Daily Dose of Common Sense

We get a bum rap as New Yorkers. Everyone believes we’re rude and cranky. We’re not. We’re just annoyed by anyone not following common courtesy rules while navigating a large urban area. Well, the following may help. Here are some simple things to remember when in a big city or a large crowd.

Rule #1: If you’re standing still, you’re in someone’s way. For example, NYC is a city of more than 8 million people. So keep moving! This rule is especially important at the top of stairs or in the middle of sidewalks. If you need to stop and admire the buildings, step over to the side.

Rule #2: Watch where you’re walking. While our city is the cleanest it’s been in decades, the sidewalks still contain the occasional pile of poop (usually from a dog), food or vomit. At the very least, you could step in gum.

Rule #3: Walk on the right-hand side of the street. In some countries, the custom is to walk on the left-hand side of the street. We walk on the right here. And, along those lines….

Rule #4: Remember to let others pass. If you’re in a group walking together, you need to make way for other pedestrians. Switch to single file when necessary in order to let other people get around you.

These rules even apply at places like malls, sporting events, and concerts. Like George on Seinfeld once said in disgust, “We’re living in a society, people!” So let’s all work together to make it run a bit smoother.

The word “irregardless” is a nuisance. Yes, some dictionaries do list the word. But, it is categorized as “nonstandard,” which means it’s not a proper term. All you need is the word “regardless.”

Why? Regardless already means “without regard.” Using the prefix “-ir” is redundant.

The prefix ir- (i-r) is a negative prefix, so if you add the prefix ir to a word that’s already negative like regardless, you’re making a double-negative word that literally means “without without regard.”

If you’re a parent, do you know what to do in an emergency? For example, your child has a pulse but isn’t breathing. What do you do? It’s lunchtime and your daughter suddenly chokes on a small piece of food. Do you know the correct technique to save her life? If your child is unresponsive and requires CPR, did you know that calling 911 isn’t the recommended first response?

In children however, a child who collapses to the ground and requires CPR does so most likely not from an arrhythmia but from respiratory arrest. Brain damage from lack of oxygen occurs in less than 4 minutes and death shortly thereafter, therefore the American Heart Association’s recommendation for children in need of CPR is to CALL FAST. Give 2 minutes of CPR before calling 911.

I took an infant/child CPR class at our local YMCA and am now fairly confident in my abilities to properly handle a situation should disaster strike. However, not everyone can sacrifice three hours in the middle of the week to get certified in CPR. If you are too busy, consider this online training course offered by the American Red Cross. It’s $55, but seems money well spent. There is instruction, a test, and a skill session all to reinforce the information.

If you need more hand-on training, the American Heart Association sells a Family & Friends CPR Anytime personal learning kit for home use, which includes a mini-CPR mannequin and DVD instruction. It’s under $30 and while you won’t earn certification, you might learn how to save someone’s life.

06/09/09: UPDATE

Just saw this post on AmericanHeart.org: Mother Uses Infant CPR to Save Her Son. It’s so important to learn CPR, especially if you’re a caregiver.

No one likes to talk about it, but it’s out there. And, with swimsuit season ahead, it’s about to see the light of day. Yep, it’s… cellulite.

The dimpled appearance of cellulite is caused by fat deposits that distort the outer layer of skin. And, it’s your genetics that determine whether you will develop cellulite. The desire to get rid of the unsightly bumps has led to a multi-billion dollar industry, including creams, supplements, massages, and serums.

Do any of these treatments work? Nope. Quick fixes for cellulite can’t get under the skin and inside your fat cells. The best defense against developing cellulite is to eat a healthy diet and keep your muscles toned. So, save your money and hit the gym.

Yesterday, an incident between two Long Island drivers left one man dead. The deceased left his car to confront another driver, wouldn’t let the other driver pass and was run over. Also last week, a Baltimore police officer was arrested after throwing tobacco juice and pointing his gun at another driver while off-duty. Sadly, these are hardly isolated incidents.

According to the NHTSA, there are two problems: aggressive driving and road rage. Aggressive driving is a “traffic offense,” such as speeding and improper lane changing. Road rage is a “criminal offense,” by which an incident occurs on the roadway and an assault transpires. It is estimated that aggressive driving is responsible for one-third of all crashes.

Are you an aggressive driver? Take this quiz to find out. Here are 10 Tips to Prevent Road Rage. If you see someone driving irresponsibly, you can anonymously report them to this site.

Remember, you’re in a car but you’re not invincible. Let’s be careful out there.

Why do smokers get a pass on the littering front? Last time I checked, throwing trash where it doesn’t belong was frowned upon. Yet so many butts lie on our sidewalks, streets, and parks that it is the number one type of litter in America. Don’t these folks remember the Crying Indian from the ’70s?

I see it every day. I live in a city and see folks smoking and tossing, smoking and tossing, all day long. Frequently, the cigarette is still burning. Throwing a cigarette butt on the ground is LITTERING. Why, exactly, are our collective streets, sidewalks, and roads your ashtray?

It is estimated that several trillion cigarette butts are littered throughout the world each year. Are they biodegrable? Not really, according to the research we found.

Various sources have stated that cigarette filters take 18 months to 10 years to degrade. It is safe to say that the cellulose acetate fibers in cigarette filters, like other plastics, are with us for some time after they are discarded.

We’re asked not to litter by fast food companies, by drink companies, by the government, and everyone else who mass produces a product. Why aren’t the tobacco companies doing anything to encourage the proper disposal of their product? We’re not sure. It seems like a fairly simple thing to do, and certainly wouldn’t discourage smokers from lighting up. But, people should know NOT to litter without being told. What, were you raised in a barn?

Oh, P.S.: Props to all the businesses that put out cigarette disposal bins on the sidewalk in front of their doors.

As we gear up for fun in the sun this summer, you might find yourself stocking up on sunscreen. The drugstore shelves are crammed full of choices that offer various levels of protection against the sun’s rays. SPF 15, 30, 45, 60, 85…. How are we expected to make heads or tails of it all? Today’s New York Times does a good job breaking down the mystery of SPF.

Popular sunscreen makers, such as Banana Boat, Coppertone, and Neutrogena, keep raising the SPF numbers in their products. There is now a sunscreen with an SPF of 100. We’re conditioned to believe more is better, but does the higher SPF number mean it offers superior protection? No, according to experts. It’s really nothing more than a marketing gimmick.

The difference in UVB protection between an SPF 100 and SPF 50 is marginal. Far from offering double the blockage, SPF 100 blocks 99 percent of UVB rays, while SPF 50 blocks 98 percent. (SPF 30, that old-timer, holds its own, deflecting 96.7 percent).

So, what does matter when it comes to sunscreen?

Yesterday, Twitter announced a major change in the way information is exchanged with its users. You will no longer see messages from people you follow if the person they messaging is not in your network. For example, if I follow @Oprah and she sends a message to @userIdontfollow, I won’t see that message in my timeline.

The Twitter-verse is agog over this change, which was previously a user setting preference. Since most Twitterers find other users through those they follow, this will seriously change the way a lot of people use the site. Part of the fun of Twitter is being able to eavesdrop on other conversations, even if you aren’t part of the thread. Doing so leads to the discovery of other voices and opinions, and a widening of our social circle.

Twitter calls this a “small settings update” that corrects a “undesirable and confusing” option. Either they have misjudged the way people interact on the site (unlikely) or perhaps there is another reason to choke off the free-flow of information. Many are suggesting that @replies will become a paid service. (We all know Twitter isn’t making money yet.)

Facebook really upset a lot of their core users in the most recent redesign where they tried to emulate…Twitter. The anti-redesign groups immediately sprang up all over Facebook in protest. The largest, “We Hate The New Facebook, so STOP CHANGING IT!!!” currently has 1,583,220 members. For me, Facebook definitely jumped the shark after the last redesign. My zeal for the site waned and I spend less time there. Too bad Twitter didn’t learn from Facebook’s mistake.

To complain about @replies, go here, or tweet using the hashtag “#fixreplies”.

It’s a recession and folks are looking for all the freebies they can get. So, everyone was all abuzz about the coupon KFC offered last week (via Oprah’s website) for free grilled chicken. I saw the coupon link passed around on Facebook, as well as mentioned by almost everyone on Twitter. Well, KFC really underestimated the desire for free chicken and the power of Oprah. Stores across the country experienced long lines and heavy traffic. Outside a location here in NYC, angry customers were turned away as the restaurant ran low on product. It was rumored that the police were called in to mediate. (You can’t come between New Yorkers and our food.)

KFC is offering rain checks for anyone who printed out the coupon and was turned away. You have to go to a KFC, request the form, fill it out, attach the original coupon…and eventually you’ll get a voucher for some free grilled chicken. It seems like a lot of work on the customer’s part for what was a huge blunder by the fast-food company. Is KFC not aware of how many people watch Oprah? (7.4 million people each day, according to a quick Web search.)

For companies contemplating future promotions, the equation goes something like this:

Free stuff + Oprah = Insane public reaction

[Note: this post originally appeared on April 18, 2009 on Rational Moms.]

I love a quick, informative slideshow and this one doesn’t disappoint. Scientific American investigates the science behind some of the common pregnancy myths and wives’ tales.

For example, is heartburn a sign that your baby will have hair? Do overweight mothers give birth to overweight babies? Do pregnant women eat more when having a boy?

(Answers: Most likely, yes, and yes. But there’s more so follow the link!)