Metzler

Your grandparents called them "tonsil stones" but your doctor refers to them by their medical name, "tonsilloliths". Those cream-colored deposits that sometimes accumulate in the nooks and crannies of your tonsils are thought to be a combination of food particles, white blood cells, cells from the interior of your mouth and bacteria.

Exactly how tonsil stones form is unknown but Dr. Philip Tierno, author of The Secret Life of Germs, believes that these foul-smelling deposits are formed by the anerobic bacteria that lives naturally in your mouth and throat. And microscopic examination seems to show that tonsil stones are formed in concentric layers not unlike the way a pearl is structured.

The good news is that tonsil stones are not associated with any known medical problems nor do they pose any health risks. In fact, it's estimated that about a quarter of all adults who still have their tonsils get tonsil stones at least occasionally.

Usually, tonsil stones will dislodge on their own but if they become large enough to become bothersome or give you a feeling of having a foreign body trapped in your throat, tonsil stones can be easily dislodged with an oral irrigation device. Rarely do tonsil stones grow large enough or become stuck so well that they have to be medically removed.

So far, science has offered little in the way of prevention of tonsil stones. Dr. Douglas Hoffman recommends gargling with salt water or mouthwash after meals and some dentists recommend adding an oral irrigation system to your daily regimen. But if you continue to see them, even with fastidious dental hygiene, relax. Tonsil stones are not a reflection of your personal grooming habits.

If you get tonsil stones don't be embarassed to talk to your dentist. He or she will help you create an oral hygiene routine that's appropriate for you.

Lisa Barger is a traditional naturopath specializing in natural health education. To learn more about Ms. Barger's belief in "Empowerment through Education" or to take a free online natural health class see her website, http://www.LisaBarger.com

Entrepreneurship in the United States of America is alive and well, but things have changed quite a bit over the last few decades. Many entrepreneurs start out in their garage with projects and inventions and eventually take over the garage is part of their business.

I have to laugh because I have started several businesses in my garage and used some saw horses and plywood as tables and old desks and actually set up an entire office a few times doing this. Those things never change there will always be garage startups. We have to thank the ingenuity of Americans and the innovative spirit of our entrepreneurs.

What I find fairly interesting is that many tract homes now come with three-car garages and as long as you're willing to park your $50,000 SUV in the driveway and move your wife's BMW and take a little heat for that and rearrange some junk you can expand your garage startup into a three-car garage startup. That means you can expand your business much faster if you need to. Additionally, with a three-car garage you can leave your wife's BMW in the garage, in case she wants you to sleep in the dog house and take over the other two bays.

Many people may not find the significance of the three-car garage in garage startup innovations, but there is significance to this. Three-car garages allow more people to start businesses in their spare time and this is very good for the future of our small businesses and the future of our nation. It says to the world that the United States citizen is still an entrepreneur at heart and we have not lost our entrepreneurial edge or our innovative spirits.

There are numerous examples of small businesses starting out to later become huge corporations employing tens of thousands of people. In fact after reading 100 biographies of some of the top business titans in the world who later went on to form companies, become billionaires and literally change the world and the way we live all; it should be noted that a good many of them started out in garages. Long live the entrepreneurial three-car garage startups.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is a guest writer for Our Spokane Magazine in Spokane, Washington

Even if you haven't played guitar tablature before you can impress or maybe shock your friends by playing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Let's start playing guitar tab!

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star is a popular English nursery rhyme with the French melody Ah! Vous dirais-je, Maman. You can play this song on the first three strings on the guitar.

The text is from a poem, "The Star", by Jane Taylor. It was first published in 1806. Here you have the English lyrics:

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!

We will use guitar tablature so you will not need to read sheet music. You will only use the thinnest strings on the guitar. The string with the highest pitch is called the first string or E-string. Look at the following guitar tab:

1. 0-0-0-0-----------------
2. --------1-1-1-1---------
3. ----------------2-2-2-2-

This is a tablature staff and the four number 0 indicate that you play the first string four times without pressing down any finger on your right hand. This is called to play on an open string.

The four number 1 coming after is played on the second string pressing down your first finger on the first fret. Then you will play the third string four times pressing down the string on the second fret. This is what the previous guitar tablature notation is telling you.

Let's play the first notes of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star with guitar tablature:

1. ------------0--0--------------------------
2. ------3--3-------3----1--1--0--0----------
3. 0--0-----------------------------2--2--0--

If you want to use your left hand in a professional way you can play the guitar tab notes on the first fret with your first finger, notes on the second fret with your middle finger and the notes on the third fret with your ring finger.

Now it's only one guitar tablature part left:

1. 3--3--1--1--0--0-----
2. ------------------3--
3. ---------------------

After having played this part twice, go back and play the first guitar tablature part and the melody is complete.

Now when you understand guitar tablature notation you can find many songs written this way on the internet. Search for guitar tab or guitar tablature. A complete guitar tablature staff has six lines representing the six strings.

If you have an ukulele hanging somewhere you can use the previous tablature too. The first three strings on an ukulele is tuned the same way as on the guitar.

Just one more thing for you to do. Play the song for your friends! Good luck!

Peter Edvinsson is a musician, composer and music teacher. Visit his site Capotasto Music and download your free printable sheet music, guitar tab and learn to play resources at http://www.capotastomusic.com