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]