, a typewriter. At their heart, though, the stories are about human relationships, and Hanks manages to inject his most memorable character’s charm into his writing. As NPR reviewer Heller McAlpin puts it, “In a world where the news is unrelentingly bleak and much fiction tends toward the dystopian, postapocalyptic, dark, or edgy, this is a gentler, sweeter kind of storytelling than we’ve come to expect.”

When You Need a Hero

School is tough, and no one knows it better than George Heffley. In installment 12 of the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series, titled “The Getaway,” Jeff Kinney takes us on a tropical vacation with the Heffleys as they attempt to escape the cold weather and frenzy of the holidays. But the island isn’t the relaxing sanctuary it’s supposed to be. The suggested reading age is 8–12 years old, but this book would make an excellent listen for the whole family during a road trip of your own.

Overcome a Harrowing Year

Few have done more to earn the title of modern-day hero than Scott Kelly, who has served as a military fighter pilot, an engineer, an astronaut, and now, an author. “Endurance” is Kelly’s memoir, and it recounts the year he spent on the International Space Station. From sharing everyday space adventures to letting us in on the physical toll space takes on the body, Kelly helps us understand what it’s

–Joe Di Bartolomeo

The Di Bartolomeo Law Office, P.C. 1139 Exchange Street | Astoria, Oregon | 503-325-8600 | www.joedibartolomeo.com

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Want to See Better Report Cards in 2018?

Every parent wants to see their child do well in school, and there’s one fun activity that benefits students of all ages: reading. In a world with so much stimulation, however, it can be difficult to motivate kids to put down a screen and pick up a book. New Year’s resolutions are the perfect opportunity to make reading a priority. Here are a few tips to make 2018 the year your kids become bookworms. MAKE IT A FAMILY RESOLUTION There’s no better motivator than solidarity! Plus, we’re guessing everyone in your household could stand to read a little more. You don’t have to read the same books or set identical goals, but it’s a lot more fun when everyone participates. Schedule weekly reading discussions so everyone can share the cool stories they’ve read. Stack your completed books in your house somewhere as a monument to all the knowledge your family has gained. SET REWARD MILESTONES Positive reinforcement will propel your kids to keep reading long after the calendars

have turned. For a certain number of books completed or hours spent reading, offer them a prize. You can even create a big end goal to really cement those reading habits. Better yet, set a combined goal that the entire family can work toward. Don’t be afraid to pull out all the stops. If your kids know that reading one book per week through June means an extra-special summer vacation, their enthusiasm won’t wane come spring. USE READING APPS Goodreads is a social network for bibliophiles. You can find recommendations, share ratings, and create lists of both completed and to-be-read books. Users also create reading lists based on topic, genre, decade, and more. With over 2 billion books added, you’ll never run out of inspiration. Biblionasium offers the same services, but it’s designed specifically for children. Talk to other parents and create a network of friends and classmates. After all, nothing is cooler to a kid than what their friends are doing. Avid readers tend to do better academically from kindergarten through college. In fact, SPCA and the University of Glasgow, published in the journal Physiology and Behavior, concluded that dogs may have their own music preferences. And while pups tend to enjoy many genres, the most popular seem to be soft rock and reggae. The study, which evaluated kenneled dogs’ preferences for soft rock, Motown, pop, reggae, and classical music, revealed that dogs spend significantly more time lying down and less time standing when any music plays. And while music didn’t seem to persuade the dogs to quit barking, the pups were significantly more likely to bark once the music stopped. Researchers also measured the dogs’ heart rates during each tune. When dogs listened to reggae and soft rock, their heart rates were significantly lower, which indicates a reduction in stress. And, even though the dogs specifically enjoyed different music genres, their physiological and behavioral changes remained constant over the five- day study.

a study from the Journal of Education and Practice found that reading comprehension predicted success in other subjects more than any other factor. If you want to see improved report cards, make a reading resolution for your entire household.

Don’t Stop Retrievin’

YOUR DOG’S FAVORITE MUSIC

Looking for new ways to spend time with your dog? Is fetch just a little too overdone? Is your furry friend’s anxiety getting the better of them? Try putting on some Bob Marley. Studies have shown that classical music calms canine nerves, but did you know Rover may actually have his own taste in music? Recently, a study from the Scottish

Professor Neil Evans at the University of Glasgow suggested that this study may not represent the musical tastes of all dogs. “Overall,” he writes, “the response to different genres was mixed, highlighting the possibility that, like humans, our canine friends have their own individual music preferences.” In 2015, the University of Glasgow conducted a separate study that examined the effects classical music has on our canine friends. They originally found that, while the music was calming at first, after a week of listening to classical music, the dogs seemed to become disinterested in the tunes and their stress levels eventually increased. So, based on these newer findings, it seems as though a variety of music can keep your dog both interested and relaxed while they are kenneled. So, the next time it’s too rainy to go to the dog park, put on a doggie-friendly playlist for them to enjoy. Who knows? Maybe your dog has the same taste in music as you!

The Di Bartolomeo Law Office, P.C. 1139 Exchange Street | Astoria, Oregon | 503-325-8600 | www.joedibartolomeo.com

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If you’ve ever played Monopoly with the whole family, you know high-tension classic board games can bring out the worst in people. Whether your sibling gloats after putting your most valuable property into mortgage or a tyke flips the board in a feverish rage, some of those old games can do more harm than good. But there are board games that won’t turn family fun time into a heap of tears and yelling. Here are a few modern hits that blow Parker Brothers’ basics out of the water: SETTLERS OF CATAN The perfect entry point for a more intricate world of board games, Settlers has become something of a cultural phenomenon in recent years. In the game, each of the four (or up to six with an inexpensive expansion) players represents a settler establishing colonies in a fictional new land, represented by a series of colored hexagonal tiles. Throughout the course of the game, you’ll take turns rolling dice in order to collect different types of resources, which you can then spend to build settlements, cities, and roads. It sounds and looks fairly complicated, but you and your family should be able to pick it up in a single round (which usually lasts an hour

or two). We can assure you, there’s a reason this game has sold over 22 million copies worldwide. TICKET TO RIDE You don’t have to love trains to be obsessed with this country-spanning strategic adventure. Each player is tries to establish as many train lines between American cities as they can before the game ends. The system is deceptively simple, consisting mostly of matching colored cards to their corresponding train lines on the board, which makes it incredibly easy to learn. But the strategy involved ensures that each game is a completely different beast. Break out your tiny plastic trains and start your trek across the country! CARCASSONNE In this game, each of the two to five players takes turns flipping over tiles and playing them to develop the ancient town of Carcassonne. You can direct your workers to develop the fields, guard the roads, or inhabit the cities, and each activity earns you points. Every board ends up completely different as you place tiles and expand the playing area, which is what makes this game so endlessly enjoyable.

CHICKEN POT PIE • 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cubed • 1 cup sliced carrots • 1 cup frozen green peas • 1/2 cup sliced celery • 1/3 cup butter • 1/3 cup chopped onion Ingredients

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour • 1/3 teaspoon salt • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper • 1/4 teaspoon celery seed • 1 3/4 cups chicken broth • 2/3 cup milk • 2 (9-inch) unbaked pie crusts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 F (220 C). 2. In a saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery. Add water to cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain, and set aside. 3. In the saucepan, over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside. 4. Place the chicken mixture in pie crust. Pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover with other crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape. 5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving. (Recipe inspired by PinchofYum.com.)

The Di Bartolomeo Law Office, P.C. 1139 Exchange Street | Astoria, Oregon | 503-325-8600 | www.joedibartolomeo.com

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What’s Inside

1

Books to Inspire You in the New Year

The Resolution That Leads to Better Grades

2

What Music Does Your Dog Love?

3

A Better Class of Board Game

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Bleeding-Edge Tech for 2018

NEW YEAR, NEW TECH!

3 of 2018’s Most Futuristic Gadgets

Along with a collection of short-lived resolutions, each new year brings a staggering array of wild technology. Here are a few of the coolest new gadgets predicted to hit the scene in 2018. A MICROWAVE THAT DOUBLES AS A FLASH FRIDGE For a couple of years now, the Spanish- Korean company Frigondas has been developing a microwave that, in addition to perfectly warming up your leftovers, comes equipped with the ability to rapidly cool down foods. Not only can you use it to freeze fresh foods for later use, but you can toss a beer inside and let it chill in just a couple of minutes. A ‘HYBRID REALITY ENVIRONMENT’ FROM SCIENCE FICTION Composed of 72 LCD panels, a 20-speaker immersive surround sound system, and an optical motion tracking

system powered by 10 separate cameras, Cave2 is half virtual reality, half insanely futuristic whiteboard. After donning a pair of 3D glasses, users, namely scientists and engineers, can fully immerse themselves in whatever they want, whether it’s a visualization of >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4

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