You need to KEEP CHECKING ABOUT PET FOOD RECALL

The pet food recall story keeps changing, so you should check Google News often.

Some DRY CAT food has now been added to the recall list! Up until now, it was only wet canned and pouch food that was under recall.

First they thought it was rat poison, but the amounts are so tiny that that cannot be the cause of death. Now they are saying it might be a plastic additive.

Hill's Pet Nutrition has now recalled its Prescription Diet m/d Feline DRY CAT food.

This does not involve Prescription Diet or Science Diet products.

So far...

Until the situation is better understood, it would probably be a good idea not to feed your pets the same thing every day.

Huge cat food and dog food recall

According to some reports, 60 million packages of cat food and dog food are now under recall because of concerns of possible renal failure and death. It is very difficult to figure out which items should not be used because they were sold under 90 brands.

The food was manufactured between December 3, 2006, and March 3, 2007, and was sold in the United States, Canada and Mexico at major retailers, including Wal-Mart and Safeway.


http://abcnews.go.com/Business/US/story?id=2960127&page=1


Cat product recall
http://www.menufoods.com/recall/product_cat.html


Dog product recall
http://www.menufoods.com/recall/product_dog.html

Getting a new passport could take 12 weeks!

Since January 2007, US citizens entering the US by air from Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda are required to have a valid US passport. From January 2008, US citizens entering the US by land or sea (including ferries) will be required to have a valid US passport.

This has caused a huge increase in the number of applications for US passports and substantial delays due to the backlog.

In some cases, it has taken up to 3 months to get the passport, and it has even taken up to 1 month to get an expedited passport (at substantially higher cost).

Therefore, if you are planning to go abroad, it would be a good idea to obtain a passport or renew your old one well in advance of your trip.

Reasonable fruit juice consumption decreases risk of Alzheimer's by 76%

Drinking fruit juice more than three times a week was found to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease by 76%!

As measured by the amounts of polyphenolic antioxidants, the best juices are

Purple grape juice
Cloudy apple juice
Pomegranate
Cranberry

It would be best to drink several types of juice per week.

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article2359093.ece

Why you should floss and have a cleaning

Heart disease, stroke, and diabetes have recently been linked to low level inflammation. One source of the inflammation? Chronic infection of the gums. In other words, gum disease. It seems the bacteria in infected gums slowly leak into the bloodstream and can cause infections of the blood vessels. Over time, this can cause hormonal changes that can lead to prediabetes (elevated levels of blood sugar that may lead to full-blown diabetes). 54 million people in the US have prediabetes.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-03/aaop-pdm031307.php

The best magazines ever published

Most I know, but there were a number I had never heard of.

http://www.goodmagazine.com/section/Features/the_best_magazines_ever

Our perception of time

Michio Kaku has a great series of four episodes on BBC about Time.

This is the full Episode 2. It is about our perceptions of time and the possibility of extreme longevity... 1,000 years...

At least watch the experiment he does with a stopwatch beginning around time index 03:10. It is really surprising, and it is happening to all of us.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5634490469902803358&q=bbc&hl=en

Pompeii: The Last Day

The Discovery Channel recently broadcast a BBC production "Pompeii: The Last Day" (not to be confused with "The Last Days of Pompeii".

See a 5 minute clip here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V_tDy4dMD8

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompeii:_The_Last_Day


See Pompeii and Vesuvius from space! Zoom in and you can see the individual houses!

http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=40.75,14.486111&spn=0.3,0.3&t=h&q=40.75,14.486111

40 dollars off the digital-to-analog converter you may need

If you have an old TV and have a regular TV antenna (not cable. satellite dish, or other device like a VCR with a digital tuner)...

On February 19, 2009, regular TV broadcasting, which has been using an analog signal since 1928, will come to an end in the US.

By that date, you will have to have cable, a satellite dish, a digital decoder, a device like a VCR with a digital decoder, or a newer TV with a digital decoder. If you have no digital decoder and have a regular antenna on your roof and just an old TV, your TV will not receive any broadcast, just static.

Beginning January 1, 2008, coupons for 40 dollars will become available to buy a digital decoder (which costs 50 to 70 dollars). The government's money for the coupons may run out, so if you decide you want to get the coupon, you should do it soon at the beginning of January 2008.

On the other hand, it might not be worth the hassle, and if you are planning on buying a DVD player anyway, you might just want to buy one that receives digital signals.

Daylight Saving Time Sunday March 11 !

Daylight Saving Time is three weeks earlier this year. The clock will advance by one hour at 2:00 AM, which will immediately become 3:00 AM, on Sunday, March 11.

Because this change was decided recently, many computers, phones, and other devices may not make the switch correctly on March 11. If you have to set your clock manually on that date, then you will have to check again three weeks later to make sure the automatic switch does not happen and put your clock another hour ahead!

Your computer may be OK, but other people's may not be, so even Microsoft says to reconfirm meetings during the 3 week period after March 11.

The Singularity by 2029?

Some people, like Ray Kurzweil, think that computing will develop so rapidly in the next few decades that humans will essentially seize complete control of the material world... and then the world of consciousness itself. See my other blog by clickiing on joelstheshortstory at the top or the bottom of this page.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3882715179234602208&q=human+v2.0&hl=en


http://www.kurzweilai.net/index.html?flash=1

I still want one... and hurry up about it!

The writer thinks this is dumb because it requires too much motion and the distance is wrong. I agree. However, I'm not sure why he and the writers of the comments think you won't be able to connect a keyboard and a mouse to it and use that if that is what you want.

This reminds me of when the mouse first came out and a Ph.D. nuclear physicist said he hated it because it took longer than keystrokes... to which I replied, "You know, the keystrokes still work... they didn't discontinue them... you can just choose which is more efficient for what you want to do..."

Click on the video to make it play.


http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/rumors/why-multitouch-apple-monitors-would-be-dumb-241165.php

Brushing, flossing, and having a cleaning can reduced risk of heart attack and stroke

When you have gum disease, bacteria are leaking into the bloodstream and causing inflammation throughout the body. This increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. Brushing often, flossing, having an annual cleaning, and eating a diet with high levels of vitamins, particularly vitamin C, will reduce the inflammation at the gums and reduce the risk of more serious complications.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6412127.stmhttp://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

Israel Kamakawiwo'ole Tribute

The deepest understanding of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" ever.

His ashes were scattered at sea at Makua Beach near Kaena Point, the gate to the afterlife.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3090180824233343584&q=somewhere+over+the+rainbow&hl=en


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Kamakawiwo%27ole

"While My Ukulele Gently Weeps"

Jake Shimabukuro makes a ukulele sing like you have never heard it before.

He is on NHK in Japan from time to time, and I saw him live at Aloha Tower... really entertaining.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9mEKMz2Pvo

BBC Horizon now on Google Video!

Not to be outdone by YouTube, Google Video now has a number of full episode Horizon programs online for free, most at very good quality. Very serious science programs to science infotainment.

Go to www.google.com

Click on Video

Type in, for example, "BBC Horizon"

The Blind Watchmaker, Human v2.0, and Secrets of the Star Disk are great.

The BBC now on YouTube!

The BBC has put a lot of programming on YouTube!

Go to www.youtube.com

Type in the search box, for example, "BBC Attenborough" and you will find a series of 5 minute nature clips.

The search is not as good as with Google, so you have to be very careful not to misspell search terms.

Girls' Day in Japan

The third day of the third month is 雛祭り (Hina Matsuri, literally "Doll Festival"), which is usually called Girls' Day in English.

Elaborate tiers of dolls are set up and special sweets are given.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girls_Day