Unintended pregnancy remains a major public health problem in the United States. Access and cost issues are common reasons why women either do not use contraception or have gaps in use. A potential way to improve contraceptive access and use, and possibly decrease unintended pregnancy rates, is to allow over-the-counter access to oral contraceptives (OCs). Screening for cervical cancer or sexually transmitted infections is not medically required to provide hormonal contraception. Concerns include payment for pharmacist services, payment for over-the-counter OCs by insurers, and the possibility of pharmacists inappropriately refusing to provide OCs. Weighing the risks versus the benefits based on currently available data, OCs should be available over-the-counter. Women should self-screen for most contraindications to OCs using checklists.
30 Kasım 2012 Cuma
Ob-Gyn's Push For Oral Contraceptives To Be Available Over The Counter Without A Prescription or Doctor Visit
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From "Over-the-Counter Access to Oral Contraceptives" by The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Committee on Gynecologic Practice, December 2012:
Toyota's Avalon Is The Most American Made Car
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From The Street, "10 Most American-Made Cars Of 2012" by Jason Notte:
1. 2012 Toyota AvalonThe complete list of the ten most American made cars is here.
Assembled: Georgetown, Ky.
Percentage Made In U.S.: 85%
Yep, the ultimate American full-size is the most American-made car on this list. ... Toyota actually makes a car with even more American parts than the Avalon -- the 95% U.S. Matrix -- but their choice to assemble it across the border in Canada disqualified it. When you say "American-made" down here in the states, "North America" isn't exactly what folks have in mind.
In Canada, Young Adults More Likely To Smoke Pot And Drive Than Drink And Drive
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From "Young adults more likely to smoke pot than drink before driving" on ScienceBlog:
"More young adults are reporting that they drive within an hour of using cannabis – even more than those who report drinking and driving," says Dr. Robert Mann, CAMH [Centre for Addiction and Mental Health] Senior Scientist and lead researcher. "Yet the risks of doing so are significant." Nine per cent of 18- to 29-year-olds report driving after cannabis use, versus six per cent in this age range who report drinking two or more drinks and driving.
Debt Limit Increase Not Needed Until Mid-February, CBO Expects
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From CBO, "When Is Federal Debt Likely to Reach the Statutory Limit?"
The Treasury anticipates that borrowing will reach the current limit near the end of December 2012. However, because the Treasury can take certain “extraordinary measures” that it has used previously when borrowing reached or approached the debt limit, CBO expects that the department will be able to continue funding government activities without an increase in the debt limit until mid-February or early March.
Majority Against Government Guaranteed Healthcare For All
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From Gallup Politics, "In US, Majority Now Against Gov't Healthcare Guarantee: Views of healthcare system overall more positive in some respects" by Jeffrey M. Jones:
For the first time in Gallup trends since 2000, a majority of Americans say it is not the federal government's responsibility to make sure all Americans have healthcare coverage. Prior to 2009, a majority always felt the government should ensure healthcare coverage for all, though Americans' views have become more divided in recent years.
Source: Gallup
29 Kasım 2012 Perşembe
Music: Bela Lam & Family - Poor Little Benny (1920's field recording)
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Virginia native Zanddervon Beliah Lamb, renamed Bela Lam by Okeh Records, performs the song Poor Little Benny with wife Rose Meadows.
With Bela’s brother-in-law Paul and son Alva, they became local favorites near the Blue Ridge Mountain region in the 1920’s, eventually being called to New York City to record six songs.
Influenced by the local religious music of the day, Bela Lam & the Greene County Singers, as they would come to be known, are notable for their shape-note harmonies, highly influential during the period
Amazon - Skeets McDonald music found
Amazon - The classic sound of Bakersfield, CA
Amazon - Add some Playboys, Cowboys, & Doughboys to your music collection
Virginia native Zanddervon Beliah Lamb, renamed Bela Lam by Okeh Records, performs the song Poor Little Benny with wife Rose Meadows.
With Bela’s brother-in-law Paul and son Alva, they became local favorites near the Blue Ridge Mountain region in the 1920’s, eventually being called to New York City to record six songs.
Influenced by the local religious music of the day, Bela Lam & the Greene County Singers, as they would come to be known, are notable for their shape-note harmonies, highly influential during the period
Amazon - Skeets McDonald music found
Amazon - The classic sound of Bakersfield, CA
Amazon - Add some Playboys, Cowboys, & Doughboys to your music collection
Century 21 Calling - Bell Labs promotional film for 1962 Seattle World's Fair
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Occassionally, people do get the future right, as they seem to have done in this film, Century 21 Calling, made more than 45 years ago to promote Bell Labs at the 1962 Seattle World's Fair.
Call-waiting, call-forwarding, pagers, auto-dialing, news & weather info retrieval, central computer databases that log all of your private information (so that's where it came from).
Still waiting on that solar battery business, though.
Special mention goes out to the futuristic monorail opener (those never really did catch on, did they?), the perfectly kitsch soundtrack, and the climactic ending where the young couple shoot up the to the head of the Space Needle, as if they were bursting up and out into the future.
Is that Bill Murray singing in the background at the end?
You tell me ...
NOW OPEN: The NEW Weirdo Video BETA
Featuring the Lost Stanley Kubrick film
DAY OF THE FIGHT.
Now Available - Weirdo Video's Vamps & Vixens - High Quality DVD only 14.99 + S&H
Occassionally, people do get the future right, as they seem to have done in this film, Century 21 Calling, made more than 45 years ago to promote Bell Labs at the 1962 Seattle World's Fair.
Call-waiting, call-forwarding, pagers, auto-dialing, news & weather info retrieval, central computer databases that log all of your private information (so that's where it came from).
Still waiting on that solar battery business, though.
Special mention goes out to the futuristic monorail opener (those never really did catch on, did they?), the perfectly kitsch soundtrack, and the climactic ending where the young couple shoot up the to the head of the Space Needle, as if they were bursting up and out into the future.
Is that Bill Murray singing in the background at the end?
You tell me ...
NOW OPEN: The NEW Weirdo Video BETA
Featuring the Lost Stanley Kubrick film
DAY OF THE FIGHT.
Now Available - Weirdo Video's Vamps & Vixens - High Quality DVD only 14.99 + S&H
Marijuana aka "Marihuana!" - 1930's
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A trailer for a nudie film that masquerades as an anti-'marihuana' morality tale.
Watch wild & reckless youths lose their souls to the devil's weed.
NOW OPEN: The NEW Weirdo Video BETA
Featuring the Lost Stanley Kubrick film
DAY OF THE FIGHT.
Now Available - Weirdo Video's Vamps & Vixens - High Quality DVD only 14.99 + S&H
Amazon - The Gateway to DVD's about Ganja & Classics to catch fire to
Histories about & Studies of the Devil's Weed
Sexploitation films for the purely prurient
A trailer for a nudie film that masquerades as an anti-'marihuana' morality tale.
Watch wild & reckless youths lose their souls to the devil's weed.
NOW OPEN: The NEW Weirdo Video BETA
Featuring the Lost Stanley Kubrick film
DAY OF THE FIGHT.
Now Available - Weirdo Video's Vamps & Vixens - High Quality DVD only 14.99 + S&H
Amazon - The Gateway to DVD's about Ganja & Classics to catch fire to
Histories about & Studies of the Devil's Weed
Sexploitation films for the purely prurient
The Labor of Thy Hands - ca. mid-1950's
To contact us Click HERE
In this vintage promotional film produced by the Jewish women's group Hadassah, viewers are reminded of the need to develop a skilled workforce in the young state of Israel. Interesting footage of early kibbutzim and Israeli industry are highlighted in this film, with a stress on modernizing the economy and culture, the stress is on becoming an equal in a technologically advancing world.
NOW OPEN: The NEW Weirdo Video BETA
Featuring the Lost Stanley Kubrick film
DAY OF THE FIGHT.
In this vintage promotional film produced by the Jewish women's group Hadassah, viewers are reminded of the need to develop a skilled workforce in the young state of Israel. Interesting footage of early kibbutzim and Israeli industry are highlighted in this film, with a stress on modernizing the economy and culture, the stress is on becoming an equal in a technologically advancing world.
NOW OPEN: The NEW Weirdo Video BETA
Featuring the Lost Stanley Kubrick film
DAY OF THE FIGHT.
An Online Premium Meat Buyer's Guide
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Buying meat online is a great idea. Whether you are buying Kobe steaks or New York strip steak, or any other kind of meat online, it is a good choice on your part. One of the most obvious advantages of buying meat online is that you do not have to visit the grocery store, or spend time driving there. All you need to do is get on your computer, follow a few steps and you will have your steak delivered to your doorstep not long after making the purchase.
There are a few things that you need to pay attention to when buying Kobe steaks online. The first is that you need to ensure that the meat is certified by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This means that the meat is good for human consumption and that you will not suffer any negative side effects after consuming the meat.
Secondly, choosing the best quality Kobe steak is a delicate process that requires you to be observant and vigilant. The USDA usually grades Kobe beef according to the quality of the actual product, so this should guide you when making your choice. Make sure that the grading is indicated on the particular piece of meat that you want to purchase. This acts as an assurance of quality once you make the purchase.
All these rules also apply to New York strip steak, if you are looking to get the best possible quality. Furthermore, when buying Kobe steaks or New York strip steaks online, you need to look at the experience that the supplier has in the trade. When it comes to buying meat, experience is everything. Look out for seasoned meat suppliers who will most likely offer you the quality that you are looking for.
You also need to look at whether or not other customers have been satisfied with their purchases. When buying New York strip steak online, the supplier usually has a section for customer comments and testimonials. This also applies to Kobe steak and other gourmet meats. This will give you a good indication as to whether or not you want to use that particular supplier to make your purchase.
If you follow these steps, you will get your quality New York Strip steak online, or Kobe steak if that is what you are looking for. Buying meat online beats going to the butcher or grocery store any day.
There are a few things that you need to pay attention to when buying Kobe steaks online. The first is that you need to ensure that the meat is certified by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This means that the meat is good for human consumption and that you will not suffer any negative side effects after consuming the meat.
Secondly, choosing the best quality Kobe steak is a delicate process that requires you to be observant and vigilant. The USDA usually grades Kobe beef according to the quality of the actual product, so this should guide you when making your choice. Make sure that the grading is indicated on the particular piece of meat that you want to purchase. This acts as an assurance of quality once you make the purchase.
All these rules also apply to New York strip steak, if you are looking to get the best possible quality. Furthermore, when buying Kobe steaks or New York strip steaks online, you need to look at the experience that the supplier has in the trade. When it comes to buying meat, experience is everything. Look out for seasoned meat suppliers who will most likely offer you the quality that you are looking for.
You also need to look at whether or not other customers have been satisfied with their purchases. When buying New York strip steak online, the supplier usually has a section for customer comments and testimonials. This also applies to Kobe steak and other gourmet meats. This will give you a good indication as to whether or not you want to use that particular supplier to make your purchase.
If you follow these steps, you will get your quality New York Strip steak online, or Kobe steak if that is what you are looking for. Buying meat online beats going to the butcher or grocery store any day.
28 Kasım 2012 Çarşamba
The Labor of Thy Hands - ca. mid-1950's
To contact us Click HERE
In this vintage promotional film produced by the Jewish women's group Hadassah, viewers are reminded of the need to develop a skilled workforce in the young state of Israel. Interesting footage of early kibbutzim and Israeli industry are highlighted in this film, with a stress on modernizing the economy and culture, the stress is on becoming an equal in a technologically advancing world.
NOW OPEN: The NEW Weirdo Video BETA
Featuring the Lost Stanley Kubrick film
DAY OF THE FIGHT.
In this vintage promotional film produced by the Jewish women's group Hadassah, viewers are reminded of the need to develop a skilled workforce in the young state of Israel. Interesting footage of early kibbutzim and Israeli industry are highlighted in this film, with a stress on modernizing the economy and culture, the stress is on becoming an equal in a technologically advancing world.
NOW OPEN: The NEW Weirdo Video BETA
Featuring the Lost Stanley Kubrick film
DAY OF THE FIGHT.
Early Breast Cancer Screening Does Not Save Lives: Leads To Overdiagnosis And Unnecessary Treatment
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From Bloomberg, "Early Breast Cancer Screens Shown to Have Limited Benefit" by Nicole Ostrow:
The number of early breast tumors detected by mammogram hasn’t led to a corresponding reduction of advanced cancer, findings that suggest increased screening has led to over diagnosis and unneeded treatment, researchers said.From The Wall Street Journal, "Study Questions Benefits of Mammogram Screening" by Melinda Beck:
Mammograms have doubled the number of early-stage breast cancers detected in the U.S. each year, while the rate of advanced disease has declined just 8 percent annually, according to a study published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine. One third of breast cancers detected and treated posed no threat to health, the research also found.
The study backs the 2009 guidelines by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force that advise against routine mammograms for women ages 40 to 49 who aren’t at increased risk for breast cancer.
More than one million U.S. women have been diagnosed and treated unnecessarily for breast cancer in the 30 years since screening mammograms become widespread, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine.
In 2008, the most recent year studied, nearly 1 in every 3 breast cancers were "overdiagnosed"—that is, they never would have caused symptoms if they had been left alone, the study concluded.
The findings add to the growing body of evidence that suggests screening women for breast cancer leads to unnecessary treatment while saving few lives, likely fueling the controversy about when and how often to have regular mammograms.
Ob-Gyn's Push For Oral Contraceptives To Be Available Over The Counter Without A Prescription or Doctor Visit
To contact us Click HERE
From "Over-the-Counter Access to Oral Contraceptives" by The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Committee on Gynecologic Practice, December 2012:
Unintended pregnancy remains a major public health problem in the United States. Access and cost issues are common reasons why women either do not use contraception or have gaps in use. A potential way to improve contraceptive access and use, and possibly decrease unintended pregnancy rates, is to allow over-the-counter access to oral contraceptives (OCs). Screening for cervical cancer or sexually transmitted infections is not medically required to provide hormonal contraception. Concerns include payment for pharmacist services, payment for over-the-counter OCs by insurers, and the possibility of pharmacists inappropriately refusing to provide OCs. Weighing the risks versus the benefits based on currently available data, OCs should be available over-the-counter. Women should self-screen for most contraindications to OCs using checklists.
Women To Pay More Than Men For Long Term Care Insurance
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From The Wall Street Journal, "Women Face Higher Costs" by Kelly Greene:
Until now, insurers have charged the same premiums regardless of gender for the [long-term-care insurance] policies, which help pay for future nursing-home, assisted-living and home care. But beginning early next year, Genworth Financial, the country's largest long-term-care insurer, plans to start charging women applying for coverage as much as 40% more than men.
The move is designed to better reflect the risks involved in covering women, who are paid two out of every three benefit dollars from long-term-care insurance, in part because they live longer and often have no caregivers at home, according to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, a trade group based in Westlake Village, Calif.
Other insurers are expected to follow Genworth's lead, says Jesse Slome, the association's executive director.
After 30 Years, Ethanol's Federal Tax Credit Expires
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Posted: Monday, April 23, 2012
For the last 30 years, The U.S. Federal government has been subsidizing the use of Ethanol, which is mostly produced from corn. Since the tax credits' expiration earlier this year, the issue of renewing the federal subsidy has been difficult for candidates seeking office throughout the Midwest. The Ethanol subsidy, "In the last year, when Congress was preoccupied with deficits and debt, became a symbol of corporate welfare."
Currently, almost 40% of the nation's corn crop contributes to the creation of Ethanol and related products, including animal feed. Over the last 30 years, more than $20 billion in subsidies have been provided to encourage the use of the product. Generally, proponents of the Ethanol tax break accepted the expiration of the tax credit without a big battle. However, Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa and a leading advocate for the Ethanol subsidy noted that Ethanol is used to reduced retail gasoline prices for America and reliance on foreign oil.
"The end of this giant subsidy is a win for taxpayers, the environment and people struggling to put food on the table" said Michal L. Rosenoer, a policy analyst from Friends of the Earth "Production of ethanol, with its use of pesticides and fertilizers and heavy industrial machinery, causes soil erosion and air and water pollution. And it means that less land is available for growing food, so food prices go up"
Representative Jeff Flake, Republican of Arizona, said; "with record deficits and a ballooning national debt, it was ludicrous to expect taxpayers to pay billions to prop up a mature industry that should be able to fend for itself."
Read the full article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/02/business/energy-environment/after-three-d
ecades-federal-tax-credit-for-ethanol-expires.html
For the last 30 years, The U.S. Federal government has been subsidizing the use of Ethanol, which is mostly produced from corn. Since the tax credits' expiration earlier this year, the issue of renewing the federal subsidy has been difficult for candidates seeking office throughout the Midwest. The Ethanol subsidy, "In the last year, when Congress was preoccupied with deficits and debt, became a symbol of corporate welfare."
Currently, almost 40% of the nation's corn crop contributes to the creation of Ethanol and related products, including animal feed. Over the last 30 years, more than $20 billion in subsidies have been provided to encourage the use of the product. Generally, proponents of the Ethanol tax break accepted the expiration of the tax credit without a big battle. However, Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa and a leading advocate for the Ethanol subsidy noted that Ethanol is used to reduced retail gasoline prices for America and reliance on foreign oil.
"The end of this giant subsidy is a win for taxpayers, the environment and people struggling to put food on the table" said Michal L. Rosenoer, a policy analyst from Friends of the Earth "Production of ethanol, with its use of pesticides and fertilizers and heavy industrial machinery, causes soil erosion and air and water pollution. And it means that less land is available for growing food, so food prices go up"
Representative Jeff Flake, Republican of Arizona, said; "with record deficits and a ballooning national debt, it was ludicrous to expect taxpayers to pay billions to prop up a mature industry that should be able to fend for itself."
Read the full article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/02/business/energy-environment/after-three-d
ecades-federal-tax-credit-for-ethanol-expires.html
27 Kasım 2012 Salı
ALDI Deutsche Küche Paprika Potato Chips
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Good ol' ALDI and their Deutsche Küche line of imported German treats. If it weren't for them, I never would have found these Paprika Potato Chips.
Quite an interesting flavor, actually, and not purely paprika - onion, garlic, tomato, cheese, and yeast powders are all used along with the paprika to create a blend in which no one individual taste (other than the paprika of course) comes through.
Deutsche Küche Paprika Potato Chips are another one of those limited-time-only items at ALDI and may not be available at your local store at this very moment. As you know, though, ALDI cycles their specialty items on and off the shelves, so if you can't find them now, you may be able to in a few weeks (or, you can always ask your local store manager if she can bring them in for you.)
.
Good ol' ALDI and their Deutsche Küche line of imported German treats. If it weren't for them, I never would have found these Paprika Potato Chips.Quite an interesting flavor, actually, and not purely paprika - onion, garlic, tomato, cheese, and yeast powders are all used along with the paprika to create a blend in which no one individual taste (other than the paprika of course) comes through.
Deutsche Küche Paprika Potato Chips are another one of those limited-time-only items at ALDI and may not be available at your local store at this very moment. As you know, though, ALDI cycles their specialty items on and off the shelves, so if you can't find them now, you may be able to in a few weeks (or, you can always ask your local store manager if she can bring them in for you.).
Burger King Onion Rings Revisited
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I last wrote about Burger King onion rings almost exactly a year ago. They sucked. But because I never seem to learn my goddamn lesson, there I was in Burger King last night ordering onion rings again. I couldn't help it. I really love onion rings, and the BK I was in was pushing them hard, and I thought to myself, "Self," (which is what I call myself) "Self," I said, "It's been awhile since we gave those onion rings a try. What say we give 'em one last chance?" So, even though I know full well it's not going to be the last chance really, I ordered the rings. And a tub of Zesty Sauce to go with them.
Well, guess what? Just like last time, the onion rings were okay when they were first handed over to me and then quickly deteriorated into slippery, greasy, artificial-tasting nastiness. The only thing that saved them was the Zesty dipping sauce, which I had never tried before but decided to get this time, figuring that if the rings were as bad as ever at least I'd have something to mask the shittiness.
Commercially-produced sauces labeled "Zesty" are usually not very zesty at all, but I was pleasantly surprised. Strong horseradish and hot pepper notes are prevalent - it's quite obviously a clone of the stuff that less-casual restaurants serve with "blooming onion" appetizers.
The Zesty Sauce was also pretty good for dipping BK's popcorn chicken, which is good to know because BK's Kung Pao sauce is crappy soy sauce-flavored corn syrup. Thanks to my new friend Zesty, the onion rings were a little more tolerable. But they do still suck.
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Well, guess what? Just like last time, the onion rings were okay when they were first handed over to me and then quickly deteriorated into slippery, greasy, artificial-tasting nastiness. The only thing that saved them was the Zesty dipping sauce, which I had never tried before but decided to get this time, figuring that if the rings were as bad as ever at least I'd have something to mask the shittiness.
Commercially-produced sauces labeled "Zesty" are usually not very zesty at all, but I was pleasantly surprised. Strong horseradish and hot pepper notes are prevalent - it's quite obviously a clone of the stuff that less-casual restaurants serve with "blooming onion" appetizers.
The Zesty Sauce was also pretty good for dipping BK's popcorn chicken, which is good to know because BK's Kung Pao sauce is crappy soy sauce-flavored corn syrup. Thanks to my new friend Zesty, the onion rings were a little more tolerable. But they do still suck.
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REVIEW: Mendelsohn's Frozen Lasagna
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Single-serve frozen lasagna is one of my favorite lunches, and I'm always looking for new brands to try. So naturally, I grabbed a couple of boxes of Mendelsohn's Lasagna when I found it at The Barn in Greenfield MA.
This is a very simple lasagna - four layers of noodles each separated by a miniscule sprinkling of mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce, topped with a generous portion of more mozzarella, and not a bit of ricotta cheese to be found anywhere.
So basically., this "lasagna" is actually just pasta and cheese with some sauce. And bad sauce it is, with so much sugar it's like eating candied pasta. Too bad, really, because despite the other shortcomings, I would be inclined to buy Mendelsohn's Lasagna again if it weren't for that awful tomato syrup.
On the positive side, it's the only frozen lasagna I've found which is certified Kosher. I guess you should consider that a warning - if you're keeping Kosher and you're relying on Mendelsohn's Lasagna for lunchtime deliciousness you will find only disappointment.
Single-serve frozen lasagna is one of my favorite lunches, and I'm always looking for new brands to try. So naturally, I grabbed a couple of boxes of Mendelsohn's Lasagna when I found it at The Barn in Greenfield MA.This is a very simple lasagna - four layers of noodles each separated by a miniscule sprinkling of mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce, topped with a generous portion of more mozzarella, and not a bit of ricotta cheese to be found anywhere.
So basically., this "lasagna" is actually just pasta and cheese with some sauce. And bad sauce it is, with so much sugar it's like eating candied pasta. Too bad, really, because despite the other shortcomings, I would be inclined to buy Mendelsohn's Lasagna again if it weren't for that awful tomato syrup.
On the positive side, it's the only frozen lasagna I've found which is certified Kosher. I guess you should consider that a warning - if you're keeping Kosher and you're relying on Mendelsohn's Lasagna for lunchtime deliciousness you will find only disappointment.
REVIEW: McDonald's New CBO (Cheddar Bacon Onion) Sandwiches
To contact us Click HERE
A strange thing happened over the weekend: Maryanne and I were out wandering in the car at lunchtime, and found ourselves looking for a quick bite to eat at the very moment that a McDonald's appeared on the road ahead.
Now, you guys all know how much I like McDonald's breakfast and bakery offerings. But you also know I am somewhat less-than-enthusiastic about their burgers. Maryanne kind of half-heartedly said, "There's a McDonald's up on the right," and I think I really surprised her when I replied, "Cool. Let's try out the new CBOs they introduced last week."
We got two sandwiches - one made with crispy chicken, and the other made on an Angus Third Pounder - and cut them in half so we could each try both sandwiches, and added a large fries to share and large coffees.
Out of the two sandwiches, the Crispy Chicken CBO was hands-down our favorite. The cheese and bacon were worthy complements to the chicken patty, and the caramelized onion brought a welcome touch of sweetness to counterbalance the salty bacon (and salty chicken coating.) It reminded us (favorably) of KFC's Double Down, but on a roll.
The Angus Third Pounder CBO was somewhat less successful. For one thing, the patty is far too dry. And because bacon-cheeseburgers have become a fairly standard offering for many a fast-food chain, finding one at McDonald's just isn't that special, even if there is caramelized onions sprinkled atop the patty. (C'mon, there's already an Angus Bacon & Cheese burger on the menu which is almost identical to the CBO.) And though the beef version of the CBO is larger than the chicken, we found it less satisfying because of its ordinariness. When we were done eating, both of wished we'd ordered our own Crispy Chicken CBOs and left the beef ones behind.
A couple of other notes about the ingredients:
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Now, you guys all know how much I like McDonald's breakfast and bakery offerings. But you also know I am somewhat less-than-enthusiastic about their burgers. Maryanne kind of half-heartedly said, "There's a McDonald's up on the right," and I think I really surprised her when I replied, "Cool. Let's try out the new CBOs they introduced last week."
We got two sandwiches - one made with crispy chicken, and the other made on an Angus Third Pounder - and cut them in half so we could each try both sandwiches, and added a large fries to share and large coffees.
Out of the two sandwiches, the Crispy Chicken CBO was hands-down our favorite. The cheese and bacon were worthy complements to the chicken patty, and the caramelized onion brought a welcome touch of sweetness to counterbalance the salty bacon (and salty chicken coating.) It reminded us (favorably) of KFC's Double Down, but on a roll.
The Angus Third Pounder CBO was somewhat less successful. For one thing, the patty is far too dry. And because bacon-cheeseburgers have become a fairly standard offering for many a fast-food chain, finding one at McDonald's just isn't that special, even if there is caramelized onions sprinkled atop the patty. (C'mon, there's already an Angus Bacon & Cheese burger on the menu which is almost identical to the CBO.) And though the beef version of the CBO is larger than the chicken, we found it less satisfying because of its ordinariness. When we were done eating, both of wished we'd ordered our own Crispy Chicken CBOs and left the beef ones behind.
A couple of other notes about the ingredients:
- McDonald's bacon is decent - better than the bacon served on sandwiches at most other chains (I'm lookin' at you, Wendy) but it would be even better if they used thick-sliced bacon instead of standard.
- I can't figure out what is so special about their "white cheddar" cheese since it tastes exactly like the orange cheddar that McDonald's uses on every other burger.
- The so-called "creamy mustard sauce" is so bland that it might as well be generic Ranch Dressing straight from a supermarket bottle.
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Review: Dominique's Snapper Turtle Soup
To contact us Click HERE
My only previous experience with turtle soup was the poem in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland:
Beautiful Soup, so rich and green,
Waiting in a hot tureen!
Who for such dainties would not stoop?
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
So, you can see that I'm totally unqualified to review this stuff in comparison to any other canned or homemade turtle soup (not that that's ever stopped me from reviewing anything else I've found on a grocery store shelf.)
Anyway, as a total Snapper Turtle Soup N00b, I had no idea what to expect. I read the ingredient panel and found stuff like beef stock, celery, carrots, wine, and snapper turtle meat and figured it couldn't be all that bad. So I gambled a couple of bucks and bought a can to give it a try.
Dominique's Snapper Turtle Soup is condensed, so it requires the addition of one can-measure of water before heating. I opened up the can and poured the soup out into a saucepan to find a thick, gelatinous glob the consistency of slightly warming Jell-O, which dropped into the pan with a wet slap. I added the canful of water and stirred with little effect - the brown glue just didn't want to combine with the water. Eventually, I was able to stir it together and put it over the fire. I heated and stirred, but the soup never thinned out. (I've found out since then that snapper turtle soup is supposed to be thick like a gravy, so I guess that's the way it was actually intended to be.)
With the soup heated up and ready to eat, I sat down to try it out. It was, in a word, disgusting.
It was thicker than gravy, brown and viscous, swimming with tiny bits of what were probably vegetables, and small squares of spongy, flavorless meat which I think was supposed to be turtle. The flavor was sickening - slightly sour, as though they used the cheapest industrial-cleaning-fluid-grade wine they could find. It took a concerted effort to eat more than the first couple spoonfuls, but it didn't take me long to just give up.
Personally, I would never buy this again. And if this is an example of what snapper turtle soup is like, I'd never order it out, either.
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My only previous experience with turtle soup was the poem in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland:Beautiful Soup, so rich and green,
Waiting in a hot tureen!
Who for such dainties would not stoop?
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
So, you can see that I'm totally unqualified to review this stuff in comparison to any other canned or homemade turtle soup (not that that's ever stopped me from reviewing anything else I've found on a grocery store shelf.)
Anyway, as a total Snapper Turtle Soup N00b, I had no idea what to expect. I read the ingredient panel and found stuff like beef stock, celery, carrots, wine, and snapper turtle meat and figured it couldn't be all that bad. So I gambled a couple of bucks and bought a can to give it a try.
Dominique's Snapper Turtle Soup is condensed, so it requires the addition of one can-measure of water before heating. I opened up the can and poured the soup out into a saucepan to find a thick, gelatinous glob the consistency of slightly warming Jell-O, which dropped into the pan with a wet slap. I added the canful of water and stirred with little effect - the brown glue just didn't want to combine with the water. Eventually, I was able to stir it together and put it over the fire. I heated and stirred, but the soup never thinned out. (I've found out since then that snapper turtle soup is supposed to be thick like a gravy, so I guess that's the way it was actually intended to be.)
 |
| Mon dieu. |
It was thicker than gravy, brown and viscous, swimming with tiny bits of what were probably vegetables, and small squares of spongy, flavorless meat which I think was supposed to be turtle. The flavor was sickening - slightly sour, as though they used the cheapest industrial-cleaning-fluid-grade wine they could find. It took a concerted effort to eat more than the first couple spoonfuls, but it didn't take me long to just give up.
Personally, I would never buy this again. And if this is an example of what snapper turtle soup is like, I'd never order it out, either.
.
26 Kasım 2012 Pazartesi
UPDATED: 7 Thanksgiving Dinner Sides Paleos Won't Approve Of, But Switches They Will
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From FitSugar. This Paleo doesn't celebrate the holidays, but this is for those that do.
"Rest assured your turkey can be served as is, but the rest of the traditional Thanksgiving menu is not Paleo-diet-friendly. If one or more of your guests live by these caveman rules of eating, then a typical Thanksgiving table can seem like a danger zone. Learn which traditional dishes are hands-off for the Paleo set and how you can make them enjoyable to every seat in the house.
Mashed potatoes: Although some potatoes are Paleo-friendly, it's the rest of the ingredients that raise red flags. Try this lower-carb version of mashed potatoes with a few swaps: use cauliflower florets (about 16 ounces), and cut out the potatoes completely; instead of the butter, use an equal amount of coconut oil, and coconut milk can also be subbed in for the Greek yogurt. Just mix, and you're cooking like a caveman!
Gravy: Turning gravy Paleo is easy; just sub out the milk and flour. Milk can easily be substituted with egg yolk and flour with Arrowroot, a gluten-free thickening agent.
Green bean casserole: Use Paleo guests as an excuse to mix up the traditional green bean casserole. This coconut almond version uses — you guessed it — coconut oil and coconut milk. Not a huge coconut fan? No worries. The shavings are almond, and neither the coconut oil nor milk exude an island flavor.
Cranberry sauce: For an easy swap, boil your cranberries in freshly squeezed orange juice instead of sugar water. For each pound of raw cranberries you cook, use one cup of juice. The sauce will be so sweet that your guests won't notice a difference.
Stuffing: This Thanksgiving favorite doesn't always need bread. Try this stuffing recipe made with lean ground beef to taste more like the real thing. It's loaded with heart-healthy antioxidants like apples and walnuts to counterbalance all of those yummy starches.
Candied sweet potatoes: This recipe can stay relatively true to its original, as long as you swap out the sugar for pure maple syrup. Your non-paleo guests are sure to support that. Try this maple-roasted recipe as is. Since some Paleo eaters are iffy on the yams, you can cook the entire dish with sweet potatoes instead.
Pumpkin pie: One of the most difficult dishes to transform is pumpkin pie. Crust, cream, and fillers are all obstacles that can be nearly impossible for a Paleo posse to dodge. This vegan pumpkin dessert is served as a custard and considered almost as cute as it is tasty. Your guests will love the elegant nature and ending the meal on a light note. It may even take a place in your everyday recipe book."
UPDATE: If you find yourself in need of other recipes to replace family favorites, go to FastPaleo, because lately, it's been side-dish-palooza over there. Just today, a cranberry sauce recipe got posted. Yesterday and the day before were a Stuffing-O-Rama. There was even a Paleo marshmallow recipe that could be used for the sweet potato casserole, or even s'mores or hot cocoa!
"Rest assured your turkey can be served as is, but the rest of the traditional Thanksgiving menu is not Paleo-diet-friendly. If one or more of your guests live by these caveman rules of eating, then a typical Thanksgiving table can seem like a danger zone. Learn which traditional dishes are hands-off for the Paleo set and how you can make them enjoyable to every seat in the house.
Mashed potatoes: Although some potatoes are Paleo-friendly, it's the rest of the ingredients that raise red flags. Try this lower-carb version of mashed potatoes with a few swaps: use cauliflower florets (about 16 ounces), and cut out the potatoes completely; instead of the butter, use an equal amount of coconut oil, and coconut milk can also be subbed in for the Greek yogurt. Just mix, and you're cooking like a caveman! Gravy: Turning gravy Paleo is easy; just sub out the milk and flour. Milk can easily be substituted with egg yolk and flour with Arrowroot, a gluten-free thickening agent. Green bean casserole: Use Paleo guests as an excuse to mix up the traditional green bean casserole. This coconut almond version uses — you guessed it — coconut oil and coconut milk. Not a huge coconut fan? No worries. The shavings are almond, and neither the coconut oil nor milk exude an island flavor. Cranberry sauce: For an easy swap, boil your cranberries in freshly squeezed orange juice instead of sugar water. For each pound of raw cranberries you cook, use one cup of juice. The sauce will be so sweet that your guests won't notice a difference. Stuffing: This Thanksgiving favorite doesn't always need bread. Try this stuffing recipe made with lean ground beef to taste more like the real thing. It's loaded with heart-healthy antioxidants like apples and walnuts to counterbalance all of those yummy starches. Candied sweet potatoes: This recipe can stay relatively true to its original, as long as you swap out the sugar for pure maple syrup. Your non-paleo guests are sure to support that. Try this maple-roasted recipe as is. Since some Paleo eaters are iffy on the yams, you can cook the entire dish with sweet potatoes instead. Pumpkin pie: One of the most difficult dishes to transform is pumpkin pie. Crust, cream, and fillers are all obstacles that can be nearly impossible for a Paleo posse to dodge. This vegan pumpkin dessert is served as a custard and considered almost as cute as it is tasty. Your guests will love the elegant nature and ending the meal on a light note. It may even take a place in your everyday recipe book."UPDATE: If you find yourself in need of other recipes to replace family favorites, go to FastPaleo, because lately, it's been side-dish-palooza over there. Just today, a cranberry sauce recipe got posted. Yesterday and the day before were a Stuffing-O-Rama. There was even a Paleo marshmallow recipe that could be used for the sweet potato casserole, or even s'mores or hot cocoa!
Hospital Racket Can Slow Recovery
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From USA Today. This story is reason enough for you to conduct your life in such a way as to NOT need to go to the hospital! Not only the lack of decent sleep, but the food, and the medicines can also hinder your recovery.
"A barrage of electronic alarms and conversations in hospitals leads to something more ominous than tossing and turning at night. Restless sleep can mean slower recoveries, new research says.
To avoid experimenting on people who were actually sick and recovering in a hospital, a team of researchers chose to study 12 healthy adults as they slept in a hospital lab using sounds that had been recorded in a hospital for two nights. They found patients were easily awakened by electronic sounds such as a blaring IV alert (that signals when someone needs more medicines or fluids) and human conversations. Although patients may not remember waking in the night, restless sleepers may experience more agitation, elevated stress and impaired immune function, researchers say.
Loud talking can obviously be disruptive. But some sounds such as ice machines and rolling laundry carts, even played at a volume close to a whisper, also woke subjects at the Harvard University lab, according to the study, published this year in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Researcher Orfeu Buxton said research has proved disrupted sleep and sedative-aided sleep are associated with hypertension, attention and memory deficits, depressed moods and more return visits to the hospital. To combat the racket, many hospitals make noise reduction a priority when planning new facilities. Anthony Perry, a geriatric physician and clinical officer at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, said he has seen disrupted sleep aggravate patients to the point of delirium.
"Clinically, it was a topic we really wanted to see improved," Perry said.
In the new Rush hospital, open since January, officials made patient rooms private and insulated them with an extra layer of drywall. They installed carpet in the hallways, acoustic ceiling tiles and lights that automatically dim at night.
"When the light level goes down, it helps (nurses) remember to be thoughtful about how much noise they're making in the corridor with conversations and that kind of thing," Perry said.
The hospital was one of many to adopt a nurse calling system that sends alerts straight to nurses' phones and turns off beeping monitor alarms as soon as the nurse enters a patient's room, said Lauren Sporce, a pediatric nurse at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago.
The new children's hospital uses acoustic ceiling tiles and carpeted nursing stations, sliding doors that seal out noise, private single-patient rooms and a monitor alarm system to quiet noise. Patient satisfaction surveys showed noisy footsteps and alarms aggravated patients in the old building, said Children's Hospital of Chicago nurse Dana Lerma.
Noise consistently ranked among patients' top two complaints, Sporce said, and both visitors and nurses have shown improved moods since moving to the quieter building.
"There's a lot more to sleep than just time with your head against the pillow," said Buxton,, an author of the study. "The brain is trained to pay attention to obnoxious alarms, and it doesn't stop working at night."
David Kuhlmann, a sleep specialist at Missouri's Bothwell Regional Health Center, said facilities should keep taking steps to ease patients' stays, especially for those who are most at risk.
"Sleep is supposed to be a time of restoration," Kuhlmann said. "For someone who's maybe had some mild cognitive impairment ... poor sleep can be the difference between having a good day or a not-good day, and hospitals need to take this into account."
I'm a light sleeper, so I go to bed an hour before Hubby does--that way, I can sleep through his snoring.
"A barrage of electronic alarms and conversations in hospitals leads to something more ominous than tossing and turning at night. Restless sleep can mean slower recoveries, new research says.
To avoid experimenting on people who were actually sick and recovering in a hospital, a team of researchers chose to study 12 healthy adults as they slept in a hospital lab using sounds that had been recorded in a hospital for two nights. They found patients were easily awakened by electronic sounds such as a blaring IV alert (that signals when someone needs more medicines or fluids) and human conversations. Although patients may not remember waking in the night, restless sleepers may experience more agitation, elevated stress and impaired immune function, researchers say.Loud talking can obviously be disruptive. But some sounds such as ice machines and rolling laundry carts, even played at a volume close to a whisper, also woke subjects at the Harvard University lab, according to the study, published this year in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Researcher Orfeu Buxton said research has proved disrupted sleep and sedative-aided sleep are associated with hypertension, attention and memory deficits, depressed moods and more return visits to the hospital. To combat the racket, many hospitals make noise reduction a priority when planning new facilities. Anthony Perry, a geriatric physician and clinical officer at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, said he has seen disrupted sleep aggravate patients to the point of delirium."Clinically, it was a topic we really wanted to see improved," Perry said.
In the new Rush hospital, open since January, officials made patient rooms private and insulated them with an extra layer of drywall. They installed carpet in the hallways, acoustic ceiling tiles and lights that automatically dim at night."When the light level goes down, it helps (nurses) remember to be thoughtful about how much noise they're making in the corridor with conversations and that kind of thing," Perry said.
The hospital was one of many to adopt a nurse calling system that sends alerts straight to nurses' phones and turns off beeping monitor alarms as soon as the nurse enters a patient's room, said Lauren Sporce, a pediatric nurse at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago.
The new children's hospital uses acoustic ceiling tiles and carpeted nursing stations, sliding doors that seal out noise, private single-patient rooms and a monitor alarm system to quiet noise. Patient satisfaction surveys showed noisy footsteps and alarms aggravated patients in the old building, said Children's Hospital of Chicago nurse Dana Lerma.Noise consistently ranked among patients' top two complaints, Sporce said, and both visitors and nurses have shown improved moods since moving to the quieter building.
"There's a lot more to sleep than just time with your head against the pillow," said Buxton,, an author of the study. "The brain is trained to pay attention to obnoxious alarms, and it doesn't stop working at night."
David Kuhlmann, a sleep specialist at Missouri's Bothwell Regional Health Center, said facilities should keep taking steps to ease patients' stays, especially for those who are most at risk."Sleep is supposed to be a time of restoration," Kuhlmann said. "For someone who's maybe had some mild cognitive impairment ... poor sleep can be the difference between having a good day or a not-good day, and hospitals need to take this into account."
I'm a light sleeper, so I go to bed an hour before Hubby does--that way, I can sleep through his snoring.Only Using 10% of Your Brain? Think Again!
To contact us Click HERE
From the Wall St. Journal.
"Pop quiz: Which of these statements is false?
1. We use only 10% of our brain.
2. Environments rich in stimuli improve the brains of preschool children.
3. Individuals learn better when they receive information in their preferred learning style, whether auditory, visual or kinesthetic.
If you picked the first one, congratulations. The idea that we use only 10% of our brain is patently false. Yet it so permeates popular culture that, among psychologists and neuroscientists, it is known as the "10% myth." Contrary to popular belief, the entire brain is put to use—unused neurons die and unused circuits atrophy. Reports of neuroimaging research might perpetuate the myth by showing only a small number of areas "lighting up" in a brain scan, but those are just areas that have more than a base line level of activity; the dark regions aren't dormant or unused.
Did you agree with the other two statements? If so, you fell into our trap. All three statements are false—or at least not substantiated by scientific evidence. Unfortunately, if you got any of them wrong, you're hardly alone.
These "neuromyths," along with others, were presented to 242 primary and secondary school teachers in the Netherlands and the U.K. as part of a study by Sanne Dekker and colleagues at VU University Amsterdam and Bristol University, and just published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology. They found that 47% of the teachers believed the 10% myth. Even more, 76%, believed that enriching children's environments will strengthen their brains.
This belief might have emerged from evidence that rats raised in cages with amenities like exercise wheels, tunnels and other rats showed better cognitive abilities and improvements in brain structure compared with rats that grew up isolated in bare cages. But such experiments show only that a truly impoverished and unnatural environment leads to poorer developmental outcomes than a more natural environment with opportunities to play and interact. It follows that growing up locked in a closet or otherwise cut off from human contact will impair a child's brain development. It does not follow that "enriching" a child's environment beyond what is already typical—for example, by constant exposure to "Baby Einstein"-type videos—will boost cognitive development.
The myth about learning styles was the most popular: 94% of the teachers believed that students perform better when lessons are delivered in their preferred learning style. Indeed, students do have preferences about how they learn; the problem is that these preferences have little to do with how effectively they learn.
Cognitive psychologist Daniel Willingham explained this conundrum in his 2009 book "Why Don't Students Like School?" In the best tests of the learning-styles theory, researchers first ascertain students' preferred styles and then randomly assign them to a form of instruction that either matches their preferences or doesn't.
For example, in one study, students were randomly assigned to memorize a set of objects presented either verbally (as names) or visually (as pictures). Overall, visual presentation led to better memory, but there was no relationship between the learners' preferences and the instruction style. A study comparing "sensing" to "intuitive" learners among medical residents being taught new procedures reached a similar conclusion.
Of course, good teachers sense when students are struggling or progressing, and they adjust accordingly. Students with disabilities have individual needs that should be addressed. But a comprehensive review commissioned by the Association for Psychological Science concluded that there's essentially no evidence that customizing instruction formats to match students' preferred learning styles leads to better achievement. This is a knock not on teachers—we are teachers ourselves—but on human intuition, which finds the claim about learning styles so self-evident that it is hard to see how it could be wrong.
Our own surveys of the U.S. population have found even more widespread belief in myths about the brain. About two-thirds of the public agreed with the 10% myth. Many also believed that memory works like a video recording or that they can tell when someone is staring at the back of their head.
Ironically, in the Dekker group's study, the teachers who knew the most about neuroscience also believed in the most myths. Apparently, teachers who are (admirably) enthusiastic about expanding their knowledge of the mind and brain have trouble separating fact from fiction as they learn. Neuromyths have so much intuitive appeal, and they spread so rapidly in fields like business and self-help, that eradicating them from popular consciousness might be a Sisyphean task. But reducing their influence in the classroom would be a good start."
My generation and those before it grew up getting spanked, playing with such hands-on toys as puzzles, Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs, and Legos, listened to whatever music our parents put on the stereo, and overheard their conversations (getting exposed to big words and their context), then learned phonics in school so we could spell them. Nowadays, we have people who can't spell beyond texting-style, actually sign petitions to do away with cursive writing (yep, the irony!), don't know what to do with Lincoln Logs or Legos unless they come in an organized kit to make one specific thing, and can't stand music unless there's a lot of screeching and cacophony (there's one of them big words--look it up) at Volume 10. They're also being spoon-fed testing materials so they can perform well (or LOOK like it anyway) on the "No Child Left Behind" tests (what passes for teaching), getting billed as the school rock stars, only to discover they can't even begin to swim when thrown in the deep end of a college freshman pool. Some of them can't read, and if some people have their way, won't be able to write, either. Soon, speaking will be abandoned, and we'll all be reduced to making signs just to communicate! Meanwhile, who's gonna invent the i-Gadget for THAT?
It's more a question of WHAT they're learning, and not HOW. As it looks now, they're learning DEPENDENCE--through reliance on electronic means (as long as the power stays on), reliance on social programs just to survive, and marketing to tell them what to think (and buy) in their spare time.
Slavery never went away--it just changed forms and expanded.
"Pop quiz: Which of these statements is false?
1. We use only 10% of our brain.
2. Environments rich in stimuli improve the brains of preschool children.
3. Individuals learn better when they receive information in their preferred learning style, whether auditory, visual or kinesthetic.
If you picked the first one, congratulations. The idea that we use only 10% of our brain is patently false. Yet it so permeates popular culture that, among psychologists and neuroscientists, it is known as the "10% myth." Contrary to popular belief, the entire brain is put to use—unused neurons die and unused circuits atrophy. Reports of neuroimaging research might perpetuate the myth by showing only a small number of areas "lighting up" in a brain scan, but those are just areas that have more than a base line level of activity; the dark regions aren't dormant or unused.Did you agree with the other two statements? If so, you fell into our trap. All three statements are false—or at least not substantiated by scientific evidence. Unfortunately, if you got any of them wrong, you're hardly alone.
These "neuromyths," along with others, were presented to 242 primary and secondary school teachers in the Netherlands and the U.K. as part of a study by Sanne Dekker and colleagues at VU University Amsterdam and Bristol University, and just published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology. They found that 47% of the teachers believed the 10% myth. Even more, 76%, believed that enriching children's environments will strengthen their brains.
This belief might have emerged from evidence that rats raised in cages with amenities like exercise wheels, tunnels and other rats showed better cognitive abilities and improvements in brain structure compared with rats that grew up isolated in bare cages. But such experiments show only that a truly impoverished and unnatural environment leads to poorer developmental outcomes than a more natural environment with opportunities to play and interact. It follows that growing up locked in a closet or otherwise cut off from human contact will impair a child's brain development. It does not follow that "enriching" a child's environment beyond what is already typical—for example, by constant exposure to "Baby Einstein"-type videos—will boost cognitive development.The myth about learning styles was the most popular: 94% of the teachers believed that students perform better when lessons are delivered in their preferred learning style. Indeed, students do have preferences about how they learn; the problem is that these preferences have little to do with how effectively they learn.
Cognitive psychologist Daniel Willingham explained this conundrum in his 2009 book "Why Don't Students Like School?" In the best tests of the learning-styles theory, researchers first ascertain students' preferred styles and then randomly assign them to a form of instruction that either matches their preferences or doesn't.
For example, in one study, students were randomly assigned to memorize a set of objects presented either verbally (as names) or visually (as pictures). Overall, visual presentation led to better memory, but there was no relationship between the learners' preferences and the instruction style. A study comparing "sensing" to "intuitive" learners among medical residents being taught new procedures reached a similar conclusion.
Of course, good teachers sense when students are struggling or progressing, and they adjust accordingly. Students with disabilities have individual needs that should be addressed. But a comprehensive review commissioned by the Association for Psychological Science concluded that there's essentially no evidence that customizing instruction formats to match students' preferred learning styles leads to better achievement. This is a knock not on teachers—we are teachers ourselves—but on human intuition, which finds the claim about learning styles so self-evident that it is hard to see how it could be wrong.Our own surveys of the U.S. population have found even more widespread belief in myths about the brain. About two-thirds of the public agreed with the 10% myth. Many also believed that memory works like a video recording or that they can tell when someone is staring at the back of their head.
Ironically, in the Dekker group's study, the teachers who knew the most about neuroscience also believed in the most myths. Apparently, teachers who are (admirably) enthusiastic about expanding their knowledge of the mind and brain have trouble separating fact from fiction as they learn. Neuromyths have so much intuitive appeal, and they spread so rapidly in fields like business and self-help, that eradicating them from popular consciousness might be a Sisyphean task. But reducing their influence in the classroom would be a good start."
My generation and those before it grew up getting spanked, playing with such hands-on toys as puzzles, Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs, and Legos, listened to whatever music our parents put on the stereo, and overheard their conversations (getting exposed to big words and their context), then learned phonics in school so we could spell them. Nowadays, we have people who can't spell beyond texting-style, actually sign petitions to do away with cursive writing (yep, the irony!), don't know what to do with Lincoln Logs or Legos unless they come in an organized kit to make one specific thing, and can't stand music unless there's a lot of screeching and cacophony (there's one of them big words--look it up) at Volume 10. They're also being spoon-fed testing materials so they can perform well (or LOOK like it anyway) on the "No Child Left Behind" tests (what passes for teaching), getting billed as the school rock stars, only to discover they can't even begin to swim when thrown in the deep end of a college freshman pool. Some of them can't read, and if some people have their way, won't be able to write, either. Soon, speaking will be abandoned, and we'll all be reduced to making signs just to communicate! Meanwhile, who's gonna invent the i-Gadget for THAT?
It's more a question of WHAT they're learning, and not HOW. As it looks now, they're learning DEPENDENCE--through reliance on electronic means (as long as the power stays on), reliance on social programs just to survive, and marketing to tell them what to think (and buy) in their spare time.
Slavery never went away--it just changed forms and expanded.
50 Celebrities Who Won't Be Eating Meat This Holiday--They're Vegans
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From the Huffington Post. Sorry--this was the best I could do for news. Think of this as a list of stars you no longer want to admire or watch, or even acknowledge, because they're slowly dying of malnutrition.
No actual article--rather, a slide show found here. Many of the so-called "stars" haven't graced the small screen for years--decades, even. Many of them aren't even stars--one of them is a relative of former president Bush. The only celebrity they all seem to share is being named or nominated for PETA's Vegetarian/Vegan of the Year awards.
No actual article--rather, a slide show found here. Many of the so-called "stars" haven't graced the small screen for years--decades, even. Many of them aren't even stars--one of them is a relative of former president Bush. The only celebrity they all seem to share is being named or nominated for PETA's Vegetarian/Vegan of the Year awards.
No Relevant News So Far, But an Economic Interlude/Black Friday Rant to Hold You Over
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It hit me last night (in my sleep) that the economy is (as we all know) 70% consumer spending, and 30% government/business spending. Yes, the recession is causing a blurring of the lines, and the coming fiscal cliff is going to cause an outright flip-flop of those numbers: to 70% GOVERNMENT/BUSINESS spending, and 30% consumer spending. Obviously I have no faith that Congress will somehow fix this--they look forward to the rivers of money that will result!
What got me out of bed: where is that extra 40% of government/business spending increase coming from? Well, since the government is funded by taxpayers, that means WE are going to experience a doubling or more of our taxes to fund it, and have been on our way to experiencing that since 2008. Business spending is also funded by us, the consumer/purchaser/end user, and prices are going to have to rise to at least double what they were in 2008 just to allow business to increase their spending. Here's how I got there...
1. Taxes are going to rise--no doubt about it. To pay those taxes, businesses are going to have to raise prices in order to raise enough revenue to pay their own increased taxes themselves.
2. With the higher prices we've experienced since 2008, we've all cut back or re-prioritized our spending--this means no more business reliance on volume sales at low prices, like we've experienced up until 2008. Now, businesses have to capture profit ON EACH SALE, meaning the price per item has to go up (because the volume is gone). With taxes and the general cost of doing business climbing higher and higher, expect prices to follow (as they have been) just so the retailer can stay in business. Otherwise, businesses will close, and our choices as consumers will dwindle. Competition for business will no longer be BETWEEN businesses--it will now be between business and government over taxes, and business will lose.
I'm not saying anybody should spend what they don't have, or spend for spending's sake, but rather BE PREPARED FOR FURTHER STICKER SHOCK come January. We...I mean WE are where both sides of the economy equation money come from--from our taxes paid to various government coffers, to the prices we pay for various goods/services before tax is applied. We're going to be paying more to governments and less to merchants--or each other. You should already know where this is headed: more money to government coffers means more crazy, reckless congressional Black Friday-style spending on personal pet projects, and not enough attention or effort devoted to solving actual problems that affect us all.
If you spent your Black Friday shopping for yourself or others, and either stood in lines around the stores or took part in the combat that went on inside them, you should've given a thought to your pantry supplies rather than a cheap flat-screen TV or cell phone that's many-generation old. Yeah, you'll have hi-def surround sound to watch the zombie apocalypse in your living room, but what are you going to wipe your butt with, or eat, when the fiscal cliff edge crumbles, we go over it, and you lose your job? How's that phone gonna work if you can't afford to activate it or keep it going, or the TV if you can't afford cable or satellite, or even a digital antenna?
Black Friday shoppers would've better spent their time and money mobbing grocery stores and warehouse stores to get living supplies for next year, but no--they want the electronic shiny baubles NOW, and the rest can wait...but for how long? Who knows how long the fiscal nightmare will last? This could be the latest version of "the new normal" for all we know, and things could be getting worse as time goes by.
Will YOU be one of the people trying to hawk that 60" flat-screen TV in January or February because you lost your job today, and we went over the fiscal cliff--meaning no food stamps, no unemployment benefits, no benefits of any kind because Congress can't get its act together? Guess what? That $300 TV is now only worth about $50 at a pawn shop! How long do you expect to survive on that?
Forget trying to sell it yourself--with so many other people in the same boat, who's gonna buy it? Certainly not the people who learned to cut the cord back in 2006, 2008, or 2010
The recession isn't over--not by a long shot. The last 4 years has only been a basic training period. If anything, we look to be turning a recession into a Depression. Are you prepared? Sure, you might now be the proud owner of another electronic gadget, but what are you gonna do when your power goes out because you can't pay the electric bill? Can you eat it, or use it in the bathroom? No--it's just another useless bauble in a pile of useless baubles that fill your house, because you didn't think ahead.
Fiscal Cliff day not on your calendar? It should be. We had ample warning for months--more warning than Katrina or Sandy victims. While some of us were preparing for this time, YOU went shopping! Typical grasshopper...
Are you going to end up in some Tent City somewhere, just like the Depression folks, in wintertime? Don't think it couldn't happen! Ask any Dust Bowl survivors that are still around. This country rose the highest up the global economic ladder, so logic tells us we have the most to lose by falling even one rung. The fall will definitely be more than a mere rung, and it will be nasty--no government safety net-mattress at the bottom to cushion you, and you'll be falling with the added weight of that flat-screen TV or some other Black Friday purchase under your arm, which means you'll fall faster. Then, you'll be thinking that toilet paper is lighter, and you'll fall a little slower. Plus, if you land on the package, it'll cushion the blow somewhat...and in the end, you can still use it for butt-wipe--a win-win! But no, the view down is definitely better on a 60" flat screen TV, and you can text, update your Facebook status, and surf the web on the way...if you're still activated, that is. Anything to distract you from real-time reality...anything to escape without getting off the couch.
If you insist on holiday shopping, at least think ahead a little when it comes to buying for family and/or friends: the fiscal cliff looms for them too, and they might appreciate a gift of bulk-packaged toilet paper, some meat for the freezer, thermal underwear or flashlights for when their heat/power gets cut off, or maybe gardening supplies for next spring, so they can grow some of their own food. Let's begin the morph from grasshopper to ant with the biggest buying holiday in the nation, and eventually make it second nature--you never know whether the next emergency will be nature-made or man-made, or how long it will last.
Have your shopping frenzy, but let the gifts be much more useful stuff, and not just stuff for stuff's sake (to say "I bought you something"). Gift cards to a grocery store, perhaps? We were once gung-ho on gift cards. Membership to a warehouse store for a year? How about covering the energy bills for a month, or paying to get a utility turned back on? You know--stuff that doesn't break, go out of style, or isn't likely to be returned, become yard sale fodder, or become the next thrift store donation.
Think about unplugging the shiny-blinky-noisy Christmas machine and focusing on what's really important. Here's a book on how to do just that.
Go ahead--laugh. Like my older sister, you won't be laughing when it turns out you NEED the stuff, like when my dad bought a potty chair, and later umbrellas and sleeping bags, for her kids' Christmas gifts as they grew. He was thinking ahead when their own mother wasn't, and yes, these items got used heavily!
Who knows? Congress may pull its head out, and actually work to get this solved before January, but odds of this are low. Sure, they may even work to reverse the automatic cuts themselves in February--I have no faith. We re-elected a do-nothing congress, so that's what we'll get. It's what we deserve. It's just what we need to make us want to either sink or swim in these economic tides--it's just too bad some of us still don't even see the waterfall ahead, even at this last minute.
Message for 2013: Guess you should've bought toilet paper and food when it was still affordable...back in 2012, huh? Good luck trying to get it now--nobody wants your TV or phone (not even the pawn shops), and you should've spent some of your food stamp money on garden seeds while you still HAD food stamp benefits. Good luck trying to get that McJob, because Mickey D's is starting to slide downward, but I suppose there's always slave-factory Wally World...if they're even hiring.
That $600 i-Gadget you bought back in 2011, plus the $300-$400 spent on the 2012 model would've paid to stock the freezer AND for a pallet of toilet paper--too bad you chose to spend it so unwisely. All those Black Friday electronics purchases could've kept you off food stamps in 2012--hell, EVERY Black Friday purchase you ever made since the holiday was invented could've paid for you to go back to school and get that degree that could've landed you a better job, and you wouldn't be here now, at the bottom of the cliff with the rest of us, so badly banged up and bruised because you landed on rocks instead of a bed of Charmin.
Still distracted by shiny things, like the lights on a Christmas tree? Congress is, I'm sure. Maybe I'll send them a potty chair for when they start shitting themselves!
What got me out of bed: where is that extra 40% of government/business spending increase coming from? Well, since the government is funded by taxpayers, that means WE are going to experience a doubling or more of our taxes to fund it, and have been on our way to experiencing that since 2008. Business spending is also funded by us, the consumer/purchaser/end user, and prices are going to have to rise to at least double what they were in 2008 just to allow business to increase their spending. Here's how I got there...
1. Taxes are going to rise--no doubt about it. To pay those taxes, businesses are going to have to raise prices in order to raise enough revenue to pay their own increased taxes themselves.
2. With the higher prices we've experienced since 2008, we've all cut back or re-prioritized our spending--this means no more business reliance on volume sales at low prices, like we've experienced up until 2008. Now, businesses have to capture profit ON EACH SALE, meaning the price per item has to go up (because the volume is gone). With taxes and the general cost of doing business climbing higher and higher, expect prices to follow (as they have been) just so the retailer can stay in business. Otherwise, businesses will close, and our choices as consumers will dwindle. Competition for business will no longer be BETWEEN businesses--it will now be between business and government over taxes, and business will lose.
I'm not saying anybody should spend what they don't have, or spend for spending's sake, but rather BE PREPARED FOR FURTHER STICKER SHOCK come January. We...I mean WE are where both sides of the economy equation money come from--from our taxes paid to various government coffers, to the prices we pay for various goods/services before tax is applied. We're going to be paying more to governments and less to merchants--or each other. You should already know where this is headed: more money to government coffers means more crazy, reckless congressional Black Friday-style spending on personal pet projects, and not enough attention or effort devoted to solving actual problems that affect us all.
If you spent your Black Friday shopping for yourself or others, and either stood in lines around the stores or took part in the combat that went on inside them, you should've given a thought to your pantry supplies rather than a cheap flat-screen TV or cell phone that's many-generation old. Yeah, you'll have hi-def surround sound to watch the zombie apocalypse in your living room, but what are you going to wipe your butt with, or eat, when the fiscal cliff edge crumbles, we go over it, and you lose your job? How's that phone gonna work if you can't afford to activate it or keep it going, or the TV if you can't afford cable or satellite, or even a digital antenna?
Black Friday shoppers would've better spent their time and money mobbing grocery stores and warehouse stores to get living supplies for next year, but no--they want the electronic shiny baubles NOW, and the rest can wait...but for how long? Who knows how long the fiscal nightmare will last? This could be the latest version of "the new normal" for all we know, and things could be getting worse as time goes by.
Will YOU be one of the people trying to hawk that 60" flat-screen TV in January or February because you lost your job today, and we went over the fiscal cliff--meaning no food stamps, no unemployment benefits, no benefits of any kind because Congress can't get its act together? Guess what? That $300 TV is now only worth about $50 at a pawn shop! How long do you expect to survive on that?
Forget trying to sell it yourself--with so many other people in the same boat, who's gonna buy it? Certainly not the people who learned to cut the cord back in 2006, 2008, or 2010
The recession isn't over--not by a long shot. The last 4 years has only been a basic training period. If anything, we look to be turning a recession into a Depression. Are you prepared? Sure, you might now be the proud owner of another electronic gadget, but what are you gonna do when your power goes out because you can't pay the electric bill? Can you eat it, or use it in the bathroom? No--it's just another useless bauble in a pile of useless baubles that fill your house, because you didn't think ahead.
Fiscal Cliff day not on your calendar? It should be. We had ample warning for months--more warning than Katrina or Sandy victims. While some of us were preparing for this time, YOU went shopping! Typical grasshopper...
Are you going to end up in some Tent City somewhere, just like the Depression folks, in wintertime? Don't think it couldn't happen! Ask any Dust Bowl survivors that are still around. This country rose the highest up the global economic ladder, so logic tells us we have the most to lose by falling even one rung. The fall will definitely be more than a mere rung, and it will be nasty--no government safety net-mattress at the bottom to cushion you, and you'll be falling with the added weight of that flat-screen TV or some other Black Friday purchase under your arm, which means you'll fall faster. Then, you'll be thinking that toilet paper is lighter, and you'll fall a little slower. Plus, if you land on the package, it'll cushion the blow somewhat...and in the end, you can still use it for butt-wipe--a win-win! But no, the view down is definitely better on a 60" flat screen TV, and you can text, update your Facebook status, and surf the web on the way...if you're still activated, that is. Anything to distract you from real-time reality...anything to escape without getting off the couch.
If you insist on holiday shopping, at least think ahead a little when it comes to buying for family and/or friends: the fiscal cliff looms for them too, and they might appreciate a gift of bulk-packaged toilet paper, some meat for the freezer, thermal underwear or flashlights for when their heat/power gets cut off, or maybe gardening supplies for next spring, so they can grow some of their own food. Let's begin the morph from grasshopper to ant with the biggest buying holiday in the nation, and eventually make it second nature--you never know whether the next emergency will be nature-made or man-made, or how long it will last.
Have your shopping frenzy, but let the gifts be much more useful stuff, and not just stuff for stuff's sake (to say "I bought you something"). Gift cards to a grocery store, perhaps? We were once gung-ho on gift cards. Membership to a warehouse store for a year? How about covering the energy bills for a month, or paying to get a utility turned back on? You know--stuff that doesn't break, go out of style, or isn't likely to be returned, become yard sale fodder, or become the next thrift store donation.
Think about unplugging the shiny-blinky-noisy Christmas machine and focusing on what's really important. Here's a book on how to do just that.
Go ahead--laugh. Like my older sister, you won't be laughing when it turns out you NEED the stuff, like when my dad bought a potty chair, and later umbrellas and sleeping bags, for her kids' Christmas gifts as they grew. He was thinking ahead when their own mother wasn't, and yes, these items got used heavily!
Who knows? Congress may pull its head out, and actually work to get this solved before January, but odds of this are low. Sure, they may even work to reverse the automatic cuts themselves in February--I have no faith. We re-elected a do-nothing congress, so that's what we'll get. It's what we deserve. It's just what we need to make us want to either sink or swim in these economic tides--it's just too bad some of us still don't even see the waterfall ahead, even at this last minute.
Message for 2013: Guess you should've bought toilet paper and food when it was still affordable...back in 2012, huh? Good luck trying to get it now--nobody wants your TV or phone (not even the pawn shops), and you should've spent some of your food stamp money on garden seeds while you still HAD food stamp benefits. Good luck trying to get that McJob, because Mickey D's is starting to slide downward, but I suppose there's always slave-factory Wally World...if they're even hiring.
That $600 i-Gadget you bought back in 2011, plus the $300-$400 spent on the 2012 model would've paid to stock the freezer AND for a pallet of toilet paper--too bad you chose to spend it so unwisely. All those Black Friday electronics purchases could've kept you off food stamps in 2012--hell, EVERY Black Friday purchase you ever made since the holiday was invented could've paid for you to go back to school and get that degree that could've landed you a better job, and you wouldn't be here now, at the bottom of the cliff with the rest of us, so badly banged up and bruised because you landed on rocks instead of a bed of Charmin.
Still distracted by shiny things, like the lights on a Christmas tree? Congress is, I'm sure. Maybe I'll send them a potty chair for when they start shitting themselves!
25 Kasım 2012 Pazar
Flagellants of Nocera Terinese - 1960's
To contact us Click HERE
Every seven years in the town of Nocera Terinese, Italy, a mysterious rite hundreds of years old still takes place to this day.
On Good Friday, Flagellants from the surrounding villages perform the ritual of the battenti.
In this tradition, the participants embed shards of glass in pieces of cork, then forcefully drive the makeshift scourges into their bare legs. Bleeding, they jog the route of the Easter procession, enduring the pain and suffering of religious sacrifice in the name of spiritual cleansing.
Every seven years in the town of Nocera Terinese, Italy, a mysterious rite hundreds of years old still takes place to this day.
On Good Friday, Flagellants from the surrounding villages perform the ritual of the battenti.
In this tradition, the participants embed shards of glass in pieces of cork, then forcefully drive the makeshift scourges into their bare legs. Bleeding, they jog the route of the Easter procession, enduring the pain and suffering of religious sacrifice in the name of spiritual cleansing.
Music: Bela Lam & Family - Poor Little Benny (1920's field recording)
To contact us Click HERE
Virginia native Zanddervon Beliah Lamb, renamed Bela Lam by Okeh Records, performs the song Poor Little Benny with wife Rose Meadows.
With Bela’s brother-in-law Paul and son Alva, they became local favorites near the Blue Ridge Mountain region in the 1920’s, eventually being called to New York City to record six songs.
Influenced by the local religious music of the day, Bela Lam & the Greene County Singers, as they would come to be known, are notable for their shape-note harmonies, highly influential during the period
Amazon - Skeets McDonald music found
Amazon - The classic sound of Bakersfield, CA
Amazon - Add some Playboys, Cowboys, & Doughboys to your music collection
Virginia native Zanddervon Beliah Lamb, renamed Bela Lam by Okeh Records, performs the song Poor Little Benny with wife Rose Meadows.
With Bela’s brother-in-law Paul and son Alva, they became local favorites near the Blue Ridge Mountain region in the 1920’s, eventually being called to New York City to record six songs.
Influenced by the local religious music of the day, Bela Lam & the Greene County Singers, as they would come to be known, are notable for their shape-note harmonies, highly influential during the period
Amazon - Skeets McDonald music found
Amazon - The classic sound of Bakersfield, CA
Amazon - Add some Playboys, Cowboys, & Doughboys to your music collection
Century 21 Calling - Bell Labs promotional film for 1962 Seattle World's Fair
To contact us Click HERE
Occassionally, people do get the future right, as they seem to have done in this film, Century 21 Calling, made more than 45 years ago to promote Bell Labs at the 1962 Seattle World's Fair.
Call-waiting, call-forwarding, pagers, auto-dialing, news & weather info retrieval, central computer databases that log all of your private information (so that's where it came from).
Still waiting on that solar battery business, though.
Special mention goes out to the futuristic monorail opener (those never really did catch on, did they?), the perfectly kitsch soundtrack, and the climactic ending where the young couple shoot up the to the head of the Space Needle, as if they were bursting up and out into the future.
Is that Bill Murray singing in the background at the end?
You tell me ...
NOW OPEN: The NEW Weirdo Video BETA
Featuring the Lost Stanley Kubrick film
DAY OF THE FIGHT.
Now Available - Weirdo Video's Vamps & Vixens - High Quality DVD only 14.99 + S&H
Occassionally, people do get the future right, as they seem to have done in this film, Century 21 Calling, made more than 45 years ago to promote Bell Labs at the 1962 Seattle World's Fair.
Call-waiting, call-forwarding, pagers, auto-dialing, news & weather info retrieval, central computer databases that log all of your private information (so that's where it came from).
Still waiting on that solar battery business, though.
Special mention goes out to the futuristic monorail opener (those never really did catch on, did they?), the perfectly kitsch soundtrack, and the climactic ending where the young couple shoot up the to the head of the Space Needle, as if they were bursting up and out into the future.
Is that Bill Murray singing in the background at the end?
You tell me ...
NOW OPEN: The NEW Weirdo Video BETA
Featuring the Lost Stanley Kubrick film
DAY OF THE FIGHT.
Now Available - Weirdo Video's Vamps & Vixens - High Quality DVD only 14.99 + S&H
Marijuana aka "Marihuana!" - 1930's
To contact us Click HERE
A trailer for a nudie film that masquerades as an anti-'marihuana' morality tale.
Watch wild & reckless youths lose their souls to the devil's weed.
NOW OPEN: The NEW Weirdo Video BETA
Featuring the Lost Stanley Kubrick film
DAY OF THE FIGHT.
Now Available - Weirdo Video's Vamps & Vixens - High Quality DVD only 14.99 + S&H
Amazon - The Gateway to DVD's about Ganja & Classics to catch fire to
Histories about & Studies of the Devil's Weed
Sexploitation films for the purely prurient
A trailer for a nudie film that masquerades as an anti-'marihuana' morality tale.
Watch wild & reckless youths lose their souls to the devil's weed.
NOW OPEN: The NEW Weirdo Video BETA
Featuring the Lost Stanley Kubrick film
DAY OF THE FIGHT.
Now Available - Weirdo Video's Vamps & Vixens - High Quality DVD only 14.99 + S&H
Amazon - The Gateway to DVD's about Ganja & Classics to catch fire to
Histories about & Studies of the Devil's Weed
Sexploitation films for the purely prurient
The Labor of Thy Hands - ca. mid-1950's
To contact us Click HERE
In this vintage promotional film produced by the Jewish women's group Hadassah, viewers are reminded of the need to develop a skilled workforce in the young state of Israel. Interesting footage of early kibbutzim and Israeli industry are highlighted in this film, with a stress on modernizing the economy and culture, the stress is on becoming an equal in a technologically advancing world.
NOW OPEN: The NEW Weirdo Video BETA
Featuring the Lost Stanley Kubrick film
DAY OF THE FIGHT.
In this vintage promotional film produced by the Jewish women's group Hadassah, viewers are reminded of the need to develop a skilled workforce in the young state of Israel. Interesting footage of early kibbutzim and Israeli industry are highlighted in this film, with a stress on modernizing the economy and culture, the stress is on becoming an equal in a technologically advancing world.
NOW OPEN: The NEW Weirdo Video BETA
Featuring the Lost Stanley Kubrick film
DAY OF THE FIGHT.
24 Kasım 2012 Cumartesi
Schools Eat Up the Challenge of New Nutritional Challenge
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From the L.A. Times.
"Sizzling saucepans, men and women in chef pants running with pots of water and frantic cries for salt made the cooking stations at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Pasadena like a scene from a show on the Food Network.
Further enhancing the resemblance were boxes of mystery ingredients: acorn squash, alfredo sauce, persimmons, a pineapple and animal-shaped graham crackers. But the frenzy wasn't a taping of the show "Chopped." It was the recent California School Nutrition Assn.'s annual conference.
Teams from 11 school districts participated in the cooking competition to highlight new federal nutrition standards and the chefs' ability to turn them into creative dishes that appeal to the pickiest consumers.
"These are the real Top Chefs," said Mary Lou Fulton, a senior program manager for the California Endowment, a nonprofit health foundation that organized the event. "They are cooking for the most important people of all: our kids."
The new standards include more fruits and vegetables, whole grains and no trans-fats, changes that some California schools have already implemented and morphed into a way of life. The Los Angeles Unified School District adopted a new food policy last week, ensuring that the state's largest school system buys organic produce and free-range animal products.
The Oakland Unified School District receives fresh produce from nearby farms and has 23 produce markets on some school campuses to encourage students to continue healthy eating at home.
"It's been a challenge because we're dealing with students," said Roslynn DeCuir, a food service employee in Oakland. "They eat with their eyes, and they might not recognize some of what is on their plates."
That challenge, DeCuir said, is what drives the cooks to be innovative. "This competition is a great opportunity to get creative."
The teams had 30 minutes to plan a kid-centric meal, prepare the ingredients and cook a plate for each of the four judges using the new federal guidelines. (They didn't have to use only the mystery ingredients.)
"We usually have an apron decorating contest," said Margan Holloway, president of the California School Nutrition Assn. "But the federal nutrition guidelines haven't changed since 1995. Now that they have, we thought this would be more meaningful than an apron."
Some teams weighed their ingredients before plating them; some stared at the acorn squash, perplexed. Other conference participants sat in the gallery chanting their district's team name, as if attending a political rally. "Give Peas a Chance! Give Peas a Chance!" said several, referring to a team from Palm Springs.
The changing landscape in school cafeterias is a result of education officials and elected leaders taking a larger interest in students' well-being, Fulton said.
Her colleague at the California Endowment, Judi Larsen, agreed but added that the guidelines are only the start of what needs to change.
"When we think about this opportunity, we also have to think about presenting in a more well-rounded approach," Larsen said, noting that time constraints may not allow for schoolchildren to finish their meals. "We have a ways to go, but this is a good first step."
In the end, the Cuisine Queens from the Antelope Valley Union High School District took first place with their chicken alfredo on whole wheat pasta, and a pineapple and persimmon fruit salad with a sweet honey yogurt and lemon croutons.
Anaheim Union High School District placed second, and DeCuir's Oakland team took third.
"Honestly, we thought we'd find things in [the mystery box] that we wouldn't be able to pronounce," said Nancy VanGinkle of the Anaheim team, which whipped up chicken tacos and stir-fried zucchini.
The only ingredient each team left out? "That acorn squash really stumped us," VanGinkle said."
Oh, if only some Paleos or Primals were on a cooking team--what WE would've done with that acorn squash!
This reminds me of a grocery store trip I made yesterday in search of big, ful-leaved organic collards for rolling as burritos--I found some, and the cashier ACTUALLY HAD TO ASK ME what was in the produce bag. How are you ever going to eat something when you can't readily identify it by sight, and if your parents never made you try a little of a strange food before turning it down? I'm sure kohlrabi would've sent the cashier right over the edge!
"Sizzling saucepans, men and women in chef pants running with pots of water and frantic cries for salt made the cooking stations at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Pasadena like a scene from a show on the Food Network.
Further enhancing the resemblance were boxes of mystery ingredients: acorn squash, alfredo sauce, persimmons, a pineapple and animal-shaped graham crackers. But the frenzy wasn't a taping of the show "Chopped." It was the recent California School Nutrition Assn.'s annual conference.
Teams from 11 school districts participated in the cooking competition to highlight new federal nutrition standards and the chefs' ability to turn them into creative dishes that appeal to the pickiest consumers.
"These are the real Top Chefs," said Mary Lou Fulton, a senior program manager for the California Endowment, a nonprofit health foundation that organized the event. "They are cooking for the most important people of all: our kids."
The new standards include more fruits and vegetables, whole grains and no trans-fats, changes that some California schools have already implemented and morphed into a way of life. The Los Angeles Unified School District adopted a new food policy last week, ensuring that the state's largest school system buys organic produce and free-range animal products.
The Oakland Unified School District receives fresh produce from nearby farms and has 23 produce markets on some school campuses to encourage students to continue healthy eating at home.
"It's been a challenge because we're dealing with students," said Roslynn DeCuir, a food service employee in Oakland. "They eat with their eyes, and they might not recognize some of what is on their plates."
That challenge, DeCuir said, is what drives the cooks to be innovative. "This competition is a great opportunity to get creative."
The teams had 30 minutes to plan a kid-centric meal, prepare the ingredients and cook a plate for each of the four judges using the new federal guidelines. (They didn't have to use only the mystery ingredients.)
"We usually have an apron decorating contest," said Margan Holloway, president of the California School Nutrition Assn. "But the federal nutrition guidelines haven't changed since 1995. Now that they have, we thought this would be more meaningful than an apron."
Some teams weighed their ingredients before plating them; some stared at the acorn squash, perplexed. Other conference participants sat in the gallery chanting their district's team name, as if attending a political rally. "Give Peas a Chance! Give Peas a Chance!" said several, referring to a team from Palm Springs.
The changing landscape in school cafeterias is a result of education officials and elected leaders taking a larger interest in students' well-being, Fulton said.
Her colleague at the California Endowment, Judi Larsen, agreed but added that the guidelines are only the start of what needs to change.
"When we think about this opportunity, we also have to think about presenting in a more well-rounded approach," Larsen said, noting that time constraints may not allow for schoolchildren to finish their meals. "We have a ways to go, but this is a good first step."
In the end, the Cuisine Queens from the Antelope Valley Union High School District took first place with their chicken alfredo on whole wheat pasta, and a pineapple and persimmon fruit salad with a sweet honey yogurt and lemon croutons.
Anaheim Union High School District placed second, and DeCuir's Oakland team took third.
"Honestly, we thought we'd find things in [the mystery box] that we wouldn't be able to pronounce," said Nancy VanGinkle of the Anaheim team, which whipped up chicken tacos and stir-fried zucchini.
The only ingredient each team left out? "That acorn squash really stumped us," VanGinkle said."
Oh, if only some Paleos or Primals were on a cooking team--what WE would've done with that acorn squash!
This reminds me of a grocery store trip I made yesterday in search of big, ful-leaved organic collards for rolling as burritos--I found some, and the cashier ACTUALLY HAD TO ASK ME what was in the produce bag. How are you ever going to eat something when you can't readily identify it by sight, and if your parents never made you try a little of a strange food before turning it down? I'm sure kohlrabi would've sent the cashier right over the edge!
5 Ways to Protect Yourself From Obamacare
To contact us Click HERE
From Forbes and Paul Hsieh of Modern Paleo.
"Now that President Obama has won re-election, repeal of the ObamaCare health law is no longer realistic. Although some state governors continue to resist and there are some still-pending legal challenges, prudent Americans should prepare for the law being eventually implemented in full.
ObamaCare will worsen the current physician shortage. The law will also drive physicians to become hospital employees or to join large Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), where their treatment decisions will be monitored with mandatory electronic medical records. Government and private insurers will increasingly link payments to adherence to “comparative effectiveness” practice guidelines. Physicians will face significant conflicts-of-interest when their patients might benefit from treatments outside the guidelines, but the physician risks nonpayment (or losing his ACO contract) as a result.
So how can ordinary Americans best protect themselves under ObamaCare? Here are 5 practical recommendations:
1) Get a good primary care doctor, if you haven’t already done so.
The Association of American Medical Colleges projects a shortage of 60,000 physicians by 2015 and 90,000 physicians by 2020, roughly a 10-15% shortfall. Although the shortage preceded ObamaCare, the new law will make matters worse. The Physicians Foundation predicts a “silent exodus“ of physicians retiring early or reducing work hours in response to ObamaCare.
Many primary care physicians are overloaded and closing their practices to new patients. If you don’t have a doctor yet, get one before it’s too late.
Similarly, if you’re approaching Medicare age (65) and your current doctor will retire in a few years, consider switching to a younger doctor now. Many doctors no longer accept new Medicare patients, and this problem will worsen with anticipated Medicare payment cuts. However, most doctors will continue seeing their current patients even after they turn 65. But if you wait until after age 65 to look for a new doctor, you may have a hard time finding one.
2) Use a Health Savings Account (HSA).
HSAs are tax-free savings accounts where patients can deposit their own money to be spent later for medical needs. Most patients use HSAs for routine predictable expenses (e.g., flu shots, well-baby checks), coupled with a high-deductible insurance plan to cover unlikely-but-expensive serious accidents and illnesses.
Because patients with HSAs control their own medical spending, they and their doctors have greater control over treatment choices without requiring approval from government or private insurers. Patients with HSAs enjoy comparably good outcomes as patients with traditional insurance, while spending significantly less. As an added bonus, many doctors’ offices offer HSA patients a significant discount, because they don’t have to deal with insurance paperwork.
3) Consider a concierge or “direct pay” physician.
More and more primary care doctors are establishing “concierge” practices. Patients pay an annual fee in exchange for guaranteed 24-hour telephone access and longer personalized consultation time for complex medical problems (as opposed to the rushed 15 minute appointments common in many overcrowded primary care practices). Most concierge physicians will also act as your advocate if you require hospitalization for a serious illness, coordinating your care with the various specialists based on his detailed knowledge of your full medical history. “Direct pay” practices are similar, but without the annual retainer.
Because you pay your physician directly, he is not beholden to the government or other third parties.
Concierge practices can be a win-win for both patients and physicians. Physicians spend more time with their patients and can practice according to their best medical conscience, for reasonable reimbursement. Patients receive higher quality care for a fair price.
Nor are concierge practices necessarily expensive. Some services are surprisingly affordable, costing approximately $150 per month — i.e., the cost of a daily latte at Starbucks.
4) Consider medical tourism, when appropriate.
Certain non-emergency medical conditions are amenable to “medical tourism.” A hip replacement costing $30,000 in the United States might cost only $10,000 in India. Many overseas medical tourism facilities are modern high-tech clinics catering specifically to Western patients, staffed by American and European-trained physicians, with success rates comparable to good US hospitals.
Entrepreneurial doctors have also started offering “medical tourism” services within the US, for patients willing to pay cash for certain elective procedures. Provided you properly investigate a facility’s quality and success rates, medical tourism can be an excellent option for many patients.
5) Help your doctor work on your behalf.
Ask your doctor if he will be joining an ACO. (Not all doctors will.) If so, ask if your personal medical records can be excluded from his ACO practice statistics. If ACO rules allow it, this will help him practice outside the guidelines when medically appropriate (e.g., ordering an MRI scan sooner than usual or prescribing a stronger but more expensive antibiotic) without fear of hurting his overall statistics.
Of course, don’t ask in a hostile or accusatory manner. Rather, ask in a way that demonstrates your desire to help him better work on your behalf without conflict-of-interest.
Most doctors want to do right by their patients. But they will be much more willing to make an extra effort (or challenge the ACO administrators) on your behalf if you demonstrate an active concern in your own health. Conversely, doctors will be less likely to stick out their own necks for you if you don’t appear to value your health.
For now, the 2012 election entrenches ObamaCare as the law of the land. However we can and should take maximum advantage of the freedoms we still enjoy, while working to move American health care in a better direction. Nothing is certain in politics. But if enough Americans exercise these freedoms and create a robust constituency for HSAs and direct pay medicine, the government will be less likely to eliminate those choices. With respect to our medical freedom, the old adage still applies: “Use it or lose it.”
All this just to circumvent a drug re-importation plan deeply opposed by Big Pharma, and a chance to work at doing away with employer-sponsored, pre-tax, health insurance. If successful, they could then move onto the mortgage deduction (which they've already already acknowledged as expendable), and the personal exemption will take care of itself with the fiscal cliff, so all three top (and most expensive to the government) tax deductions will be wiped out in one fell swoop...doubling our taxes paid without raising a single rate! Clever, huh?
"Now that President Obama has won re-election, repeal of the ObamaCare health law is no longer realistic. Although some state governors continue to resist and there are some still-pending legal challenges, prudent Americans should prepare for the law being eventually implemented in full.
ObamaCare will worsen the current physician shortage. The law will also drive physicians to become hospital employees or to join large Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), where their treatment decisions will be monitored with mandatory electronic medical records. Government and private insurers will increasingly link payments to adherence to “comparative effectiveness” practice guidelines. Physicians will face significant conflicts-of-interest when their patients might benefit from treatments outside the guidelines, but the physician risks nonpayment (or losing his ACO contract) as a result.
So how can ordinary Americans best protect themselves under ObamaCare? Here are 5 practical recommendations:
1) Get a good primary care doctor, if you haven’t already done so.
The Association of American Medical Colleges projects a shortage of 60,000 physicians by 2015 and 90,000 physicians by 2020, roughly a 10-15% shortfall. Although the shortage preceded ObamaCare, the new law will make matters worse. The Physicians Foundation predicts a “silent exodus“ of physicians retiring early or reducing work hours in response to ObamaCare.
Many primary care physicians are overloaded and closing their practices to new patients. If you don’t have a doctor yet, get one before it’s too late.
Similarly, if you’re approaching Medicare age (65) and your current doctor will retire in a few years, consider switching to a younger doctor now. Many doctors no longer accept new Medicare patients, and this problem will worsen with anticipated Medicare payment cuts. However, most doctors will continue seeing their current patients even after they turn 65. But if you wait until after age 65 to look for a new doctor, you may have a hard time finding one.
2) Use a Health Savings Account (HSA).
HSAs are tax-free savings accounts where patients can deposit their own money to be spent later for medical needs. Most patients use HSAs for routine predictable expenses (e.g., flu shots, well-baby checks), coupled with a high-deductible insurance plan to cover unlikely-but-expensive serious accidents and illnesses.
Because patients with HSAs control their own medical spending, they and their doctors have greater control over treatment choices without requiring approval from government or private insurers. Patients with HSAs enjoy comparably good outcomes as patients with traditional insurance, while spending significantly less. As an added bonus, many doctors’ offices offer HSA patients a significant discount, because they don’t have to deal with insurance paperwork.
3) Consider a concierge or “direct pay” physician.
More and more primary care doctors are establishing “concierge” practices. Patients pay an annual fee in exchange for guaranteed 24-hour telephone access and longer personalized consultation time for complex medical problems (as opposed to the rushed 15 minute appointments common in many overcrowded primary care practices). Most concierge physicians will also act as your advocate if you require hospitalization for a serious illness, coordinating your care with the various specialists based on his detailed knowledge of your full medical history. “Direct pay” practices are similar, but without the annual retainer.
Because you pay your physician directly, he is not beholden to the government or other third parties.
Concierge practices can be a win-win for both patients and physicians. Physicians spend more time with their patients and can practice according to their best medical conscience, for reasonable reimbursement. Patients receive higher quality care for a fair price.
Nor are concierge practices necessarily expensive. Some services are surprisingly affordable, costing approximately $150 per month — i.e., the cost of a daily latte at Starbucks.
4) Consider medical tourism, when appropriate.
Certain non-emergency medical conditions are amenable to “medical tourism.” A hip replacement costing $30,000 in the United States might cost only $10,000 in India. Many overseas medical tourism facilities are modern high-tech clinics catering specifically to Western patients, staffed by American and European-trained physicians, with success rates comparable to good US hospitals.
Entrepreneurial doctors have also started offering “medical tourism” services within the US, for patients willing to pay cash for certain elective procedures. Provided you properly investigate a facility’s quality and success rates, medical tourism can be an excellent option for many patients.
5) Help your doctor work on your behalf.
Ask your doctor if he will be joining an ACO. (Not all doctors will.) If so, ask if your personal medical records can be excluded from his ACO practice statistics. If ACO rules allow it, this will help him practice outside the guidelines when medically appropriate (e.g., ordering an MRI scan sooner than usual or prescribing a stronger but more expensive antibiotic) without fear of hurting his overall statistics.
Of course, don’t ask in a hostile or accusatory manner. Rather, ask in a way that demonstrates your desire to help him better work on your behalf without conflict-of-interest.
Most doctors want to do right by their patients. But they will be much more willing to make an extra effort (or challenge the ACO administrators) on your behalf if you demonstrate an active concern in your own health. Conversely, doctors will be less likely to stick out their own necks for you if you don’t appear to value your health.
For now, the 2012 election entrenches ObamaCare as the law of the land. However we can and should take maximum advantage of the freedoms we still enjoy, while working to move American health care in a better direction. Nothing is certain in politics. But if enough Americans exercise these freedoms and create a robust constituency for HSAs and direct pay medicine, the government will be less likely to eliminate those choices. With respect to our medical freedom, the old adage still applies: “Use it or lose it.”
All this just to circumvent a drug re-importation plan deeply opposed by Big Pharma, and a chance to work at doing away with employer-sponsored, pre-tax, health insurance. If successful, they could then move onto the mortgage deduction (which they've already already acknowledged as expendable), and the personal exemption will take care of itself with the fiscal cliff, so all three top (and most expensive to the government) tax deductions will be wiped out in one fell swoop...doubling our taxes paid without raising a single rate! Clever, huh?
What Caffiene REALLY Does to Your Brain
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From Forbes. The coffee infographics poster.
"I recently stopped drinking coffee. Yeah, I know, why would anybody do that? For me it was a combination of health-related reasons, and overall I can say I’m happy I did. If you had asked me a few days after I kicked it, though, I would have told you it was one of the dumbest things I ever even thought of doing – that is, if my head stopped pounding long enough to answer you in a complete sentence.
This radical life adjustment made me curious about caffeine and its effects on the brain, so I did some research. The most surprising thing I found was that caffeine doesn’t really jack up the volume in our brain the way most of us think it does — the story about how our favorite drug works isn’t nearly so straightforward.
First, what caffeine does not do: Caffeine does not, by itself, make you a super productive, super fast, super talky jitter machine. That venti Café Americano is not the sole reason you’re able to cram 6 hours of work into 45 minutes, or that you’re shockingly charming between the hours of 8 to 11 am.
What caffeine does do is one heck of an impersonation. In your brain, caffeine is the quintessential mimic of a neurochemical called adenosine. Adenosine is produced by neurons throughout the day as they fire, and as more of it is produced, the more your nervous system ratchets down.
Your nervous system monitors adenosine levels through receptors, particularly the A1 receptor that is found in your brain and throughout your body. As the chemical passes through the receptors, your adenosine tab increases until your nervous system pays it off by putting you to sleep.
The remarkable talent of caffeine is to mimic adenosine’s shape and size, and enter the receptors without activating them. The receptors are then effectively blocked by caffeine (in clinical terms, caffeine is an antagonist of the A1 adenosine receptor).
This is important not only because by blocking the receptors caffeine disrupts the nervous system’s monitoring of the adenosine tab, but also because of the players who make an appearance as this is happening. The neurotransmitters dopamine and glutamate, the brain’s own home-grown stimulants, are freer to do their stimulating work with the adenosine tab on hold, and that’s the effect you feel not long after downing your triple shot skinny mochachino.
In other words, it’s not the caffeine that’s doing the stimulating. Instead, it’s keeping the doors blocked while the real party animals of the brain do what they love to do.
As every good coffee drinker knows, this effect lessens over time. It steadily takes more and more caffeine to achieve the same level of stimulation from your excitatory neurotransmitters. This is the irritating dynamic we all know as “tolerance.”
The reason it seems that coffee and tea became a morning ritual is that caffeine helps fight off the sleepy feelings we’re left with after a night of paying off a full adenosine tab. That’s something our favorite legal drug is quite proficient at doing.
What it’s not so good at doing, though we’d like it to be, is keeping us chugging away no matter how much sleep we miss. For a little while it might seem like caffeine is warding off sleep deprivation, but the effect won’t last. Eventually the nervous system wins (it pays to remember: the house always wins).
Of course, these effects vary depending on many things, including body type, weight and age. For some, one cup of coffee will help kick things up; for others it might take three cups. And as mentioned, tolerance of caffeine is a major variable no matter what source you prefer for your drug of choice.
So if you decide to kick the habit, how long will it take to work through withdrawal? That depends on how much caffeine you routinely consume, but for the average two or three-cup a day coffee drinker, expect up to 10 days of symptoms like headaches, fatigue and a general feeling of wanting to shout loudly into peoples’ faces."
We're talking ALL forms of caffeine here--chocolate, energy drinks, Mountain Dew and other high-powered sodas, tea...not just coffee. I hate coffee, yet I had caffeine withdrawal symptoms back in college when I decided to forgo tea and chocolate. The agony went on for two full weeks before I noticed improvement. It's funny about caffeine: it's used to ward off migraines, but going without caffeine will cause a headache nearly as bad as a migraine! I currently use OTC migraine meds to quell my nose pain when I'm having an allergy attack--it does the same thing to my nose as it does to your head, and alleviates my pain without putting me to sleep (which is good, because it feels like someone is trying to jam a dart up my nose!).
In the case of sodas, the sugar content alone is enough to knock you out for a few hours, yet the caffeine overrides this instinct, and then you find yourself needing more and more soda for the sugar, as well as the caffeine, when you truly don't need more of either one! Protein keeps you awake without the sugar.
If only I had grabbed a hard-boiled egg instead of a soda all those years ago...
"I recently stopped drinking coffee. Yeah, I know, why would anybody do that? For me it was a combination of health-related reasons, and overall I can say I’m happy I did. If you had asked me a few days after I kicked it, though, I would have told you it was one of the dumbest things I ever even thought of doing – that is, if my head stopped pounding long enough to answer you in a complete sentence.This radical life adjustment made me curious about caffeine and its effects on the brain, so I did some research. The most surprising thing I found was that caffeine doesn’t really jack up the volume in our brain the way most of us think it does — the story about how our favorite drug works isn’t nearly so straightforward.
First, what caffeine does not do: Caffeine does not, by itself, make you a super productive, super fast, super talky jitter machine. That venti Café Americano is not the sole reason you’re able to cram 6 hours of work into 45 minutes, or that you’re shockingly charming between the hours of 8 to 11 am.
What caffeine does do is one heck of an impersonation. In your brain, caffeine is the quintessential mimic of a neurochemical called adenosine. Adenosine is produced by neurons throughout the day as they fire, and as more of it is produced, the more your nervous system ratchets down.
Your nervous system monitors adenosine levels through receptors, particularly the A1 receptor that is found in your brain and throughout your body. As the chemical passes through the receptors, your adenosine tab increases until your nervous system pays it off by putting you to sleep.The remarkable talent of caffeine is to mimic adenosine’s shape and size, and enter the receptors without activating them. The receptors are then effectively blocked by caffeine (in clinical terms, caffeine is an antagonist of the A1 adenosine receptor).
This is important not only because by blocking the receptors caffeine disrupts the nervous system’s monitoring of the adenosine tab, but also because of the players who make an appearance as this is happening. The neurotransmitters dopamine and glutamate, the brain’s own home-grown stimulants, are freer to do their stimulating work with the adenosine tab on hold, and that’s the effect you feel not long after downing your triple shot skinny mochachino.
In other words, it’s not the caffeine that’s doing the stimulating. Instead, it’s keeping the doors blocked while the real party animals of the brain do what they love to do.
As every good coffee drinker knows, this effect lessens over time. It steadily takes more and more caffeine to achieve the same level of stimulation from your excitatory neurotransmitters. This is the irritating dynamic we all know as “tolerance.”
 |
| This is the migraine cycle |
What it’s not so good at doing, though we’d like it to be, is keeping us chugging away no matter how much sleep we miss. For a little while it might seem like caffeine is warding off sleep deprivation, but the effect won’t last. Eventually the nervous system wins (it pays to remember: the house always wins).
Of course, these effects vary depending on many things, including body type, weight and age. For some, one cup of coffee will help kick things up; for others it might take three cups. And as mentioned, tolerance of caffeine is a major variable no matter what source you prefer for your drug of choice.
So if you decide to kick the habit, how long will it take to work through withdrawal? That depends on how much caffeine you routinely consume, but for the average two or three-cup a day coffee drinker, expect up to 10 days of symptoms like headaches, fatigue and a general feeling of wanting to shout loudly into peoples’ faces."
We're talking ALL forms of caffeine here--chocolate, energy drinks, Mountain Dew and other high-powered sodas, tea...not just coffee. I hate coffee, yet I had caffeine withdrawal symptoms back in college when I decided to forgo tea and chocolate. The agony went on for two full weeks before I noticed improvement. It's funny about caffeine: it's used to ward off migraines, but going without caffeine will cause a headache nearly as bad as a migraine! I currently use OTC migraine meds to quell my nose pain when I'm having an allergy attack--it does the same thing to my nose as it does to your head, and alleviates my pain without putting me to sleep (which is good, because it feels like someone is trying to jam a dart up my nose!).
In the case of sodas, the sugar content alone is enough to knock you out for a few hours, yet the caffeine overrides this instinct, and then you find yourself needing more and more soda for the sugar, as well as the caffeine, when you truly don't need more of either one! Protein keeps you awake without the sugar.
If only I had grabbed a hard-boiled egg instead of a soda all those years ago...
This Just In: 50 Celebrities Who Won't Be Eating Meat This Holiday--They're Vegans
To contact us Click HERE
From the Huffington Post. Sorry--this was the best I could do for news. Think of this as a list of stars you no longer want to admire or watch, or even acknowledge, because they're slowly dying of malnurition.
No actual article--rather, a slide show found here. Many of the so-called "stars" haven't graced the small screen for years--decades, even. Many of them aren't even stars--one of them is a relative of former president Bush. The only celebrity they all seem to share is being named or nominated for PETA's Vegetarian/Vegan of the Year awards.
No actual article--rather, a slide show found here. Many of the so-called "stars" haven't graced the small screen for years--decades, even. Many of them aren't even stars--one of them is a relative of former president Bush. The only celebrity they all seem to share is being named or nominated for PETA's Vegetarian/Vegan of the Year awards.
An Online Premium Meat Buyer's Guide
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Buying meat online is a great idea. Whether you are buying Kobe steaks or New York strip steak, or any other kind of meat online, it is a good choice on your part. One of the most obvious advantages of buying meat online is that you do not have to visit the grocery store, or spend time driving there. All you need to do is get on your computer, follow a few steps and you will have your steak delivered to your doorstep not long after making the purchase.
There are a few things that you need to pay attention to when buying Kobe steaks online. The first is that you need to ensure that the meat is certified by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This means that the meat is good for human consumption and that you will not suffer any negative side effects after consuming the meat.
Secondly, choosing the best quality Kobe steak is a delicate process that requires you to be observant and vigilant. The USDA usually grades Kobe beef according to the quality of the actual product, so this should guide you when making your choice. Make sure that the grading is indicated on the particular piece of meat that you want to purchase. This acts as an assurance of quality once you make the purchase.
All these rules also apply to New York strip steak, if you are looking to get the best possible quality. Furthermore, when buying Kobe steaks or New York strip steaks online, you need to look at the experience that the supplier has in the trade. When it comes to buying meat, experience is everything. Look out for seasoned meat suppliers who will most likely offer you the quality that you are looking for.
You also need to look at whether or not other customers have been satisfied with their purchases. When buying New York strip steak online, the supplier usually has a section for customer comments and testimonials. This also applies to Kobe steak and other gourmet meats. This will give you a good indication as to whether or not you want to use that particular supplier to make your purchase.
If you follow these steps, you will get your quality New York Strip steak online, or Kobe steak if that is what you are looking for. Buying meat online beats going to the butcher or grocery store any day.
There are a few things that you need to pay attention to when buying Kobe steaks online. The first is that you need to ensure that the meat is certified by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This means that the meat is good for human consumption and that you will not suffer any negative side effects after consuming the meat.
Secondly, choosing the best quality Kobe steak is a delicate process that requires you to be observant and vigilant. The USDA usually grades Kobe beef according to the quality of the actual product, so this should guide you when making your choice. Make sure that the grading is indicated on the particular piece of meat that you want to purchase. This acts as an assurance of quality once you make the purchase.
All these rules also apply to New York strip steak, if you are looking to get the best possible quality. Furthermore, when buying Kobe steaks or New York strip steaks online, you need to look at the experience that the supplier has in the trade. When it comes to buying meat, experience is everything. Look out for seasoned meat suppliers who will most likely offer you the quality that you are looking for.
You also need to look at whether or not other customers have been satisfied with their purchases. When buying New York strip steak online, the supplier usually has a section for customer comments and testimonials. This also applies to Kobe steak and other gourmet meats. This will give you a good indication as to whether or not you want to use that particular supplier to make your purchase.
If you follow these steps, you will get your quality New York Strip steak online, or Kobe steak if that is what you are looking for. Buying meat online beats going to the butcher or grocery store any day.
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