NY Times front page this am...

"It's a Fork, It's a Spoon, It's a ... Weapon?" is a must-read article in the NY Times this morning. A 6 year old was suspended for bringing his Boy Scout eating utensils to school. He now could be punished by having to spend 45 days in reform school. HUH?????? I have to admit, the fork and spoon look like eating utensils, and the "knife" does look like a pocket knife, but STILL!!! Does a 6 year old even understand his eating utensils might be something more than eating untensils? I'm sure he must understand now.

An even more disturbing part of this article is the third grader who was expelled after her grandmother sent a birthday cake for the classmates. It wasn't the birthday cake that got her expelled, it was the knife she sent with it to cut and serve it. The teacher only reported it to the principal AFTER using it to cut the cake! I thought the days of being punished for someone else's actions were gone!

Have the zero tolerance laws gone too far?

Read this article here: http://tinyurl.com/yj8v3fr

Google Barcode - Something to Think About

I love today's Google doodle, the barcode. In fact, I love all the Google doodles. I even like saying "Google doodle". The bar code doodle on Google's home page contains a link that will take you to the same place "bar code" takes you if entered into the Google search field.

According to the Telegraph.co.uk, Google is celebrating the bar code's 57th anniversary (although it was originally slightly different than the straight lines we see today). It was not used in a supermarket until June of 1974 on a pack of Wrigley's gum.

I'm definitely showing my age here, but I remember standing in line while the cashier had to punch in the prices of everything. The cash register receipt did not give any specifics of anything purchased either -- just the prices and total.

I wonder, what would it be like today, without the barcode? How life would be different!!! Thanks Google for giving us something to think about.

Beware of Hidden Ingredient - Splenda / Sucralose

A disturbing fact about Splenda. Several items I'm buying lately contain sucralose, which of course is Splenda, an artifical sweetener. What I'm concerned about are two things. One that it is more or less "hidden" in the incredients list - you know those so-small-you-need-a-magnifying-glass-to-see-them ingredients.
And two, I'm very concerned that parents might be UNKNOWINGLY feeding it to their children. Please beware, if not for yourself, at least for your children's sake. Please check those indredients.

I recently purchased chocolate covered almonds and a high-protein drink that both contained sucralose. I was shocked to see sucralose in the ingredients, since NOTHING whatsoever on the front suggested the addition of any artificial sweetener. Somehow I thought any addition of artifcial sweetener needed to be noted on the front. I thought wrong.

Ameradoor - Have you had good luck?

On my blog, Lydia's Reviews I posted this:

"Ameradoor- Quality Cabinet Doors and Cabinets
We recently built a maple entertainment center for our living room. Unfortunately, when it came to the doors, we did not have the expertise or the right tools. Since we only needed three doors and one drawer front, we decided to have them built. Searching the Internet we were able to find Ameradoor. The price with shipping was less than we would have paid for a router and the rail and stile bits.

When the doors arrived, we were very happy with their workmanship. "

I've since placed another order and feel that although they are slow in delivering, they have the best price and their workmanship is good. On my blog "Lydia's Reviews", several people have made negative comments. I know we usually post on the internet when we have bad experiences. I am hoping someone else may have had a good experience, and if so, and will post a comment at
http://lydiasreviews.blogspot.com/2009/01/ameradoor.html

Thought for Today...

I just came across a quote I wanted to share:
"If you make giving a way of life, you will find that you will be happier than you could have ever believed or imagined. Doing things for others fills you with a warmth you can never get in any other way." Mary Kay Ash

Diane Sawyer - GMA Jessica Lynch Ruse

Did anyone else happen to catch Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America last week talking about Pat Tillman and Jessica Lynch? I don't dare quote her, for fear of misquoting, but what I heard her say is ... the Jessica Lynch story was a ruse. It was fabricated to focus us away from what was really going on at the time. Diane said this so matter-of-factly that I figured it had already been in the news and I was the last person to hear it. When I asked my husband, who faithfully reads the newspaper, he said he hadn't heard anything about it and had no idea what I was talking about. Did someone say Wag the Dog?

Would love to hear if anyone else heard what I heard!

America's Got Talent - Winner 2009

Normally I would only say, "Congratulations, Kevin". Today I'm almost speechless. The only performance I saw of Kevin's was completly out of tune. When the top ten were on stage, each and every one of them must have been shocked to hear themselves being eliminated before Kevin. I understand he probably was the one who needed the $$ the most, since he was forced to quit his job to join in the competition. Since I don't have anything nice to say, I'll say no more.