Recall (warning) : FDA coming down on flavoerd cigarette sellers

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This didn’t take long. The FDA is now pursuing online sites that are still selling flavored cigarettes. The FDA is specifically enforcing the “cigarette ban provision of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Tobacco Control Act) by issuing several warning letters to companies continuing to sell illegal flavored cigarettes to consumers in the United States through their Web sites.”

Flavored cigarettes were banned around the 22nd of September, so it’s been a good month and some change for these companies to get their products in order. Right now, pretty much any cigarettes with flavor in them are illegal. Flavored cigars may or may not be included, depending on who’s interpreting the law at the moment.

What really gets me is the justification for this ban. Lawrence R. Deyton, M.S.P.H, M.D., director of FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products said in the release that the… “FDA takes the enforcement of this flavored cigarette ban seriously. These actions should send a clear message to those who continue to break the law that FDA will take necessary actions to protect our children from initiating tobacco use.”

So…. if this is for the kids, how about a real simple solution. ID everyone buying tobacco. Wouldn’t that solve the whole problem? Leave the flavored cigs to the few adults who like them, and just bust the people selling them to children. Doesn’t that work for regular tobacco? And alcohol?

Anyhow, I ranted about this already when it first popped up. I’ll push the horse back into the closet now.

Oh, and if you look at the link that shows the sites that got the warning from the FDA about selling the flavored cigarettes? When I checked, most of them were 404… completely gone.

Here’s the link to the official FDA warning / recall.

Recall : Jelly Belly’s cylinder-style 49 Flavors jelly beans

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Jelly Belly announced today that they are voluntarily recalling the… “7.5-ounce cylinder-style packages of 49 Flavors Jelly Belly jelly beans because the package is incorrectly labeled. The mislabeled packages failed to list peanut butter and peanut flour in the ingredient statement.”

Wait… they use peanuts and peanut butter to make jellybeans? Seriously?

The recall says… “The Jelly Belly 49 Flavors cylinder packages were… packaged in a clear 7.5-ounce acetate cylinder with white label on the bottom of the package with lot codes 090925, 090928, 090929 or 091001. UPC code 071567989398”

Here’s the link to the official FDA recall.

Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar by Thomas Cathcart & Daniel Klein : Mini Book Review

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Plato and a Platypus

Plato and a Platypus

10 words or less: Fun. Like throwing a skipping stone over deep philosophical waters.

Long version : This book was a impulse buy at the local bookstore this weekend. Normally I only hit the bargain bins, but this book looked interesting and was reviewed well based on everything all over the jacket cover, so I grabbed at at face value.

It was a fun and breezy read. Just tapping on the cusps of philosophical ideas and ideologies, the authors take a few moments on each topic being serious, and turn right around and make a joke in contrasting boldface that illustrates the type of philosophy and/or topic being discussed.

For example, when talking about existentialism…
“The extentialists’ emphasis on facing the anxiety of death has given life to a new mini-industry, the hospice movement, founded on Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s twentieth-century bioethical philosophy that encourages the honest acceptance of death.
Customer in a restaurant: How do you prepare your chickens?
Cook: Oh, nothing special really. We just tell them they’re gonna die.”

At the end of the 215 page book, the authors gently point to “suggested reading” list for those who found the shallow end fun and want to try something a little deeper next time. Kant, Hegel, Marx, Kierkegaard, Foucault, Hume, Locke and more are on the list, so there’s a fair chance someone starting on this book may just find something wonderful waiting for them should they choose to follow some of the abbreviated suggestions in the list.

This was a fun book that was pretty much philosophy 099. OK, maybe philosophy 101. A quick glance into the basics of philosophy, an overview of some major ideas, and a few nuggets to chew on. All easily digestible.

I’m probably going to head back and pick up their sequel “Heidegger and a Hippo walk through the pearly gates: Using Philosophy (and jokes!) to explain life, death, the afterlife, and everything else in between.” If nothing else, for the title alone!

Four out of five stars.

Apple to launch Verizon iPhone q3 2010

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Glory hallelujah! In a report posted on Apple Insider, Apple is preparing to move the iPhone to Verizon around July of 2010, as well as make the iPhone an official “global” phone by adding CDMA2000 network compatibility.

Buh bye AT&T!

For those of you who have contracts with AT&T that expire soon, DO NOT renew your contract with AT&T when your current contract ends. Just keep going month to month until July-ish of 2010. Then you can jump to Verizon free and clear when the new service (and probably some new iPhones) come out around then. You should be able to keep your iPhone and all the apps you have on it intact during the transition. Plus by staying on month to month, you won’t get popped with a $250-ish breach of contract fee from AT&T.

All I can say is that it’s about damn time. In case I haven’t mentioned it in the last two posts, I think AT&T cellular service sucks ass. I’ve never had such pathetic phone service as I have with the iPhone. Constantly dropped calls. Robotic sounding voices. Horrible coverage (1 bar most of the time. 2 bars once every blue moon). Piss poor 3g. And even a CEO who admits his company’s busted ass network can’t keep up with all the iPhone users.

The article says AT&T has… “a year to improve its 3G network and roll out the 3G MicroCell before being hit with mass defections from iPhone users irate over service issues.” Yeah. Right. AT&T spending money to improve their customer’s service? When they had all this time to get it right? That’s not gonna happen.

At least AT&T’s “busy network” problems will disappear when every iPhone subscriber jumps to Verizon. But I’m sure all the money AT&T saved by not upgrading the network to handle iPhone traffic will easily offset any losses in q3 2010. What’s the iPhone income for AT&T? 1%? 5%? It’s gotta be something ridiculously low for the service to be this bad.

Good riddance to bad rubbish!

News stories the mainstream media missed 11/07/09

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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.

* German politicians and other “important” people in Germany are geting a special “clean” version of the H1N1 vaccine. Everyone else can eat Squalene and/or Mercury! Hey all you wannabe investigative reporters out there – quick question… does the American version of the vaccine have Squalene and/or Mercury? And are the politicians getting the same vaccine us regular citizens are? That might kinda sorta be important to know. [TIME]

* High tax California or low tax Texas? California offers residents a “package deal” that bundles numerous and ambitious public benefits with the high taxes needed to pay for them. Other states, such as Texas, offer packages combining modest benefits and low taxes. Do higher taxes bring about superior lifestyles? A recent article says…no. That Texas way is better. A scathing quote from the opinion piece sums it up… “Twenty years ago, you could go to Texas, where they had very low taxes, and you would see the difference between there and California. Today, you go to Texas, the roads are no worse, the public schools are not great but are better than or equal to ours, and their universities are good. The bargain between California’s government and the middle class is constantly being renegotiated to the disadvantage of the middle class.”
All I have to say is ahhh, thankyah. Thankyavehrymuch. [LA TIMES]

* A Mexican mayor announces his rival’s death hours before the actual body is found. When asked about this, the mayor said “Sometimes there are coincidences in life; it’s better to look at it this way.” In other words, it’s just business as usual. And what’s with England having better coverage of this kind of evil than the US has? [UK TELEGRAPH]

* Who really owns the “organic” food companies? You’ll be surprised. Most “organic” companies are not mom and pop kind of organizations, no matter what the label says. Con Agra, General Mills, Kraft and Heinz would probably like you to skip this link. [MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY]

* A cat got the swine flu. Which means cats can be carriers of swine flu. Your dog has some ideas on what to do about this. [YAHOO NEWS]

* Another fake botox scam busted by the Department of Justice. What I don’t get is why people don’t get just a little suspicious when the operation is performed in someone’s home. [US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE]

* When the kids of 2012 ask when did the vampires start showing up, you can point them to this little tidbit: ‘Dracula Therapy’.  It involves getting your face injected with your own blood. Of course, S3 Therapy is the hottest news in anti-aging right now. So of course all anyone will need in the near future to stay young is a little fresh blood. Great. I see exactly where this is going. I better add a crossbow to the shopping list the next time I’m at the local S-Mart. [DAILY MAIL]

NASA wants your school experiments for their next space balloon

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Now where were projects like this when I was in school? NASA today announced they are… “accepting applications from students at U.S. colleges and universities who want to send their experiments to the edge of space on a high-flying scientific balloon.”

“The annual NASA project provides near space access for 12 undergraduate and graduate student experiments to be carried by a NASA high-altitude research balloon. The flights typically last 15 to 20 hours and reach an altitude of 23 miles. Experiments may include compact satellites or prototypes.”

Dude! For a former science geek, that’s one hell of an opportunity.

If you or someone you know is still in school, the press release says the “question-and-answer teleconference… will be held Nov. 13 at 11 a.m. EST. The deadline for applications is Dec. 18. NASA is targeting fall 2010 for the next flight opportunity. NASA expects to make selections in January 2010. Teleconference dial in information, application materials and technical details are available in the Call for Proposals document at: http://laspace.lsu.edu/hasp Information about NASA’s scientific balloon program is available at:   http://sites.wff.nasa.gov/code820 More information about NASA’s education programs is available at:  http://www.nasa.gov/education”

And here’s the official link to this press release.

Nobody tell Richard or Mayumi Heene about this project, though. We all remember what happened the last time those two got near a balloon.

Recall (Warning) : FDA says “Stiff Nights” will probably kill you

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OK, right up front, who the hell uses something called “Stiff Nights”? If someone is actually desperate enough to fork over good money for a jar of something called “Stiff Nights”, I can pretty much guarantee they’re not too concerned about their own immediate health and well being.

Having said all that now, the FDA recently issued a warning that “Stiff Nights, a product marketed as a dietary supplement for sexual enhancement, contains an ingredient that can dangerously lower blood pressure and is illegal.”

The gist of it is that… “the FDA determined that the product contains sulfoaildenafil. This is a chemical similar to sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra. Sulfoaildenafil may interact with prescription drugs known as nitrates, including nitroglycerin, and cause dangerously low blood pressure.”

Here’s the link to the official FDA warning page. And another link to the Stiff Nights website.

Recall : PetSmart recalling two Dentley’s Beef Hoof products

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If you recently bought a Dentley’s Beef Hoof snack for your dog from PetSmart, you might want to take a look at the trea’s UPC code because some of them might have been contaminated with salmonella.

The FDA release says “PetSmart… is voluntarily recalling two Dentley’s Beef Hoof products for potential salmonella contamination… The recalled products include only the following types of Dentley’s Beef Hooves purchased between Oct. 2, 2009 and Nov. 3, 2009: Dentley’s Bulk Cattle Hoof UPC# 73725703323 [and] Dentley’s 10 Pack Beef Hooves UPC# 73725736055”

Here’s the link to the official FDA recall.

Recall : Morningstar Foods assorted cream products for undeclared soy

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Morningstar Foods announced that it is voluntarily recalling several of its’ products because they may contain soy protein.

From the notice… “This recall includes only the products listed. Each product is sold in a cardboard gable-top carton. Consumers can find the expiration date and the plant code on the top of the gable top package. The UPC code will either be located on the back or the side panel of the gable top carton. No other Great Value, Kroger or Wholesome Farm products are involved in this recall.

* 32-ounce Great Value Half & Half: UPC  6 05388 187 16 1, item code 1871600, plant code 21-031, “use by” date of December 16, 2009
* 32-ounce Great Value 36% Heavy Whipping Cream: UPC  6 05388 187 18 5, item code 1871800, plant code 21-031, “use by” date of December 16, 2009
* 32-ounce Kroger brand 36% Heavy Whipping Cream:  UPC  0 11110 438 28 7, item code 4382900, plant code 21-031, “use by” date of December 16 and 17, 2009
* 64-ounce Wholesome Farms Chocolate Ice Cream Mix:  UPC  0 74865 57 983 4, item code  5798300, plant code 21-031, “use by” date of January 7, 2010 (if purchased in a multi-pack, the UPC code is 1 00 74865 57983 1)”

Here’s the link to the official FDA recall notice.