If
you're sick of the stories about lead-contaminated Chinese toys but
can't figure out where to buy toys made in the US,
this link will point you to a number of sources - alternately, just
track down a small local toy store and chances are they'll hook you up.
(The home page of this link also has the info on that Imaginarium crayon
set that's been recalled.)
Thursday 8.30
Does your office bombard you with memos? Top this: somebody at Comcast
found it necessary to put together a five page, seven step memo, with
pictures...on
how to make a pot of coffee.
Wednesday 8.29
"Yo
Gabba Gabba" is a new kids' show, and it's so odd that maybe even you
parents will be able to deal with it. Here's a musical number featuring
Elijah Wood:
Thursday 8.28
Al
Green. "Take Me To The River". Yes indeed.
And
also, some adorable baby hedgehogs who are orphans but have bonded with
a cleaning brush. Click on the pic for the full story and more cuteness:
Lots of people are still driving the first car they ever bought...but
nobody's driving the first car they bought in 1938.
Except this guy. The steering wheel of his '29 Model A even has the
initials he and his wife carved into it 60something years ago. Awwww.
Grilling tips from today's Wall Street Journal (here's the
pay link for those of you with online subscriptions):
* Microwave foods for about a minute before
grilling. Precooking means the food cooks faster on the grill and isn't
exposed to high temperatures as long. More important, the amino acids
and creatine come out in the microwave, so no chemical reaction takes
place once the food is on the grill. A well-done hamburger microwaved
for a minute first has about one-tenth the HCAs of a burger cooked
entirely on the grill...
* Eat lots of veggies with your grilled
foods. Grilled veggies give you the great grilled flavor but don't
produce the cancer-causing chemicals triggered in meat grilling. (You
still need to scrape off the black stuff.) And studies show that eating
cruciferous vegetables like broccoli as a side dish to grilled meats
changes the way the body metabolizes the chemicals created in grilling.
* Use marinades. Marinating foods sets up a
barrier against heat that lowers the creation of HCAs. Use a marinade
with less oil, so less fat drips into the coals.
* Flip your food often. This lowers the
temperature, lessening the chance of the risky chemical reaction
triggered by high temperatures.
* Cook red meat medium or rare. The biggest
health risk comes when meat is cooked well done.
Weekend 8.17.18.19
Miller's back next week! See you Monday.
Wednesday 8.15
No,
we haven't forgotten you - just doing some percussive maintenance on the
computers in Mr. J's newsroom. Thanks ever so much for your forbearance.
Monday 8.13 - Miller's back a week from today
Sometimes we
post stuff here just because it makes us say "whoa". This is one of
those times:
Weekend 8.10-11-12
Awwww...it's the
bedtime song:
On
the other hand...If
ever there was ad copy that made you want to buy a child safety seat,
this would not be a good example:
"The chair car is oriented towards the sense of the march. It does not
need installation, since it directly uses the lap belt of three points
of fixation. They easily become elevator retiring the endorsement. It
allows several positions of endorsement, the head rest he is vertically
adjustable, it has guide points to the belt, the textile part is
unholsterable, and has been made a will evaluating the last studies in
frontal and lateral tests of impact, among them present norm European
ECE 44/03"
