Daily Dose of Common Sense

Jaws is probably my all-time favorite movie. I watch it every time it’s on and know most of the dialogue by heart. Seeing this movie at a young age did make me scared of the ocean, and I’m still trying to work through that irrational fear. That’s why I love Discovery Channel’s annual SHARK WEEK, which starts this Sunday, August 2nd. Not only do they cover the blood and gore we associate with sharks, they also discuss the real risks of attack and well as the pressing need to help save sharks.

First, your odds of being attacked by a shark are ridiculously low. In 2000, here were the risk of attack in the United States:

Drowning and other beach-related fatalities: 1 in 2 million
Drowning fatalities: 1 in 3.5 million
Shark attacks: 1 in 11.5 million
Shark attack fatalities: 0 in 264.1 million

In the U.S., you are 30 times more likely to be killed by a strike of lightning than a shark. Granted, being eaten by a shark would be much, much worse than a bolt of lightning. But, you have to go with the statistics. Many more people die each year in cars driving to the beach than by a shark in the water.

Second, we are a far greater risk to sharks than sharks are to people. Each year, over 100 MILLION sharks are killed globally. During the past 15 years, the shark population has been depleted by 80%. Sharks grow and reproduce slowly, and this means that the shark population is in real trouble.

So, watch Shark Week to gawk at the gore, but also watch to learn and marvel. Sharks are amazing animals, and they need our help.

Photo courtesy of Flickr: StormyDog

The U.S. Post Office is in trouble. In 2009, the Post Office expects to run a record $7 billion deficit in 2009. Clearly, there needs to be an overhaul of the system. No one expects them to make money, but to be SEVEN BILLION dollars in debt is mind-boggling. And, raising the price of stamps again and again isn’t the answer–especially since they expect to handle 27 billion fewer pieces of mail this year.

One of the suggestions to cut costs is to drop down to a five-day delivery schedule. It is estimated this could save between $2 billion and $3 billion a year. Makes sense to me. Do you really need to get your junk mail, magazines, and bills on Saturday, too? Admit it: How often do you really get snail mail that matters? Twice or three times a week, maybe? Cutting down a delivery day wouldn’t solve the USPS’ problems, but it sure would take a dent out of their operating expenses.

In a move consistent with the bureaucracy that so burdens our country, many members of Congress are not on board with the five-day plan until further study is done. Clearly, the politicians are worried about an uprising from their constituents if there are service changes.

But desperate times call for desperate measures. The Post Office has been removing little-used neighborhood post boxes and is discussing a broad consolidation of mail carriers and branches. They are also under a hiring freeze, and are offering early retirement to many workers.

We just moved to New Jersey, and we were surprised to see our mail carrier drive up in our driveway. He drives all the way up the drive to the side door to deliver the mail. We love it, but how can this possibly be cost efficient? Even if all the mailboxes were just moved to the curb, that would take less time and gas. Or, how about putting mail carriers on bicycles or Vespas?

But, I suspect the way the mail is delivered isn’t the problem. The Post Office has become a balloon of bloated bureaucracy and needs to deflate a bit. Let’s hope they examine their business model and get it back on track. Otherwise, who knows how much a first-class stamp is going to cost you.

Sometimes I think animal lovers go too far. This is a perfect example. A company in Brazil has manufactured the first sex toy for dogs.

The DoggieLoveDoll is aimed for dogs who are alone a lot of the day, presumably because no owner is around to rub against. What’s wrong with the couch?

And, how disturbing is this photo? (Answer: Really disturbing.)

[Via Gizmodo]

Bill Gates recently quit Facebook because he had too many friends. He had trouble keeping track of who he actually knew and which friend requests were from strangers. Although you aren’t Bill Gates, you may still have a little dead weight in your Facebook friend list. Here are some ideas on how to annoy those connected to you and potentially lose some friends.

Mundane Status Updates
“Joe Smith is tired.” Yeah, we’re all tired, Joe. Is that the best you can do? Continually updating your friends on all the mundane tasks in your life just may cause a few folks to de-friend you. So, keep it up with such snooze-alerts as “is bored” and “is going to the gym.”

Talk Politics and/or Religion
Politics and religion are two touchy subjects. People have their own opinions and it’s very hard to convince them to change sides. Talking about your views is a possible way to offend a few Facebook friends who don’t agree, especially if you trash the other side.

Take Every Quiz and Share Results
There are thousands of Facebook quizzes, and some are even entertaining. However, your friends don’t want to know which “Sex and the City” character you are or your Simpsons IQ score. If you want to lose friends, then take all the quizzes you can and publish the results each time.

Keep Sending Invitations
Mafia Wars and Vampires may be fun to you, but receiving invitations to them over and over again is just annoying. We realize that getting more people to play helps your score. And, we don’t care. Lil’ Green Patch may be a good cause, but we’re tired of it. So, if you want to annoy your connections, keep kidnapping people and passing drinks around.

Be an Over-Poster
Everyone has at least one or two over-posters on their friend list. These are people who update their status WAY too often and share links and photos galore. Appearing too frequently in your network’s News Feed is a good way to cause “friend fatigue” and get yourself de-friended.

Tag Friends in Unappealing Photos
Dig up those dusty old photos and crank up your scanner. Horrify your friends! Embarrass your family! It is especially helpful to find pictures where your targets have bad hair days, closed eyes, or strange expressions. And, make sure to tag the photos so everyone can recognize each other.

There are many other ways to annoy on Facebook (like over-punctuating your updates), so feel free to suggest some of your own pet peeves.

Photo courtesy of Flickr: jurvetson

The milk in your fridge has passed its expiration date, but you drink it anyway. The deli meat “use by” date has gone by, but the meat smells okay enough for a sandwich. In a bad economy, everyone is looking to make things stretch further, which could include the food in your fridge or pantry. In fact, Listeria poisonings in the British elderly are on the rise, presumably because of a depression-era reluctance to let anything go to waste. Learning about food expiration dates and the language used on products can help you determine when to eat it or when to throw it away.

The Lingo

• Expiration Date: This is the last date a product can be used or consumed. After this date, it’s proceed at your own risk.
• “Sell By” Date: This date tells the store how long to display the product for sale. This date is stamped by the manufacturer as a guide for when the product is at its maximum quality. For some time after this date, the product is still edible. However, it just might not be as fresh.
• “Best if Used By” Date: This is similar to the “sell by” date. Used as a measure for maximum quality, not as an expiration date.
• “Born on” Date: This is the date the product was manufactured. Generally, this date is found on beer, which can lose quality after three months.

People throw out a lot of good food because they don’t understand the dates and terminology that manufacturers use. While it’s better to be safe than sorry, you can make your grocery bill stretch further by knowing how to handle your food. Here is a great chart of Food Storage Guidelines from Gourmet Sleuth.

The experts all agree to let common sense prevail. If it smells bad, or is questionable, throw it away. Here are some quick guidelines:

Perishable Meats, Fish, Seafood – pay attention to sell by dates. For best quality it is best to buy those products before the sell by date particularly with meats, poultry and seafood. That being said, many of these products are still edible for several days after that date. See the chart.

Dairy products - Liquids such as milk and cream are more perishable than solid products like sour cream, yogurt and cheese. See our “how long to keep” list for more specifics.

Canned Goods – because the dating conventions on most canned goods are “obscured” I use a basic rule of thumb to rotate out my canned good stock within 1 year. Exceptions: if the top looks “bulged” or darkened or rusty I toss it out. Many canned goods are fine past one year but start to pick up a “canned” taste and quality does degrade.

Dry Goods – Flour, sugar, salt, etc.  These products do not expire and even the quality is not severely impacted with age. Exception: if the product has a high oil content it can go rancid (like rice). Just give it a sniff. It if smells rancid, toss it. Also products like baking powder lose their potency so keep this rotated approximately every 6 months.

Photo courtesy of Flickr: danksy.

Last week, a New York woman was charged with drunk driving while transporting home five kids after attending a festival. At 12:30 in the morning, she was pulled over for a broken headlight. But, the officer smelled booze and a sobriety test was performed (and failed).

The woman’s excuse? According to the news report:

“My husband was 10 times drunker than I was. I had two kids left with me that weren’t even mine that I had no intention of driving home in the first place. It was either let my husband drive and kill everybody or leave those two kids abandoned,” she said.

Hmmmm. First, how about coming up with a plan for someone in your group to be responsible and stay sober throughout the night? It seems like a simple, adult conversation to have, especially when you have kids along. “Are you going to drink tonight? OK, then I won’t.” If the advance planning is too difficult for you, how about asking someone else for a ride home? Or, calling a cab?

If I were the parent of one of the two non-family kids involved, I would be furious at this woman. There is a point where safety trumps carpooling duties. I would rather my kid be abandoned than driven home by someone who had been drinking. At least then, s/he could use a phone to call me.

It’s mind-boggling: After all the awareness through ad campaigns, public service announcements, pamphlets, and news reports, some people still get behind the wheel after drinking. What more can be done to convince people it’s a really, really bad idea?

I was surprised by this recent report from a mother who visited an IKEA in Brooklyn, NY. While breastfeeding her six-month old child in the store, the woman–who was fully covered–was rudely asked by the staff to move to the restroom instead. Shamed, she obeyed. Mother and daughter waited for a stall, but eventually gave up and left the store. (For the record, to force a breastfeeding mother into the restroom is illegal in New York.)

I’m shocked this sort of discrimination still happens, especially at a store with such a family-friendly reputation. IKEA stores have great monitored play areas for kids that allow parents a child-free shopping experience (and really, what’s better than that?!) plus they sell baby food, too. But, the offended staff member involved the security guards, so we know it’s not a renegade employee with the naked-mommy-boob heebie-jeebies.

This incident smacks of a bygone era. Are some people still so freaked out by the thought of breastfeeding (remember, she was covered) that they can’t tolerate someone quietly nursing nearby?

Breastfeeding isn’t exhibitionism, folks. It’s not a sexual act; it’s a practical one. Nursing is much cheaper and also better for the child’s health. We should all try to be supportive of mothers, whether they choose to bottle feed or breastfeed. Neither are an easy choice.

[Note: This post originally appeared on RationalMoms.com.]

When you stub your toe or knock your elbow, the first thing that comes to mind probably isn’t “gosh darn it,” or “barnacles” (unless you’re SpongeBob). No, when most of us are in pain, we usually think of a good old-fashioned curse word. It turns out this may be a good thing. According to a team scientists, swearing may actually help us brave through pain.

In the study, testers had to stick their hands in icy water. Those who cursed reported less pain and generally lasted longer than the non-cursers. This conclusion seems obvious for a few reasons. First, cursing is like exhaling. It’s a quick release of pent-up feeling and emotion. I always feel better after throwing around some of my favorite naughty words (even if there wasn’t exactly good cause). Second, yelling an expletive is like biting down on a knife. It’s a way of hunkering down and riding out the bad feelings. And, if I take the time to try and tone it down by coming up with a non-curse, I’m in more pain from delaying the reaction.

So, feel free to curse like a sailor the next time you get hurt. You’re doing your body a favor.

My daughter had a birthday yesterday, and I had several well-wishers ask if she was bouncing off the walls because of sugar. Well, no, actually she was no more hyper yesterday than any other day. Yes, she ate a cupcake, Cracker Jack, Nerds, and a bunch of other junk, but she’s a healthy kid. That, and there’s no such thing as a “sugar high.”

I know, it takes a second for it to sink in. We have been led to believe that sugar makes people (especially kids) hyper. But, it’s just not true. Our bodies do a really good job of regulating the sugar we intake. Many studies have been done on this topic and the conclusions are the same: the amount of sugar that a kid eats does not affect his or her level of activity.

Jessie from Rational Moms did a great in-depth debunking of the sugar high myth. I highly recommend giving it a read.

So, don’t worry about your kids being up all night after eating a bunch of sugar. They’re up late because they want to be up late. Duh.

Photo courtesy of Flickr: terren in Virginia.

One of the current fashion trends is skinny jeans. Yeah, that’s what we need right now–tighter clothing. As the country gets fatter, the fashion industry makes the clothing smaller and harder to get in to. This doesn’t make a lot of sense. Even still, you may be considering a purchase, or you may wear skinny jeans incessantly. If so, please consider the health risks that may accompany tight pants.

Yes, health risks. The Consumer Reports Medical Adviser discusses the dangers of too-tight pants. Not only can they potentially cause nerve damage, there are risks of yeast infections and blood clots, not to mention potential fertility issues for men.

This is one fad we’re anxious to see go away. Besides being unhealthy, there are very few people who can actually pull off tight pants. Yes, you have the right to wear whatever you want, regardless of your size. But, if your skinny jeans overfloweth, then perhaps you should buy a pair of pants that actually fit. Just because you can squeeze them on doesn’t mean you should.