I understand fireworks on the 4th of July. I understand fireworks on New Year’s Eve. I don’t understand fireworks on Christmas Eve.
Especially around midnight.
This isn’t Jesus’ Independence Day, people! The three wise men didnt bring gifts of Glock, H&K and Sig. There’s no “fweeeeee….. POOOM” in “Silent Night”.
Keep the small explosives locked up until the 30th. Try that “peace on earth” thing just for today.
A sincere Merry Christmas to all from the Christmas fireworks Grinch.
For those of you who shop Tiger Direct for tech deals, be aware as of today (December 24th) they are no longer accepting returns or exchanges. All sales are final.
Here’s the Tiger Direct Sale Notice.
Rumors are flying about why this is happening, but generally, when a store no longer accepts its’ own merchandise in return, it’s time to get clear ASAP.
Use up any Tiger Direct gift codes and cash-value certificates if you have them!
You know how Phillip Morris changed their name to Altair? And Blackhawk changed their name to Happy Lead & Brass Kisses? (or something like that) ANYHOW, reading some of my backlog, I saw in Food Business News’ November edition, there’s some similar name-footsie going on with a new sweetener coming to market in 2016.
This isn’t any big deal unless you’re reaaaaally watching what you’re eating, but IF you are, here’s a quick breakdown – Stevia is going all version 2.0 and running with a Reb M version of their sweetener. Pure Reb M Stevia is extracted from the Stevia leaf, but since Reb M is a steviol glycoside and it only makes up 1% of the actual Stevia leaf, Reb M strictly technically isn’t pure Stevia and isn’t classified as such.
SO here’s the footsie-newsy part – a new product to be released in 2016 is called EverSweet. EverSweet, a zero calorie sweetener, is mostly made from bio-engineered (genetically modified) baker’s yeast, BUT it has two Stevia components – Reb M and Reb D. What happens, according to the article, is that “special baker’s yeast is fed simple sugars, which are then converted into Reb M and Reb D more efficiently and in greater quantity than from a Stevia plant… after the yeast produces Reb M and D, the yeast is completely filtered out, leaving only the great-tasting, zero-calorie sweetener.”
Oh, and as a bonus, “Laws and regulations vary significantly from country to country. In some countries the EverSweet product would not be required to be labeled as G.M.O.” (AKA: the US!)
The FDA says EverSweet is GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe), but If you’re watching what you eat, be aware that EverSweet has derivatives of Stevia in the mix.
Any bets on whether that information is going to make it on the nutrition label?
The article further states that EverSweet has been in the works since 2013 as a joint investment from Cargill and Evola Holding SA, so expect there to be a big commercial hoop-a-doo behind EverSweet once 2016 comes around.
If you don’t have a problem with Stevia sweeteners, EverSweet laced products aren’t going to be anything to worry about. If you do have a problem with Stevia, watch out for EverSweet products as well.
Here’s a movie I would love to see: Samuel Jackson as Darth Vader.
Completely different movie!
CISA was just signed into law on the same day the new Star Wars movie came out.
CISA was attached to the Omnibus “keep the lights on” spending bill, flew through congress and was signed by the president. Few people knew about it, and even fewer people said anything online as it was happening.
Meanwhile, the Star Wars movie has hundreds of thousands of people rage posting on social websites in a relentless and concentrated attempt to block “spoilers” from getting out.
And, once again, to everyone mad at Obama for sneaking CISA into the Omnibus bill, you do realize this was done by a Republican controlled congress, right? Both congress and/or Obama could have raised hell about CISA in the Omnibus bill and the gross loss of our online privacy. Neither did.
Welcome to the new world of no online privacy and warrant-less searches. Enjoy the movie.
One of the magazines in my massive reading pile is LCGC. (Chromatography! Long story. Don’t ask.)
ANYHOW, in a recent article, they found something particularly nasty showing up in some grocery fish fillets.
Meds.
Not meds like the fish swam up with little Tylenol pills duct-taped to their fins, but meds IN their system. Specifically, “anti-histamines and compounds used to medicate anxiety and seizures.”
While they don’t list the grocery stores they sampled these fish from, the big AHOOOOOGAH part is they have already traced where the source of the meds are coming from.
Improperly filtered waste water.
The med-laced water is coming from “wastewater treatment plants that are not commonly designed to eliminate the drugs because they are non-regulated water contaminants.”
In other words, existing waste water treatment plants are NOT set up to handle filtering out pharmaceutical particles, and are returning water to the ocean and water tables as “clean” when it really isn’t.
So, to put the AHOOOOOGAH in English…
Expect this to take off once a major news outlet picks up on it. All they have to do is start with the fact that waste water treatment plants DO NOT FILTER OUT PHARMACEUTICAL MEDICAL DRUG PARTICLES and go from there! Fun!
I know a few people who drink Sweet Leaf tea, so this came as a big surprise.
According to a FDA release, the makers of Sweet Leaf Tea is pulling all of their 16 ounce glass bottles off the shelves “because of the possible presence of glass fragments”.
Surprise crunchiness in a drink? Usually not a good thing.
The recall affects pretty much everything they have, including…
You can see the full table of the recalled items at the FDA website, or on Sweet Leaf Tea’s website here.
To everyone who still says 9/11 was an inside job since “jet fuel can’t melt steel beams”, please watch this little 2 minute video.
Steel strength can be compromised at temperatures FAR below its’ melting point.
To put it in “kitchen” terms, grab a big handful of spaghetti. Tie the bunch together with a little string, and stand them straight up on their end. Now put a salt shaker on top. It holds the weight!
Now put that handful of spaghetti in a pot of boiling water for just three minutes. Take them out and try the same thing again.
Water can’t melt pasta. The spaghetti isn’t melted, but its’ strength has been significantly compromised and the salt shaker will not hold anymore.
So, to sum up….
EDIT: There’s also this video from National Geographic. Jump to 3:48 for the short version.
While going through my magazine pile this week, I saw an article on Food Business News that McDonald’s is adding energy drinks to their menu.
I was hoping Food Business News accidentally posted an early April Fool’s article, but nope. Fortune and Bloomberg confirmed it.
How on earth do you decide to add energy drinks to an already over-the-top menu? Seriously? Here’s your 600 calorie burger and 400 calorie fries… oh, hey, how about something to kick your heart up a notch to go with it?
I imagine the meeting went something like this…
You tell me…
Just ONCE I would like a presidential candidate, ANY presidential candidate, that isn’t nuts, have skeletons in their closet AND aren’t bought and paid for.
