Sunday afternoon a fire broke out in Texas that took a whole lot of work to stop. The fire was believed to have been started by high winds that knocked down power lines. Interstate 20 was closed for hours as firefighters attempted to clean up the mess.More than 120,000 acres have been burned in 15 Texas counties and 60 homes have been destroyed. A five-year old child was also killed in midst of the fire. No more injuries have been reported, but many families are left without a home. Strong winds made it difficult for firefighters to control the fire, but now that winds have calmed down it may help firefighters. A fire weather watch is still in effect.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/02/28/texas.wildfires/index.html?hpt=T2
Stories like this truly break my heart and my prayers go out to the families that are struggling. When fires blaze on like this, it's devastating to not only the habitat, but to the people affected as well. Hopefully people will make efforts to collect donations or help those in need. I sincerely wish those Texas counties the best and hope they get the help they need.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Making Life Easier
I found this article on Yahoo!'s home page and thought I'd pass it on, as I found it quite interesting. The article, "11 Innovative Products from the Past Decade", lists all of the products that are believed to make our lives easier.
My favorite is the Tide to Go pen. This has truly been a lifesaver for me on more than a few occasions. Simply dab a stain, and voila! Magic.
Rounding the top 11 list are:
Brooks Brothers no-iron shirts. Certainly seems like a must for any business man- especially a traveling business man!
Next we have Huggies Little Swimmers- diaper and swimsuit all in one. Genius.
Olay Daily Facial Cloths are on the list as well, and I am an avid user of these. When there isn't time to wash your face, these are key.
OXO measuring cups made the list as well. They are adjustable to give the precise measurement needed.
Crest white strips are there too. Quick whitening fix, and surely a VERY profitable product I can imagine.
Dutch Boy Twist and Pour Paint has a removable lid, a spout, and a handle so that consumers can preserve their paint and also ensures less chance of spillage.
Uncle Ben's Ready Rice also made Yahoo!'s list. Just add water and it cooks in 90 seconds- perfect for any busy family!
Tide to Go pen- as mentioned earlier.
Target Pharmacy's clear RX bottle lists drug and dosage info in bold large print, making it easy for consumers to read. They also come with colored rings so that family members can keep track of their medicines.
Wii Fit made the list too- and I can definitely see why. It's an innovative video game that allows users to work out and have fun doing it.
Finally, the Scotch Fur Fighter. I believe this is essential to anyone who owns a pet. These textured pads remove all types of pet hair.
These all seem like lifesaving inventions. I have definitely used more than a few of these items! Can anyone else think of other products that make life easier??
Link to article on Yahoo!
Rounding the top 11 list are:
Brooks Brothers no-iron shirts. Certainly seems like a must for any business man- especially a traveling business man!
Next we have Huggies Little Swimmers- diaper and swimsuit all in one. Genius.
Olay Daily Facial Cloths are on the list as well, and I am an avid user of these. When there isn't time to wash your face, these are key.
OXO measuring cups made the list as well. They are adjustable to give the precise measurement needed.
Crest white strips are there too. Quick whitening fix, and surely a VERY profitable product I can imagine.
Dutch Boy Twist and Pour Paint has a removable lid, a spout, and a handle so that consumers can preserve their paint and also ensures less chance of spillage.
Uncle Ben's Ready Rice also made Yahoo!'s list. Just add water and it cooks in 90 seconds- perfect for any busy family!
Tide to Go pen- as mentioned earlier.
Target Pharmacy's clear RX bottle lists drug and dosage info in bold large print, making it easy for consumers to read. They also come with colored rings so that family members can keep track of their medicines.
Wii Fit made the list too- and I can definitely see why. It's an innovative video game that allows users to work out and have fun doing it.
Finally, the Scotch Fur Fighter. I believe this is essential to anyone who owns a pet. These textured pads remove all types of pet hair.
These all seem like lifesaving inventions. I have definitely used more than a few of these items! Can anyone else think of other products that make life easier??
Link to article on Yahoo!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Winter Blues
A picture is worth a thousand words, and I believe that this picture demands readers’ attention. As soon as I saw this photograph, I was blown away! The snow has caused buildings to collapse and thousands of citizens to be stranded. Soldiers were digging out cars early this morning and searching for trapped victims.
The Yonhap News Agency reported: “Nearly 4.8 billion won (US$4.3 million) worth of property damage was reported as of early Monday” and “the number is expected to increase steeply as public officials have yet to gain access to many homes in the region due to heavy snow accumulation.”
They go on to discuss that this is the biggest snowfall in over 100 years. It seems that it’s not just the Northeast that is having difficulty making it through this winter! I’m sure I’m not the only one highly anticipating spring’s arrival!
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2011/02/14/83/0302000000AEN20110214009100315F.HTML
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/14/3-feet-of-snow-covers-south-koreas-eastern-coast/
http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/02/14/6050735-snow-bomb-hits-south-korea
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Working Mothers To Blame For Their Children's High BMI?
New studies suggest that a child's high BMI can be associated with their working mother. On CNN.com, I stumbled across this article that really angered me. "Study: Kids' weight increases when mom works more" by Madison Park explains the study and explanation behind these statistics. The study was in the journal Child Development and showed that when a mother was working, the child showed an increase in weight. The study involved 900 children. Taryn Morrisseyy, a lead author, explains that some factors could include the type of diet that is being provided for the child.
Carol M. Devine, a professor at Cornell University says that when people don't eat together, their diets are worse. Sure, working mothers are certainly pressed for time- but does this mean they go to fast food places regularly? I don't think so. This really upset me because growing up both of my parents worked full time. I also have plenty of friends who had working parents. I still ate great healthy meals and was not taken to places like McDonald’s regularly. I am perfectly healthy, and so are my brothers. Just because a mother is working full time, does not mean she cannot properly provide for her children. There are stay at home mothers that go to fast food restaurants more than working mothers do! I bet there are many working mothers who have obese children, but there are also so many that don't. While the article on CNN does explain that there are other variables contributing to the weight gain, I believe that child obesity has so many contributing factors that this study is inconclusive and somewhat bias.
I think these studies are jumping the gun. All families are different whether they're employed or not. Susan Wenner Jackson, a blogger and working mother states: "I don't know how valuable these results are. They're not giving me anything." She also talks about how unreasonable it is to link working mothers with being inadequate parents. I agree with her and I think that other studies should be conducted that are more specific in order to conclude that working mothers are contributing to obesity.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/02/04/children.bmi.moms/index.html
Carol M. Devine, a professor at Cornell University says that when people don't eat together, their diets are worse. Sure, working mothers are certainly pressed for time- but does this mean they go to fast food places regularly? I don't think so. This really upset me because growing up both of my parents worked full time. I also have plenty of friends who had working parents. I still ate great healthy meals and was not taken to places like McDonald’s regularly. I am perfectly healthy, and so are my brothers. Just because a mother is working full time, does not mean she cannot properly provide for her children. There are stay at home mothers that go to fast food restaurants more than working mothers do! I bet there are many working mothers who have obese children, but there are also so many that don't. While the article on CNN does explain that there are other variables contributing to the weight gain, I believe that child obesity has so many contributing factors that this study is inconclusive and somewhat bias.
I think these studies are jumping the gun. All families are different whether they're employed or not. Susan Wenner Jackson, a blogger and working mother states: "I don't know how valuable these results are. They're not giving me anything." She also talks about how unreasonable it is to link working mothers with being inadequate parents. I agree with her and I think that other studies should be conducted that are more specific in order to conclude that working mothers are contributing to obesity.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/02/04/children.bmi.moms/index.html
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