It has been several weeks since we tookour daughter to college and she seems to be adjusting  well after a short period of homesickness.For us, though, it's another story. Like most parents, I love checking in on mychildren at night. But now she's gone, and I find nighttimes the hardest. Imiss her most at night.

    In my neighborhood, most of the parentswhose kids are off to college are dealing with similar melancholy. Myhusband is filled with anxiety. One friend talked about getting this sickfeeling in her stomach as she prepared for the college drop-off. We complainedthat many of us were too busy to truly enjoy being with our children while wehad them.

    For us moms, seeing Toy Story 3 onlymade the sadness worse as we watched the character Andy, who is the same age asour kids, say goodbye to his childhood as he prepares to leave for college. Andit's not just “first-time” parents like me. Two moms who have kids already wellinto college said the separation didn't get any easier. “You feel likesomething has been taken away from inside you,” said one of them.

    I imagine things will get easier withtime, especially as I see my daughter adjust to college life. Meanwhile, as Ikeep my cell phone close to me in bed and text my daughter goodnight and sweetdreams every night, I like to think at messages serve as a night light thatkeeps her safe.

    Most damagingly, anger weakens a person's ability to think clearly and keep control over his behaviour. The angry person loses objectivity in evaluating the emotional significance of the person or situation that arouses his anger.

    Not everyone experiences anger in the same way; what angers one person may amuse another. The specific expression of anger also differs from person to person based on biological and cultural forces. In contemporary culture, physical expressions of anger are generally considered too socially harmful to be tolerated. We no longer regard duels(决斗) as an appropriate expression of anger resulting from one person's awareness of insulting behaviour on the part of another.

    Anger can be identified in the brain, where the electrical activity changes. Under most conditions EEG(脑电图) measures of electrical activity show balanced activity between the right and left prefrontal(额叶前部) areas. Behaviourally this corresponds to the general even­handed disposition(意向) that most of us possess most of the time. But when we are angry the EEG of the right and left prefrontal areas aren't balanced and, as a result of this, we're likely to react. And our behavioural response to anger is different from our response to other emotions, whether positive or negative.

    Most positive emotions are associated with approach behaviour: we move closer to people we like. Most negative emotions, in contrast, are associated with avoidance behaviour: we move away from people and things that we dislike or that make us anxious. But anger is an exception to this pattern. The angrier we are, the more likely we are to move towards the object of our anger. This corresponds to what psychologists refer to as offensiveanger: the angry person moves closer in order to influence and control the person or situation causing his anger. This approach­and­confront behaviour is accompanied by a leftward prefrontal asymmetry(不对称) of EEG activity. Interestingly, this asymmetry lessens if the angry person can experience empathy(同感) towards the individual who is bringing forth the angry response. In defensiveanger, in contrast, the EEG asymmetry is directed to the right and the angry person feels helpless in the face of the anger­inspiring situation.

    It's a white Christmas in the United States today, with snow falling from Seattle to Maine.

    Northeast

    Biting winds with snow swept the Northeast.

    Earlier, up to 15 inches of snow fell during a snow storm in Maine, while up to one foot fell in New Hampshire. Winds reached 76 mph on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, while up to 61 mph winds tore through Long Island, New York. Falling snow collected on the runways at Boston's Logan International Airport, causing temporary flight delays.

    The wind was so severe in Pennsylvania and New Jersey that the annual (重演) of George Washington and his soldiers'crossing the Delaware River was canceled, the Washington Crossing Historic Park told ABC News.

    Midwest

    Heavy lake effect snow fell in western Michigan.

    The National Weather Service has issued a wind-chill warning and advisory (公告) from Montana to Michigan. Bitter cold air in the Midwest produced wind chills Monday morning as low as minus 48 degrees in North Dakota and minus 47 in northern Minnesota.

    As this bitter cold made its way east overnight, it was expected to move over relatively mild Great Lakes, producing intense lake-effect snow bands capabie of producing 2 to 4 inches of snow in an hour.

    West Coast

    That storm system moved overnight through the Rockies, bringing more snow and the threat of avalanches(雪崩). The National Weather Service has issued an avalanche warning for the Wasatch Range Mountains outside Salt Lake City.

    Once there was an old man, who was completely broke (破产的), living in a tiny house. He had to live on a $105-a-month social security (保障) check.

    At 65 years of age, he decided things had to change. So he thought about what he had to offer. His friends thought highly of his chicken recipe (烹饪法). He decided that this was his best shot at making a change.

    He left Kentucky and traveled to different states to try to sell his recipe. He told restaurant owners that he had a mouth-watering chicken recipe. He offered the recipe to them for free, just asking for a small percentage (比例) on the items sold. Sounds like a good deal, right?

    Unfortunately, not to most of the restaurants. He heard "NO" over 1, 000 times, but he didn't give up. He believed his chicken recipe was something special. He got rejected (拒绝) 1,009 times before he heard his first yes.

    With that one success, the old man changed the way Americans eat chicken. Kentucky Fried Chicken, popularly known as KFC, was born. The old man was Colonel Harland Sanders, who was an American businessman, best known for founding fast food chicken restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken. His name and image (肖像) are still symbols of KFC now.

Emilia Dobek traces her interest in space and the universe back to third grade when she and her father watched a blood moon—a total lunar eclipse (月蚀)—on the roof of their house.

    Now a seventh-grader at East Prairie Elementary School, Dobek recently won the national Discovery Education Lockheed-Martin Beyond Challenge by designing a space station for travelling to Mars.

    She says that night watching the lunar eclipse started a strong desire in her that has yet to run out of fuel. So when her teacher Andrea Smeeton received information about the national challenge, Smeeton said she immediately had one student in mind.

    "I knew she would love the challenge and that she would go way beyond in her search," Smeeton said. "She immediately started researching bone density (密度) of astronauts and how to have food on Mars."

    "My design will ensure the safety of the astronauts but also make sure their comfort is out of this world," Dobek says.

    Dobek's design calls for building the MSS or Mars Storage Station to put the supplies in. It also includes the SGF or Self-Crowing Farm, and she details how it would work with the elements on Mars.

    Then there is physical and leisure activity for the astronauts under Dobek's design. A simulation (模拟装置) allows astronauts to choose their exercise machine and virtual (虚拟的) reality environment. Rooms have circular ceilings so astronauts will be able to watch downloaded shows and even see places on Earth, such as their homes.

    "I want to tell other kids to follow their passions." Dobek said. "Whatever they want to do they should push for it and always try their best."

    While you might not realize it, the environment where you sleep can make a great difference in the actual quality of sleep that you get every night. With a few simple lifestyle changes, you can create a healthy sleep environment that helps improve your sleep quality.

    Go to bed and get up at the same time every day, even on weekends, holidays and days off. Studies show that people who do so are more rested than those who sleep irregularly (不规律地).

    Go to sleep only when you start to feel sleepy. If you don't fall asleep within about 15 minutes, get up and do something relaxing. Go back to bed when you are tired.

    Pay attention to what you eat and drink. Don't go to bed either hungry or stuffed. Your discomfort might keep you up. Avoid caffeine (咖啡因) 6 hours before you sleep. Having a cup of coffee within a few hours of bed time can keep you awake for hours when you are trying to sleep. Coffee isn't the only product containing caffeine. Avoid chocolate and tea, too. Also limit (限制) how much you drink before bed to prevent trips to the toilet at night.

    Many people turn on the TV before they go to bed. TV influences your natural sleep habits by making you stay up longer than you usually would, especially if you are watching something exciting. Instead of turning on the TV, read a book. Light reading before bed can help you fall into a deep sleep quickly.

    If you suffer from serious sleep problems, go to your doctor. Your doctor will help treat the problem or may advise you to see a sleep specialist.