Drug Company Won’t Pay Doctors For Promotion, Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, TV & The Novel, Winterizing Your Home

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• Big Drug Company Will No Longer Hire Doctors To Promote Its Pharmaceuticals

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  One of the world’s largest drug companies announced it will no longer hire doctors to promote its products. A health reporter puts this announcement in the context of the industry and explains what this could mean for the future of the pharmaceutical industry.

• Today's Great TV, Yesterday's Great Novels–What They Have In Common

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  In the 1800’s novels went from being seen as popular trash to an art form–and today’s greatest tv shows are following the same path, according to an expert on pop culture and literature. From Charles Dickens to The Wire and the Bronte Sisters to Breaking Bad, she shares what novels and tv have in common.

• For Winterization, Windows Are Key

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  When temperatures drop and snow piles up, it can be hard to keep homes in Wisconsin comfortable. And that can mean a hit to the winter heating budget, too.

  Adam Weisse, an assistant field supervisor with Project Home, a non-profit serving Dane and Green counties that assists approximately 1,000 households each year with a variety of no-cost and low-cost home improvement programs, said winter’s arrival doesn’t mean it’s too late to winterize.

  Weisse said that the first thing to do is to “make sure that all of your doors and windows are in operable condition and that they close and open properly.” He added that double-hung windows tend to cause the most problems.

  “If they’re not locked at the sash properly, that top sash tends to ride down and if you haven’t looked at it since the summer months, it’s open,” he said.

  While that might seem like a small thing, it can make a big difference in comfort and cost.

  “The biggest improvement that any homeowner can make to their home is ensuring that their home is insulated and air-sealed. So, making sure that you don’t have those outside air leaks is really important,” he said.

  Sometimes, windows need not just to be closed, but replaced. But that’s not a great project to take on during winter. Weisse recommended that “one of the easiest thing, and one of the most widely available, would be the plastic window insulating kit. It’s really a window air sealing kit. They’re really effective at stopping outside drafts. They’re easy to install, they have everything you need right in the kit, and as long as you get a tight seal around the perimeter when you put it on, it’ll work really well.”

  If you’ve ever used one of the plastic window kits and didn’t quite get it perfectly taut and flat, don’t worry. Weisse said that “as long as it’s sealed all the way around the perimeter, it’s really not that big a deal.”

  For more information on professional winterization help, Weisse recommended these links:

  • Focus on Energy program,“a great resource for both homeowners and business owners for Wisconsin’s Focus on Energy program.”
  • The State of Wisconsin Energy Assistance and Weatherization programs for statewide programs for income-eligible households.