If your loved one was injured in a Georgia drunk driving accident, he may suffer from PTSD in the months following the crash. PTSD is a psychological injury that occurs as a result of a life-threatening trauma. Victims of PTSD relive or re-experience the trauma, avoid situations and people that remind them of the trauma, and often live in a state of increased anxiety or hyper-vigilance.

If your loved one was injured in a Georgia DUI car crash, you should know the signs and symptoms of PTSD.

Signs and Symptoms of PTSD
1. Reliving or re-experiencing the trauma

• Recurring memories of the accident
• Nightmares about the crash or about car crashes in general
• Feeling or acting like the trauma is happening again
• Anxiety or stress when reminded of the accident in any way

2. Avoidance of situations, people, and things that are associated with the accident

• Difficulty getting in a car
• Avoiding TV shows with accident, police, or injury themes
• Avoiding the place where the accident occurred
• Avoiding thoughts or feelings related to the accident
• Not being able to remember the accident
• Loss of interest in activities
• Feeling detached from friends and family
• Feeling numb or being unable to experience feelings
• Feeling of impending doom

3. Symptoms of increased anxiety or hyper-vigilance

• Insomnia or sleep difficulties
• Irritability
• Outbursts of anger
• Difficulty concentrating
• Feeling “on alert” at all times

If your loved one is experiencing any of the symptoms of PTSD after a Georgia DUI car crash, it is important to seek medical help. You may also want legal help.

Seeking justice can give victims a sense of closure and help them move on with their lives. To learn how a civil lawsuit can help you get accountability for your DUI car crash injuries, contact the Law Offices of Shane Smith at 866-976-1629.

Last week, I was in the North Sea aboard the Steve Irwin, covering Whale Wars spin-off for Playboy, somewhat worried about being imprisoned and/or dying. That meant I missed three episodes of Big Brother, among other TV shows, and coming back to those was quite the contrast.

After five days away, I lost all interest in the show. That was in part because the post-ship land sickness (I've self-diagnosed myself with this syndrome) has been making it difficult for me to actually watch TV for a few days. But literally, it dropped away, even with the big, pre-spoiled twist. However, I had too much invested to just drop out now--I'm not the kind of person who walks out in the middle of a movie--so I just watched all four hours in a row.

That's left me with some observations about this season and the show in general:

• The point of watching is that you've already watched a lot. A significant part of the motivation of watching the show is the investment I've already put into it. (I have no idea what motivates people who watch the live feeds; they're stronger people than I am.) Usually at the end of the season, I can't believe I've wasted more than two months on this nonsense and purge it from my brain, which allows me to approach it with fresh enthusiasm the next summer. But stopping mid-season is much more of a shock to the system.

  Watching Big Brother is like riding a kiddie roller coaster and losing your memory every time it pulls into the station so you think there's brand-new track ahead: it's mildly exciting at some points and you keep thinking it'll get better, but really nothing changes and it's not that exciting to begin with. If you do regain your memory mid-ride, it makes it difficult to keep going around and around and around. That's because:

• The show is incredibly boring. Let's be honest: Even when there's something interesting happening strategically, Big Brother is actually a really boring show. The episodes don't even start until about three or four minutes into the hour, and end four minutes before the end of the hour, which is actually only 43 minutes without commercials. Add in all of the stock lines the houseguests are forced to say, the descriptions they are forced to give us of things we can see perfectly well for ourselves, and absolutely useless footage, and it's maddening considering there's a lot of content that the episodes ignore.

  On top of that, we get the same challenges, the same musical cues, the same structure for every episode, and it just drags and drags and drags. Some familiar elements make sense--"the tribe has spoken" and so on--but the challenge of editing the show in near-real time has given us an increasingly familiar show.

  In four hours, very little happened, although it had the potential to be very interesting: Rachel sobbed, Lawon nominated himself and got voted out, Brendon returned, the underdogs prevailed and Daniele became HOH only to play nice and nominate the least-controversial people, Daniele back-doored Brendon when the opportunity presented itself. I would have liked to have seen more depth to all of this rather than, say, footage of Shelly pacing around in solitary.

• Brendon's return proves "story" matters more than reality. Big Brother is watched by around 7 million viewers, which is not a lot, and most of them don't watch the live feeds or follow the show online, probably because they have things to do. All they have is the TV show, so that is their reality.

  When I interviewed executive producer Allison Grodner a few weeks ago, she repeatedly mentioned "story," and noted that the pre-existing relationships from the duos "gave us a lot of story, and that has been what's driving this particular season." In other words, that's what they've primarily chosen to focus on.

  So, it's no surprise Brendon got voted back in, even though many of us can't stand him or his relationship with Rachel. First, the 2 million votes that were cast aren't that significant: that's 200,000 people voting 10 times each (assuming people didn't cheat and log in under multiple identities). Brendon got 1 million votes, which is just 100,000 people voting. Although the fact that he got 50 percent of the vote seems impressive, he got far more than half the screentime this season, and the others never had a chance. The producers might not fix the game directly, but they exercise tremendous power with what they choose to focus on.

• The casting sucks. The CBS executives who approve and/or insist on this cast need to get a little perspective and stop this madness. Pouring an even less-interesting person into the same mold every season has got to stop, as does the return of previous houseguests. Lawon's absolutely hilariously stupid decision to vote himself out of the house and Shelly's delusion about her lies are mildly amusing, but fail to compare on any significant level with the entertainment or game play we've seen in the past. All that happens now is that the clones of previous contestants try to imitate behavior they learned when they've been forced to watch previous seasons during casting, and the cycle repeats itself, but just gets duller.
• There is no reason any of this will ever change. The show nearly always wins its timeslot and sometimes even outperforms itself, and those ratings justify all of the decisions that are making the show suck, which means we'll never see significant changes. Our only hope is another network finding a summer show to put up against Big Brother and either killing it or waking its ass up.

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Amazingly Vizio xvt553sv made a lot of difference in my life at present. Since this came into my house, I just feel intense satisfaction and happiness with it! Everytime I go home from work and my children from school, what we always wanted was to just watch our favorite TV shows and programs together. It’s

Followers of this blog know that I am a staunch believer in listening to the advice of the pros when planning a wedding, because it will save you time and money. But a lot of the information that’s out there today comes from reality TV shows and “celebrity” wedding planners and designers who work with

In these tough economic times it’s  more important than ever to keep to a budget that’s realistic, achievable and doesn’t ruin you.

Can you start organising your finances before putting any offers in? You may be able to hold out for a better price if funding is already approved.

3. What type of home?

• One in a town or a village – or miles from anywhere?
• A house you can just move into?
• A brand new “villa” with all mod cons but no character?
• A dainty old house requiring some renovation?
• An apartment in town/city?

4. List your must-haves

Make a list of features that you want – X number of bedrooms, Y square metres of garden, a terrace, storage space, pool.

Then rank these in number of importance, on a scale of one to five. Add up their scores. The answer might be surprising. Can help later on, if you are agonising between several properties.

5. Know the market

Don’t rely on that favourite episode of “A Place in the Sun” from circa 1982 for your type of house in that general area. These TV shows are often repeats. Their prices can be very misleading.

French property prices 2009-10 (unlike Ireland they're now rising again)

It’s better to check websites to get an initial rough idea of the current asking prices for the types of property you’re looking for. Talking of which…

6. Use the internet – in moderation

The internet is a fantastic research tool, though don’t base a trip on just one place you’ve seen advertised on a website. You may hate it on first sight, or it may already be sold. A wasted journey.

Most of France is now covered by Google Street View, so use it to do a “virtual” visit to key places. It’s never the same as actually being there, of course, but it gives a good little glimpse.

7. Check the lie of the land

Maybe time to send an initial advance party on a flying visit. If the village is quite small, check the following:

• How many basic shops does it have (boulangerie, general stores, tabac, chemist)?
• How many cafés, bars, restaurants?
• Is the population going up or down?
• Is it simply too isolated for a second home, and a target for les vandals?

Once the overall area feels is right, spend a bit more time there, and begin looking for specific properties.

8. Pick the right time

The best time for house-hunting is off-season, November to March:

• Agents will have more time to focus on your requirements
• You get to see the area when the weather is at its most rotten and life is at its quietest
• It’s also not high summer, when temperatures in the Languedoc sometimes soar towards 40C

9. Build a relationship with the estate agent

Maison #3: ready to walk into - i.e. has windows, doors, walls and a roof unlike the previous two

Try to be as specific as you can in describing your requirements. Explain exactly what house type,  general area and price range you are thinking of.

If you book a viewing, be punctual – always cancel any that you can’t make. Why should the estate agent waste ages sitting by the side of the road waiting for les irlandaises to turn up?

Even if the estate agent speaks English, it’s probably their second language. So you need to avoid any confusion on important property issues.

If your French is rotten, bring a phrasebook or dictionary.

10. Don’t go overdoing it

If you’re house-hunting in a rural area, don’t expect to see more than three to four houses in one day, if each one is miles from anywhere.

And don’t bring kids. They get bored and restless. Dump them somewhere.

11. Be prepared

Bring:

• A map of the area
• Wellies if it’s that kind of terrain/season
• A good lamp
• A camera or video (or fancy mobile phone) to take reference shots – but ask permission first
• A tape measure for checking window sizes, access widths, room-to-swing-cats-in lengths etc
• Water if it’s going to be a long day and long drives in high summer
• Sensible light clothing and sunscreen if you’re spending a lot of time in the sun in the summer

And check the weather forecast. It’s on the back page of the local Midi Libre newspaper.

12. Look past the superficial stuff

We’re talking about dodgy wallpaper (a Gallic proclivity?), naff furniture, minor non-structural stuff that really only requires quick repairs and a lick of paint. Or some Polyfilla.

13. Enjoy yourself

House-hunting can become a bit of a slog, but that’s no excuse not to take in some good food and wine and the sights.

14. Then do all the sums

Allow for:

• The deposit, usually 10%
• Fees for the conveyance, plus purchase taxes – this can add up to about 6% or 7% of the bricks and mortar price, excluding the value of any contents. Bear in mind that property sales require a notaire (the notary, who represents the state in the transaction)
• Any major renovation costs that you’ll also have to budget for
• The cost of house-hunting itself – all those trips can add up

15. Don’t rush in

Don’t let yourself be pressurised. Never sign anything unless you understand it all and the implications. Or have a trusted friend with good French who does.

And before putting in an offer, ask all the obvious and less obvious questions.

Does the property have a septic tank? Is it connected to mains water? Why are there several burnt-out cars in the neighbour’s garden?

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