Are you going to believe me or your lying eyes?

I had an interesting conversation with a dear friend of mine this week. She is someone I consider to be very socially conscientious. She is very passionate about keeping the people she cares about informed about relevant issues barreling down on our already overburdened society. Because I respect her opinions I will read the articles or watch the video she emails me. However some of the material comes across as conspiracy theories utilizing some of the same scare tactics as the main stream media.

We all know we live in scary times. The events of September 11, 2001 really took away our sense of security and wounded our national pride. Everyday there is news of job losses, businesses closing or moving overseas and families losing their homes. People all over the world are suffering at the hands of their governments on one side and extremists on the other. Our livelihoods and the futures of our children are caught in the middle of some very high stakes political games.

So with all this going on around us, there are those who want to keep us in fear from both sides of the table. Although they may have the best of intentions they often come across as Chicken Little. Information is misconstrued and whittled down to just enough bites to support the creator's theories. We want to restore our faith and confidence so we are desperate to believe the onslaught of information.

While there will always be different perspectives on any subject we must be clear minded enough to be able to wade through it to make our own judgments. We can not allow ourselves to be lead around by the nose. As individuals we have to be diligent in investigating the facts. We can never stop thinking for ourselves.

When we do have all the facts and conclude that the situation goes against our best interests then take action. We must take back our power as citizens that we gave over to government and big business. We can do that with our money and our votes. When we see something a corporation is doing that we don't like, don't buy their products. We must remind politicians they work for us, we don't work for them. When there is legislation before them that doesn't benefit us as a whole then we are required to let them know by mail, email, and phone.

We must not let fear and unbridle emotion rule our sensibilities. We must stand up for ourselves when no one else will.

Robbed of my possessions by pathetic wastes of human life

I could not think of a meaningful title for this entry. Some time in the last 7 days thieves broken into my storage unit and stole all my clothing and some items of sentimental value. As some of my friends now I have hit a rough patch in my life and I had to put my things in storage. What remains of my life is in many boxes that I get to visit from time to time. So I am devastated by this loss. Not only for the clothing items but for the items that I can not replace.


I do not understand what motivated the thieves. They took the time to beat the hasp holding the lock with a rock until it broke to gain access to the unit. They took the time to look through the containers. The reason I know this is because they left a lid behind. These were things I worked hard to pay for. Some of the items they took were given to me by friends long gone from my life. The memories tied to the items were precious to me. These things only had value to me. No one had a right to take my things.


Right now I am very overwhelmed and very sad. I feel powerless and I hate that. I can not afford to replace much of the clothing at this point because I am out of work. And now when I do find a job, I will not have clothes to wear. The police officer said they will probably sell them at a flea market or yard sale. So these pathetic individuals will get next to nothing for items I spent thousands of dollars on. I know wishing them a hellish existence won't do any good but I hope they rot in misery for the rest of their lives.

Better living through chemistry??

I love to eat. I never miss a meal, made clear by my ever increasing waistline. I enjoy the whole experience. I love to select the items in the grocery store, smell it cooking, and sitting down to devour the finished product is the highlight of my day. Many of my best memories are centered around some delicious meals. I myself am a terrible cook (that's another entry) but I lavish much praise upon those who keep me fed. I'm no different from the other 6.5 billion people on the planet. Food is an integral part of our lives, not just for nourishment but because it brings significant meaning to so many moments in our existence.


As time goes on food gets better. The tide has turned away from high preservative, chemically supplemented food stuffs. We prefer fresh and/or organic vegetables. We don't want our meat full of hormones and antibiotics. The human body, being the incredible machine that it is doesn't know what to do with these strange substances that are developed in someone's test tube and will have all kinds of adverse reactions. We have learned that saccharin can cause cancer. MSG could sometimes make you feel a little dizzy or hyper. Does anyone remember the rather nasty side effect of Olestra chips? This food product was processed in synthetic cooking oil. But scientists continue to seek the holy grail of chemicals that will revolutionize food production. I was recently told about a new food additive being developed to trick the brain into thinking something is sweeter or more savory. It is designed to satiate your need for a particular sensation sooner. The theory is once you are satisfied you will eat less of something and it will aid in weight control. According to the article in Scientific America, this compound is so potent it requires a tiny amount be added to foodstuffs. For food processors the benefit is less sugar or less seasonings needs to be added to a product. But again it is a scientifically engineered chemical. It is not something found in nature and enhanced to be consumable. So what are the side effects and how long will it take to find them out before this item is deemed unsuitable?


Although the recent food shortages have dominated the news we should not succumb to chemistry to feed the world population. Instead of trying to chemically enhance food perhaps scientist should turn their attentions to developing better farming techniques. There are many places around the world that could benefit from revolutionary agricultural discoveries that could make small communities self sustaining. We shouldn't be using corn for fuel for our cars but for food to feed livestock. Farmers should be able to get fair market value for their crops so they won't feel the need to sell to developers who will just put another mall on it. We should stop polluting our waters so fish will repopulate. But the first line of defense is with the consumer. Simply don't buy products with these additives. When the manufacturers see they will not recoup their investment they will eventually pull the product from shelves.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=magnifying-taste&SID