8 x 8
Posted on 30. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in cool websites, my life
OK, here’s the first and probably last time I ever do something like this. I’m paying it forward in a game of blogger tag. UltraJam tagged me, so it’s my turn to say 8 random things about myself and tell about 8 cool blogs that I like to visit.
8 Random Things You May Not Know About Me:
- I met my husband in an elevator when we were grad students. I talked first.
- I was a Boy Scout Computer Explorer in high school and an editor on my college newspaper. It’s not surprising that I design websites now.
- I took French for 8 years but almost never speak it. When I do, I’m rusty. I don’t even know the French word for “rusty.”
- I have parallel families: a stepmother and two stepsisters on my father’s side, and a stepfather and two stepbrothers on my mother’s side. My sister and I are in the middle.
- I eat fruit, granola and Greek yogurt every morning for breakfast.
- I can’t have a cat because my husband and brother-in-law are allergic to them. Besides, my terrier would never forgive me if we got one.
- When I was in high school back in NJ, my drama teacher molested a freshman male cast member backstage and wound up in prison for seven years, my guidance counselor ran off with my English teacher’s husband, and my pastor told our congregation he’d been tempted to drive a car off a cliff. For as straight an arrow as I am, it’s hard to shock me.
- I’ve never had a pedicure. After a week beyond the Orange Curtain, I’m beginning to think this is highly unusual. I’ve had two manicures, however: when I was a matron of honor for my sister and a bridesmaid for my stepsister.
8 Blogs I Never Miss, in No Particular Order:
- MotherPie: She’s got great insights into life, blogging, and culture.
- Dumb Little Man – Tips for Life: Actually, they’re pretty smart.
- Freakonomics Blog – Just like the book, but every day.
- Spanglish Gringo – One of our church’s mission partners in East LA
- Design Meltdown – A roundup of great website designs, by category/look
- Grammar Girl – Quick & dirty tips for better writing
- Antique Mommy – Great writer
- Domestic Disturbances – Judith Warner’s NYTimes blog
Fun in the sun
Posted on 30. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in my life, travel
We just returned from a week in Newport Beach. It’s the longest I’ve gone in the last 10 years without checking emails. I had 3 in my inbox when I left, and 479 when I returned. Yikes! So, if I returned your email, consider yourself lucky, and if I haven’t yet, please be patient.
Even though it’s only an hour (without traffic, haha) away, Newport Beach was the perfect vacation destination for us. We rented a cottage two blocks from the beach with a garage, kitchen, laundry, etc. The kids went to the Newport Surf Camp every morning with their friends, and spent the afternoons with the same kids. One of the highlights of our trip was a cruise on a Duffy Boat with one of my college friends and his family.
Hopefully we’ll make it back down there soon!
Three boys: same name, same disease, different stories
Posted on 29. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in cool websites, health, inspirational people
Dylan Crane in Colorado raised money for pediatric cancer research. Then, he heard about a Dylan Crane in Florida who had recorded his final months of fighting cancer on video. Then Dylan Crane in California, a pediatric cancer survivor himself, heard about these two boys, and contacted Dylan Crane in Colorado.
What are the odds that three boys with the same name would have a connection to the same disease? See the NBC news story about them, and read the boys’Â webpage.
Girls and their gadgets
Posted on 28. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in articles, technical, tv
Boys and their toys, girls and their gadgets. The NYTimes recently reported in To Appeal to Women, Too, Gadgets Go Beyond Cute and Pink that manufacturers are learning that making products appealing to women doesn’t just mean changing the color. They need to consider changing the size, the shape, and even how the product functions. For example,
Energizer, the battery maker, went so far as to create a charger for each sex. The Dock & Go, at $33, is aimed at men. Black and gray with shiny trim, the two pods hold up to four batteries each (AA or AAA). A light glows red when it is charging, yellow when it is charged.
The second device, the $20 Easy Charger, is aimed at women, who usually end up managing the household’s batteries. This charger is flat, round and sold with interchangeable faceplates in silver, black and eggshell that help it blend in with kitchen appliances. Large light-emitting-diode readouts spell out what the countertop charger is doing at every phase of the charging cycle. Focus-group testing indicated that men were turned off by the Easy Charger, especially in how its readouts appeared to tell them what they thought they already knew, said Mandy Iswarienko, the brand manger for rechargeable products.
“We found that how people use chargers is very different,” she said. “For her, she wants it to be instantly understandable.”
Hmm. Sounds to me like men would be crazy to spend $13 more for a charger that’s tougher to read. Then again, I’m a woman, so they want me to like the cheaper one.
I wish Sony would re-design my DVD remote control. (see picture) (Actually, it’s an AV System remote, but I don’t like the surround sound so I just use it for DVD’s.) All the buttons look the same, and the text is so small I can barely read it, especially in the dark. Hopefully companies will design for women with declining eyesight too!
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500 years of women in Western art, morphing into one another
Posted on 27. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in art, videos
Here’s an amazing which features famous portraits of Western women from the last 500 years morphing into one another. It highlights not only how art has changed, but also how our culture’s concept of beauty has changed.
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20 tips for better Google searching
Posted on 26. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in articles, cool websites, technical
You gotta love a site called Dumb Little Man just for the name alone! Actually, Dumb Little Man isn’t so dumb: he recently had a fantastic blog post with 20 Tips for More Efficient Google Searches. Here are a few that I didn’t know, but I suggest you visit his blog to make sure you know the rest.
- Similar terms. Use the “~” symbol to return similar terms. [~dumb little man -dumb] will get you pages that contain “funny little man” and “stupid little man” but not “dumb little man”.
- Numrange. This little-known feature searches for a range of numbers. For example, ["best books 2002..2007] will return lists of best books for each of the years from 2002 to 2007 (note the two periods between the two numbers).
- Site-specific. Use the “site:” operator to search only within a certain website. [site:dumblittleman.com leo] will search for the term “leo” only within this blog.
Google has a concise that has many of these tips in one place. Now to remember all of this!
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Babes in the Woods: Why girls are so susceptible to MySpace’s dangers
Posted on 26. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in articles, parenting
I just added the best article I’ve seen yet to this blog’s MySpace Parents Guide page.
In the Atlantic Monthly article “Babes in the Woods: Anybody could be tracking your children online. Even me.”, Caitlin Flanagan shows how easy it is for her to find what should be private details about a local girl’s life at a time when she is most vulnerable. She also talks about Club Penguin, the social networking website that’s becoming popular among elementary kids.
With the Internet, children are marching out into the world every second of every day. They’re sitting in their bedrooms—wearing their retainers, topped up with multivitamins, radiating the good care and safekeeping that is their lot in life in America at the beginning of the new century—and they’re posting photographs of themselves, typing private sentiments, unthinkingly laying down a trail of bread crumbs leading straight to their dance recitals and Six Flags trips and Justin Timberlake concerts, places where anyone with an interest in retainer-wearing 13-year-olds is free to follow them. All that remains to be seen is whether anyone will follow them, and herein lies a terrifying uncertainty, which neither skeptics nor doomsayers can deny: The Internet has opened a portal into what used to be the inviolable space of the home, through which anything, harmful or harmless, can pass. It won’t be closing anytime soon—or ever—and all that parents can do is hope for the best and prepare for the worst.
One of her best points is that parents often don’t realize how much danger their kids are in because the kids don’t share what bad things they see. They (probably rightfully) figure that if their parents knew all that went on, they’d cut off their internet privileges.
As part of the first episode of his show, Hansen convened a panel of tweens and teens, among them children of some of his colleagues at NBC, and asked how many of them had been “approached online by someone in a sexual way that made you feel uncomfortable.†Almost all the kids raised their hands. Then he asked how many had told their parents. Not a hand went up. And when he asked why they hadn’t told their parents, all the kids in the room said they didn’t tell because they didn’t want their parents to take away their Internet connections.
Suddenly, it all made sense to me: Teenagers don’t tell their parents that someone nasty got through to them for the same reason I didn’t tell my parents that kids were dropping acid at a party—because they wouldn’t let me go to those parties anymore. That’s the horrible, inescapable fact of coming of age: The moment you choose the world over your parents, you’ve chosen to make your own decisions about what’s safe and what’s not, with only your own wits to protect you.
It’s a great article, and I strongly suggest you read it. Even if you’re not a parent, it’s a well-written commentary on contemporary teen culture.
Does money really buy votes?
Posted on 25. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in articles, cool websites, politics, startling statistics, things that bug me
Why else would special interest groups give money to politicians unless they hoped they’d reward them by voting a certain way? Maplight.org shows the connection between the sources of money that members of the California Legislature and the U.S. Congress received and how they voted on specific issues.
David Pogue NYTimes wrote about it in a recent NY Times Circuits column:
Another mind-blowing example: from the home page, click “California.” Click “Legislators,” then click “Fabian Nunez.” The resulting page shows you how much this guy has collected from each special-interest group — $2.2 million so far — and there, in black-and-white type, how often he voted their way.
Construction unions: 94 percent of the time. Casinos: 95 percent of the time. Law firms: 78 percent of the time. Seems as though if you’re an industry lobbyist, giving this fellow money is a pretty good investment.
I’m sure the PACs and corporations would argue that they give to politicians who will be likely to vote their way anyway. Giving them money helps ensure that they win, and will be in office to vote. However, I think that’s optimistic, and that money does sway votes. Personally, I wish that special interest groups couldn’t give money to candidates or officeholders.
Now to get doctors to stop accepting free samples from pharmeceutical companies.
Below is a screenshot from the data about our former assemblywoman, Carol Liu:
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Penny postcards
Posted on 24. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in cool websites, travel
When I was younger, I collected postcards. I loved seeing faraway places, and remembering places I’d been.
I particularly love old postcards. I jump-started my collection when my father gave me a shoebox of WWI postcards he’d gotten from a client’s estate. I have the box somewhere…when I find it, I’ll scan some. In the meantime, here’s a great website called “Penny Postcards” that allows you to browse for postcards by state, county and city. They take submissions, so hopefully people will scan their postcards and help make this an even more comprehensive site.
Here’s a postcard of Pasadena City Hall. It still looks pretty much the same, though now there’s a mall down the street in the background.
I stopped collecting postcards when it became clear that I’d never have a complete set unless I spent a fortune and obsessed over them. Besides, I’m not really a packrat at heart.
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Graduation: The truth hurts
Posted on 23. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in articles, education
I think Barbara Ehrenreich is a brilliant observer of the American worker, but I probably would have been a bit depressed if I’d been a student listening to her commencement address to the Haverford College Class of 2007.
She told the graduates, “At the moment you accept your diploma today, you will have an average debt of $20,000 and no health insurance. You may be feeling desperate enough to take whatever comes along. Some of you will get caged in cubicles until you’re ejected by the next wave of layoffs.”
She continued, “Others, some of the best and brightest of you, in fact, will still be behind a counter in Starbucks or Borders three years down the road.”
She’s probably right, but how depressing is that? Is it worth pursuing your dream major if your chance of working in that field is next to nil? If that’s the case, should a student major in her second choice, which might yield a career that’s far better than if she majors in their first choice? As an engineer married to an attorney who majored in Government, I’ve had this discussion with my husband many times.
This reminds me of this American Greetings graduation card I purchased a few weeks ago. I don’t have someone to give it to yet, but it’ll have to be just the right person.
Why do teens do stupid things?
Posted on 22. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in articles, my life, parenting, tv
Now that both my kids are in high school, we frequently discuss why some kids are making poor choices regarding sex, drugs and alcohol. Here are a few theories my kids have come up with:
- The kids are bored
- They’re not supervised
- They have free time because they’re not in sports and they don’t do their homework
- They have enough money to buy drugs
- They want to fit in
Whenever I challenge these, my kids rightfully say I shouldn’t attack them, because they’re not doing these things. They’re right – I’m just expressing my frustration, because none of these are good reasons to make dangerous choices.
But what can be done to prevent kids from making these choices? Other than the fact that drunk driving rates are half of what they were 20 years ago, kids are still doing the same stupid things kids did when I was in high school. This is in spite of abstinence education, red ribbon week, character education, etc.
In today’s NYTimes editorial, When Preaching Flops, David Brooks says
Deciding is conscious and individual, but perceiving is subconscious and communal. The teen sex programs that actually work don’t focus on the sex. They focus on the environment teens live in. They work on the substratum of perceptions students use to orient themselves in the world. They don’t try to lay down universal rules, but apply the particular codes that have power in distinct communities. They understand that changing behavior changes attitudes, not the other way around.
I’m not sure exactly what he’s recommending, but it sounds like he’d definitely scrap programs that just throw a bunch of aphorisms at kids. I think that aphorisms are useful to define a community’s beliefs, but otherwise agree that they’re not likely to change behavior.
So what would I prescribe? Here are some initial ideas:
- More parental involvement and awareness (but how can we reach the parents who really need it?)
- Smaller class sizes so teachers could have a better idea of what’s really going on
- More afterschool activities for kids (though I think some kids would be bored even if Disneyland were down the street and the ocean were up the street)
- No World of Warcraft or Halo to suck up (mostly) boys’ time
- No music videos that normalize skanky dance moves, revealing clothing and promiscuous culture
Anyone have any other ideas? It’s painful to see great kids making poor choices, and if there were anything we could implement in our community, it would be rewarding to help save some of these kids from themselves.
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If you can walk, you can dance
Posted on 22. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in cool websites, my life, work
That’s the slogan of Cleary Irish Dance. I can walk and chew gum and talk on a cell phone at the same time, so I bet I’d be an awesome Irish dancer. My mom took Irish dancing classes when she was a girl, but she never passed on her knowledge to me. In fact, I didn’t know about it until last year. Just like I didn’t know I’m a small part French either. Sure would have made my eight years of French classes and time spent in France more meaningful.
Anyway, I designed the new Cleary website, and launched it today. It was tough to design a classy-looking purple site, but I love a challenge. I’m especially proud of the Celtic knot background. We still need to fill in more content, and I might change the Flash around so it doesn’t suck up so much memory.
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Don’t give your phone number to the world
Posted on 21. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in cool websites, technical
Ever want to be able to give someone your phone number, but just for a temporary period? The most obvious example of this would be if you’re single, and don’t want to give your real phone number to a potential suitor in case things don’t work out. But there are other times when this might help, too: when you place a classified ad, when you order something online, or if you’re fielding calls from birth mothers to see if you will adopt their baby. (I kid you not – I know someone who set up an 800 number for this purpose.)
Anyway…Numbr is here to save the day. This free service assigns you a temporary number that will forward to up to two phones. You have the option to not accept calls from blocked caller id’s or suspected telemarketers, and you can even block calls from 9 pm to 8 am. You can choose (approximately) what area code you’d like the number to be in, and request that the number last for an hour, a day, a week or a month.
Here’s a screenshot. I haven’t signed up for it: my roots are too deep these days to pretend to have/need a different number. But, I’ll remember it if I ever get around to selling some stuff on Craigslist. (Which is how this site originated.)
Bye-bye, birdies
Posted on 20. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in articles, environment, my life
Remember the baby birds I blogged about a few weeks ago? I have sad news to report: they disappeared a few days later. I don’t think they were nearly ready to fly from the nest, so I’m afraid that perhaps a predator got them.
They’re not the only birds disappearing. Both the NY Times and the LA Times have recently reported that bird populations are dwindling. According to the LA Times,
Many bird species commonly found in California have suffered steep population declines, as much as 96%, part of a nationwide trend that is due in large part to diminished habitat, according to a study that for the first time combines 40 years of data.
The study, combining the National Audubon Society’s Christmas season bird counts with summertime surveys by the U.S. Geological Survey, documented declines of 75% to 96% in several California species, including the northern pintail, horned lark and loggerhead shrike.
Can you say, “Canary in a coal mine“? Once the birds and the bees disappear (see previous post), what comes next? My son asked me the other day at what point we’ll know things have gotten to the point of no return, like a tipping point.
When I was about seven years old, I wrote a letter to then-NJ Governor William Cahill. In it, I lamented the fact that rabbits and other animals who lived in the Meadowlands would lose their homes when the new sports complex would be built. Governor Cahill wrote back to me, and said they’d find homes for the bunnies. I remember being impressed that he wrote, but completely skeptical that he meant a word of what he said. The Meadowlands was developed, and I’m sure they didn’t do a thing for the rabbits.
Maybe this time someone will listen.
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Yes, there are Democrats in La Canada
Posted on 19. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in cool websites, politics
I know it for sure, because I designed the La Canada Flintridge Democratic Club website. We just launched a re-design today, and you can see it at www.lacanadadems.org.
It’s kind of a don’t ask, don’t tell policy: there are more Democrats in this town than most people suspect. They come out of hiding for the Memorial Day Parade, and are beginning to venture even further…look out!!
Who needed the electrician?
Posted on 19. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in my life
Late last week, someone asked me if I knew a good electrician. We used a new one this week, and he’s awesome. So, hopefully whoever asked me reads this blog and will call Bill at Ability Electric & Lighting at . Tell him I sent you…
Texas vs. LA
Posted on 19. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in cool websites
Go figger. NJ-born and bred, living in So. Cal.
I so can’t imagine living in Texas.
I’m surprised my score is this high:
| You Are 28% Texas |
|
Ah, but this one’s spot-on accurate:
| American Cities That Best Fit You: |
60% Boston  60% Honolulu 55% New York City 55% San Diego |
There are many more quizzes at Blogthings.
Watch out: they’re pretty addictive!Â
Watch out: they’re pretty addictive!Â
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The parents did everything right, but it happened anyway
Posted on 18. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in articles, parenting, technical
One big lesson I’ve learned as a parent and as a friend of other parents is that doing everything right as a parent doesn’t guarantee that your kids will make good decisions or that they’ll be safe.
That truth turned tragic in the case of Kristin Helms. She was only 14 when she met a 27-year-old Texas man on MySpace. When her parents found out, they closed down her MySpace page and took away her computer privileges. But Kristin continued to communicate with the man via other computers and by phone. He led her down a slippery path to the point where she agreed to meet him near her home in Lake Forest, CA, and had sex with him twice. He cut off the relationship, and she was very upset.
At this point she did the right thing: she told her parents. They did the right thing, too: they supported her, surrounded her with love, and proceeded with prosecuting the man, who pleaded guilty.
But despite the support she received, Kristin still struggled with so much depression that she committed suicide. Today, a year later, her parents will sit at the sentencing of the man who raped her. It’s a small consolation, however, for it won’t get their daughter back.
I wish I could tell these parents how much my heart goes out to them. If I were in their shoes, I would have done the same things. I’m not sure that’s much of a takeaway lesson, but at least it shows that even when you do things right, bad things can happen. Perhaps the lesson should be to do all that the Helms’ did, but also tell your children about Kristin. Then her death won’t be for naught.
There’s a detailed story about Kristin in . I’ve added it to my MySpace Parents Safety Guide page.
POSTSCRIPT: The reports that Kiley Ryan Bowers was sentenced to 9 years in prison. He has expressed remorse for his actions.
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What took her so long?
Posted on 17. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in my life, parenting, technical
When my daughter was born, I was proud to get her birth announcements out within several weeks. After they were professionally printed, I hand-addressed the envelopes. When my son was born, I ran the blank announcements through my printer and printed out labels in a nice font. They were mailed within about two weeks, I think.
Oh, how times have changed! My friend Deborah had a baby this morning, and there was a photo on her blog within 2.5 hours.
Welcome, Jane Frances!! At this rate YOU’LL be blogging before kindergarten!!
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The shop around the corner finally opened!
Posted on 17. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in books, my life, shopping
The Flintridge Bookstore & Coffeehouse finally opened…and it’s right around the corner from me! My daughter and I walked up there yesterday, and we were both very impressed. It has a very well-chosen selection of books in a variety of genres, and they’re displayed and categorized so that they’re quite easy to find. The cafe had several indoor tables, and served drinks and pastries. I’m so excited: their website even says they’ll have author signings and live music!!
I purchased a few books, and I’m sure I’ll spend lots of time/money there.
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Chalk festival in Pasadena
Posted on 16. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in art
We had dinner at PF Chang’s in Paseo Colorado to celebrate my son’s 8th grade graduation, and had fun walking around afterwards to admire the sidewalk art at the 2007 Pasadena Chalk Festival. Here are some of our favorites. The festival continues through tomorrow.
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21st century playground in Rowland Heights
Posted on 16. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in travel
We saw the most modern playground today at Pathfinder Regional Park in Rowland Heights. It looked like a K’Nex set on steroids. We’re not sure whether kids would be able to figure out what to do with each part of the equipment, but it looked cool.
My son was there for a baseball tournament, so he didn’t have time to play on the playground. I should have, but it would have been lonely, and that’s no fun.
Multicultural candy experience
Posted on 16. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in food
Isn’t California great? There aren’t many places where a group of White/ Armenian/ Hispanic kids will hop a shuttle to the local Korean grocery store to buy some Japanese candy.
I don’t blame them: this stuff is amazing. It’s like gummy bears coated in cherry chocolate.
Too bad it doesn’t show up on the “accepted” list for any diet I’ve ever seen.
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Added my blog to some listings…
Posted on 15. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in technical
Hmm. This seems so junior high / high school – ish, trying to be popular. I want my posts to be read, to make my blogging effort worthwhile, but some people seem to be willing to spend too much time trying to get high rankings.
Time for bed.Â
Learning history, one burger at a time
Posted on 15. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in food, parenting
I make a point of not bragging about my kids, but I think my 3-year-old nephew’s fair game.
Last weekend he asked his family, “Was In-N-Out around in the 50’s?”
I’m not kidding. They grilled him (thankfully they didn’t fry him) to make sure he knew what “the 50’s” were, and he did.
Reminds me of 4-year-old Dilan Patel: he wears ties, carries a briefcase, and prefers fancy restaurants to Chuck E. Cheese. Nothing beats knowing yourself at a young age.
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Why we might appreciate Google Street View someday
Posted on 15. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in cool websites, technical
Google Street View (see my previous post) isn’t an entirely new concept. For many years, New York City maintained photographs of every building for taxation purposes. The Freakonomics blog’s Stephen Dubner points out how amazing it is to see buildings that his ancestors lived and worked in, and wonders whether our successors will say the same thing about archives being built now.
I personally love , and can’t wait for it to come to our city. I’m sure my dog will stand in the driveway and bark at the truck as it goes by.
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30% of Pasadena Unified students drop out before graduation
Posted on 15. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in articles, education, parenting, startling statistics
The Pasadena Star News reports that the League of Women Voters did a study which found that
Close to 30 percent, or 328 members, of the class of 2005-2006 left school somewhere before graduation, according to statistics from the California Department of Education. The highest number of students, 109, left in their senior year, while 108 never made it past the 9th grade…But teen pregnancy was the reason cited by a full one-third of the dropouts.
Do the math: that means about 10% of the students are dropping out because they are pregnant, which means about 20% of the girls get pregnant and drop out.
The report faults the PUSD for not taking adequate measures to prevent or track dropouts. This is pathetic. It’s no wonder that many people who can afford to avoid these schools do so either by moving or sending their kids to private schools.
The LWV suggested that the district remedy the situation by assigning mentors, teaching parents how to help their children with homework, developing independent study centers and informing them of options such as continuation schools. It also challenged the district to develop curricula that’s relevant to kids and doesn’t bore them.
I’m not holding my breath. And, in all fairness, it’s not just the school’s fault. The parents and kids need to take responsibility too.
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Just what Dad needs for Father’s Day: a Duct Tape Tie
Posted on 15. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in food, shopping
Los Gringos Locos, a local Mexican restaurant, has the most unique Father’s Day offer I’ve ever seen: buy a $30 gift card, get a free duct tape tie for Dad. The perfect gift!
I wonder what the judge would say if my husband wore this in court? It would probably depend upon the color. Also, since Los Gringos is owned by Mormons, will they get their missionaries to wear these? Just as long as they don’t wear Christian’s guacamole-protection goggles at the same time…
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Grilled cheese brain: $2 heroin killing young teens
Posted on 14. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in articles, health, parenting
As if trying to get new people hooked on drugs isn’t reprehensible enough, the mad scientists and their dealer henchmen who come up with new drugs do their best to make drugs inviting: attractive, addictive and cheap.
One of the latest drugs in this category is cheese heroin. According to CNN,
A cheap, highly addictive drug known as “cheese heroin” has killed 21 teenagers in the Dallas area over the past two years, and authorities say they are hoping they can stop the fad before it spreads across the nation.
“Cheese heroin” is a blend of so-called black tar Mexican heroin and crushed over-the-counter medications that contain the antihistamine diphenhydramine, found in products such as Tylenol PM, police say. The sedative effects of the heroin and the nighttime sleep aids make for a deadly brew.
“A double whammy — you’re getting two downers at once,” says Dallas police detective Monty Moncibais. “If you take the body and you start slowing everything down, everything inside your body, eventually you’re going to slow down the heart until it stops and, when it stops, you’re dead.”
The article goes on to say that these cheesey drug dealers are especially targetting middle schoolers. It recounts how, at one Dallas middle school, nearly every student raised his or her hand at an assembly when asked if they knew someone who used “cheese.”
This drug is so addictive that even one tenth of a gram “hit” of it can cause addiction. Here’s what KeysToSaferSchools.com says:
The headaches, chills, nausea and other discomforts causes the user to seek another hit to escape the pain. Thus the cycle of hardcore addiction has “started.” Police in the Dallas area have dubbed cheese as a starter drug.
As a jr. high PTA president in Southern California, I hadn’t heard of this until this CNN report. But things spread fast these days, so be aware that this could arrive soon.
Then again, in researching this post, I found out about strawberry meth. It looks like candy, and is sometimes called Strawberry Quik. Drugtalk.org says,
The methamphetamine is bright pink in color and has the flavor of strawberry. Seizures of the drug have been reported in California and Nevada. It goes by the street name of Strawberry Quick. It appears that the color and flavor are added during the manufacturing process to make the drug more appealing to a wider market. The drug is still as dangerous and addictive as any other type of methamphetamine.
You can’t be too informed.
To bee…or not to bee
Posted on 13. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in articles, environment
Back in February, I blogged about how was reporting that bees across the United States were abandoning their young in hives and dying. At the time, I’d seen one or two dead bees in my yard.
Now they’re all over. It didn’t take long for me to walk outside this morning to find a dead bee to photograph. It’s not just our yard: I was at a friend’s house about a mile away yesterday, and her patio had dead bees on it too.
In , the Los Angeles Times reports that one of the earliest alarms was sounded by a beekeeper in Pennsylvania in November. By February, 70% of his bees were gone.
This isn’t the first time in U.S. history that bees have suddenly disappeared. Reports dating as far back as 1869 speak of colonies that disappeared, and then reappeared again. But scientists are stumped, and can’t guarantee the bees will return.
Hopefully they will.
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