Archive for May 23rd, 2007
The 5 Second Rule Tested
A pair of biology seniors at Connecticut College decided to test the oft-cited maxim that food that sits less than five seconds on a floor remains safe to eat.
They used a well-traveled section of the college cafeteria; apple slices “because they were free,” and Skittles, because there’s an assumption that dry food is less susceptible to contamination, said researcher Molly Goettsche.
To simulate the real world, food was dropped off the edge of a cafeteria table. One pair of edibles sat on the floor for five seconds; others for 10, 30, 60 seconds; and, finally, for five minutes. They repeated the experiment under the supervision of a biology professor.
The results: No bacteria were found on any food left on the floor for up to half a minute. Apple slices and Skittles both got germy after a minute (although one Skittle took five minutes).
So far my theory still proves correct
No, it’s not my Acura theory (which also happens to be true BTW), it’s the other one.Â
It’s no secret that I have a high disdain for a cetain college in Waco, Texas whose colors happen to be green and gold. One reason for this is that the graduates (or alumni, if you will) of this institution of higher learning has to name drop where they went to college every single time, as if its a place of exceptionally high distinction.    It’s something I mentioned before, and yes, it drives me batty. Normal people that didn’t attend this university will simply say something like “when I was in college.” However, these folks will always replace the word “college” with the name of their sacred institution.Â
It’s a fun little theory that these alumni (especially church friends and family)  like to tease me about because they think I’m wrong and that I’m over-reacting, the most prominent being WifeGeeding. However, I found more proof to support this theory.
It turns out that ESPN has a new football blog written by Matt Mosley. On the home page of this blog is his picture with a short bio:
So far this is the most blatant form of this name dropping yet. I also decided to check out other ESPN columnists and found that none list where they attended college.
I’m enticed by the new Disney movie ‘Enchanted’
In an animated fairy tale world, a young girl meets and falls in love with the handsome prince of her dreams. News of this romance upsets the prince’s mother, the evil queen, who uses her black magic to send the girl hurtling out of the animated world into the one place in the universe where there is no true love: modern day Manhattan. The now-real girl has to survive in New York City and find her way home again to her true love. Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden and Susan Sarandon star.
Ahhhhh, Amy Adams – I’m a big fan ever since I saw her in The Office.
You can watch the trailer for the movie here.
Rights not violated in home search, justices rule
WASHINGTON — Mistakes sometimes happen when police conduct home searches, the Supreme Court said Monday in throwing out a lawsuit brought by a white couple in Southern California who were rousted from bed and held naked at gunpoint by deputies looking for several black suspects.
The search of Max Rettele and his girlfriend, Judy Sadler, in their bedroom may have been an error, and it was certainly embarrassing to them, the justices said. But it did not violate their rights under the 4th Amendment, which protects against “unreasonable searches and seizures,” they added.
In December 2001, Los Angeles County sheriffs were looking for four black suspects in an identity-theft scheme. One of them was known to have a gun. When the deputies set out to raid a home in Lancaster, they did not know the suspects had moved three months earlier. Rettele had bought the home in September and lived there with Sadler and her 17-year-old son.
At 7 a.m., seven deputies with guns drawn came to the door and were let in by the teenager. He was ordered to lie face down.
The deputies then entered the bedroom and ordered Rettele and Sadler to get up and to show their hands. They protested they were not wearing clothes, but the officers insisted they stand naked next to the bed for a minute or two.
After a few minutes, the deputies admitted they had made a mistake, apologized and left.
The couple’s “constitutional rights were not violated,” the court said in Los Angeles County vs. Rettele. The deputies “believed a suspect might be armed…. In executing a search warrant, officers may take reasonable action to secure the premises and to ensure their own safety and the efficacy of the search.”
John Burton, a Pasadena lawyer who represented the plaintiffs, said his clients had left California and were living in Kansas.
“I think this means we are in a dark period for the Supreme Court,” Burton said. “This was a case of incompetent officers finding themselves in the home of completely innocent people, and knowing they are not suspects, orders them out of bed stark naked. This is bullying, and it needs to be reined in.”
I was not aware
That October 5 is the most popular date Americans are born and May 22 is the least common birthday.
Butter Fried Krispy Kreme Donuts
Several months ago I was visiting my grandmother in Kingsport, TN and discovered the most delicious food ever! I awoke one morning and found her frying a Krispy Kreme donut. My immediate response was, “that’s disgusting!” She told me to hold off until I had tasted it. She was right, it was the most delicious heart-stopping food I’d ever had. After one bite, all of the fancy desserts I’d eaten before had completely disappeared from my memory.
This article provides step-by-step instructions on how to make the most delicious food ever created – the butter fried Krispy Kreme donut.
New Addition to the Half-Asian Hall of Fame.
He should have been added long ago, but that Dancing With The Stars victory put him over the top.
True Mom Confessions
Just a bunch of postings of moms confession.
Some comments are boring, some entertaining, and some will make you blush.
Some examples:
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I resent people that don’t have stretch marks.
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I am 99% sure I know who my baby’s father is. But there is a possibility I’m wrong.
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My brother is gay, and I worry that my son will turn out to be gay because of it.
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I am so glad that my daughter is intelligent like me and not slow like her father.
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I used to be thin and pretty. I used to be able to get any guy I wanted. I was fun to party with and always had great seats at concerts. Now I am fat, have stretch marks, and a baby that cries too much. What the hell happened to me?
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I can’t eat pizza anymore because that’s the last meal my parents had before they were killed in the accident….wierd, huh? The thought of it makes me physically feel like throwing up .
Jesus Struck By Lightning
CBS4) GOLDEN, Colo. Lightning hit the Mother of Cabrini shrine in Golden Saturday afternoon causing significant damage to the famous Colorado landmark.
The statue of Jesus at the shrine took a direct hit from the lightning. It’s not clear if it can be repaired, but nobody was hurt and none of the religious artifacts around the statue were damaged.
The shrine draws a steady stream of faithful who climb hundreds of steps to pray and reflect before a statue of the Sacred Heart. Pilgrims and church groups were curious after the lightning hit.
“It kind of caught us off guard,” visitor Frank Turek said “We didn’t realize that it had happened.”
The direct hit shattered a hand, arm and a foot on the statue.
Now that’s an oasis
For thousands of years, Huacachina, otherwise known as the ‘oasis of Americas’ – there is only one – has been a beacon of green, hidden deep amid hundreds of miles of barren desert. Over the centuries, its glimmering waters have saved the lives of hundreds of sun-addled travellers, staggering in from the heat with their mules.
More recently, however, visitors have been flying in from all over the world to relax in the shade of the palm trees, sandboard on the dunes and, most importantly, take the waters. Because this tiny handkerchief of green is the Lourdes of Peru.
