Cold and Flu Medication for Kids. . .

You have to be careful with medication these days. I do not like to take medicine, mostly because I worry about it masking symptoms and I worry about creating the ultimate virus that will destroy us all.

Usually, I will follow the box information for medications so that I do not harm myself or my kids, but disturbingly I read the following this morning:

Oct 28, 2008 --
FDA labeling on children's cold remedies is bogus

Clark is beyond angry about the FDA's actions regarding children's cold remedies. Here's the scoop: For years, the drug companies have been making big bank selling children's versions of their OTC cold and flu remedies for adults. The industry has been allowed to set its own labeling standards for the safe age to give children such medications.

6 years of age is the scientifically accepted demarcation age when it's safe to give a child an OTC cold or flu remedy. But the industry got labeling that suggests it's safe to dispense the medication when a child is 4. That's a complete lie, and it remains unsupported by any science to Clark's knowledge.

Prior to age 6, the only thing you should be giving your child for cold or flu symptoms is ibuprofen or Tylenol -- unless, of course, you hear differently from your pediatrician or nurse practitioner. Do not allow the FDA's false labeling to sway you. They were bought by dirty money on this one.

[Original Article]

Just another reason to not "pop a pill" for any little cough or sneeze.

Appropriate for Halloween, Well. . . Not Really.

Warning: the following story contains graphic information about real violence. Please do not read if this may offend you in anyway.

I came across this story through my web travels and could not believe it actually happened.

Canadian Bus Beheading Forces Greyhound to Ditch Ad Campaign
Last week's murder and beheading on a Greyhound bus has Greyhound officials scrambling to remove most recent ad campaign.

View full story here. (Once again, do not read this if you do not want to read graphic depictions of a violent act.)

What is the world coming to these days?

How I Should Have Proposed to My Wife . . .

Wow, this guy is the pinnacle of nerd cool. The video has to speak for itself:



Want to try your hand at this ROM Hacking? It is a little involved and requires some technical knowledge but it is doable for someone with some time on their hands. Wikipedia has a good overview on the How To of ROM Hacking at the following link.

Not sure what a ROM is? Wiki does a good job explaining that as well at the following link. Or if you are not a fan of the Wiki, here is a large free rom site that you can try out already created roms.

A Story Where the Fastest Runner is First Loser . . .

I have joked with friends about how second place is first loser, however all moms everywhere would change that and say that you are all winners no matter how you do in the standings. Hopefully, that will be enough for 24-year-old Arien O'Connell, a fifth-grade teacher from New York City, who ran the fastest time in this years Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco, but ended up watching from the stands as the trophies were awarded for the (slower) fastest times for the race.

We all know that in sports and any competitions for that matter that there is going to be a winner and a loser. This year it looks like that is what Nike is a little confused about. The marathon has two starts, one for an "elite" group, and another for the rest of the runners. The fastest time for the elite group was 3 hours, 6 minutes, and 11 seconds. Arien ran the race with the regular runners in 2 hours, 55 minutes. A full 11 minutes faster than the winner of the "elite" group.

Now correct me if I am wrong or mistaken, but don't you win a race if you are the fastest to cross the finish line? From my research about this story, it appears that Nike did not even take into account the times for the "non-elite" group because at the awards ceremony, Arien watched as each time was slower than her time and ultimately went up to the results station and asked a race official to review her finish time.

"They were just flabbergasted," O'Connell said. "I don't think it ever crossed their minds."

No one seemed exactly sure what to do. The trophies had already been handed out and the official results announced. Now organizers seem to be hoping it will all go away.

"At this point," Nike media relations manager Tanya Lopez said Monday, "we've declared our winner."

O'Connell said some race officials actually implied she'd messed up the seeding by not declaring herself an "elite" runner.

"If you're feeling like you're going to be a leader," race producer Dan Hirsch said Monday, "you should be in the elite pack."

So this is her fault? O'Connell was just being modest.

"I'm a good, solid runner," she said. "I never considered myself elite." [C.W Neevius, San Francisco Chronicle]

I like to think that I am a runner, at least that there is one trapped inside of me, and so I emailed Nike that I would seriously consider any future purchases with them. I mean, running a marathon in and of itself is amazing, and then having the best run of your life would be even better, but Nike missed the cinderella story of a lifetime by not jumping on this woman and making her their next ad campaign. Who doesn't think that with enough training (and I used to imagine myself with swooshes all over my clothes when I did it, ok actually I didn't) you could be the best and come out on top. I guess Nike doesn't. They think only a certain small group can actually win and the rest of us should just purchase their merchandise.

Ultimately, Nike recanted their decision that she was not the winner and awarded her a trophy and said she was "a" winner. She was not "the" winner by 11 mintes, she was "a" winner. This only took their PR department three days to convince the rest of the company. Sounds like I need to start purchasing my atheletic gear and shoes with a company that values an athelete for their accomplishments.

Candidates stance on Money and How to save your own. . .

The following site should not be used as your answer for whom you should vote for, however it does have some very interesting information about the candidates viewpoints and stances on financial matters.

Your Money: McCain Vs. Obama

Additionally, if you want some ideas on how to same money, CNNMoney.com also has a descent article about how to save money. I plan on doing a more in depth post on this when I have the time to research it.

How to Save $8,919.45 a Year

Time Off . . .

I apologize for not posting as I regularly do. I am finishing up my degree and have been swamped with school lately. As a quick post today, (I have a few tests and papers to write) I found the following website about household design with a lot of interesting items.

I especially enjoyed the pictures below, however there is also a lamp disguised as a noose and other strange things available. The noose even costs a few thousand dollars, though I imagine it would not be that hard to recreate simply.

CribCandy

Here you go Finance Sector, take my money and a lavish vacation. . .

I found a recent article at CNNMoney.com to be very revealing about how our money is being spent. Following along with my previous post (Free Money) about why the bailout needed to be closer to a loan, this illustrates my point perfectly. I have placed some of my favorite bits from the article below and a link to the original article at the end.

Will Wall Street's woes hit the Yankees?
The New York Yankees are counting on corporate titans to pony up as much as $850,000 a year for luxury boxes in the team's new stadium.

The political uproar over AIG spending $440,000 on a beach retreat for its top agents - right on the heels of the insurance giant getting a taxpayer-funded bailout - may mark the beginning of the end for Wall Street's culture of excess.

Will there be AIG-like fallout for Bank of America or any other financial company that ponies up for baseball's primest real estate - particularly if they're also participating in the $700 billion financial bailout? Early indications are there will be. Says U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: "It is absolutely unconscionable that a company would ask for billions of dollars from taxpayers who are struggling to keep their homes and pay their bills - and then in the next breath spend $850,000 of that money on a luxury skybox to watch a baseball game."

[By Jon Birger, senior writer for Fortune, Original Article]

Funny Email Pictures . . .

I am studying and working at the same time, but I just saw this in my inbox and it made me smile so I wanted to share it.

Awesome Halloween Costumes Part 2.3

I apologize for the links, but I am swamped with school for the next few days and will just be placing a few filler posts for the next few days. I will continue with my Halloween themed posts today with a few sites that have some good and easy do it yourself costumes. The Fun Times Guide has them arranged a bit better than the Fox News link, but both have great ideas.

Jim and Lynnette's Fun Times Guide - Best Halloween Costumes to Buy or Make Yourself

Fox News - 8 Killer Do-It-Yourself Last-Minute Halloween Costumes

The Sun in all of its Glory

Wow, these pictures speak for themselves. These came from a gallery post of 21 pictures here. Additionally, the SDAC or Solar Data Analysis Center at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland USA has a page dedicated to the Sun and its many different faces.

Their site is found here showing many more views.

In 2006 NASA launched the STEREO mission to study the sun in 3D. An excerpt from their website explaining the mission is below:

STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) is the third mission in NASA's Solar Terrestrial Probes program (STP). This two-year mission, launched October 2006, will provide a unique and revolutionary view of the Sun-Earth System. The two nearly identical observatories - one ahead of Earth in its orbit, the other trailing behind - will trace the flow of energy and matter from the Sun to Earth. They will reveal the 3D structure of coronal mass ejections; violent eruptions of matter from the sun that can disrupt satellites and power grids, and help us understand why they happen. STEREO will become a key addition to the fleet of space weather detection satellites by providing more accurate alerts for the arrival time of Earth-directed solar ejections with its unique side-viewing perspective.

For additional information about that mission, follow this link.

Unnecessary and Necessary Kitchen Items, MMM . . . Crepes.

Although I will never hear the end of the cinnamon in the spaghetti incident, I actually enjoy cooking. And no not just the drop a slice of toast in the toaster and sit back and watch kind of cooking. I can still whip up a mean batch of peanut butter cookies from scratch if it was a life and death situation.

Along those lines, a secret love of mine is Good Eats. I have Good Eats set to record on my DVR and have a few of those saved for perpetuity. (He recently had an episode on where he made Cracker Jack from scratch that I want to try.) Well, one thing that I really enjoy about his program is all of the different implements of torture that he has in his kitchen. Well, not really torture but he has some great, easy to use, gadgets in his kitchen that he regularly uses. One of those that I have yet to purchase are the measuring cups that slide up to push out the measured item. That description really does not do them justice so here is a link and a picture. (I found out that they are called Wonder Cups and are really not that expensive.) Another item that I want is the small kitchen scale to measure items by weight. I just think that's cool.

A recent article by Ricardo DeAratanha of the Los Angeles Times discussed which items we actually need in our instruments of destruction in the kitchen and which ones are superfluous. That link can be found below:

Kitchen Essentials, and Items You Can Pass By

Changing the oil in my Honda Rebel, Amsoil, and Toy Recals for 2008. . . What?

I passed the 1000 mile mark on my motorcycle last week. I guess it is time to go change my oil. And since my bike only takes 1.6 - 1.8 quarts of oil I did not want to pay $30 to change it.

Actually, changing oil is really easy. You just have to know where the drain bolts on your engine block are, have a drain pan, and then you just need a funnel and a torque wrench(a lot of people don't even use a torque wrench and just tighten to feel).

If you feel like tackling your own vehicle, you can generally find information on the web and even videos on YouTube that will show you step by step. My motorcycle video is found here(part 1) and here(part2).

Lastly, and pretty much most importantly, is the oil that you put back in. My recommendation, and recommended by the majority of blogs and people that I can find, is Amsoil. You can get this oil for your car and your motorcycle. They have a number of customer purchase options from dealer to retail account which I will post about later. Wish me luck on my first oil change for my bike.

Lastly, due to the holiday season coming up, I found the link below that can help those worried about the toys that they have purchased for their kids. It is not an exhaustive list, I would recommend you visit the manufacturer's website to be sure, however the following link has some of the big toy recalls of this year.

Biggest Toy Recalls of 2008

Halloween How to . . .

More Halloween goodness from the Instructables website. I found another good DIY/How To article about an easy to make a living Severed Hand.


- More cool how to projects

Also, Goldie's Bubbling Halloween Cauldron looks interesting but it is simple enough that it could be easily modified to incorporate it into a lot of other applications. This one appears pretty simple to create and has a descent effect.


- More cool how to projects

And finally for today, here is a good DIY Freezer Paper Skeleton Costume. Check out the link for the details. This is showing on a child but could easily be modified for an adult if necessary.

Work Communication . . .

Every once in a while I hear about a very interesting conversation at work and I wanted to share this one with you. The names and places have been changed to protect the innocent:

Steve [9:27 AM]:
unless the application did it, but why?
Ken [9:27 AM]:
I told it to actually
Steve [9:28 AM]:
are you the software whisperer
Ken [9:28 AM]:
yes, but don't tell anyone
Steve [9:29 AM]:
I am the dog whisperer
my wife is convinced that I can communicate with the dog
she's nuts
but after two kids, who isn't
Ken [9:30 AM]:
lol yeah a few kids will do that to you
what does your dog do then? tricks?
Steve [9:31 AM]:
sometimes, when I say something, he might do it a minute later
but its just coincidence
nothing more
she thinks he hears me
but this is someone who swears the cat waved to her out the window one day
hmmmmm...........
Ken [9:32 AM]:
hahahaha
Steve [9:32 AM]:
I married a loony toon
Ken [9:32 AM]:
that's awesome
. . . . . .

It continued but that was the good part.

Software Piracy by Jack Black.

I found this looking through videos at YouTube and just had to post it. I will let the video speak for itself:

Chatanooga, Ruby Falls, and Family Vacations. . .

I was recently switched to a 4 day, 10 hour work week on Monday through Thursday each week. Last week was my first run on this schedule and so we decided to go on vacation for the weekend. We decided to go to Chatanooga, TN and boy was this a much needed vacation.

While in Chatanooga, we were able to visit the Ruby Falls cave which was an interesting and cool experience. Kate was a little scared at some parts, so I would not recommended it for kids under 3 and Dallen at 5 was only partially interested in the cave. He was more excited by the wooden rubberband gun that he was able to pick up on the trip.

After winding our way back about a half mile into the cave, we ended up at the actual Ruby Falls where water drops from the ceiling of the cavern 145 feet to the waiting pool below. They have a colored light show that turns on when you get to the cave and allowed us to go around behind the waterfall though you have to duck to make it and it is very slippery.

We also found the Chatanooga Choo Choo downtown and that was another experience. Next time we go, we will stay in the train cars that they have made into a holiday inn. The old station is the main building and behind it on the old platforms, they have a large garden running through the middle and old style train cars setup as the hotel rooms.

On a down side, avoid The Station House Restraunt. I was impressed when we walked in as I liked the ambiance. It is quite dark inside, and has a lot of old fashioned lighting and oil paintings on the walls. Unfortunately, thats where the good ended. I found some thick pieces of mold on the grapes in the fruit of the salad bar and the food was not very good and overpriced. My wife had the Roast Prime Rib of Beef and I had the Barbecued Babyback Ribs. She only took a bite or two of hers and said that it was not good and I was able to finish off my ribs though they were not the best that I had eaten. The bill came up to twice what it should have been as the service was not very good. The servers get up on stage and sing songs throughout your dining experience. Sounds cool right? We must have had one of the better singers as our waiter as he only showed up every other song and then it took forever to get our food. Generally, for the entertainment I could overlook that, but altogether this was not a great dining experience.

It was a lot of fun, and a good city to visit. We are already planning our next trip.