not a care in the world

not a care in the world

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Teflon.... and what it can do to you...











The widespread use of polymer polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), better known to most people by its brand name, Teflon. PTFE was discovered accidentally by chemist Roy J. Plunkett (1910–1994) of DuPont, in 1938, while trying to create a new CFC refrigerant. It turned out that the waxy white substance has the lowest coefficient of friction of any known solid, and thus DuPont began exploring its commercial possibilities as a coating. DuPont patented it in 1941, registered the Teflon trademark in 1944, and began selling it in 1946. By 1950, DuPont was annually producing over one million tons of PTFE.
Much of the Teflon that has been created since its introduction, has ended up being used for nonstick pans and other cookware, which regularly come into contact at high temperatures with foods that we eat. Consequently, we must ask ourselves, just exactly how safe is Teflon? What happens to the fragments of Teflon — visible or otherwise — that inevitably chip off when cooking utensils and other items strike the surfaces of Teflon-coated pans? Many people assume that the practically friction-free material must pass harmlessly right through their bodies.
Initially, consumers were assured that Teflon is chemically inert and non-toxic, and therefore completely safe. But the tough questions should have been asked decades ago, given that Teflon is not chemically bonded to any cookware surface (in fact, it cannot chemically bond to anything). To get Teflon to stick, the target surface is roughened via sandblasting, covered with a primer, and then covered with Teflon, which gets stuck in microscopic interstices. Wouldn't repeated use at high temperatures cause portions of that Teflon to be continually released, into the food, and in turn into us?
That turns out to be the case. It was later discovered that, at temperatures above 500°F (260°C), Teflon begins to decompose. The resultant gases are known to produce hallucinations and flu-like symptoms for humans, and death for indoor birds. The number of people possibly affected by Teflon, must be enormous, given that over 70% of the cookware purchased in the United States has a nonstick coating.
PTFE is not the only potentially hazardous chemical involved in the manufacture of Teflon. For instance, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a.k.a. C-8, is used to make Teflon, although it is not a component of Teflon. However, uncured cookware can have traces of PFOA. In February 2006, a group of independent scientific advisers to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) voted unanimously that the EPA should classify PFOA as a likely carcinogen. DuPont responded by taking out full-page ads in major U.S. publications, assuring the public that Teflon is safe. Research has shown that PFOA is now found in the blood of most Americans. In fact, one study indicated that 96 percent of the children tested in 23 U.S. states, had traces of PFOA.

This is not the first time that PFOA has been in the news. In May 2005, a federal grand jury subpoenaed DuPont for documents, as requested by the U.S. Justice Department's Environmental Crimes Section. Only a month prior, DuPont had agreed to a settlement with the EPA, admitting that it neglected to report health safety information about PFOA for 20 years. In Teflon's defense, it should be noted that the major sources of PFOA are chemicals for stain- and water-resistance in clothing, carpets, and take-out food boxes. (More good reasons to prepare your own food, wearing clothing made of natural fibers.)
Yet even after any residual PFOA has disappeared from nonstick cookware, the Teflon poses a danger to humans and animals — roughly proportional to the cooking temperatures. The pet birds that have died from Teflon are reminiscent of the canaries formerly used in coal mines to warn miners of lethal gases, which would kill the canary first. Before that happens to you or your household members, consider replacing any Teflon-coated cookware with healthier alternatives, such as stainless steel, cast iron, silicon, or glass.

Aluminum cooking products...How are they for your health???







A leading Indian scientific authority warns that the use of aluminum cookware may contribute significantly to the development of Alzheimer's disease and other nervous disorders.
The National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), which is part of the Indian Council of Medical Research, has concluded that the intake of aluminum compounds from many sources is on the rise and producing detrimental effects on human health. Aluminum cookware is especially dangerous when used to prepare acid foods such as tomatoes, which causes the metal to be leached out.

Besides Alzheimer's, toxic levels of aluminum has also been associated with Parkinson's disease, various dementia's and bone diseases. NIN doctors expressed special concern for the elderly whose ability to remove these toxins is reduced. The NIN experts noted that human exposure to aluminum is also on the increase from the water supply.
Besides naturally occurring aluminum, other aluminum compounds are added as part of the water treatment process. Also, aluminum is present in many popular OTC and prescription medicines such as antacids, antiperspirants, pain-killers and anti-diarrhea medicines.
Besides cookware, aluminum is increasingly being used in food packaging, especially ready-to-cook foods. Additionally, there are many aluminum-containing food additives in use as buffers, neutralizing agents, dough strengtheners and emulsifying agents.
How safe are you while you cook????

Is pyrex good or bad???? You decide.....








Food seems to go hand in hand with the holiday season, but some cooks using recently purchased glass Pyrex baking dishes have reported nasty surprises.

The dishes mostly the 13-by-9-inch baking dish have shattered unexpectedly.I looked this up on the Internet, and it appears quite common. In fact, no heat or cold seems to be necessary for Pyrex to explode. One person merely removed the Pyrex dish from the cabinet and it exploded in her hand. Another person had one explode brand new - upon removing it from the box. There are dozens and dozens of incidents at consumeraffairs.com and complaints.com.

Pyrex was developed as a tempered glass product by Corning Glass Works in 1924. Known as a "borosilicate" glass, it contains boron as well as the glass makers usual mix of sand, soda and lime. The boron makes the glass less likely to expand during changes in temperature. When it does break, scientists say it should crack into large pieces rather than shatter.
Over the years, Pyrex cookware has become a fixture in the kitchen. Many cooks say the Pyrex pie plate is the standard
pie dish. Pyrex measuring cups are also widely used.
So why the problems?

Scientists accustomed to using Pyrex test tubes and beakers in the laboratory say the glass can weaken with age and use. If small cracks develop over time, it can make the glass expand and contract in temperature extremes. But in the case of some consumers writing to ConsumerAffairs.com, the dishes were new, or at least fairly new.
Corning spun off its kitchenware's division in the 1990s, so Pyrex is now owned by World Kitchen, which also owns CorningWare. World Kitchen provides a two-year guarantee on its Pyrex products.
"World Kitchen, Inc. promises to replace any Pyrex brand glass item that breaks from oven heat within two years from date of purchase," the company says on its Website.

However, there are certain conditions. World Kitchens advises consumers to never use Pyrex products on stove tops, under a broiler, or in a toaster oven. Consumers are also told to avoid "severe" hot to cold temperature changes. Cooks, who in the past found that Pyrex was durable enough to allow some latitude from those conditions, are apparently finding that now, any deviation is risky business.
So how safe are you when you use Pyrex baking ware?????

how many pets do you have???











Now adays with the economy collapsing people are going down to the bare minimums... Theyre spending less on the extra things in life, and theyre going out less.... Lets face it jobs are rare and most of the jobs out there are cutting back....
So you might be asking why am i asking about pets, right????
Well with everyones money being short people are starting to give away the pets that they have.... The Will County Humane Society has 30 dogs and 60 cats..... They are trying to find homes for all of these wonderful animals, and because of the hard times all they are doing is receiving more.... I just adopted a dog she filled a blank space with my other dog who now has a girlfriend, and shes a great add to the family..... Now i dont really have the extra money but when i saw her i feel in love with her as well as so did my dog.......
So for those of you who are reading this, if you happen to have some extra cash and feel that you could help out the Humane Society they would really appriciate it...

Are you really safe in church???




Some families are dedicated to their church... They go to every service, all the fundraisers and the over night events.... But do you honestly know your priest and fellow church goers that well???? Have you meet their family, have you been to their home???
Priests have been torturing kids for centuries and they've been able to get away with it.. All they have to do is move to another church.. There never heard of again, they just kinda fade away..... Finally the courts are giving them consequences.... A 78-year-old former priest was convicted on federal charges of taking a minor boy on religious retreats to have sex with him....
So have you ever thought about your priest or pastor????? Do you know them as well as you think???

voting time is coming.....







Now we all know that everyone is encouraged to vote.... But did you know that even illegal immigrants can vote???? Now mind you they dont pay any taxes, but they get to decide where the money from our taxes go...... They get to pick our president, but theyre not a true citizen....



Whats the point in us voting if the count is wrong because people who are illegal are voting for us.....According to the law all they need to do is get a voter I.D. and they are all set. Now there is no requirement to prove citizenship so anyone can virtually vote. Why do we even bother to have voting registration, or laws? What good is an I.D. proof and just what does this mean to our nation? Well if your not concerned about this then what can anyone say?



We understand the automated machines don't work correctly and can be manipulated. Even the software used comes from offshore. That leaves us with the scary thought of just who really elects whom we call "our" representatives? Can an election be won by a candidate who gets a majority of non citizen illegal votes while not enough votes from actual legal citizens?



Does this situation ask the question can we really trust any election? Well the facts are that the majority of Americans don't vote at all! Most Americans have grown tired of what they perceive is no choice at all.



Can you tell me how wrong this is?????

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

the rules as they are....

Finally the city officials realize that not all things are bad...



They are softening the law on the driving while talking law.... Motorists who get caught talking on their cell phones while driving with-out a hands free device will no longer lose their drivers licenses...They will be able to discuss their ticket in a court room.....



Its sad that the only 2 reasons we are reconsidering these rules are because a city official got caught talking on his phone and made a big deal about the cops taking away his drivers license, and the train conductor who was texting when he crashed and killed many people...



Why is it that until a city official gets caught or someone gets hurt people don't realize that some of the laws we have are retarded? And that there are more important things that we could be working on to help make life safer...

what about the cold medicines?????






Do you remember the home remedies that your grandma or great grandma did to cure the flu or other illness you seemed to always catch???? Some were horrible tasting and they were very odd combinations but they always worked.


Well the medicine manufactures have taken over the medicine world and for the most part they've eliminated the the use of organic medicines.... And finally the government has realized that the way our ancestors treated illnesses is the best way to cure almost anything....


The new thing is that children under 4 should not be given over-the-counter cough and cold remedies, drug companies are now saying that the drugs don't do any good and that they may even harm the children.. If the drugs don't help then why is everyone being told to use them???


I guess its just another way to make money off of people who worry about their health and their family......


So for another government screw up, we should all start mixing up those old recipes that our families have passed down from generation to generation for our colds and other illnesses, so that way we know we will actually recover....

Monday, October 6, 2008

Are we in a depression???




As Americans we are starting to speak- not whisper- the word "depression." Most adults, if you ask, say we're already in a depression, but when you ask economists' they say that there's no way possible....


Today's economy woes are nothing close to the Great Depression, even if it feels that way to some. Starting in 1929, the U.S. economy shrank for four consecutive years. Unemployment in the 1930's was staggering, above 20 percent for four years. In 1932, 24.9 percent of the labor force was jobless. As of today its 6.1 percent. In 1940, the economy still was smaller than in 1929 before the stock crash. The economy today wounded, continues to expand. it grew an annual rate of 2.8 percent in the second quarter.


Most people of today believe that the economy will get worse before it gets better. They expect their taxes to go up, and many worry about affording retirement or maintaining their standard of living. Nearly half of us worry about our homes losing value, and about 75 percent of us are considering taking our money back out of the stock market. Trust is shifting from stocks and real estate to federally insured bank CD's.


And a little less than half of Americans have postponed, or are thinking about postponing a big purchase. More than half Americans are worried about having enough money for retirement. More and more people are becoming conservative with their money and how they spend it.


Now I need to know how you feel.... Do you believe we're in a depression???

This is why we're in the whole...!!!




The state finally finished the first three months of its budget year with a mountain of unpaid bills and record payment delays.... The report says the state's economy is still faltering, and the backlog of bills and payment delays will increase. As of Tuesday 9-30-08 more than $1.8 billion worth of bills couldnt be paid because the state doesnt have the money....The payment delay is 42 working days. That doesnt include the time state agencies hold on to bills before passing them on to the comptrollers office.

Now can you tell me why the economy is colapsing????? How are people suposed to pay their bills if the city owes money to them???? And why is the city and state spending money on stupid stuff like fixing up the Rialto when it already cant pay the bills it has??????

And yet we keep voting the same people back in the office, why so they can screw us over again?????

Are when going to be banned from all things????




When I was growing up there were no helmets, knee pads, or elbow pads, and there were certainly no bans on the pets we were allowed to have. So why is it that everything is harmful to us now??? Children's cribs were made with lead paint as well as some of the toys....... They didn't have to wear their seat belts, and yet most of us are still alive.....


Now a days there are so many "dangerous things" out there that can supposedly harm us, to the point most children live a sheltered life....


Now their big thing is NO hamsters, hedgehogs, baby chicks, lizards, and turtles.....




OK, I grew up with those pets, and i didn't become deathly ill, or contract some horrible disease. So why are they so dangerous???? Most parents say "I'll get you a hamster and well see if you take care of that first". What are they supposed to use now???? A hermit crab??? No wait those pinch, we can give them a hermit crab.... There's a theory, if your around something long enough you become immune to it.. I mean they use that theory on medicine, and cleaners... So why not use it on pets??? Having a small pet at a young age gives the child a reassurance that they are bigger and that they are the one in charge of the pet... And if the pet is taken care of they don't tend to bite or scratch at their family.....


OK, so I don't know if this post made any sense to you, but I believe in letting our kids play with nature and letting them explore the animals around us... And if they get bite, they do make anti-biotic cream for that....