Daily Dose of Common Sense

In tough economic times, some people need to cut back on medical expenses that are not covered, or only partially covered, by insurance. For many, these can include dental visits. Luckily, there are some cheap ways to keep your teeth in good shape between trips to the dentist.

Some of the items on the list are no-brainers (like “brush longer”…duh), but others may surprise you. One of the best things you can do is to drink your local tap water. It contains fluoride, while many bottled waters do not. Fluoride helps to prevent cavities.

Here are a few highlights from the article:

• Do some dairy. Just two ounces of milk, cheese or yogurt each day can help reduce the risk of gum disease. Dairy products contain calcium and lactic acid to keep teeth strong and destroy harmful bacteria.
• Floss before you brush. By flossing first, you can use your brushing time to get rid of all the gunk you removed with the floss.
• While you’re at it, brush your tongue and mouth, too. Bacteria are all over your mouth, not just on your teeth.
• Don’t brush right after eating citrus. Citrus fruits or drinks containing those fruits also have citric acid. That acid can temporarily weaken tooth enamel and leave your teeth vulnerable to damage from your toothbrush. Thirty minutes should be enough time to make sure your teeth are ready to stand up to a good brushing.

So, don’t let your teeth down. You don’t want to be a Yuck Mouth, do you?

[Via Pat's Papers]

File this one under “products that are a really, really bad idea.”

As if there haven’t already been enough Wii-related injuries with the standard Wii remote, now this product has been released.

Yep, it’s a realistic bowling ball for the Wii. Users can insert their fingers into the three holes provided and simulate the experience of real bowling. Almost.

Provided you have the wrist strap on tight enough, you won’t be able to release the ball. But, if you don’t, look out!

The Wii Bowling Ball: The Most Dangerous Wii Accessory Yet [Escapist]

Every tourists’ nightmare happened this week at JFK Airport in New York. A family of five was held captive by a pair of unlicensed solicitors in a van, who offered the family a lift from the airport. An officer observed the renegade drivers loading the family into their vehicle and banged on the window. But, when he ordered the two men out, they hit the gas and took off.

A high speed chase ensued, which left the French family begging to be released from the car. The ordeal ended when the van crashed into a stop sign in Brooklyn and the police chased down the two suspects on foot.

What did the family do to deserve this? Nothing, except get into a sketchy, non-licensed vehicle. If the cops hadn’t intervened, the family likely would have been brought to their hotel safe and sound. But, who knows how much they would have paid for the ride.

A good rule of thumb is to never get in anything but a yellow cab or a private car you have personally arranged. There are a lot of hustlers, especially at the airport, who will try and convince you a random ride is okay…but it’s not.

Here is some good information from Consumerist.com:

Rick Seaney has a few tips to help you avoid getting trapped in a runaway cab like the Dulugats:

• Avoid “gypsy cabs” and other non-licensed vehicles: the legitimate cabs are all lined up at the curb. If your cabbie claims to be licensed, and it’s a hike to his vehicle, he isn’t. By the way, these taxis can cost just as much as the legit ones.
• Check out the transportation choices before you arrive: JFK, for example, offers many alternatives to taxis including trains and a bus system that takes you directly to Grand Central for $27 roundtrip.
• Consider a private car service: it need not be a limo – and it can cost just a few bucks more than a taxi fare.

For formula-feeding parents, a big worry is that your baby might be allergic to, or intolerant of, cow’s milk formula. This can lead to a lot of trial-and-error of different brands and types of formulas. A new study has suggested some parents are misdiagnosing milk intolerance and may be too hasty when it comes to switching formulas–especially without consulting a health professional.

The researchers found that nearly half of formula-fed babies experience a formula change in the first six months. Could parents be over-reacting? While a relatively small study, it found no difference in infant intolerance to either milk-based or partially hydrolyzed whey protein formula. (The later is a formula modified to remove some of the proteins found in cows’ milk.)

While regurgitation, crying, fussiness, and colic can be signs of intolerances, similar episodes are also normal during early infancy. But anxious parents may mistake these normal episodes as formula intolerance.

The best course of action seems to be talking to a health-care professional, such as your child’s pediatrician. Breast-fed babies can also spit up, have colic, reflux, and/or general digestion discomfort.

Dairy allergies and intolerance are real, but perhaps may not be as prevalent as some parents fear.

[This post originally appeared on Rational Moms.]

Forbes had a great article this past week about how being lazy can actually cost you money. Their experts looked at the hidden costs of sloth. Some of these include:

• Not shopping around for the best rate on a savings account.
• Not sending in rebates. (Guilty here!)
• Not bothering to negotiate a better deal.

These days countless businesses make hay by taking advantage of our collective indolence–everything from not bothering to spend 15 minutes surfing the Web for a better rate on a savings account to not taking half as much time to mail a $50 rebate on a new laptop computer.

So, don’t let them get you, too!

Flying is increasingly a hassle. And, apparently it’s worse if you carry cash.

In March, a man was stopped by TSA agents in St. Louis because he was carrying $4,700 in cash. An employee of Ron Paul’s campaign, he was returning home from an event where he was responsible for the proceeds of campaign materials. TSA agents detained and questioned him for half an hour. When he repeatedly asked what scope of authority the agents had to hold and question him, he received no explanation. In fact, the situation escalated to the point where the agents placed him under arrest. Thinking fast, he recorded the whole incident on his iPhone.

The ACLU is now filing a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, which has authority over the TSA. The lawsuit maintains that the TSA is subjecting Americans to unreasonable searches and detentions.

TSA officials have the authority to conduct safety-related searches for weapons and explosives. According to the ACLU’s lawsuit, TSA agents are using heightened security measures after 9/11 as an excuse to exceed their search authority and engage in unlawful searches that violate the privacy rights of passengers. The lawsuit also charges that unconstitutional searches and detention by TSA agents have become the norm.

We can hope this lawsuit will result in some serious regulation overhaul within the TSA. Getting from point A to point B is hard enough without constantly having your constitutional rights trampled on. In the meantime, if you’re going to travel, use credit cards or remember to have a voice recorder program on your cell phone.

Of course, if you really want to remind the TSA about your rights, you can carry the Bill of Rights – Security Edition when you travel. These metal cards have the First Ten Amendments to the U.S. Constitution printed on them, with the Fourth Amendment highlighted in red. (That’s your unreasonable search and seizure protection for those who don’t remember history class.) Power to the people!

People memorize many sayings in order to learn how to spell. Perhaps none are as well known as the ditty “i before e except after c.” This past week, the British government took steps to phase out this rule because they believe it is too confusing. A letter sent to thousands of primary schools said there are so many exceptions to this rule that it is “not worth teaching.”

“There are so few words where the ei spelling for the ee sounds follows the letter c that it is easier to learn the specific words.” These include receive, ceiling, perceive and deceit.

Yes, there are a lot of exemptions to this rule. But, I still find myself repeating it every now and again when writing without spell check on. The phrase is easy to remember and sticks with you. And, it’s frequently correct.

The other simple spelling rules just don’t have the same kind of zing. “Dropping Final E.” Yawn. “Doubling Final Consonants.” Snooze. “I before e” is the rock star of the group. It’s the one most people remember twenty years down the line.

The last thing we need is to make spelling more difficult. It’s already complicated enough. What’s next? Closing down Conjunction Junction?!

With so many avenues for news and information, one might assume that people are exposed to many different viewpoints on important issues. Not true. A recent study discovered that Americans spent more time seeking out news that agreed with their current views. Researchers found that people spent 36% more time reading articles and news that reflected their own point of view. And, if they did read a dissenting article or opinion, people often countered it with others that then reconfirmed their beliefs.

While this isn’t exactly surprising, it is a disturbing trend. As media becomes more and more segmented, people can exert a lot of control over what messages they hear. And, it seems we’re tuning out the opposition. By doing this, some people increasingly believe that what they think is right and the other guy is just plain wrong.

What ever happened to keeping an eye on the enemy? Being informed about the issues means knowing both sides. The exchange of ideas and the spirit of debate is what America is all about. If we continue to shorten our attention spans for opposing views, you have to wonder if we’re throwing tolerance for other people out the window as well. And that would be a shame.

Sometimes we forget to give dads their due. Luckily, Father’s Day reminds us to thank our dads, step-dads, and grandfathers for everything they do. And, according to recent reports, today’s father is doing more and more.

Per week, dads today perform about seven hours of primary child care, which is twice as much as 1965. And that may increase. Since the recession began, more men are being laid off than women. This has given some men the chance to assume a larger caregiver role in the household. Will the way mass culture views dads reflect the shift?

We talk about fathers like puppies tripping over their big paws, a portrait long mirrored in a culture in which Father Knows Least, from Fred Flintstone to Homer Simpson. We diminish with faint praise; dads still get points for returning children at the end of the day with all their limbs in place. But the more engaged fathers become, the more women have to reckon with what a true parenting partnership would look like.

So, it wouldn’t hurt to show dads some love and respect every day.

The band Oasis played a recent gig in Manchester, England that didn’t go so smoothly. The group had to leave the stage twice for technical difficulties and the show was disrupted for more than 30 minutes. Fans were clearly disappointed, and the band’s guitarist, Noel Gallagher, offered refunds to anyone who wanted one.

At the end of gig, Noel said: “Thank you very very much, this is a free gig – let’s have it.

“Anybody who has kept their ticket will get a full refund.”

Nice, huh? 20,000 of the 70,000 at the show followed up to get their approximately $74 back.

Only, it doesn’t appear he meant what he said. Later, Noel called the refund-seekers “cheeky” (which is Brit-speak for “ballsy”) on his blog. He expressed surprise that so many concert attendees wanted their money refunded.

Really? You give a less-than-perfect show, offer refunds, and are shocked when people take you up on it? It seems pretty straight forward.

When you buy a concert ticket, you don’t expect to get your money back for any reason other than a cancellation. Oasis didn’t need to give refunds because the show did continue. (The organizers likely had heart failure upon hearing Noel’s promise.) But, the refund offer was made. Hardly seems fair to criticize people for taking advantage of it.

It’s a good example that even rock stars should think before they speak.