Category Archives: News

Kellogg is recalling Mini-Wheats cereals. Metal mesh found in the product.

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Kellogg just announced they are recalling their very popular Mini-Wheats cereals due to some metal mesh getting into the cereal.

Here’s the big writeup from Food Business News about the recall…

BATTLE CREEK, MICH. — The Kellogg Co.  is recalling about 3.2 million boxes of Mini-Wheats in the U.S., Canada and Mexico due to possible fragments of metal mesh that may have gotten into the products. The company said the metal contamination may be due to a faulty manufacturing part.

The recall is expected to cost the company between $20 million and $30 million.

The recalled cereals include Frosted Mini-Wheats Bite Size Original and Mini-Wheats Unfrosted Bite Size with the letters KB, AP or FK before or after the “Best if Used Before” date, which ranges from April 1, 2013 to Sept. 21, 2013.

“Because our number one priority is the quality and safety of our foods, as a precautionary measure, Kellogg voluntarily recalled certain packages of Mini-Wheats Bite Size cereal,” said Kris Charles, company spokesperson. “No other cereals are impacted and there have been no reports of any injuries associated with these foods.”

A sneak peek at the new Health Insurance Benefits and Coverage forms

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The U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services is giving a sneak peek today on how the new Health Insurance Benefits and Coverage forms are going to look.

As part of the new healthcare ruling, all paperwork pertaining to insurance plans were re-designed with a new format. According to the new law, “private insurers are now required to provide you with a Summary of Benefits and Coverage — a simple explanation of what a policy covers, written in plain language.”

Here’s the link to a pre-filled out form of the Summary and Benefits Coverage that everyone will be seeing fairly soon, regardless of what insurance company you are with. [NOTE : PDF download link]

If you’re in the healthcare field, there’s even a blank template available for you to preview to roll into your company’s forms database. [NOTE : PDF download link]

A standard form is going to go a loooong way in comparing insurance policy benefits on a direct paper-next-to-paper basis. After looking at the 6-8 page form, why something like this “nutrition label” format wasn’t mandated earlier is beyond me.

News stories the mainstream media missed : 09/22/12

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Here are some news stories from this week that I think the mainstream media completely missed out on. All links are from legitimate news sources and not the fringe / wacko sites.

* Did you hear a giant collective “AAAAAAAAAAA!” from the Haaaaaarvard crowd this last week? It might have been because of a front page story in Bloomberg that said Haaaaaarvard graduates are now “earning less than those from the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology”! The starting pay for a graduate of the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology is $56,700, but the starting graduation-job pay for Haaaaaarvard graduates was $54,100. Considering Haaaaaarvard is four times more expensive than the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, I think this is a pretty big win (and a great sign) for blue collar workers! Story at [BLOOMBERG]

* Crack open the AH-DERRRR file. Those itty bitty economy cars, despite their super dooper cuteness, don’t take a hit too well! A recent insurance industry study shows that itty bitty cars cause serious “personal injury” to their occupants “28.5 times for every 1,000”. That’s one serious personal injury for every 35 accidents! To add insult to injury, the safest car to drive (out of all cars) is a Porche 911, with just “4.5 injury claims for every 1,000“. Somebody better switch those dancing hamsters for crash test dummies! Story at the [DAILY MAIL]

* Did anybody else notice that one of the Muslim protesters who took over a US foreign embassy last week was wearing a “Let It Be” t-shirt? (Dude with the yellow shirt on the left in the photo below.) Let it be? Seriously?! The Beatles “Let It Be”? After torching a foreign embassy, burning the flag, and taking over the roof to fly your own flag? I’m not sure if that t-shirt is intended as biting sarcasm or if it’s just 24-karat solid gold irony in progress. Photo below…

Let it be, you say?

Let it be, you say?

 

* Billa, a major european supermarket chain with stores “in nine European countries”, are now selling pre-peeled bananas in plastic trays covered in plastic wrap. Apparently, they’re trying to get Captain Planet to just flat out have a heart attack, because I really can’t think of another reason for this. Did someone in Europe complain to Billa upper management that bananas were just too hard to peel? I mean, once you know which end of the banana is “up”, the rest is pretty straightforward, right? Story at [HUFFINGTON POST]

* This next story has my spider sense going all sorts of bonkers. The CDC issued a press release about “Rabies Immune Globulin”, saying “Sanofi Pasteur is currently directing requests for human rabies immune globulin to Grifols/Talecris Biotherapeutics, supplier of HyperRAB” and that “Sanofi Pasteur will be able to fulfill orders for Imogam (human rabies immune globulin) when additional lots are expected to be released by late November”. Sooooo the “usual” provider of human anti-rabies med is OUT of their flagship product and they’re referring everyone to their competition until November until they can catch up and “additional lots” are made available. Right. Soooo my question is WHAT HAPPENED THAT THEY RAN OUT OF HUMAN ANTI-RABIES MEDS?  WHY IS THE CDC MAKING THIS PRESS RELEASE IF IT’S NO BIG DEAL? WHERE IS MY CAPS LOCK… ah, there it is. Maybe it’s nothing, but I got a baaaaad feeling about this. Story at [CDC]

* Since Bill Gates, the former head of Microsoft, has been devoting his time and stupid-amounts of money to charity, not a single citizen in India has contracted polio. Gates also dropped a $750 million dollar bomb of a donation to “fight Aids, malaria and TB” in Africa, and he’s stated that his goal in life is “to see unnecessary deaths drop to zero”. This dude has done more for charity and humanity than anyone else has in this century, but what does this article headline with? How Bill Gates wrote a letter to Steve Jobs. Can I get a “sad trombone” sound, here? Wah-wah-waaaahhhhhh. Story at [TELEGRAPH.CO.UK]

* While everybody is all paranoid out about a computerized military killer like SKYNET coming online, a new “immortal chemist” computer network called “Chematica” has been created, and it is already online and thinking of how to synthesize “drug molecules and other important compounds, combine long (and expensive) syntheses of compounds into shorter and more economical routes and identify suspicious chemical recipes that could lead to chemical weapons” and ways to prevent a “potential terrorist” from making “a nerve gas, an explosive or another toxic agent”. All that, plus its’ main objective to tie all this knowledge into providing “building blocks for nanotechnology”. SKYNET? Pfffft! Five bucks says Chematica takes SKYNET down by the 2nd round. Story at [FORESIGHT]

* Finally, a brilliant video that uses mixing paint colors to explain how computer cryptography works. Highly educational and entertaining at the same time!


 

That’s all I got this week. Off to find a cigar to light up!

 

Do you know anyone under 18 who wants to name an asteroid for NASA?

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NASA has opened a website where they will be accepting ideas for renaming asteroid (101955) 1999 RQ36.

Anything goes, so long as the name is no longer than 16 characters, and every entry must also “include a short explanation and rationale for the name”.

I have a feeling there’s going to be a lot of “Jacques Strap”, “Mike Rotch” and “Hugh Jass” submissions from the junior high crowd.

OK, seriously, it’s a very cool contest for science geeks, and if you know someone under 18 that’s into astronomy, send them to the website at the end of the press release for their shot at fame.

Here’s the official press release…

RELEASE: 12-302

NASA ANNOUNCES ASTEROID NAMING CONTEST FOR STUDENTS

WASHINGTON — Students worldwide have an opportunity to name an asteroid from which an upcoming NASA mission will return the first samples to Earth.

Scheduled to launch in 2016, the mission is called the Origins-Spectral Interpretation-Resource Identification-Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx). Samples returned from the primitive surface of the near-Earth asteroid currently called (101955) 1999 RQ36 could hold clues to the origin of the solar system and organic molecules that may have seeded life on
Earth. NASA also is planning a crewed mission to an asteroid by 2025. A closer scientific study of asteroids will provide context and help inform this mission.

“Because the samples returned by the mission will be available for study for future generations, it is possible the person who names the asteroid will grow up to study the regolith [sic] we return to Earth,” said Jason Dworkin, OSIRIS-REx project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

The competition is open to students under age 18 from anywhere in the world. Each contestant can submit one name, up to 16 characters long. Entries must include a short explanation and rationale for the name. Submissions must be made by an adult on behalf of the student. The contest deadline is Sunday, Dec. 2, 2012.

The contest is a partnership with The Planetary Society in Pasadena, Calif.; the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington; and the University of Arizona in Tucson.

A panel will review proposed asteroid names. First prize will be awarded to the student who recommends a name that is approved by the International Astronomical Union Committee for Small-Body Nomenclature.

“Our mission will be focused on this asteroid for more than a decade,” said Dante Lauretta, principal investigator for the mission at the University of Arizona. “We look forward to having a name that is easier to say than (101955) 1999 RQ36.”

The asteroid was discovered in 1999 by the Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) survey at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory. LINEAR is part of NASA’s Near Earth Observation Program in Washington, which detects and catalogs near-Earth asteroids and comets. The asteroid has an average diameter of approximately one-third of a mile (500 meters).

“We are excited to have discovered the minor planet that will be visited by the OSIRIS-REx mission and to be able to engage students around the world to suggest a name for 1999 RQ36,” said Grant Stokes, head of the Aerospace Division at MIT Lincoln Laboratory and principal investigator for the LINEAR program.

The asteroid received its designation of (101955) 1999 RQ36 from the Minor Planet Center, operated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Mass. The center assigns an initial alphanumeric designation to any newly discovered asteroid once certain criteria are met to determine its orbit.

“Asteroids are just cool and 1999 RQ36 deserves a cool name!” said Bill Nye, chief executive officer for The Planetary Society.
“Engaging kids around the world in a naming contest will get them tuned in to asteroids and asteroid science.”

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center will provide overall mission management, systems engineering and safety and mission assurance. Lockheed Martin Space Systems of Denver will build the spacecraft. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA’s New Frontiers Program. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages New Frontiers for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

To review contest rules and guidelines, visit:

http://planetary.org/name

To see a video explanation about the contest, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/name-asteroid.html

For information about the OSIRIS-REx mission, visit:

http://osiris-rex.lpl.arizona.edu

News stories the mainstream media missed : 09/01/12

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Here are some news stories from this week that I think the mainstream media completely missed out on. All links are from legitimate news sources and not the fringe / wacko sites.

* In keeping with their philosophy of  “accelerate into the brick wall to survive”, Kodak recently decided “…to sell [their] traditional film businesses to become a fully commercial-focused businesses, with printers at center stage.” Printers? PRINTERS? Kodak didn’t want to hold on to the groundbreaking camera-and-film products they invented, but decided to jump into an over-crowded arena to take on HP, Canon, Xerox, Epson, Lexmark, Brother, and OKI? Seriously? This is like Ken “mad-dog” Chong announcing he’s going into the octagon to kick Brock Lesnar, Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture and Anderson Silva’s collective asses. By himself. Unless there’s a secret weapon or a surprise partner involved, this isn’t going to end well. [TECHCRUNCH]

* Speaking of extinct, Sony announced they will stop making CD and DVD drives in a few months. Sony was the 500-pound gorilla in this game, and if they’re pulling out, you can bet everyone else will too. So what does this mean for the consumer? The next generation of desktops and laptops won’t have CD or DVD drives. Since flash drives and streaming media are faster and hold more data, CDs and DVDs just outlived their usefulness. It’s the end of another tech era, and nobody really noticed. [NEOWIN]

* Everyone knows the Terminator. The half-man, half-governor that protects the future by beating up other budgets? I think it goes something like that. Anyhow, Harvard scientists have taken us one step closer toward awesomeness by creating real “Cyborg Flesh”. “Neurons, muscle cells, and blood vessels (taken from rats) were spliced with nanowires and transistors that monitor bioelectric impulses, and researchers predict subtle variations in the technology will let them control cellular behavior.” Ooooo goody! I can’t wait for ticklish machines! I mean, that’s the only reason something like this would be invented. Right? Right? [IGN]

Cyborg Flesh!

 

* We’ve all heard that always-baked dude’s notion that “maaaaan…. our universe is just, like, an atom. And all atoms, are like…. universes! Maaaann!” Well NOT SO FAST says NASA. Apparently the universe is more like an ice cube! Except not frozen. Or solid. Or wet. But aside from that, the metaphor works! See, the latest theory making the scientific rounds is that the universe was formed as the result of a phase-change, like ice turning into water. But in our case, the water of “before” the universe “cooled and suddenly crystallized to form four-dimensional space-time, analogous to ice.” There was nothing before the universe because it was in a different state. Ice to water. Water to ice. Maaaann! [SPACE]

* If congress tells you to come up with a way to get kids out a closed refrigerator if they get stuck inside, what would you do? Well, if it was 1958, you could just grab some kids off the street, huck them in a locked refrigerator, and see what happened! Apparently, “behavior of young children in a situation simulating entrapment in refrigerators was studied in order to develop standards for inside releasing devices, in accordance with Public Law 930 of the 84th Congress.” Several followup studies had to be performed after this “experiment” to see if the kids had mental issues, and none of the parents of these kids were “involved in the incident”. Eesh! Clinically scary article (and potential horror movie idea) over at [PEDIATRICS.ORG]

* Everybody knows “you are what you eat”. Here comes the “you have to be kidding me” part… scientists on two different and independent studies have confirmed you are not only what you eat, you are, genetically, what “what your mother, father, grandparents and great-grandparents ate, too.” The extra-special-with-sprinkles part is that is doesn’t matter how well you eat now because the generations of damage is already burned into your DNA. I’m surprised the current health-conscious administration hasn’t run with this. We can’t change what has come before, but now we must start eating well and taking care of ourselves for our great-grandchildren, too. As for everyone who doesn’t plan on having kids, triple whopper, extra cheese, bacon sundae and large coke away! Science at [CBS]

That’s all I got this week! Time for a Saturday-night cigar!

There’s a NASA probe flying around in the asteroid belt?

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Apparently I was asleep for a few years, because I totally missed that NASA sent a probe (with ion propulsion!) to mosey around the asteroid belt.

NASA’s probe DAWN has been in orbit around the asteroid Vesta since July 2011, and now it is about to pop off on a two and a half year journey to a dwarf planet Ceres (AKA : A really reeeeeally big asteroid).

We’re just flinging shiny toys all over the solar system. I like it!

Here’s the official NASA press release…

RELEASE: 12-303

NASA DAWN SPACECRAFT PREPARES FOR TREK TOWARD DWARF PLANET

WASHINGTON — NASA’s Dawn spacecraft is on track to become the first probe to orbit and study two distant destinations to help scientists answer questions about the formation of our solar system. The spacecraft is scheduled to leave the giant asteroid Vesta on Sept. 5 EDT (Sept. 4 PDT) to start its 2 1/2-year journey to the dwarf planet (AKA : A Really Really Big Asteroid) Ceres.

Dawn began its 3-billion-mile odyssey to explore the two most massive objects in the main asteroid belt in 2007. Dawn arrived at Vesta in July 2011 and will reach Ceres in early 2015. These two members of the asteroid belt have been witness to much of our solar system’s history.

The valuable evidence Dawn gathered from examining the first of these cosmic fossils up close improved our understanding of asteroids and provided context for a future human mission to visit an asteroid.

The spacecraft will spiral away from Vesta as gently as it arrived, using a special, hyper-efficient system called ion propulsion. The ion propulsion system uses electricity to ionize xenon to generate thrust. The 12-inch-wide ion thrusters provide less power than conventional engines but can maintain thrust for months at a time.

“Thrust is engaged and we now are climbing away from Vesta atop a blue-green pillar of xenon ions,” said Marc Rayman, Dawn’s chief engineer and mission director, at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. “We are feeling somewhat wistful about concluding a fantastically productive and exciting exploration of Vesta, but now we have our sights set on dwarf planet Ceres.”

Dawn provided close-up views of Vesta and unprecedented detail about the giant asteroid. Findings revealed that the asteroid had completely melted in the past, forming a layered body with an iron core. The spacecraft also revealed the collisions Vesta suffered in its southern hemisphere. The asteroid survived two colossal impacts in the last 2 billion years. Without Dawn, scientists would not have known about the dramatic troughs sculpted around Vesta, which are ripples from the two south polar impacts.

“We went to Vesta to fill in the blanks of our knowledge about the early history of our solar system,” said Christopher Russell, Dawn’s principal investigator, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). “Dawn has filled in those pages and more, revealing to us how special Vesta is as a survivor from the earliest days of the solar system. We now can say with certainty that Vesta resembles a small planet more closely than a typical asteroid.”

JPL manages the mission to Vesta and Ceres for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Dawn is a project of the directorate’s Discovery Program, which is managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

UCLA is responsible for the overall Dawn mission science. Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., designed and built the spacecraft. The German Aerospace Center, the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, the Italian Space Agency and the Italian National Astrophysical Institute are part of the mission’s team.

For information about the Dawn mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/dawn

and

http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov

FDA recalls some Protica products “Because Of Possible Health Risk”

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Anyone want some after-workout clostridium botulinum poisoning? Anyone?

Today, Protica pulled some of their health-and-after-workout products off the shelf “including Body Choice “Protein Shots”, Nutritional Resources “Protein Wave”, ProBalance “Protein to Go French Vanilla Latte” and “Protein to Go Milk Chocolate Shake” because they have the potential to be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium which can cause life-threatening illness or death. ”

 

Protein To Go Recall

 

“Botulism, a potentially fatal form of food poisoning, can cause the following symptoms: general weakness, dizziness, double-vision and trouble with speaking or swallowing. Difficulty in breathing, weakness of other muscles, abdominal distension and constipation may also be common symptoms. People experiencing these problems should seek immediate medical attention.”

Not exactly the best thing to slam after a workout!

The affected lots are…

Protein to Go Milk Chocolate Shake (2.5oz bottle)

 Manufacture Date Lot Number
2/9/12 PP0402 4109 A
2/9/12 PP0402 4109 B
 2/9/12 PP0402 4109 C
 2/9/12  PP0402 4109 D
 2/9/12  PP0402 4109 E
 2/9/12  PP0402 4109 F
 2/9/12  PP0402 4109 G
 2/13/12 PP0442 4113
 2/16/12  PP0442 4115
 3/29/12  PP0892 4121
 4/12/12  PP1032 4131 A
 4/12/12  PP1032 4131 B
 4/25/12 PP1162 4134 B
 4/25/12  PP1162 4134 C
 4/25/12  PP1162 4134 A
 5/3/12  PP1242 4139
 5/8/12  PP1242 4140
 6/7/12  PP1592 4145 B
 6/7/12  PP1592 4145 A

Protein to Go French Vanilla Latte (2.5oz bottle)

 Manufacture Date Lot Number
9/8/2011  PP2511 4066 A
 9/8/2011  PP2511 4066 B
 10/11/2011  PP2841 4079
 10/18/2011  PP2911 4086
 12/6/2011  PP3401 4103
 2/13/2012  PP0442 4112
 4/2/2012  PP0932 4122
 4/4/2012  PP0952 4125
 4/11/2012  PP1022 4129
 4/24/2012  PP1152 4133 A
 4/24/2012  PP1152 4133 B
 4/24/2012  PP1152 4133 C
 5/1/2012  PP1222 4138 A
 5/1/2012  PP1222 4138 B
 5/1/2012  PP1222 4138 C
 5/8/2012  PP1292 4141
 6/8/2012  PP1592 4146 A
 6/8/2012  PP1592 4146 B

Nutritional Resources Protein Wave gelatin (6oz cup)

 Manufacture Date Lot Number
May 03 2012 PP 1242 6123

Body Choice Protein Shots (3oz vial)

 Manufacture Date LotNumber
Dec 20, 2011 PP 3541 2924

 

You can check out the official FDA press release here for some more details on the recall.

NASA, Birds, Pigs and gravity : a new collaboration with the “Angry Birds : Space” game

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The latest version of Angry Birds has a direct tie-in with NASA’s recent Mars / Curiosity rover mission in addition to adding NASA rovers and landers to the game dynamics.

Sneaking legitimate education and real-time events into a game about birds that shoot at pigs in space through gravity wells?!

Why… thank you very much!

Here’s today’s NASA press release in full…

RELEASE: 12-285

EPIC STRUGGLE BETWEEN BIRDS AND PIGS GOES ON WITH A MARTIAN TWIST

WASHINGTON — NASA is helping pigs and birds explore the Martian terrain and shed light on the agency’s missions to the Red Planet in the latest update to the game Angry Birds Space. Rovio Entertainment, creator of Angry Birds, announced the update Thursday, complete with a cast of agency rovers and landers.

Earlier this year, millions of gamers were introduced to concepts of microgravity in Angry Birds Space, which was supported through a partnership with NASA and includes links to a variety of education information.

“Rovio is teaching huge new audiences about NASA’s missions to Mars thanks to this collaboration,” said David Weaver, associate administrator for communications at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “It’s a great way to introduce both kids and adults to the wonders of the planet in a fun and entertaining way.”

NASA participated with Rovio on Angry Birds Space under a Space Act Agreement to share the excitement of space with the Angry Birds community, educate players about agency projects and programs, and collaboratively create interactive informational experiences for the public.

The game will include links to NASA web content about Mars exploration and NASA missions that are represented in the game. The content can be found at:

http://www.nasa.gov/redplanet/

“We’re huge NASA fans, and we were all cheering the Mars Curiosity rover as it touched down,” said Peter Vesterbacka, chief marketing officer of Rovio Entertainment. “So, working together on the Mars update was a perfect fit, especially since we got such an amazing response to our previous collaboration, the ‘Angry Birds Space: NASA announcement’ video, which quickly surged to the top of 2012’s viral video charts. We’re thrilled to continue working with NASA. Stay tuned for even more great fun and educational content coming up.”

For more information about NASA’s Curiosity rover and Mars exploration, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/mars

For more about NASA’s other missions and projects, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, by proxy, owns Imperial Sugar now

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Check this out…

Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ father is Gérard Louis-Dreyfus, who was president and CEO of the Louis Dreyfus Group until 2006.

Gérard Louis-Dreyfus’ great-grandfather, Leopold Louis-Dreyfus, founded the Louis Dreyfus Group in 1851.

Yesterday, the Louis Dreyfus Group bought Imperial Sugar.

The whole company.

For $203 million.

Cash.

According to Wikipedia, The Louis Dreyfus Group is “a diversified French private company that is involved in agriculture and energy commodities (global processing, trading and merchandising). It owns and manages ocean vessels, develops and operates telecommunications infrastructures and is involved in real estate (development, management and ownership). Louis Dreyfus companies are present in more than 53 countries, with 72 offices. Major offices are located in Geneva, Beijing, Buenos Aires, Paris, São Paulo, New York and Connecticut. Aggregate average annual gross sales in recent years have exceeded ~$120 billion. The company employs 35,000.”

Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Star of a current HBO series and a former major sitcom by day, heir to a $120 billion family owned company since 1851 by night.

Oh, and now proxy owner of Imperial Sugar.

Epic.

Don’t forget FEMA’s National Emergency Broadcast Test is Wed 11/09

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I posted this before, but I thought it deserved its’ own standalone space.

FEMA announced they are going to have a nationwide simultaneous TV and Radio Emergency Broadcast test tomorrow (November the 9th) at 2 PM Eastern time.

This isn’t going to be a normal one-TV-station test where you can change the channel and something else is on another station. Every TV and radio station will have that screech alarm until the test is complete.

So don’t panic tomorrow when the TV and radio stations all have a FEMA EMERGENCY ALERT screen and that annoying screech!

Here’s the government website with info about it…

http://www.fema.gov/eastest/