Wednesday night I had an agenda of events I wanted to attend and Oscar and Abram helped me achieve it. We started the night off early with some live 80s music. I met up with a meetup group and we met some new cool and interesting people. From there we went to check out a bar we had yet to go to where they had salsa lessons and salsa. I took the free lessons and actually learned a lot. I also got some practice in. Hopefully it will help with my private lessons. Finally we headed over to Speakeasys for a more familiar atmosphere. It was a lot for a weeknight and probably more hours than I would spend out on a normal weekend. I had a good time.
While we were at the first bar, I overheard a new made friend of mine talking to her friend about a problem. It happened that she had just dropped her cell phone in the toilet. I tried to comfort her by telling her that it happens more often than people think. (Don't know why I think trivia makes people feel better.) I told her to ask anyone, they all have a cell phone in the toilet story, either it happened to them or someone they know. (It has never happened to me, knock on wood, maybe it is a woman thing.) Her friend then looked at me and said, "But did any of them actually flush their cell phone down the toilet?" I wanted to laugh so hard as the other woman said in a very sad voice, "I miss my cell phone." That really sucks and I did feel bad, but am I bad person for thinking that flushing your cell phone down the toilet is funny?
Below is a clip from Larry King where Bill Maher discusses his movie Religulous. I really hope my mom watches this clip and that documentary. I can't wait to see it. Points I thought were good were, "Why can't God just defeat the devil?" and "How can a guy from Long Beach know what happens when you die?" -- There isn't a documentary or book that will make me not believe in God, but it doesn't take much to make me not believe in the charlatans who peddle religion, including church in general. Or maybe it is the legions of obedient followers that just follow blindly that drive me crazy?
Wise Answers To Old Wives' Tales: Here are my favorites from the article.
It's safe to follow "the 5-second rule" for food dropped on the floor.
Verdict: FICTION. It's probably not even safe to follow a 1-second rule: The transfer of bacteria from a contaminated surface to food is almost instantaneous--or, at the very least, quicker than your reflexes. In a recent study, Clemson University food scientist Paul Dawson, PhD, and students contaminated several surfaces (ceramic tile, wood flooring, and carpet) with Salmonella. They then dropped pieces of bologna and slices of bread on the surfaces for as little as 5 seconds and as long as 60 seconds. After just 5 seconds, both food types had already picked up as many as 1,800 bacteria (more bad bugs adhered to the moisture-rich bologna than the bread); after a full minute, it was up to 10 times that amount.
Bottom Line: There are 76 million cases of foodborne illness annually in the United States, according to the CDC--so unless you're the only family on the block that sterilizes their floors on an hourly basis, you should refrain from eating dropped food. "Let's not forget what comes into contact with floors--people bring animal feces on their shoes into their homes," Dawson says. And don't assume that countertops are clean. Dawson's team also found that the Salmonella actually survived as long as 4 weeks on the test surfaces. As the recent tomato-related illnesses nationwide showed, "raw fruits and vegetables are as frequently the perpetrators of Salmonella transfer as poultry," Dawson says.
This is going to call for a lot of habit changes. I wonder what foodborne illnesses are in my kitchen. I found a fry in my truck that was only a few hours old. Terrible terrible idea. Luckily Abram cleaned the counters.
Cola-type soft drinks can damage your kidneys.
Verdict: FACT. Despite their global popularity, there's nothing remotely healthy about cola beverages: Drinking 16 ounces or more daily (whether diet or regular) doubles your risk of chronic kidney disease, according to a recent NIH study of more than 900 people. The researchers already knew that consuming any type of soft drink--the average American adult guzzles 59 gallons' worth per year--is associated with several risk factors for kidney disease (hypertension, diabetes, and kidney stones), but the spike in the cola category was remarkable. Experts suspect that the ingredient phosphoric acid may be the culprit; it's been repeatedly linked to "urinary changes that promote kidney stones," say the study authors. Cola has an additional knock against it: Consumption is associated with significantly lower bone density in women, increasing the risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures, says a separate study.
Bottom Line: If you're going to indulge in an occasional soda, go for Sprite, 7-Up, ginger ale, and the like--the NIH study found that non-cola drinks didn't have the same impact on the kidneys. But you'll be better off if you skip soda altogether, even the sugar-free varieties: Recent research showed an association between drinking diet soda and weight gain.
I'm trying I promise. I give up coke for a week or two and then it slowly works it way back into my life. It is so good. I even have a cat named Koki. My dad had kidney stones back in the day and I was told it was because of coke. I'm not sure if it was to scare me or not, but it sounds like a strong possibility. The key point I keep seeing is that link between diet coke and weight gain. I knew there was a reason I never liked diet coke anyway. I've mentioned that I want to like coke zero, but it gives me headaches as so coke with spenda. I drink soda water with slpenda and that is ok, but I haven't read about the slpenda cancer links.
"Double-dipping" spreads germs from one chip to another.
Verdict: FACT. In a classic episode of Seinfeld, a partygoer accused George Costanza of spreading germs by "double-dipping"--swiping a chip into a bowl of dip, taking a bite, and then dipping the same chip again. Having settled the 5-second rule debate, Clemson University's Dawson decided to do the same recently with this alleged party faux pas. It turns out that George really was contaminating the other guests: Using Wheat Thins and various dips, Dawson found that a double-dip deposited thousands of saliva bacteria into the dip--and of those, 50 to 100 were later transferred through the dip to a clean cracker, presumably destined for another guest's mouth. Still unknown, however, is how long such bacteria can survive in the dip or if they can actually infect another dipper upon ingestion. Bottom Line: You'd better be pretty comfy with your party guests. "Eating from a dip after someone has dipped twice is basically the same as kissing that person," Dawson says.
This I don't think about as much, but it is good to know. I'll keep it in mind at the next party.
tomtom may have let me down, but there is still hope
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